Configuring an Apache Web Server

To use Watson™ Explorer Engine on with an Apache web server for production, you need to integrate Watson Explorer Engine with your Apache web server.

Linux:

If you are running the Apache web server on Linux server, the following command will integrate your Watson Explorer Engine installation into your Apache Web server installation:

Note: Watson Explorer Engine provides two different configuration files for Linux. If your operating system supports Apache 2.2 use apache-2.2.conf; if it supports Apache 2.4; use apache-2.4.conf.

cd /etc/httpd/conf.d
cp /opt/ibm/WEX/Engine/apache-2.X.conf

Note: On Linux systems, creating a symbolic link to the Apache configuration file can cause the Apache web server to fail if you subsequently move your Watson Explorer Engine installation, because the symbolic link will be unresolvable. If you create a symbolic link, it is strongly recommended that the ownership of that file be changed to root. Otherwise, there will be a security issue, because a non-root user can then modify a file effectively executed by root. It is also recommended that you check initialization script performance.

Windows:

If you are running the Apache web server on a Windows system, you can use the DOS or Powershell copy command and substitute the appropriate paths in these instructions to add the Watson Explorer Engine configuration data to your Apache installation.

Note: If multiple versions of Apache are installed on your system, make sure that you integrate Watson Explorer Engine into the Apache installation that will provide access to the Watson Explorer Engine administration tool. By default, the Apache integration of Watson Explorer Engine assumes that Apache is configured to allow access to all virtual directories. If you have Apache 2.2 installed, and it is configured with more restrictive permissions, you may need to un-comment the Allow from all directive in the apache-2.2.conf file before copying that file or after creating a symbolic link to it. You must then restart your web server before you can access the virtual directory that is used by Watson Explorer Engine. Permissions are handled differently in Apache 2.4, so no changes should be needed to the provided apache-2.4.conf file.

For more detailed information about Apache configuration directives, see the Apache web server documentation.