WebSphere HTTP

The WebSphere® HTTP Server plug-in is code that runs inside various Web servers: IBM® HTTP Server, Apache, IIS, Sun Java™ System. Requests are passed over to the plug-in, where they are handled based on a configuration file.

The plug-in is code supplied with WebSphere that runs inside various HTTP servers. Those HTTP servers may be the IBM HTTP Server on z/OS®. As workload comes into the HTTP Server, directives in the HTTP Server's configuration file (httpd.conf) are used to make a decision: is the work request coming in something the HTTP Server handles or is it something that's to be passed over the plug-in itself.

Once inside the plug-in, the logic that acts upon the request is determined by the plug-in's configuration file, not the HTTP Server's. That configuration file is by default called the plugin-cfg.xml file. Information on which of the backed application servers the request is to go to is defined in this file. This file is something that is created by WebSphere Application Server and doesn't necessarily need modifying, although you have the flexibility to do so.

Note: In general, plug-ins provide functionality extensions for HTTP Server. Figure 1 shows one example of its use, although there are many different plug-ins that can be configured to assist in customization of your Web environment. Another popular plug-in is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Server (LDAP) used for security authentication.

Figure 1. Example of a plug-in