Implementing a web server plug-in

This topic describes how to implement a web server plug-in. The product works with a web server to route requests for dynamic content, such as servlets, from web applications. The web servers are necessary for directing traffic from browsers to the applications that run on an application server. The web server plug-in uses the XML configuration file to determine whether a request is for an application server.

1. Use the administrative console to change the settings in the plug-in configuration file.
   When setting up your web server plug-in, you must decide whether to have the configuration automatically generated in response to a configuration change. When the web server plug-in configuration service is enabled and any of the following conditions occur, the plug-in configuration file is automatically generated:

   • When the web server is created or saved
   • When an application is installed
   • When an application is uninstalled
   • When the virtual host definition is updated

   You can either use the administrative console, or issue the GenPluginCfg command to regenerate your plugin-cfg.xml file.

   Complete the following steps to regenerate your plugin-cfg.xml file by using the administrative console:

   1. Select Servers > Server Types > web Servers > web_server_name > plug-in properties.
   2. Select Automatically generate plug-in configuration file or click one or more of the following topics to manually configure the plugin-cfg.xml file:
      Avoid trouble: You must delete the plugin-cfg.xml file in the profile_root/config/cells directory before you complete this task. Otherwise, configuration changes do not persist to the plugin-cfg.xml file.

      • Caching
      • Request and response
      • Request routing
      • Custom Properties

      See the topic about web server plug-in configuration properties for information about how to map each property to one of these topics.

      Avoid trouble: Do not manually update the plugin-cfg.xml file. Any manual updates you make for a web server are overridden whenever the plugin-cfg.xml file for that web server is regenerated.
   3. Click OK.
   4. Propagate the plug-in configuration.
      To propagate the plug-in configuration from the administrative console, click Servers > Server Types > Web serversweb_server_namePropagate plug-in.

      Another method to propagate the plug-in configuration is to run the GenPluginCfg command. For more information, see the GenPluginCfg command documentation.

      You do not need to propagate the plug-in configuration if the web server is on the same machine as the associated stand-alone version of the product. If the propagation of the plug-in configuration fails due to an unknown cause, you must manually copy the plugin-cfg.xml file to the location for the remote web server installation.

      Avoid trouble: If you use the FTP function to perform the copy, and the configuration reload fails, check the file authorities on the plugin-cfg.xml file and make sure that users QTMHHTTP, QNOTES and QEJBSVR have RWX authority. If the authorities are not correct, the web server cannot access the new version of the file, which causes the configuration reload to fail. To check the authorities, run the following IBM i command:

      wrklnk 'plug_in_folder_location/plugin-cfg.xml' 

      Then select option 9 to view the authorities that are assigned to the users (QTMHHTTP, QNOTES, and QEJBSVR).

      If the authorities are incorrect, issue the following IBM i command to change the file authorities to the appropriate settings:

      CHGAUT USER(QEJBSVR QTMHHTTP QNOTES) OBJ('plug_in_folder_location/plugin-cfg.xml') DTAAUT(*RWX)

      The plug_in_folder_location is the location you specified when you transferred the plugin-cfg.xml file.
   5. You might have to stop the application server and then start the application server for the web server to locate the plugin-cfg.xml file.
2. Tune your web server.
   See the page about tuning web servers for more information.
3. Copy the keystore file to the keystore directory on your web server.
   Avoid trouble: This step is required for the web server to function properly.

   For detailed instructions on copying the keystore file, read the topic on configuring the web server plug-in for Secure Sockets Layer.