IBM WAS v6.1 Administration Unit 4 Managing Web Servers

Managing Web Servers with WebSphere

WebSphere V6: DMgr can manage external Web servers.
---- IBM HTTP Server V6 (special case -no node agent needed)
* Deployment manager can distribute plugin-cfg.xml files to Web server machines.
* Can be started and stopped
* Can edit the httpd.conf

---- Other Web servers can be defined within WebSphere cell topologies
Managed node (local) or unmanaged node (remote)
* Managed nodes use a node agent to control the web server
* Unmanaged nodes use the IBM HTTP Server Admin Services instead of a node agent to control the Web server.

Unmanaged Web server

Web server is registered as unmanaged node in the WebSphere configuration. This scenario is common for Web servers installed outside the firewall or in a DMZ where no WebSphere Application Server exists.

The implication with this scenario is that all management of the Web server has to happen manually (outside the control of WebSphere). This functionality is consistent with previous versions of WebSphere Application Server.

IBM HTTP Server as unmanaged node (remote)

IBM HTTP Server can be managed completely from the Deployment manager (DMgr). The DMgr communicates with the IBM HTTP Server admin process that runs on the node with the IBM HTTP Server server.

UNIX note: On UNIX platforms the user ID under wh9ich the IHS Admin Process runs must have written permission to the plugin-cfg.xml file. By default, at IBM HTTP Server installation, the plugin-config.xml file is owned by root, and only root has write access to it. This will cause a failure with propagation of the plugin-cfg.xml file when run from the administration tools.

WebSphere V6 and IBM HTTP Server have special enhancements
--- IBM HTTP Server administrative process provides administrative functions for IBM HTTP Server within WebSphere
--- Provides ability to start and stop IBM HTTP Server, make configuration changes to httpd.conf, and automatically push the plug-in configuration file to the IBM HTTP Server machine.
--- Does not need node agent on the Web server machine.

Managed Web server on a managed node (local)
The Web server is managed via the deployment manager through the node agent. This provides ability to start, stop the Web server and automatically push the plugin configuration file to the Web server from the DMgr. This can be used when the Web server is on the same machine where WebSphere Application Server is installed. This is a common scenario for behind a firewall where a WebSphere node can be installed.

There is a node agent that is performing the communication with the Web server from the admin tools of WebSphere. It may be undesirable to use this configuration, since access to the node agent in a DMZ could compromise security.

* Install a Web server on a managed node
* Create a Web server definition within the DMgr
* Node agent receives commands from DMgr to administer the Web server
* Plugin-cfg.xml file is propagated through the file synchronization service and lives under the config directory.

IBM HTTP Server administration overview

* Direct administration of IBM HTTP Server V6 is done by manually editing the httpd.conf - There is no Web-based console for IBM HTTP Server as there was in previous versions. You must either manually make updates tot he httpd.conf file, or use the WebSphere administrative console.