Chapter 9 Web Server Redirector Plug-In

Installing the plug-in on Netscape and IPlanet Web servers

This section describes how to install and configure the redirector plug-in on a Netscape 3.6 or an IPlanet 4.1 Web server. This process involves the following steps:

Edit the obj.conf file.
Edit the redirector configuration file.
Copy libraries from EAServer to your Web server.

Editing the obj.conf file

Your Web server installation includes an obj.conf file that contains configuration information used by the Web server. For your Web server to redirect HTTP requests to EAServer, the obj.conf file must include:

Location information for the redirector plug-in and the redirector configuration file. See "Adding location information".
Context paths that inform the Web server which client requests to forward to the redirector. See "Defining context paths".
An EASproxy object that specifies which HTTP methods are forwarded to the redirector. See "Adding the EASProxy object".

Adding location information

The redirector plug-in is a Netscape Server Application Programming Interface (NSAPI) extension named:

libjeas_httpd36.so - Netscape Web server on Solaris
libjeas_httpd36.dll - Netscape Web server on NT
libjeas_httpd40.so - IPlanet Web server on Solaris
libjeas_httpd40.dll - IPlanet Web server on NT

You must edit the obj.conf file to load and initialize the plug-in. You must also include the location of the redirector configuration file, which is used by the redirector to map incoming client requests to EAServer HTTP listeners.

WARNING!

Make a backup of the obj.conf file.When editing the obj.conf file, do not include any extra spaces, tabs, return characters, and so on. The Netscape Web server may not start if obj.conf has a configuration error.

Add these lines at the top of the obj.conf file, which is located in the config subdirectory of your Web server installation:

Init fn="load-modules" shlib="NSAPI_PLUGIN_PATH" funcs="conn_init,conn_service"

Init fn="conn_init" configfile="REDIRECTOR_CONFIG_FILE_PATH"

where NSAPI_PLUGIN_PATH is the complete path and name of the NSAPI plug-in you are creating, and REDIRECTOR_CONFIG_FILE_PATH is the complete path and name of the redirector configuration file. The redirector configuration file can be any name and location you choose but must be defined by the "configfile" attribute. Table 9-2 shows examples for each Web server type; each example uses "neptune" as the name of the Web server, and "conn_config" as the name of the configfile.

Table 9-2: plug-in and redirector path entries
Sample plug-in and redirector locations
For Netscape 3.6 on Solaris Init fn="load-modules" shlib="NETSCAPE_INSTALL_DIR/bin/https/libjeas_httpd36.so " funcs="conn_init,conn_service" Init fn="conn_init" configfile="/webserver/https-neptune/config/conn_config "
For IPlanet 4.1 on Solaris Init fn="load-modules" shlib="IPLANET_INSTALL_DIR/bin/https/libjeas_httpd40.so " funcs="conn_init,conn_service" Init fn="conn_init" configfile="/webserver/https-neptune/config/conn_config "
For Netscape 3.6 on NT Init fn="load-modules" shlib="NETSCAPE_INSTALL_DIR/bin/https/libjeas_httpd36.dll " funcs="conn_init,conn_service" Init fn="conn_init" configfile="c:/webserver/https-neptune/config/conn_config "
For IPlanet 4.1 on NT Init fn="load-modules" shlib="IPLANET_INSTALL_DIR/bin/https/libjeas_httpd40.dll " funcs="conn_init,conn_service" Init fn="conn_init" configfile="c:/webserver/https-neptune/config/conn_config "

Use forward slashes in the configuration file regardless of platform.

Defining context paths

Context paths inform the Web server which requests are directed to the redirector. In the obj.conf file, search for this line:

<Object name=default>

Immediately after this line, add the lines that define the context paths. For example, if you have two Web applications named "ws_test" and "examples", the lines that direct requests of the form http://host-name/examples/* and http://host-name/ws_test/* to the redirector are:

NameTrans fn="assign-name" from="/ws_test/*" name="EASProxy"

NameTrans fn="assign-name" from="/examples/*" name="EASProxy"

Figure 9-3 illustrates how a client request for examples/test.jsp and examples/images/welcome.gif to the Web server and port Web1:8020 are redirected to jag1:8080.

Figure 9-3: "examples" requests are redirected to EAServer

Adding the EASProxy object

At the end of the obj.conf file, add the lines that add the EASProxy object and specify which HTTP methods are forwarded to the redirector:

<Object name=EASProxy>

ObjectType fn="force-type" type="text/plain"

Service method="(GET|HEAD|POST)" fn="conn_service"

</Object>

Editing the redirector configuration file

This section describes how to set the redirector configuration file directives to:

Map Web server requests to EAServer listeners
Set the redirector logging level

Mapping Web server requests to EAServer listeners

Edit the redirector configuration file to add the Connector.WebApp directive, which maps requests sent to the redirector by the Web server to EAServer HTTP listeners. The syntax is:

# Syntax of the WebApp directive
# This is a comment
Connector.WebApp contextpath1 [, contextpath2, and so on] =
http://host:port [, http://host:port, and so on]

For example, if "neptune" is the name of your Web server, and WEB_SERVER_INSTALL_DIR/https-neptune/config/conn_config is the name and location of the redirector configuration file, you would edit conn_config to:

Connector.WebApp /testapp = http://jaghost1:8080

Connector.WebApp /estore1, /estore2, /estore3 = http://neptune:8080

Connector.WebApp /* = http://foobar:8080, http://neptune:8080

Connector.WebApp examples=http://jaghost1:8080, http://jaghost1:3080, http://jaghost2:8080

In the first line, the "testapp" Web application maps to the EAServer HTTP listener http://jaghost1:8080 .

For example, if your Web server is accepting requests on the host machine web_server on port 8020 and the client sends the request http://web_server:8020/testapp/test.jsp , the redirector forwards the request to http://jaghost1:8080/testapp/test.jsp .
In the second line, the /estore1, /estore2, and /estore3 Web applications map to the EAServer HTTP listener http://neptune:8080 .

For example, if your Web server is accepting requests on the host machine web_server on port 8020 and the client sends the request http://web_server:8020/estore1/sign_in.jsp , the redirector forwards the request to http:/neptune:8080/estore1/sign_in.jsp .
In the third line, "/*" matches any request that is received by the connector, provided the request did not match any of the other specifically configured Web applications. However, you still need to configure the Netscape Web server to tell it which context paths should be serviced by this connector. For this mapping, you would supply the following NameTrans directive in the obj.conf file:
```
NameTrans fn="assign-name" from="/*" name="EASProxy"
```
The redirector configuration file must contain the following mapping rule for each EAServer that you want to handle requests:
```
Connector.WebApp /* = http://jaguar_host:jaguar_listener
```
where jaguar_host is the EAServer host machine and jaguar_listener is the EAServer HTTP listener.
The last line in the example above is a load balancing example, where the "examples" Web application is available at jaghost1:8080, jaghost1:3080, and jaghost2:8080.

You must make entries in the redirector configuration file on a single line, but you can combine EAServer hosts in one entry or multiple entries. For example:

Connector.WebApp /*=http://rainforest:8080,http://neptune:8080

is the same as:

Connector.WebApp /*=http://rainforest:8080

Connector.WebApp /*=http://neptune:8080

In addition, the server hosts specified by the WebApp directive (in this case, "rainforest" and "neptune") must match the host names you define for your EAServer HTTP listeners. Use Jaguar Manager to view and set host names for your EAServer HTTP listeners. See the EAServer System Administration Guide for more information.

Logging

Edit the redirector configuration file to add the Connector.LogLevel directive, which sets the redirector logging level that is sent to the Web server log file. The syntax is:

# Syntax of the LogLevel directive
# This is a comment
Connector.LogLevel [ inform | error | verbose ]

where "inform", "error", and "verbose" are the three logging levels, as described in Table 9-3.

Table 9-3: Logging level options
Logging level	Description
inform	Adding the `Connector.LogLevel inform` line to the redirector configuration file provides minimum logging to the Web server log file and is appropriate for production servers. This is the default logging level.
error	Adding the `Connector.LogLevel error` line to the redirector configuration file is appropriate when you want to log error messages to the Web server log file. Error messages provide additional information, such as the Web server disconnecting from EAServer or not connecting to an EAServer.
verbose	Adding the `Connector.LogLevel verbose` line to the redirector configuration file provides the highest level of logging to the Web server log file and can be used only with the EAServer debug libraries to provide additional trace information that may be useful for diagnosing problems.

Copying libraries from EAServer to your Web server

Copy the libraries listed in Table 9-4 from your JAGUAR_HOME/lib directory into the appropriate Web server directory.

Table 9-4: Library/binary locations
Platform	Files copied from JAGUAR_HOME/lib	Web server destination directories
NT	libjcc.dll libjctssecct.dll libjintl.dll libjsybscl.dll libjeas_httpd36.dll (Netscape) or libjeas_httpd40.dll (IPlanet) - this is the redirector plug-in that must be identified in the obj.conf file. See "Editing the obj.conf file" for more information.	Netscape 3.6 and IPlanet 4.1: \WEB_SERVER_INSTALL_DIR\bin\https
Solaris	libjcc.so libjctssecct.so libjintl_r.so libjsybscl_r.so libjeas_httpd36.so (Netscape) or libjeas_httpd40.so (IPlanet) - the location of this file determines the Init fn directive in the obj.conf file. See "Editing the obj.conf file" for more information.	Netscape 3.6: /WEB_SERVER_INSTALL_DIR/bin/https IPlanet 4.1: /WEB_SERVER_INSTALL_DIR/bin/https/lib

For production purposes, copy libraries from the JAGUAR_HOME/lib directory. The libraries in JAGUAR_HOME/devlib are for debugging only.