Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 Update 5 Administrator's Guide

This guide describes how to configure and administer the Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 Update 5 (also referred to as Web Server).

Introduction

Web Server is a multi-process, multi-threaded, secure web server built on industry standards. It provides high performance, reliability, scalability, and manageability for medium to large enterprises.

Web Server provides comprehensive command-line interface support, consolidated configuration, enhanced security with Elliptic Curve Cryptography support, and clustering support. It also comes with a robust built-in migration tool that helps migrate applications and configurations from Web Server 6.0 and 6.1 to Web Server.

Getting Started

This chapter describes the basics of Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 by providing a brief description of terms used in this guide.

• Starting and Administering the Server

• Using Administration Console

• Using CLI

• Understanding Web Server 7.0

Configuration, Instances, and Nodes

The previous chapter introduced you to some of the new concepts in Web Server 7.0. The primary task of an administrator is to configure and manage the runtime services of the Server. This chapter describes the different ways by which you can manage Configurations and how you can deploy them to get an instance started on a node.

The following sections are discussed:

• Managing Configurations

• Managing Server Instances

• Automatically Configuring Instances

• Configuring LDAP Authentication

Before reading about managing configurations and deploying them, you need to remember:

• An instance refers to the environment of a web server daemon on a given node, including its configuration, log files and other runtime artifacts such as lock databases, caches and temporary files.
• A node is a network resource, such as a server or a host. In a typical data center, a network of nodes is called a server farm. This section discusses how nodes can be configured using the administration console GUI.

You can deploy one or many instances to a node. The same instance can be deployed to multiple nodes and can be part of different clusters. For management purposes, an instance can be started, stopped, restarted or dynamically re-configured.

Server Farms and Clusters

The earlier chapters introduced Configuration and how Configuration can be deployed to nodes. In this chapter, you will set up a simple server farm and a cluster.

• Setting Up a Server Farm

• Setting Up a Simple Cluster

A cluster is a set of instances, spanning across one or more nodes, all running identical configuration and offering an identical set of runtime services. Each cluster must include one server designated as the administration server. If you have more than one cluster, you can administer all clusters from a single master administration server. The master administration server retrieves the information about all the clusters and provides the interface with which we can manage the servers installed in their respective clusters.

Note - All the instances in a cluster are required to be homogeneous. For example they run on an identical operating system version, use identical patches and service packs, run an identical web server configuration, and offer identical services.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]

Deployment Scenarios

This chapter describes how to deploy Web Server on a single node and a cluster environment.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Deployment Architecture

• Deployment Overview

• Cluster Environment

• Session Replication

• Monitoring a Cluster

Using Virtual Servers

When you use virtual servers you can offer companies or individuals domain names, IP addresses, and some server monitoring capabilities with a single installed server. For the users, it is almost as if they have their own web servers, though you provide the hardware and basic web server maintenance.

All virtual servers have an HTTP Listener specified. When a new request comes in, the Server determines which virtual server to send it to based on the configured HTTP Listener.

This chapter describes creating, managing virtual servers and configuring HTTP Listeners.

• Use Cases

• Managing Virtual Servers

• Configuring HTTP Listeners

Certificates and Keys

This chapter describes the use of certificates and keys authentication to secure the server. It describes how to activate various security features designed to safeguard data, keep out intruders, and allow access.

Before reading this chapter you should be familiar with the basic concepts of public-key cryptography. These concepts include encryption and decryption; public and private keys; digital certificates; and the encryption protocols.

• Using Certificates

• Certificate Chain

• Creating a Self-Signed Certificate

• Managing Certificates

• Managing Certificate Revocation Lists (CRL)

• Configuring SSL for the Server

• Enabling Security For HTTP Listener

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]

Controlling Access to Your Server

You can protect resources that reside on your web server through several security services and mechanisms, including authentication, authorization, and access control. This chapter describes some of the supported mechanisms for controlling access to your Web Server.

The following topics are discussed:

• What is Access Control

• Setting Up Access Control for User-Group

• Setting Access Control for the Host-IP

• Configuring the ACL User Cache

• Configuring Access Control

• Using .htaccess File

• Preventing Attacks

Managing Users and Groups

This chapter describes how to add, delete, and edit the users and groups who can access your server.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Accessing Information About Users and Groups

• Working With the Authentication Database

• Setting Up Users and Groups

• Static and Dynamic Groups

Managing Server Content

This chapter describes how you can configure and manage content across virtual servers.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Document Directories

• Customizing User Public Information Directories - UNIX or Linux

• Setting Up URL Redirection

• URL Redirection Using Regular Expression

• Overview of CGI

• Configuring CGI Subsystem for Your Server

• Managing Content on Virtual Server

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]

Web Publishing With WebDAV

Web Server supports WebDAV or Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning, a standard in Web-based collaboration. WebDAV is an extension to the HTTP/1.1 protocol that enables clients to perform remote web content authoring operations.

A complete WebDAV transaction involves a WebDAV-enabled server, such as Web Server that can service requests for WebDAV resources, as well as a WebDAV-enabled client such as Adobe® GoLive® orMacromedia® DreamWeaver® that supports WebDAV-enabled Web publishing requests.

On the server-side, you need to enable and configure Web Server to be able to service WebDAV requests.

You might want to configure WebDAV for several reasons: for example, to tune server performance, to eliminate security risks, or to provide for conflict-free remote authoring.

To suit your configuration requirements, you can change the minimum amount of time the server holds a lock on a WebDAV resource, the depth of the PROPFIND request on a collection, and the maximum size of the XML content allowed in the body of a request, and so on.

Default WebDAV attributes can be configured at the virtual server level for all collections under a virtual server. The values configured here correspond to the DAV element in the server.xml file.

This chapter describes in the following sections about publishing on the web using WebDAV:

• About WebDAV and Common Terminology

• Managing WebDAV Collections

• Configuring WebDAV Properties

• Managing WebDAV Authentication Databases

• Using Source URI on a WebDAV-Enabled Server

• Locking and Unlocking Resources

Working With Java and Web Applications

This chapter describes the procedures for editing Java settings for a virtual server. You can edit Java settings from the administration console or the wadm command line tool. This chapter also describes various Java resources that can be configured and deployed in the server.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Configure Java to Work With Sun Java System Web Server

• Configuring Your JVM

• Deploying Java Web Applications

• Configuring Your Servlet Container

• Configuring Server Lifecycle Modules

• Integrating Service Management Facility for Java Platform

• Configuring Java Resources

• Configuring SOAP Authentication Providers

• Configuring Session Replication

• Managing Authentication Realms

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]

Working With Search Collections

The server includes a search feature that enables users to search documents on the server and display results on a web page. Server administrators create the indexes of documents against which users will search (called collections), and can customize the search interface to meet the needs of their users.

For more information on querying the search collections, refer to the search online help.

This chapter describes the search feature in Web Server.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Configuring Search Properties

• Configuring Search Collections

• Scheduling Collection Update

• Performing a Search

• Customizing Search Pages

Monitoring Your Server

This section describes the monitoring capabilities of the Sun Java System Web Server and provides a detailed list of the server parameters you can monitor at both instance and configuration level.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Monitoring Capabilities in Sun Java System Web Server

• Monitoring The Server Statistics

• Modifying Monitoring Parameters

• Configuring SNMP Subagent

• Setting Up Logging for Your Server

Internationalization and Localization

The internationalized and localized version of the Sun Java System Web Server provides support for multiple languages and multiple encodings.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Internationalization and Localization

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]

Appendix A: CLI Changes From Previous Version

This appendix lists the common tasks that can be performed on Web Server.

• CLI Changes From Previous Version

Appendix B: FastCGI Plug-in

FastCGI is an enhancement to the existing CGI (Common Gateway Interface), which is a standard for interfacing external applications with Web Servers. Like CGI, FastCGI applications run in separate, isolated processes. Some of the advantages of using FastCGI are as follows:

• Enables applications to persist between client requests, eliminates application start up overhead, and enables the application to maintain state between client calls.
• Enables applications to reside on remote systems (a different system from where the Web Server is running).
• Enables additional flexibility in application functionality, with explicit support for applications that do client authentication and filtering of input.
• Eables the administrator to restrict the impact on the system that is caused by the FastCGI servers.

FastCGI plug-in enables Web Server to safely work with popular third-party dynamic content generation technologies (such as Perl and Python) in a scalable way.

For more information on FastCGI, refer to the specification at http://www.fastcgi.com/devkit/doc/fcgi-spec.html.

The following topics are discussed in this appendix:

• Plug-in Functions (SAFs)

• Configuring FastCGI Plug-in on Web Server

• Running FastCGI Enabled PHP Application in Remote Mode

• Sample FastCGI Applications

Appendix C: Web Services

To run web services on Sun Java System Web Server 7.0, no extra configuration is needed. JWSDP is integrated with the server and therefore all JWSDP web applications should run when deployed as a web application.

For more information on deploying web applications, see Adding a Web Application.

• Running JWSDP 2.0 samples on Web Server 7.0

Appendix D: Windows CGI Progams

This section discusses how to install Windows CGI Programs. The following topic is discussed in this appendix:

• Installing Windows CGI Programs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [Back to top]