6 Installing and Configuring the Web Tier

This chapter describes how to install and configure the components on the web tier. The web tier runs the Oracle HTTP Server component and a load balancer.

This chapter includes the following topics:

Section 6.1, "Prerequisites"
Section 6.2, "Installing Oracle HTTP Server on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2"
Section 6.3, "Validating the Installations of Oracle HTTP Server"
Section 6.4, "Configuring Oracle HTTP Server with the Load Balancer"
Section 6.5, "Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for Virtual Hosts"
Section 6.6, "Configuring mod_wl_ohs for Oracle WebLogic Server Clusters"
Section 6.7, "Setting the Frontend URL for the Administration Console"
Section 6.8, "Validating the Web Tier Configuration"
Section 6.9, "Backing up the Web Tier Configuration"

6.1 Prerequisites

Ensure that the system, patch, kernel, and other requirements are met as specified in the installation guide.
Ensure that port 7777 is not used by any service on the nodes. You can check by running these commands. If the ports are in use, you must free the ports.

On UNIX: netstat -an | grep "7777"

6.2 Installing Oracle HTTP Server on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2

Follow these steps to install Oracle HTTP Server on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2:

Ensure that the system, patch, kernel and other requirements are met. These are listed in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Web Tier in the Oracle Fusion Middleware documentation library for the platform and version you are using.
Oracle HTTP Server is installed on port 7777 by default. Ensure that ports 7777, 8889, and 4443 are not in use by any service on WEBHOST1 or WEBHOST2 by issuing these commands for the operating system you are using:

On UNIX:
```
netstat -an | grep "7777"
netstat -an | grep "8889"
netstat -an | grep "4443"
```
If the ports are in use (if the command returns output identifying the port), you must free them.

On UNIX:

Remove the entries for ports 7777, 8889, and 4443 in the /etc/services file if the ports are in use by a service and restart the services, or restart the computer.
Copy the staticports.ini file from the Disk1/stage/Response directory to a temporary directory.

Edit the staticports.ini file that you copied to the temporary directory to assign the following custom port:

#The http_main port for ohs component
OHS Port = 7777

#This port indicates the OHS proxy port
OHS Proxy Port = 8889

#This port indicates the OHS SSL port
OHS SSL Port = 4443

Start the Oracle Universal Installer for Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Web Tier Utilities CD installation as follows:

On UNIX, issue this command: runInstaller

The runInstaller file is in the ../install/platform directory where platform is a platform such as Linux or Solaris.

The Specify Oracle Inventory screen is displayed.

On the Specify Inventory Directory screen, enter values for the Oracle Inventory Directory and the Operating System Group Name. For example:

Specify the Inventory Directory: /u01/app/oraInventory

Operating System Group Name: oinstall

A dialog box appears with the following message:

"Certain actions need to be performed with root privileges before the install can continue. Please execute the script /u01/app/oraInventory/createCentralInventory.sh now from another window and then press "Ok" to continue the install. If you do not have the root privileges and wish to continue the install select the "Continue installation with local inventory" option"

This sets the required permissions for the Oracle Inventory Directory and then brings up the Welcome screen.

Note:

The Oracle Inventory screen is not shown if an Oracle product was previously installed on the host. If the Oracle Inventory screen is not displayed for this installation, make sure to check and see:

If the /etc/oraInst.loc file exists
If the file exists, the Inventory directory listed is valid
The user performing the installation has write permissions for the Inventory directory

On the Welcome screen, click Next.
On the Select Installation Type screen, select Install and Configure, and click Next.
On the Prerequisite Checks screen, ensure that all the prerequisites are met, then click Next.
On the Specify Installation Location screen:

On both WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2, set the Location to:
```
/u01/app/oracle/product/fmw/web
```
Click Next.
On the Configure Components screen:
- Select Oracle HTTP Server.
- Select Associate Selected Components with WebLogic Domain.
Click Next.
On the Specify WebLogic Domain screen:

Enter the following values:
- Domain Host Name: IDMHOST1
- Domain Port No: 7001
- User Name: weblogic
- Password: ******
Click Next.
On the Specify Component Details screen:
- Enter the following values for WEBHOST1:
  - Instance Home Location: /u01/app/oracle/admin/ohs_inst1
  - Instance Name: ohs_inst1
  - OHS Component Name: ohs1
- Enter the following values for WEBHOST2:
  - Instance Home Location: /u01/app/oracle/admin/ohs_inst2
  - Instance Name: ohs_inst2
  - OHS Component Name: ohs2
Click Next.
On the Configure Ports screen, select Specify Ports Using Configuration File and enter the full pathname to the staticports.ini file that you edited in the temporary directory.

Click Next.
On the Installation Summary screen, ensure that the selections are correct, and click Install.
On the Configuration screen, multiple configuration assistants are launched in succession; this process can be lengthy. When it completes, the Configuration Completed screen appears.
On the Configuration Completed screen, click Finish to exit.

6.3 Validating the Installations of Oracle HTTP Server

In a web browser, go to the following URLs to validate that the installations of Oracle HTTP Server were successful:

http://webhost1.mycompany.com:7777
http://webhost2.mycompany.com:7777

6.4 Configuring Oracle HTTP Server with the Load Balancer

Configure your load balancer to route all HTTP requests to the hosts running Oracle HTTP Server (WEBHOST1, WEBHOST2).

You do not need to enable sticky session (insert cookie) on the load balancer when Oracle HTTP Server is front-ending Oracle WebLogic Server. You need sticky session if you are going directly from the load balancer to Oracle WebLogic Server, which is not the case in the topology described in this guide.

Also, you should set Monitors for HTTP.

6.5 Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for Virtual Hosts

The Oracle HTTP Server instances on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2 should be configured to use the virtual hosts set up in the load balancer.

To configure the Oracle HTTP Server instances to use the load balancer router virtual hosts, define the Virtual Host directives in the <VirtualHost> section of the httpd.conf file on each of the Oracle HTTP Server instances.

The httpd.conf file is located under the following directory on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2.

ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/<componentName>

Open the httpd.conf file in a text editor and add the following directives on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2:

NameVirtualHost *:7777
<VirtualHost *:7777>
    ServerName https://sso.mycompany.com:443
    ServerAdmin you@your.address
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteOptions inherit
</VirtualHost>
 
NameVirtualHost *:7777
<VirtualHost *:7777>
    ServerName admin.mycompany.com:80
    ServerAdmin you@your.address
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteOptions inherit
</VirtualHost>

6.6 Configuring mod_wl_ohs for Oracle WebLogic Server Clusters

To enable the Oracle HTTP Server instances to route to applications deployed on the Oracle WebLogic Server clusters, add the directives shown below to the mod_wl_ohs.conf file on both WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2.

The mod_wl_ohs.conf file is located under the following directory on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2:

ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/OHS/componentName

In a text editor, add the following lines to the mod_wl_ohs.conf file on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2:

LoadModule weblogic_module "${ORACLE_HOME}/ohs/modules/mod_wl_ohs.so"
 
<IfModule mod_weblogic.c>
WebLogicHost idmhost1.mycompany.com
WebLogicPort 7001
</IfModule>
 
# Admin Server and EM
<Location /console>
SetHandler weblogic-handler
WebLogicHost idmhost1.mycompany.com
WeblogicPort 7001
</Location>
 
<Location /consolehelp>
SetHandler weblogic-handler
WebLogicHost idmhost1.mycompany.com
WeblogicPort 7001
</Location>
 
<Location /em>
SetHandler weblogic-handler
WebLogicHost idmhost1.mycompany.com
WeblogicPort 7001
</Location>
 
#Oracle Directory Services Manager
<Location /odsm>
SetHandler weblogic-handler
WebLogicCluster idmhost1.mycompany.com:7006,idmhost2.mycompany.com:7006
</Location>

Restart Oracle HTTP Server:

ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin/opmnctl restartproc ias-component=ohs1

Verify that you can access all these URLs:

Oracle Directory Services Manager Console:
```
http://admin.mycompany.com:7777/odsm
```
Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console:
```
http://admin.mycompany.com:7777/console
```
Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control:
```
http://admin.mycompany.com:7777/em
```

The servers specified in the WebLogicCluster parameter are only important at startup time for the plug-in. The list needs to provide at least one running cluster member for the plug-in to discover other members of the cluster. Note that the listed cluster member must be running when the Oracle HTTP Server is started up. Oracle WebLogic Server and the plug-in work together to update the server list automatically with new, failed, and recovered cluster members.

Some example scenarios:

Example 1: If you have a two-node cluster and then add a third member, you do not need to update the configuration to add the third member. The third member will be discovered on the fly at runtime.
Example 2: You have a three-node cluster but only two nodes are listed in the configuration. However, if both listed nodes are down when you start up Oracle HTTP Server, then the plug-in would fail to route to the cluster. You need to ensure that at least one of the listed nodes is running when you start up Oracle HTTP Server.

If you list all members of the cluster, then you guarantee you can route to the cluster, assuming at least one member is running when Oracle HTTP Server is started.

For more information on configuring the WebLogic Server plug-in, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Web Server Plug-Ins with Oracle WebLogic Server.

6.7 Setting the Frontend URL for the Administration Console

In the Identity Management topology described in this manual, since the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console is frontended by an Oracle HTTP Server and a load balancing router, perform the following steps:

Log into the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Server Console.
In the Change Center, click Lock and Edit to enable configuration changes.
In the Environment section of the Home page, click Servers.
On the Summary of Servers page, click the AdminServer link.
On the Admin Server Settings page, click the Protocols tab.
Under the Protocols tab, click on the HTTP tab.
On the HTTP page, set the following values:
- Frontend Host: Specify the load balancing router address. For example: admin.mycompany.com
- Frontend Port: Specify the load balancing router port: For example: 7777
Click Save to save the configuration.
Click Activate Changes to update the configuration.

6.8 Validating the W eb Tier Configuration

To validate that you have configured the load balancer virtual hosts correctly, check that you can access these URLs:

Oracle Directory Services Manager Console:

http://admin.mycompany.com:7777/odsm

Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console:

http://admin.mycompany.com:7777/console

Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control:

http://admin.mycompany.com:7777/em

Single Sign-On URL:

https://sso.mycompany.com

Note:

The single sign-on (SSO) URL will return the default Oracle HTTP Server page, since SSO has not yet been configured.

6.9 Backing up the Web Tier Configuration

It is an Oracle best practices recommendation to create a backup file after successfully completing the installation and configuration of each tier or a logical point. Create a backup of the installation after verifying that the install so far is successful. This is a quick backup for the express purpose of immediate restore in case of problems in later steps. The backup destination is the local disk. This backup can be discarded once the enterprise deployment setup is complete. After the enterprise deployment setup is complete, the regular deployment-specific Backup and Recovery process can be initiated. More details are described in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

To back up the installation to this point, follow these steps:

Back up the web tier:
1. Shut down the instance using opmnctl located under the ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin directory:
```
ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin/opmnctl stopall
```
2. Create a backup of the Middleware Home on the web tier as the root user:
```
tar -cvpf BACKUP_LOCATION/webtier.tar MW_HOME
```
3. Create a backup of the Instance Home on the web tier as the root user:
```
tar -cvpf BACKUP_LOCATION/instance_backup.tar ORACLE_INSTANCE
```
4. Start up the instance using opmnctl located under the ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin directory:
```
ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin/opmnctl startall
```
Back up the Administration Server domain directory. This saves your domain configuration. The configuration files all exist under the MW_HOME/user_projects/domains/domainName directory:
```
IDMHOST1> tar cvf edgdomainback.tar MW_HOME/user_projects/domains/domainName
```
Note:
Create backups on all machines in the application tier by following the steps shown above.

For information about backing up the web tier configuration, see Section 10.4, "Performing Backups and Recoveries"?