Web Server

Web Server is primarily used to provide web container services for other Java ES components. If your solution uses Web Server for web container support, an instance of Web Server must be installed on each computer that runs an instance of a supported components.

For example, if your solution uses Web Server to provide web container support for Communications Express, then every computer with an instance of Communications Express also has an instance of Web Server. Every instance of Communications Express is deployed to the instance of Web Server on the same computer.

The Java ES installer can both install and deploy some components, such as Access Manager. For other components, such as Communications Express, installation is followed by a separate configuration step. For these components, a configuration wizard creates an instance and deploys it. The sections on the individual components explain what is required for each component.

Instances of different components can be deployed to one instance of Web Server. For example, if your solution runs Access Manager and Portal Server on one computer, both components can be deployed to the same Web Server instance.

Web Server has no system-level dependencies.

Web Server has several local dependencies. An instance of Web Server always requires a local instance of Message Queue. If your solution uses Web Server to load-balance multiple instances of Web Server, a Web Server instance must be installed locally. And, if your solution uses the High Availability Session Store feature, an instance of this component must be installed locally.

Basic Installation Procedures for Web Server

The basic procedures for installing and configuring Web Server are as follows:

1. Use the Java ES installer to install and configure Web Server on the computer systems specified in your deployment architecture. When you install Web Server, you specify configuration values. In some cases (Access Manager and Portal Server), you also specify configuration values for the supported component, and the supported component is deployed to the Web Server instance. In other cases, you separately run the supported component's configuration wizard to create and deploy an instance.

2. Start and verify all of the Web Server instances.

3. Verify that the supported components are running.

4. If your solution uses load balancing, verify that the load balancing is routing requests among the component instances.

Choosing Configuration Values for Web Server

For each Web Server instance in your solution, you must input values that configure the instance to interoperate with the other components in the solution. Use Table 3–15 to help you choose configuration values.

Table 3–15 Key Configuration Values for Web Server

Input Field	Choosing a Value for Your Solution
Administrator User ID and Administrator Password	Use these fields to establish an administrator account for the Web Server instance.
Web Server Host	The fully qualified domain name of the computer on which Web Server is installed. This value is used as the name of the Web Server instance created by installation.
Administration Port and Administration Runtime User ID	The port on which Web Server's administration server listens for connections. Web Server's administration server process runs under the Runtime User ID.
Runtime User ID and Runtime Group	The User ID and group under which the Web Server instance runs.   When Web Server is installed as a container for Access Manager or Portal Server, set these values to root and other.  When Web Server is installed as a container for other components, use a non-root user.
HTTP Port	The port on which Web Server listens for connections.
Document Root Directory	The directory where deployed documents are stored.   You cannot switch from the default directory to another directory unless the alternate directory already exists. The installer will not create the alternate directory for you.
Automatically Start Web Server When System Restarts	Selecting this item configures Web Server to restart automatically when the computer restarts. Note, however, that this  value is ignored when Web Server runs as a container for Access Manager. The Access Manager startup script takes precedence and automatically restarts Web Server when the computer restarts.

Adding Installation Procedures for Web Server to Your Plan

Add these instructions anywhere there is a local dependency on Web Server. In a distributed solution, your installation plan may repeat the installation and configuration instructions for Web Server on several computers, to support different web application components. For example,

To add installation and configuration instructions for Web Server, do the following:

1. The section on the supported component tells you to add to your installation plan an instruction to run the installer and select both the supported component and Web Server.

2. Next, list the configuration values for Web Server. Use Table 3–15to help you choose configuration values for Web Server.

3. If the supported component is configured and deployed by the installer (Access Manager, and Portal Server), do the following:

   1. Add to your plan the configuration values for the supported component.

   2. Add an instruction to run the installer and supply configuration values for Web Server and the supported component.

   3. Add an instruction to start the Web Server instance. This step also starts the supported component.

   4. As described in the section on the supported component, verify that the supported component is running correctly.

4. If the supported component is not configured and deployed by the installer (Communications ExpressDelegated AdministratorInstant Messaging), do the following:

   1. Add an instruction to run the installer, select Web Server, and supply configuration values for Web Server.

   2. Add an instruction to list the configuration values for the supported component.

   3. Add an instruction to run the supported component's configuration wizard and supply the configuration values for the supported component.

   4. Add an instruction to start the Web Server instance. This step also starts the supported component.

   5. As described in the section on the supported component, add and instruction to verify that the supported component is running correctly.

5. As described in the section on the supported component, if the support component instances are load balanced, add an instruction to verify operation of the load balancer.