Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 SP12 Administrator's Guide

Chapter 2 Administering Sun Java System Web Servers

This chapter describes how to administer Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 with the Sun Java System Web Server Administration Server. Using the Administration Server, you can manage servers, add and remove servers, and migrate servers from a previous release.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Starting the Administration Server

This section describes how to access the Administration Server for UNIX/Linux and Windows platforms.

UNIX/Linux Platforms

ProcedureTo access the Administration Server

  1. Go to the server_root/https-admserv/ directory (for example, /usr/s1ws61/servers/https-admserv/)

  2. Type ./start.

    This command starts the Administration Server using the port number you specified during installation.

Windows Platforms

The Sun Java System Web Server installation program creates a program group with several icons for Windows platforms. The program group includes the following icons:


Note –

The Administration Server runs as a services applet; thus, you can also use the Control Panel to start this service directly.


ProcedureTo access the Administration Server on Windows platforms

  1. Double-click the “Start Web Server Administration Server” icon, or type the following URL for starting the administration server in your browser:

    http://hostname.domain-name:administration_port

    Sun Java System Web Server then displays a window prompting you for a user name and password.

  2. Type the administration user name and password you specified during installation.

    Sun Java System Web Server displays the Administration Server page.

    For more information, see the Administration Server page in the online help.


    Note –

    You must enable cookies in your browser to run the CGI programs which is necessary for configuring your server.


    You can also access the Administration Server from a remote location as long as you have access to client software such as Netscape Navigator. Since the Administrator Server is accessed through a browser, you can access it from any machine that can reach the server over the network.

Running Multiple Servers

There are two ways you can have multiple web servers running on your system:

Virtual Servers

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

The settings for virtual servers are stored in the server.xml file, found in the server_root/server_id/config directory. You must not edit this file to use virtual servers, but if you would like to learn more about this file, see the Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 SP12 Administrator’s Configuration File Reference.

For more information about virtual servers, see Chapter 14, Using Virtual Servers.

Installing Multiple Instances of the Server

Previous releases of Sun Java System Web Server, virtual servers did not have unique configuration information. The only way to have servers with separate configuration information was to create a new server instance. However, with Sun Java System Web Server 6.1, virtual servers have separate configuration information, so multiple server instances are no longer required. They are still supported, but virtual servers are the preferred way to have multiple servers.

If you choose to install multiple instances of the web server, you can use the Administration Server to:

If your system is configured to listen to multiple IP addresses enter one of the IP addresses that your system is hosting for each server you install.

If you installed your server before configuring your system to host multiple IP addresses, configure your system to respond to different IP addresses. Then you can either install hardware virtual servers or change the server’s bind address using the Server Manager and install separate instances of the server for each IP address.

ProcedureTo add another server instance

  1. Access the Administration Server and choose the Servers tab.

  2. Click Add Server.

  3. Enter the desired information for the specified fields.


    Note –

    The server identifier cannot start with a digit and only Latin-1 characters should be used in instance names.


  4. Click OK.

    For more information, see the Add Server page in the online help.

Removing a Server

You can remove a server from your system using the Administration Server. Be sure that you don’t need the server anymore before you remove it, since this process cannot be undone.


Note –

Some Windows servers have an uninstall program that you can use to remove a server and its associated administration server. For details, check with your product documentation.


ProcedureTo remove a server from your machine

  1. Access the Administration Server and choose the Servers tab.

  2. Click Remove Server.

  3. Select the server you wish to remove and click Yes.

  4. Click OK.

    The Administration Server subsequently deletes the server’s configuration files, Server Manager forms, and the following directory (and any subdirectories):


    server_root/https-server-id
    

    For more information, see the Remove Server page in the online help.

Migrating a Server From a Previous Version

You can migrate Sun Java System Web Server from a 4.1 or 6.0 version to a 6.1 version. Your 4.1 or 6.0 server is preserved, and a new 6.1 server using the same settings is created.

You should stop running 4.1 or 6.0 server before migrating settings. Make sure you have a compatible version of the web browser installed on your computer before migrating settings.

For a complete description of how to migrate a server from a previous version to Sun Java System Web Server 6.1, see the Sun Java System Web Server 6.1 SP12 Installation and Migration Guide.

For more information, see the Migrate Server page in the online help.