7 Configuring Oracle Web Tier

This chapter describes how to configure Oracle Web Tier to support the Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle WebCenter Content implementation.

This chapter contains the following sections:

7.1 Overview of Configuring Oracle Web Tier

Before configuring the Oracle Web Tier software, you need to install it on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2, as described in Section 6.2, "Installing Oracle HTTP Server," and define the instance home, instance name, and Oracle HTTP Server component name, as described in Section 7.2, "Running the Configuration Wizard to Configure Oracle HTTP Server."

Then you can validate the installation and configure the load balancer to route all HTTP requests to WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2.

Finally, you can configure the virtual hosts by defining directives in configuration files. You created the following virtual host names when you configured the load balancer in Section 3.3, "Configuring the Load Balancers":

  • wcc.mycompany.com

  • admin.mycompany.com

  • soainternal.mycompany.com

7.2 Running the Configuration Wizard to Configure Oracle HTTP Server

The steps for configuring the Oracle Web Tier are the same for both WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2.

To configure Oracle Web Tier:

  1. Change the directory to the location of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard:

    cd ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/web/bin
    
  2. Start the Configuration Wizard:

    ./config.sh
    
  3. In the Welcome screen, click Next.

  4. In the Configure Components screen, select Oracle HTTP Server and unselect Associate Selected Components with WebLogic Domain. Make sure that Oracle Web Cache is not selected.

    Click Next.

  5. In the Specify Component Details screen, specify the following values:

    • Instance Home Location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/webn

    • AS Instance Name: webn

    • OHS Component Name: ohsn

    (where n is a sequential number for your installation; for example, 1 for WEBHOST1, 2 for WEBHOST2, and so on)

    Note:

    The Oracle HTTP Server instance names on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2 must be different.

    Click Next.

  6. In the Configure Ports screen, select Specify Ports using Configuration file, then select a file name, and then click View/Edit.

    In high-availability implementations, it is not mandatory for all of the ports used by the various components to be synchronized across hosts; however, it makes the enterprise deployment much simpler. You can bypass automatic port configuration by specifying the ports in a file.

    The file will look like this:

    [OHS]
    #Listen port for OHS component
    OHS Port = 7777
    
    [OPMN]
    #Process Manager Local port no
    OPMN Local Port = 1880
    

    You can find a sample staticports.ini file on installation disk 1 in the stage/Response/ directory.

    Click Next.

  7. In the Specify Security Updates screen, choose whether you want to receive security updates from Oracle support and if you do, enter your email address.

  8. In the Installation Summary screen, review the selections to ensure they are correct. If they are not, click Back to modify selections on previous screens. When you are ready, click Configure.

  9. Multiple configuration assistants are launched in succession; this process can be lengthy. When it completes, click Next, and the Installation Complete screen appears.

  10. In the Installation Completed screen, click Finish to exit.

7.3 Validating the Installation

Once the installation is completed, check that it is possible to access the Oracle HTTP Server home page using the following URL:

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

7.4 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 sessions (insert cookie) on the load balancer when Oracle HTTP Server is front-ending Oracle WebLogic Server. You need sticky sessions 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.

The instructions for this configuration will vary depending on which load balancer you use. See your load balancer documentation for specific instructions.

7.5 Defining Virtual Hosts

The reference topology in this guide requires that you define a set of virtual hosts for the Oracle HTTP Server. For each virtual host, you will later define a set of specific URLs that will route requests to the proper Administration Server or Managed Server in the WebLogic Server domain.

This section contains the following topics:

7.5.1 Creating *_vh.conf Files to Define <VirtualHost> Directives

Define each virtual host in its own *_vh.conf file. This will make it easy to manage the URLs for each virtual host you define.

Create the following new files to define the <VirtualHost> directives:

  • admin_vh.conf

  • soainternal_vh.conf

  • wcc_vh.conf

Create the new files in each of the following directories:

ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/instance_name/config/OHS/ohs1/moduleconf/

ORACLE_INSTANCE/config/instance_name/config/OHS/ohs2/moduleconf/

To define each virtual host in its own *_vh.conf file:

  1. Create the admin_vh.conf file, and add the following directive:

    NameVirtualHost *:7777
    <VirtualHost *:7777>
        ServerName admin.mycompany.com:80
        ServerAdmin you@your.address
        RewriteEngine On
        RewriteOptions inherit
        RewriteRule ^/console/jsp/common/logout.jsp "/oamsso/logout.html?end_url=/console" [R]
    </VirtualHost>
    

    If the steps in Chapter 15, "Integrating with Oracle Identity Management," have not been completed, then comment out the RewriteRule lines until the integration has been completed.

  2. Create the soainternal_vh.conf file, and add the following directive:

    NameVirtualHost *:7777
    <VirtualHost *:7777>
        ServerName soainternal.mycompany.com:80
        ServerAdmin you@your.address
        RewriteEngine On
        RewriteOptions inherit
    </VirtualHost>
    
  3. Create the wcc_vh.conf file, and add the following directive:

    NameVirtualHost *:7777
    <VirtualHost *:7777>
        ServerName https://wcc.mycompany.com:443
        ServerAdmin you@your.address
        RewriteEngine On
        RewriteOptions inherit
    </VirtualHost>
    
  4. Restart both Oracle HTTP Servers:

    cd ORACLE_BASE/admin/instance_name/bin
    opmnctl stopall
    opmnctl startall
    

Note:

Values such as wcc.mycompany.com:443, ServerAdmin you@your.address, and admin.mycompany.com:80, are only examples. Enter values based on your actual environment.

7.5.2 Validating the Configuration

Access the following URLs to ensure that your load balancer and Oracle HTTP Server are configured properly:

  • https://wcc.mycompany.com/index.html

  • http://admin.mycompany.com/index.html

  • http://soainternal.mycompany.com/index.html

If you cannot access these URLs, check to ensure that you completed the procedure in Section 3.3, "Configuring the Load Balancers," correctly.