The following sections describe the plug-ins provided by Oracle for use with WebLogic Server:
Section 1.1, "What are Oracle WebLogic Server Proxy Plug-Ins?"
Section 1.2, "Availability of Oracle WebLogic Server Proxy Plug-In 12.1.3"
Web server plug-ins allow requests to be proxied from Oracle HTTP Server, Oracle iPlanet Web Server, Apache HTTP Server, or Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) to Oracle WebLogic Server. In this way, plug-ins enable the HTTP server to communicate with applications deployed on the WebLogic Server.
The plug-in enhances an HTTP server installation by allowing Oracle WebLogic Server to handle requests that require dynamic functionality. In other words, you typically use a plug-in where the HTTP server serves static pages such as HTML pages, while Oracle WebLogic Server serves dynamic pages such as HTTP Servlets and Java Server Pages (JSPs).
Oracle WebLogic Server may be operating in a different process, possibly on a different host. To the end user—the browser—the HTTP requests delegated to Oracle WebLogic Server still appear to be coming from the HTTP server.
In addition, the HTTP-tunneling facility of the WebLogic client/server protocol also operates through the plug-in, providing access to all Oracle WebLogic Server services.
The plug-ins improve performance using a pool of connections from the plug-in to Oracle WebLogic Server. The plug-in implements HTTP 1.1 keep-alive connections between the plug-in and Oracle WebLogic Server by reusing the same connection for subsequent requests from the same plug-ins. If the connection is inactive for more than 20 seconds, (or a user-defined amount of time), the connection is closed. For more information, see KeepAliveEnabled in Table 7-1.
Note:
The web server manages client connections.The plug-in proxies requests to Oracle WebLogic Server based on a configuration that you specify.
You can proxy requests based on the URL of the request or a portion of the URL. This is called proxying by path.
You can also proxy a request based on the MIME type of the requested file, which is called proxying by file extension.
You can also enable both methods. If you enable both methods and a request matches both criteria, the request is proxied by path.
You can also specify additional parameters for each of these types of requests that define additional behavior of the plug-in.
Version 12.1.3 plug-ins are available for the following web servers:
Table 1-1 Availability of Version 12.1.3 Plug-Ins
| Web Server | Plug-In Availability | More Information |
|---|---|---|
|
Oracle HTTP Server 12c |
The plug-in is included in the Oracle HTTP Server installation. For information about configuring this plug-in, see Chapter 2, "Configuring the Plug-In for Oracle HTTP Server" |
See Chapter 2, "Configuring the Plug-In for Oracle HTTP Server." |
|
Oracle iPlanet Web Server (7.0.9 and later releases) Apache HTTP Server 2.2.x Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 8.0 and 8.5 |
The plug-ins are available for download on the My Oracle Support ( For example, the following directories are included in the
|
For information about installing and configuring the plug-ins for Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft IIS, and Oracle iPlanet Web Server, see the following: |
The version 1.0 plug-ins are deprecated and are not guaranteed to be available for future versions of Oracle WebLogic Server. The version 12.1.3 plug-ins are the recommended replacement.
Note:
For Apache HTTP Server 1.3.x or 2.0.x, continue to use the version 1.0 plug-in.For upgrading from 11g plug-ins to the Oracle WebLogic Server Proxy Plug-Ins 12.1.3, use installation instructions included in the specific chapter for your web server, as listed in Table 1-2.
Table 1-2 Upgrade Instructions by Plug-In
| To upgrade to the 12.1.3 plug-in for: | See: |
|---|---|
|
Oracle HTTP Server |
|
|
Apache HTTP Server |
|
|
iPlanet Web Server |
|
|
Microsoft IIS Web Server |
Chapter 5, "Configuring the Plug-In for Microsoft IIS Web Server" |
The version 12.1.3 plug-ins are a superset of the version 1.0 plug-ins and support the existing features. However, when you upgrade, keep the following considerations in mind:
The list of supported platforms has changed. For more information, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Supported System Configurations at:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-certification-100350.html
If you have been using 128-bit encryption, you must change your configuration file to reflect the new naming convention, as described in Section 1.4.1, "Standard Encryption Strength Allows Simplified Naming". For example, you must change mod_wl128_22.so to mod_wl.so.
This section describes the additional features of the version 12.1.3 plug-ins when compared with the 1.0 plug-ins.
Section 1.4.1, "Standard Encryption Strength Allows Simplified Naming"
Section 1.4.2, "Version 12.1.3 Plug-Ins Use Oracle SSL/Networking"
Section 1.4.4, "Version 12.1.3 Plug-Ins Support Two-Way SSL"
Section 1.4.5, "Version 12.1.3 Plug-Ins Support Proxying WebSocket Upgrade Requests"
Because the version 1.0 plug-ins supported both 40- and 128-bit encryption standards, the plug-in file names needed to identify which standard was supported. For example, mod_wl_22.so indicated 40-bit encryption and mod_wl128_22.so indicated 128-bit encryption; however, the version 12.1.3 plug-ins support only 128-bit encryption, and the plug-in names are now simplified. For example, mod_wl.so is the only file name required.
Note:
If you upgrade from the 1.0 plug-ins and had been using 128-bit encryption, you must change your configuration file to reflect the new naming convention. For example, you must change mod_wl128_22.so to mod_wl.so.The version 12.1.3 plug-ins use the Oracle SSL/Networking implementation (as opposed to Certicom stack that is used in Plug-in 1.0) and can therefore use Oracle wallets to store SSL configuration information.
For this reason, the version 12.1.3 plug-ins introduce an SSL configuration parameter WLSSLWallet to use Oracle wallets. For more information on creating and managing Oracle wallets, see Managing Wallets in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.
You can configure the certificates in the Oracle wallet with a command line tool that is provided with the plug-in binary files. See Section 6.1, "Use SSL with Plug-Ins" for information about configuring SSL.
WebLogic Server Plug-Ins for third party web servers use the same SSL technology as the WebLogic Server Plug-In for Oracle HTTP Server because Oracle HTTP Server uses Oracle SSL/Networking and Oracle wallet technologies. For example, Apache HTTP Server's mod_wl module uses the same SSL as Oracle HTTP Server's mod_wl_ohs module. Therefore, SSL configuration and processing is the same for both.
The version 12.1.3 plug-ins support IPv6. The WebLogicHost and WebLogicCluster configuration parameters (see Table 7-1) now support IPv6 addresses.
For more information, see Section 6.2, "Use IPv6 With Plug-Ins."
The version 12.1.3 plug-ins provide two-way SSL support for verifying client identity. Two-way SSL is automatically enforced when WebLogic Server requests the client certificate during the handshake process.
For more information, see Section 6.1, "Use SSL with Plug-Ins."
Version 12.1.3 of both the Oracle HTTP Server and Apache HTTP Server plug-ins supports proxying WebSocket upgrade requests.
When you encounter issues with a plug-in, always report the version of the plug-in you are using. You can find this information in the apache log or the plug-in debug log (if configured). The version information will look like this:
WebLogic Server Plug-in version 12.1.3 <WLSPLUGINS_XXXX_XXXX_XXXXX.XXXX>
Note:
On the Apache Web Server for Linux, You can also obtain the plugin version by issuing the following command:
$ strings ${PLUGIN_HOME}/lib/mod_wl.so | grep -i wlsplugins
A patch for a plug-in typically will contain one or more shared objects to be replaced. Be sure to backup your original files as you replace them with those in the patch. Validate that the patch has been correctly updated by checking the version string in the logs.