Configuring Microsoft IIS to Use the Tomcat Connector (Plug-in)

In this section:

To use Tomcat as the application server, while using Microsoft IIS as the web server, you must do the following if the installation did not do it for you:

  1. On Tomcat, deploy the WebFOCUS web application by creating the ibi_apps context, as explained in Configuring Tomcat.
  2. On IIS, set the /approot alias (virtual directory), as explained in Configuring IIS Virtual Directories (Aliases).
  3. Install and configure the Tomcat plug-in (Jakarta Tomcat Connector JK1.2 for IIS), as explained in this section.

Note:


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Installing and Configuring the Tomcat Connector (Plug-in) for IIS

How to:

Reference:

A simple program installs the Tomcat plug-in and configures the default IIS website that uses the plug-in. After installing the plug-in, you can change the IIS websites that uses the plug-in if needed. If you chose to configure the Tomcat plug-in when installing Developer Studio, the plug-in should be installed in the directory:

<catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector

The installation program is self-explanatory and prompts you for the location in which to install the connector.

Note: If you manually install the connector a workers.properties.minimal file appears instead of a workers.properties file. The files are the same except for their names.



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Reference: Tomcat Connector (Plug-in) Installation

The Developer Studio or Tomcat Connector installation program performs the following steps. You normally do not need to manually perform these steps, however, you should be aware of them in case you need to troubleshoot. In addition, if you need to change the IIS website that uses the plug-in, you may need to perform some manual configurations.

  1. The plug-in is installed by default in the following location:
    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector
  2. The following table shows the registry settings that are created under:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Apache Software Foundation\
    Jakarta Isapi Redirector\1.0

    Value Name

    Value Data

    extension_uri

    /jakarta/isapi_redirect.dll

    log_file

    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\
    log\isapi_redirect.log

    worker_file

    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\
    conf\workers.properties

    worker_mount_file

    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\
    conf\uriworkermap.properties

    The following image shows those settings in the registry.

    registry settings

  3. A Virtual Directory (alias) with scripts and executable permissions is created under the default IIS website.

    Alias

    Path

    /jakarta

    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\bin\

    If you wish to use the plug-in with a different website, create this Virtual Directory under that site.

  4. The following file is added to the default website as an ISAPI Filter.
    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\bin\isapi_redirect.dll

    In some environments, WebFOCUS does not successfully add this and you must do it manually. You can confirm or add this by right-clicking your website in the Internet Services Manager, choosing Properties, and selecting the ISAPI Filters tab. If the jakarta filter does not appear, as it does in the following image, click Add and add it.

    Default Web Site Properties dialog box

    If you wish to use the plug-in with a different website, create this filter under that site as well or instead.

Note: If Developer Studio installed the Tomcat Connector, you can manually uninstall it by removing the registry settings, ISAPI Filter, Virtual Directory, and Jakarta Isapi Redirector directory. If you ran the Tomcat Connector installation utility, you can uninstall it using Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.



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Procedure: How to Configure the Redirection for Developer Studio

The following file installed with the Tomcat Connector tells IIS when to route requests to Tomcat:

<catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\conf\uriworkermap.properties
  1. In a text editor, open uriworkermap.properties.

    Tip: If this file appears odd in Notepad use WordPad. However, if you use WordPad ensure the file is saved as Text.

  2. Confirm that the following line appears and manually add it if it does not appear:
    /ibi_apps/*=ajp13w

    This line tells IIS to send requests for ibi_apps to Tomcat. If you changed the default context root, substitute accordingly. The /ibi_apps/* context can only appear once.

  3. Save and exit the editor.
  4. Restart IIS. Any changes require restarting IIS.

Note: The workers.properties file tells IIS where the Tomcat host and port are located. This is a different port (8009) than the port used for HTTP (8080). If you changed the default ports, edit this file accordingly.



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Procedure: How to Configure a Windows 2003 Server to Use the Tomcat Plug-in

If you are not using Windows 2003 Server, you can proceed to Verifying the Configuration.

On Windows 2003 Server, you must create a Web Services Extension for the Tomcat plug-in.

  1. Open the Internet Services Manager. You can access this from the Start menu by selecting Run and typing the following:
    inetmgr

    The Internet Information Services window appears when you press Enter.

  2. Expand your host name on the left, right-click Web Service Extensions, and select Add a new Web service extension.
  3. In the Extension name field, type:
    jakarta
  4. Check Set extension status to allow.
  5. Click Add and browse to select the isapi_redirect.dll file. For example:
    <catalina_home>\Jakarta Isapi Redirector\bin\isapi_redirect.dll
  6. Click Open and then OK to close windows and return to the main Internet Services Manager window.
  7. Ensure the Jakarta-Tomcat web service extension status is set to allow.
  8. Restart IIS.

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Verifying the Configuration

How to:

After configuring the Tomcat plug-in, ensure that IIS can route requests to Tomcat.



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Procedure: How to Run Test Calls
  1. If they are not started, start the following:
    • IIS
    • Tomcat
  2. Ensure the ibi_apps context is created on Tomcat by typing the following URL:
    http://localhost:8080/ibi_apps/diagnostics/about.jsp

    A page displaying information about the build should display. If there is a broken image, do not be concerned. If nothing displays, ensure that Tomcat is started and that you created this context, as explained in Configuring Apache Tomcat. If you receive an error, see Troubleshooting Developer Studio.

  3. Ensure IIS routes a request for ibi_apps to Tomcat by typing the following URL:
    http://localhost/ibi_apps/diagnostics/about.jsp

    The same page should display without the broken image. If IIS is not on port 80, substitute accordingly.

    If you receive an error:

    • Ensure that all steps have been performed to configure the connector/plug-in.
    • Ensure that both IIS and Tomcat are started and try restarting them.
    • Ensure that "/ibi_apps/*" appears only once in the uriworkermap.properties file.
    • Ensure that ServletExec ISAPI is not installed or is disabled.
  4. Proceed to Configuring the Local Reporting Server Security.

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