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Configure high-speed external caching through the Web server

 

IBM HTTP Server for Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems contains a high-speed cache referred to as the Fast Response Cache Accelerator, or cache accelerator. The Fast Response Cache Accelerator is available on Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems and AIX platforms. However, support to cache dynamic content is only available on Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems. You can enable cache accelerator to cache static and dynamic content.

 

Overview

Enable cache accelerator for caching static content by adding the following directives to the httpd.conf configuration file, located in the IBM HTTP Server conf directory:

To enable cache accelerator for caching dynamic content, such as servlets and JavaServer Pages files, configure WAS and IBM HTTP Server for distributed platforms:

 

Procedure

  1. Configure WAS to enable Fast Response Cache Accelerator. It is important to follow all of the steps for every appserver in the cluster.

    1. Turn on servlet caching for each appserver that uses the cache accelerator.

    2. Configure an external cache group on the appserver:

      1. Click Servers > Application servers > server > Container services > Dynamic cache service > External cache groups.

      2. Click New on the External cache group console page to define an external cache group named afpa for each appserver that uses the cache accelerator.

      3. In the External cache group field, type afpa and apply the changes.

    3. Add a member to the group with an adapter bean name of com.ibm.ws.cache.servlet.Afpa.

      1. Click Afpa > External cache group members.

      2. Click New on the External cache group members console page.

      3. In the AdapterBean name field, type com.ibm.ws.cache.servlet.Afpa.

      4. In the Address field, enter an unused port number.

    4. Add a cache policy in the cachespec.xml file for the servlet or JSP file you want to cache. Add the following property to the cache policy: 

      <property name="ExternalCache">afpa</property>

  2. Enable cache accelerator on IBM HTTP Server for distributed platforms:

    1. Add the following directives to the end of the httpd.conf file:

      • AfpaEnable

      • AfpaCache on

      • AfpaLogFile "APP_SERVER_ROOT\IBMHttpServer\logs\afpalog" V-ECLF

         

      • IBM HTTP Server 1.3.x - LoadModule afpaplugin_module APP_SERVER_ROOT\bin\afpaplugin.dll

         

      • IBM HTTP Server 2.0 - LoadModule afpaplugin_20_module APP_SERVER_ROOT\bin\afpaplugin_20.dll

      • AfpaPluginHost WAS_Hostname:port, where WAS_Hostname is the host name of the appserver and port is the port you specified in the Address field while configuring the external cache group member

    The LoadModule directive loads the IBM HTTP Server plug-in that connects the Fast Response Cache Accelerator to the WAS fragment cache. If multiple IBM HTTP Servers are routing requests to a single appserver, add the directives above to the httpd.conf file of each of these IBM HTTP Servers for distributed platforms. If one IBM HTTP Server is routing requests to a cluster of appservers, add the AfpaPluginHost WAS_Hostname:port directive to the httpd.conf file for each appserver in the cluster. For example, if there are three appservers in the cluster, add the following directives to the httpd.conf file:

    • LoadModule afpaplugin_module APP_SERVER_ROOT/bin/afpaplugin.dll

    • AfpaPluginHost WAS1_Hostname:port1

    • AfpaPluginHost WAS2_Hostname:port2

    • AfpaPluginHost WAS3_Hostname:port3


Configure fast response cache accelerator cache size through a distributed platforms Web server

 

Related tasks


Communicating with Web servers
Enabling the dynamic cache service

 

Related Reference


cachespec.xml file