Network Deployment (Distributed operating systems), v8.0 > Set up intermediary services > Implement a web server plug-in

Create or updating a global web server plug-in configuration file

If all of the application servers in a cell use the same web server to route requests for dynamic content, such as servlets, from web applications to application servers, you can create a global web server plug-in configuration file for that cell. The resulting plugin-cfg.xml file is located in the PROFILE_ROOT/config/cells directory. We can update the global plugin-cfg.xml file using the admin console or running the GenPluginCfg command for all of the clusters in a cell. However, delete the config/cells/plugin-cfg.xml file before you update the global plugin-cfg.xml file. If you do not delete the config/cells/plugin-cfg.xml file, only the new properties and their values are added to the global plugin-cfg.xml file. Any updates to existing plug-in property values are not added to the global plugin-cfg.xml file. We must update the global web server plug-in configuration file whenever you perform one of the following actions:

• Change the configuration settings for an application server, cluster, virtual host, or web container transport that is part of that cell.

• Add a new application server, cluster, virtual host, or web container transport to that cell.

To update the configuration settings for a global web server plug-in, you can either use the Update global web server plug-in configuration page in the admin console, or issue the following command:

%was_profile_home%/config/cells/GenPluginCfg.sh|bat

Both methods for regenerating the global web server plug-in configuration create a plugin-cfg.xml file in ASCII format.

To use the Update global web server plug-in configuration page in the admin console:

Procedure

1. Click Environment > Update global web server plug-in configuration.

2. Click OK to update the plugin-cfg.xml file.

3. Optional: Click View or download the current web server plug-in configuration file to view or download the current version of this file.

   We can select this option if to:

   • View the current version of the file before you update it.

   • View the file after it is updated.
   • Download a copy of this file to a remote machine.

Results

Regenerate the configuration might take a while to complete. After it finishes, all objects in the administrative cell use their newest settings, which the web server can access. Whether triggered manually or occurring automatically, plug-in regeneration requires about 30 to 60 seconds to complete when the application server is on the same physical machine (node) as the web server. In other cases, it takes more time.

The delay is important because it determines how soon the new plug-in configuration takes effect. Suppose you add a new served path for a servlet, then regenerate the plug-in configurations. The regeneration requires 40 seconds, after which a user should be able to access the servlet by the new served path.

For an HTTP plug-in, the length of the delay is determined by the Refresh Interval attribute of the Config element in the plugin-cfg.xml file. The plug-in polls the disk, or file system, at this interval to see whether the configuration has changed. The default interval is 60 seconds.

To regenerate the plug-in configuration requires twice the refresh interval.

In a development environment in which you are frequently changing settings in the admin console, IBM recommends that you set the refresh interval to 3 to 5 seconds.

In a production environment, set a longer refresh interval, perhaps as long as 30 minutes, depending on the frequency of changes.

What to do next

You might need to stop the application servers in the cell and then start the application servers again before the changes to the plug-in configuration go into effect.

If the web server is running on a remote machine, click View or download the current web server plug-in configuration file to download a copy of the plugin-cfg.xml file to a that machine.

When the dmgr is installed on a machine that is remote from where the product is installed, one of the following solutions must be implemented in order for the plugin-cfg.xml file to retain the application server directory structures, and not assume those of the dmgr after the plug-in is regenerated and a full synchronization occurs.

• Command line:

  At a command prompt, run to change the DeploymentManager/bin directory and type on the machine where the dmgr is installed. This command creates or updates the plugin-cfg.xml file, and changes all of the directories in the plugin-cfg.xml file to WAS_HOME directories.

  GenPluginCfg -destination.root
  WAS_HOME 

  For example, issue the following command from the DeploymentManager/bin directory.

  GenPluginCfg -destination.root "E:\WebSphere\AppServer"
  

• plugin-cfg.xml file:

  Edit the plugin-cfg.xml file to point to the correct directory structure for the log file, keyring, and stashfile.

  Perform a full synchronization so the plugin-cfg.xml file is replicated in all the nodes. You can use scripting or the admin console to synchronize the nodes in the cell.

  The dmgr plugin-cfg.xml file can point to the application server directories without any conflict.

Related

Update the global web server plug-in configuration setting
Change the application server configuration using wsadmin
Stop an application server
Start an application server
Implement a web server plug-in

Related

GenPluginCfg command

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