Administer proxy virtual hosts

Virtual hosting allows a single proxy server to host multiple domains and ports on a single IP address and port. A proxy virtual host can be created for each Web domain the proxy server is hosting, or wild card characters can be used to host multiple Web domains with a single proxy virtual host.

A proxy virtual host allows a single proxy server to host multiple domains and ports on a single IP address and port. A proxy virtual host consists of the name and the port representing the Web domain and a set of proxy rule expressions to perform specified proxy actions when a defined criteria exists. Additionally, each proxy virtual host can override the server scope configuration of the proxy server to have configuration elements defined specifically for that virtual host. Proxy virtual hosts use a set of proxy server actions and proxy rule expressions. Proxy rules expressions are evaluated when inbound requests are received by the proxy virtual host. If the expression is evaluated to be true, any proxy server actions specified by the proxy rule expression are performed. Complete these steps to administer or create a new proxy virtual host.

1. From the console, select...
   Servers | Server Types | WebSphere proxy servers | proxy_server_name | Virtual hosts | virtual_host | New

2. Specify a name for the virtual host.

   The name of the virtual host must match the Web domain it represents. If the web domain is www.proxy1.com, the name of the proxy server host must be www.proxy1.com. The asterisk symbol, * , can be used as a wild card character to represent all Web domains. If the proxy virtual host is *:80, then all inbound requests on port 80 are handled by that proxy virtual host regardless of what Web domain is being requested.

3. Specify the port for the virtual host.

   The port of the virtual host must match the port used by the web domain it represents. If the Web domain uses port 80, then the port of the proxy virtual host must also be 80. The asterisk symbol, * , can be used as a wild card character to represent all ports. If the proxy virtual host is www.proxy1.com:*, then all inbound requests to www.proxy1.com are handled by that proxy virtual host regardless of what port is being used.

4. Choose one or more proxy rule expressions for the virtual host.

   Proxy rule expressions allow for proxy actions to be performed when the expression evaluates to true. See...

   • Proxy rule expressions
   • Proxy server actions

5. Optional: Move a proxy virtual host up or down in the list to ensure the correct proxy virtual host is used.

   The usage of wild card characters for virtual proxy hosts creates a situation where an inbound request might match multiple proxy virtual hosts. In this scenario, the request will be handled by the first proxy virtual host that matches the request.

6. Optional: Click Edit to change the selected proxy rule expression.

7. Optional: Click Proxy Virtual Host Settings to override the server scoped settings for static file serving, logging, or error page policy.

   1. To override the static file serving settings for this proxy virtual host, click...
      Static File Serving | Customize for this virtual host

      ...then specify a new value for the Static file document root field.

   2. To override the logging settings for this proxy virtual host, click...
      Logging | Customize

      ...then specify new values for one or more of the following fields:

      • Enable access logging
      • Access log maximum size
      • Proxy access log
      • Cache access log
      • Local access log

   3. To override the error page policy settings for this proxy virtual host, click...
      Error Page Policy | Customize

      ...then specify new values for one or more of the following fields:

      • Error page generation application URI
      • Handle errors generated by the proxy server
      • Handle errors generated by the application server
      • Headers to forward to error page application
      • HTTP status codes that are to be recognized as errors

   4. Click OK to save the proxy virtual host settings, and return to the previous console page.

8. Click OK to save all of the other changes.

Subtopics

• Proxy virtual hosts
  
• Proxy virtual hosts collection
  
• Proxy virtual host settings
  
• Proxy virtual host settings details
  

Related concepts

Proxy virtual hosts

Proxy server actions

Proxy rule expressions

Proxy server setup

Proxy virtual hosts collection

Proxy virtual host settings

Proxy virtual host settings details