Troubleshooting the web application bridge

Known limitations

Schema Model and Persistence Engine

Max concurrent connections not supported.

Reverse Proxy Servlet

• No Persistent Cookie handling (all cookies are treated as sessions)
• No special HTTP/1.0 support
• Caching based on HTTP headers not yet implemented

Virtual Web Application Manager portlet

• English only
• No user interface for assigning permissions to URI/CP – must be done with the XML.

WebDock portlet

• English only
• In the CSA mode, the administrator must refresh the page once to see the content after configuring the WebDock portlet.

Sharepoint integration

• The View RSS feed option is not supported.
• Opening an XML file in the document library requires that you refresh the page.

Review questions

In Sharepoint, I can edit the application name. Can I do the same thing in IBM WebSphere Portal?

If a name change is required, edit the application and then refresh the page containing the WebDock portlet for this application.

What common headers are not supported on the IFrame?

The following headers are not allowed from backend site to the browser:

• WWW-Authenticate
• Proxy-Authenticate
• Set-Cookie
• Set-Cookie2
• Accept-Ranges
• Content-Range
• Connection
• Trailers
• Transfer-Encoding
• Upgrade

The following headers are not allowed from the browser to the backend site:

• Host
• Cookie
• Cookie2
• Authorization
• Range
• Connection
• Keep-Alive
• Proxy-Authorization
• TE
• Trailers
• Transfer-Encoding
• Upgrade

However if there is a need, then Administrator can add the header name to the forward-header section of the Virtual Web Application Manager portlet. Some of these headers might conflict with the headers meant for or used by the WebSphere_Portal server.

I get a blank screen when trying to load my page with the WebDock portlet after editing the shared settings on my page:

Check one of the following two possible issues:

• The page requires authentication and you did not personalize the page. Go to the edit page layout option and select Personalize from the Display menu. Enter the user ID and password. Save the credentials and then reload the page.

• When creating the application component, we might have set the authentication type to none but the site does require authentication. Edit the application component and navigate to the Authentication tab and change the Authentication type. Then edit the page layout and select Personalize from the Display menu. Enter the user ID and password. Save the credentials and then reload the page.

I get a blank or error page when I save my changes in Edit Shared Settings mode in a theme that uses CSA rendering.

This issue is a known limitation. Refresh or reload the page to load it correctly. This issue occurs the first time you log in.

What should I do if I consistently see an error page in the view mode?

Log out of WebSphere Portal. Clear all cookies and log back in to WebSphere Portal using the fully qualified host name.

How do I remove the Sharepoint navigation that shows in the WebDock portlet?

See the Sharepoint documentation about hiding the navigation panel without changing the master page. We can also add filters to your application to parse the content that is not required.

What roles are supported for access control?

Only the user role is supported.

What kind of sites create integration problems?

The following types of sites can cause integration problems:

• Sitem that have absolute URLs in the content or JavaScript.

• Sitem that use JavaScript, META refresh, absolute URLs for redirection.

• Sitem that use Javascript to ensure a Web application is within the top frame and not an embedded frame.

  For example: if(top.location.href!=self.location.href){top.location.href=self.location.href.

What if I want to have multiple WebDock portlets on a single page?

These steps apply to have any of the following scenarios:

• Have multiple WebDock portlets, pointing to different hosts, on the same portal page

• Allow users to open two different portal pages (each containing a WebDock portlet) in a new browser window or tab and let user interact with backend sites simultaneously from those WebDock portlets

To have multiple WebDock portlets on a single page:

1. Log in to the WAS admin console and go to...
   Resources | Resource Environment | Resource Environment Providers | WP Virtual Web Application Manager Config | Custom properties | host_alias_mapping

2. Enter the aliases for the backend hosts in the Values field.

   For example, enter...

   myhost1 = xyz1.in.ibm.com, myhost2 = xyz2.in.ibm.com

   This alias is prefixed to the server name used to access the portal and then used to access the portal internally. If the server name is abc.in.ibm.com, then verify the server is accessible through myhost1.abc.in.ibm.com and myhost2.abc.in.ibm.com.

3. Click OK.

4. Enable single sign-on (SSO). Set the 'Domain name' field in the WAS integrative.

5. Restart the WebSphere_Portal server.

To remove this enhancement:

1. Log in to the WAS admin console and go to...
   Resources | Resource Environment | Resource Environment Providers | WP Virtual Web Application Manager Config | Custom properties | host_alias_mapping

2. Remove the aliases for the backend hosts in the Values field.

3. Click OK.

4. Restart the WebSphere_Portal server.

How do I integrate with an application that loads a URL that ends with .jsp?

To integrate with an application that loads a URL that ends with .jsp:

1. cd PORTAL_HOME\bp\wp.vwat.servlet\ear\installableApps

2. Make a backup copy of the VwatReverseProxyServlet.ear file.

3. Add the following code to the web.xml file, located in the VwatReverseProxyServlet.ear\wp.vwat.servlet.war\WEB-INF directory:

   <servlet-mapping>
     <servlet-name>ReverseProxyServlet</servlet-name>
     <url-pattern>*.jsp</url-pattern>
   </servlet-mapping>
   

   The final code in the web.xml file should look like the following sample:

   <servlet-mapping>
     <servlet-name>ReverseProxyServlet</servlet-name>
     <url-pattern>*.jsp</url-pattern>
   </servlet-mapping>
   <servlet-mapping>
     <servlet-name>ReverseProxyServlet</servlet-name>
     <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
   </servlet-mapping>
   

4. To update the application:

   1. Log on to the WAS admin console and select...
      Applications | Application Types | WebSphere enterprise applications | wp.vwat.servlet.ear resource | Update

   2. Select the appropriate update option.

   3. Click Next and complete the steps to update your application.

   4. Save the changes.

   5. Log out of the WAS admin console.

What if some functionality of the Sharepoint server (like not being able to select a template while creating a site) is not working when viewed inside the Web application bridge?

Open the Virtual Web Application Manager portlet and select Settings for the appropriate application component. Verify the following settings exist for the component:

• Select Forward User Agent on the Connection tab.

• On the Authentication tab, make sure we add the User-Agent to the headers list that are being propagated in the inbound direction.

Save the changes.

Why am I having performance issues and LDAP load impact when using the Web application bridge?

This is a known issue if you have the VMM caches disabled. If we configured the application component to use the permissions settings, the Virtual Web Application Manager portlet fetches groups directly from the LDAP server.

I have one backend URL that is taking data from the second backend URL when two WebDock portlets are on the same page.

This is a known issue. Support for the same context root from multiple backend servers does not work is configured for two WebDock portlets on a single page.

What is the unit for specifying height and width in the WebDock portlet?

Height and width are specified in pixels. The page theme might restrict the width to maximum limit allowed by the theme.

How can I enable tracing for the web application bridge?

Add the following string to the Enable Tracing portlet in WebSphere Portal:

com.ibm.wps.vwat.*=all:com.ibm.sdcommons.*=all:com.ibm.wps.portlets.vwat.*=all 

Why can I not access my internet mail application?

If we are using an internet application that has additional complex security features regarding client identity, the Web Application Bridge may not be able to access the application. One example of an internet application with complex security features is Yahoo. If we are unable to access the internet application and you have verifies that your settings in the application component are correct, please contact Support.

Browse page never loads and keeps cycling

If the web browser never loads and keeps cycling, the server times may not match. If using Firefox, you see a message that the portal session has timed out and to log in. To fix this issue, match your server time to the application we are bridging and restart Portal.

Parent: The web application bridge