Use this page to view or change the settings of a Web server plug-in configuration file. The plug-in configuration file, plugin_cfg.xml, provides properties for establishing communication between the Web server and the Application Server.
To view this administrative console page, click Servers > Web Servers > web_server_name Plug-in Properties.
On the Configuration tab, you can edit fields. On the Runtime tab, you can look at read-only information.
The Runtime tab is available only when this Web server has accessed applications running on application servers and there is an http_plugin.log file.
Specifies whether the plug-in ignores DNS failures within a configuration when starting.
This field corresponds to the IgnoreDNSFailures element in the plugin-cfg.xml file.
When set to true, the plug-in ignores DNS failures within a configuration and starts successfully if at least one server in each ServerCluster is able to resolve the host name. Any server for which the host name can not be resolved is marked unavailable for the life of the configuration. No attempts to resolve the host name are made later on during the routing of requests. If a DNS failure occurs, a log message is written to the plug-in log file and the plug-in initialization continues rather than causing the Web server not to start. When false is specified, DNS failures cause the Web server not to start.
| Data type | String |
| Default | false |
Timeime interval, in seconds, at which the plug-in should check the configuration file to see if updates or changes have occurred. The plug-in checks the file for any modifications that have occurred since the last time the plug-in configuration was loaded.
In a development environment in which changes are frequent, a lower setting than the default setting of 60 seconds is preferable. In production, a higher value than the default is preferable because updates to the configuration will not occur so often. If the plug-in reload fails for some reason, a message is written to the plug-in log file and the previous configuration is used until the plug-in configuration file successfully reloads. If you are not seeing the changes you made to your plug-in configuration, check the plug-in log file for indications of the problem.
| Data type | Integer |
| Default | 60 seconds. |
File name of the configuration file for the plug-in. The Application Server generates the plugin-cfg.xml file by default. The configuration file identifies applications, Application Servers, clusters, and HTTP ports for the Web server. The Web server uses the file to access deployed applications on various Application Servers.
You can change the name of the plug-in configuration file. However, if you do change the file name, also change the Web server configuration to point to the new plug-in configuration file.
If you select a Web server plug-in during installation, the installer program configures the Web server to identify the location of the plugin-cfg.xml file, if possible. The plug-in configuration file, by default, is installed in the plugins_root/config/web_server_name directory.
The installer program adds a directive to the Web server configuration that specifies the location of the plugin-cfg.xml file.
For remote Web servers, copy the file from the local directory where the Application Server is installed to the remote machine. This is known as propagating the plug-in configuration file. If you are using an IBM® HTTP Server V6.1 for your Web server, WebSphere® Application Server can automatically propagate the plug-in configuration file for you to remote machines provided there is a working HTTP transport mechanism to propagate the file.
You can click View to display a copy of the current plug-in configuration file.
| Data type | String |
| Default | plugin-cfg.xml |
When the plug-in configuration service is enabled, a plug-in configuration file is automatically generated for a Web server whenever:
By default, this field is checked. Clear the check box if you want to manually generate a plug-in configuration file for this Web server.
By default, this field is checked.
Note: The plug-in configuration file can only be automatically propagated to a remote Web server if that Web server is an IBM HTTP Server V6.1 Web server and its administration server is running.
Because the plug-in configuration service runs in the background and is not tied to the administrative console, the administrative console cannot show the results of the automatic propagation.
| Data type | String |
| Default | None |
Fully qualified path of the Web server copy of the Web server plug-in configuration file. This path is the name of the file and its location on the machine where the Web server is running.
Fully qualified path of the Web server copy of the database file that contains your security key rings. This path is the name of the file and its location on the machine where the Web server is running.
Location and name of the http_plugin.log file. Also specifies the scope of messages in the log.
The log describes the location and level of log messages that are written by the plug-in. If a log is not specified within the configuration file, then, in some cases, log messages are written to the Web server error log.
On a distributed platform, if the log file does not exist then it will be created. If the log file already exists, it will be opened in append mode and the previous plug-in log messages will remain.
Log file name - The fully qualified path to the log file to which the plug-in will write error messages.
| Data type | String |
| Default | plugins_root/logs/web_server_name/http_plugin.log
Specify the file path of the http_plugin.log file. |
Log level- The level of detail of the log messages that the plug-in should write to the log. You can specify one of the following values for this attribute:
If a Log level is not specified, the default value Error is used.
Be careful when setting the level to Trace. A lot of messages are logged at this level which can cause the disk space/file system to fill up very quickly. A Trace setting should never be used in a normally functioning environment as it adversely affects performance.
If the Web server and Web server plug-in are running on an AIX, HP-UX, Linux, or Solaris system, and you change the log level, in the plugin-cfg.xml file, this change is not picked up dynamically. You must restart the Web server to pick up the change. For example on Solaris, if you do not restart the Web server, the following error message appears in the Plugin_Home/logs/http_plugin.log file:
ERROR: ws_config_parser:handleLogEnd: Failed to open log file '/opt/IBM/WebSphere/Plugin/logs/sunwebserver/http_plugin.log', OS
| Data type | String |
| Default | Error |
Location and name of the http_plugin.log file. Also specifies the scope of messages in the log.
The log describes the location and level of log messages that are written by the plug-in. If a log is not specified within the configuration file, then, in some cases, log messages are written to the Web server error log.
On a distributed platform, if the log file does not exist then it will be created. If the log file already exists, it will be opened in append mode and the previous plug-in log messages will remain.
Log file name - The fully qualified path to the log file to which the plug-in will write error messages.
| Data type | String |
| Default | plugins_root/logs/web_server_name/http_plugin.log
Specify the file path of the http_plugin.log file. |
Log level- The level of detail of the log messages that the plug-in should write to the log. You can specify one of the following values for this attribute:
If a Log level is not specified, the default value Error is used.
Be careful when setting the level to Trace. A lot of messages are logged at this level which can cause the disk space/file system to fill up very quickly. A Trace setting should never be used in a normally functioning environment as it adversely affects performance.
If the Web server and Web server plug-in are running on an AIX, HP-UX, Linux, or Solaris system, and you change the log level, in the plugin-cfg.xml file, this change is not picked up dynamically. You must restart the Web server to pick up the change. For example on Solaris, if you do not restart the Web server, the following error message appears in the Plugin_Home/logs/http_plugin.log file:
ERROR: ws_config_parser:handleLogEnd: Failed to open log file '/opt/IBM/WebSphere/Plugin/logs/sunwebserver/http_plugin.log', OS
| Data type | String |
| Default | Error |