Parameters for Web Server Plug-Ins

 


General Parameters for Web Server Plug-Ins

Note: Parameters are case sensitive.

Parameter Default Description
WebLogicHost none WebLogic Server host (or virtual host name as defined in WebLogic Server) to which HTTP requests should be forwarded. If you are using a WebLogic cluster, use the WebLogicCluster parameter instead of WebLogicHost.

Required when proxying to a single WebLogic Server.

WebLogicPort none Port at which the WebLogic Server host is listening for connection requests from the plug-in (or from other servers).

If you are using SSL between the plug-in and WebLogic Server, set this parameter to the SSL listen port and set the SecureProxy parameter to ON.

If you are using a WebLogic Cluster, use the WebLogicCluster parameter instead of WebLogicPort.

Required when proxying to a single WebLogic Server.

WebLogicCluster none List of WebLogic Servers that can be used for load balancing. The server or cluster list is a list of host:port entries. If a mixed set of clusters and single servers is specified, the dynamic list returned for this parameter will return only the clustered servers. The method of specifying the parameter, and the required format vary by plug-in. See the examples in:

If you are using SSL between the plug-in and WebLogic Server, set the port number to the SSL listen port (see Configuring the SSL Protocol) and set the SecureProxy parameter to ON. The plug-in does a simple round-robin between all available servers. The server list specified in this property is a starting point for the dynamic server list that the server and plug-in maintain. WebLogic Server and the plug-in work together to update the server list automatically with new, failed, and recovered cluster members. You can disable the use of the dynamic cluster list by setting the DynamicServerList parameter to OFF The plug-in directs HTTP requests containing a cookie, URL-encoded session, or a session stored in the POST data to the server in the cluster that originally created the cookie.

Required when proxying to a cluster of WebLogic Servers.

PathTrim null String trimmed by the plug-in from the beginning of the original URL, before the request is forwarded to WebLogic Server. For example, if the URL...

http://myWeb.server.com/weblogic/foo

...is passed to the plug-in for parsing and if PathTrim has been set to strip off /weblogic before handing the URL to WebLogic Server, the URL forwarded to WebLogic Server is:

http://myWeb.server.com:7001/foo

Note that if you are newly converting an existing third-party server to proxy requests to WebLogic Server using the plug-in, you will need to change application paths to /foo to include weblogic/foo. You can use PathTrim and PathPrepend in combination to change this path.

PathPrepend null String that the plug-in prepends to the beginning of the original URL, after PathTrim is trimmed and before the request is forwarded to WebLogic Server.
ConnectTimeoutSecs 10 Maximum time in seconds that the plug-in should attempt to connect to the WebLogic Server host. Make the value greater than ConnectRetrySecs. If ConnectTimeoutSecs expires without a successful connection, even after the appropriate retries (see ConnectRetrySecs), an HTTP 503/Service Unavailable response is sent to the client. You can customize the error response by using the ErrorPage parameter.
ConnectRetrySecs 2 Interval in seconds that the plug-in should sleep between attempts to connect to the WebLogic Server host (or all of the servers in a cluster). Make this number less than the ConnectTimeoutSecs. The number of times the plug-in tries to connect before returning an HTTP 503/Service Unavailable response to the client is calculated by dividing ConnectTimeoutSecs by ConnectRetrySecs. To specify no retries, set ConnectRetrySecs equal to ConnectTimeoutSecs. However, the plug-in attempts to connect at least twice. You can customize the error response by using the ErrorPage parameter.
Debug OFF Sets the type of logging performed for debugging operations. The debugging information is written to the /tmp/wlproxy.log file on UNIX systems and c:\TEMP\wlproxy.log on Windows NT/2000 systems.

Override this location and filename by setting the WLLogFile parameter to a different directory and file. Ensure that the tmp or TEMP directory has write permission assigned to the user who is logged in to the server. Set any of the following logging options (HFC,HTW,HFW, and HTC options may be set in combination by entering them separated by commas, for example "HFC,HTW"):

ON

The plug-in logs informational and error messages.

OFF

No debugging information is logged.

HFC

The plug-in logs headers from the client, informational, and error messages.

HTW

The plug-in logs headers sent to WebLogic Server, and informational and error messages.

HFW

The plug-in logs headers sent from WebLogic Server, and informational and error messages.

HTC

The plug-in logs headers sent to the client, informational messages, and error messages.

ERR

Prints only the Error messages in the plug-in.

ALL

The plug-in logs headers sent to and from the client, headers sent to and from WebLogic Server, information messages, and error messages.

WLLogFile See the Debug parameter Specifies path and file name for the log file that is generated when the Debug parameter is set to ON. You must create this directory before setting this parameter.
WLDNSRefreshInterval 0 (Lookup once, during startup) Only applies to NSAPI and Apache. If defined in the proxy configuration, specifies number of seconds interval at which WebLogic Server refreshes the server list.
WLTempDir See the Debug parameter Specifies the directory where a wlproxy.log will be created. If the location fails, the Plug-In resorts to creating the log file under C:/temp in Windows and /tmp in all Unix platforms. Also specifies the location of the _wl_proxy directory for post data files. When both WLTempDir and WLLogFile are set, WLLogFile will override as to the location of wlproxy.log. WLTempDir will still determine the location of _wl_proxy directory.
DebugConfigInfo OFF Enables the special query parameter "__WebLogicBridgeConfig". Use it to get details about configuration parameters from the plug-in. For example, if you enable "__WebLogicBridgeConfig" by setting DebugConfigInfo and then send a request that includes the query string ?__WebLogicBridgeConfig, then the plug-in gathers the configuration information and run-time statistics and returns the information to the browser. The plug-in does not connect to WebLogic Server in this case. This parameter is strictly for debugging and the format of the output message can change with releases. For security purposes, keep this parameter turned OFF in production systems.
StatPath false If set to true, the plug-in checks the existence and permissions of the translated path ("Proxy-Path-Translated") of the request before forwarding the request to WebLogic Server. If the file does not exist, an HTTP 404 File Not Found response is returned to the client. If the file exists but is not world-readable, an HTTP 403/Forbidden response is returned to the client. In either case, the default mechanism for the Web server to handle these responses fulfills the body of the response. This option is useful if both the WebLogic Server Web Application and the Web Server have the same document root. You can customize the error response by using the ErrorPage parameter.

Not available for the Microsoft Internet Information Server Plug-In

ErrorPage none You can create your own error page that is displayed when your Web server is unable to forward requests to WebLogic Server.
WLSocketTimeoutSecs 2 (must be greater than 0) Set the timeout for the socket while connecting, in seconds.
WLIOTimeoutSecs 300 Defines the amount of time the plug-in waits for a response to a request from WebLogic Server. The plug-in waits for HungServerRecoverSecs for the server to respond and then declares that server dead, and fails over to the next server. The value should be set to a very large value. If the value is less than the time the servlets take to process, then you may see unexpected results. Minimum value: 10

Maximum value: Unlimited

New name for HungServerRecoverSecs

Idempotent ON When set to ON and if the servers do not respond within WLIOTimeoutSecs (new name for HungServerRecoverSecs), the plug-ins fail over. If set to "OFF" the plug-ins do not fail over. If you are using the Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In, or Apache HTTP Server you can set this parameter differently for different URLs or MIME types.
CookieName JSESSIONID If you change the name of the WebLogic Server session cookie in the WebLogic Server Web application, you need to change the CookieName parameter in the plug-in to the same value. The name of the WebLogic session cookie is set in the WebLogic-specific deployment descriptor, in the <session-descriptor> element.
DefaultFileName none If the URI is "/" then the plug-in performs the following steps:
  1. Trims the path specified with the PathTrim parameter.
  • Appends the value of DefaultFileName.
  • Prepends the value specified with PathPrepend.

    This procedure prevents redirects from WebLogic Server. Set the DefaultFileName to the default welcome page of the Web Application in WebLogic Server to which requests are being proxied. For example, If the DefaultFileName is set to welcome.html, an HTTP request like "http://somehost/weblogic" becomes "http://somehost/weblogic/welcome.html". For this parameter to function, the same file must be specified as a welcome file in all the Web Applications to which requests are directed.

    For Apache users: If you are using Stronghold or Raven versions, define this parameter inside of a Location block, and not in an IfModule block.

  • MaxPostSize -1 Maximum allowable size of POST data, in bytes. If the content-length exceeds MaxPostSize, the plug-in returns an error message. If set to -1, the size of POST data is not checked. This is useful for preventing denial-of-service attacks that attempt to overload the server with POST data.
    MatchExpression none When proxying by MIME type, set the filename pattern inside of an IfModule block using the MatchExpression parameter. Example when proxying by MIME type:

    <IfModule mod_weblogic.c>
    MatchExpression *.jsp
    WebLogicHost=myHost|paramName=value
    </IfModule>

    Example when proxying by path:

    <IfModule mod_weblogic.c>
    MatchExpression /weblogic
    WebLogicHost=myHost|paramName=value
    </IfModule>

    Apache HTTP Server only

    FileCaching ON When set to ON, and the size of the POST data in a request is greater than 2048 bytes, the POST data is stored on disk in a temporary file and forwarded to WebLogic Server in chunks of 8192 bytes. Setting FileCaching to ON, however, can cause a problem with the progress bar displayed by a browser that indicates the progress of a download. The browser shows that the download has completed even though the file is still being transferred. When set to OFF and size of the POST data in a request is greater than 2048 bytes, the POST data is stored in memory and sent to WebLogic Server in chunks of 8192 bytes. Setting to OFF causes problems if the server goes down while processing the request because the plug-in is not able to fail over.
    FilterPriorityLevel 2 The values for this parameter are 0 (low), 1 (medium), and 2 (high). The default value is 2. This priority should be put in iisforward.ini file. This property is used to set the priority level for the iisforward.dll filter in IIS. Priority level is used by IIS to decide which filter will be invoked first, in case multiple filters match the incoming request. This parameter is used with multiple virtual hosts and should never be the only parameter in an iisforward.ini file.

    Microsoft Internet Information Server only

    WLExcludePathOrMimeType none This parameter allows you make exclude certain requests from proxying.
    WlForwardPath null If WlForwardPath is set to "/" all requests are proxied. To forward any requests starting with a particular string, set WlForwardPath to the string. For example, setting WlForwardPath to /weblogic forwards all requests starting with /weblogic to Weblogic Server. This parameter is required if you are proxying by path. You can set multiple strings by separating the strings with commas. For example: WlForwardPath=/weblogic,/bea.

    Microsoft Internet Information Server only

    KeepAliveSecs 30 The length of time after which an inactive connection between the plug-in and WebLogic Server is closed. You must set KeepAliveEnabled to true for this parameter to be effective. The value of this parameter must be less than or equal to the value of the Duration field set in the Administration Console on the Server/HTTP tab, or the value set on the server Mbean with the KeepAliveSecs attribute.

    Does not apply to Apache HTTP Server version 1.3.x

    KeepAliveEnabled true Enables pooling of connections between the plug-in and WebLogic Server.

    Does not apply to Apache HTTP Server version 1.3.x

    QueryFromRequest OFF When set to ON, specifies that the Apache plug-in use

    (request_rec *)r->the request
    ...to pass the query string to WebLogic Server. This behavior is desirable in the following situations:

    • When a Netscape version 4.x browser makes requests that contain spaces in the query string

    • If you are using Raven Apache 1.5.2 on HP

    When set to OFF, the Apache plug-in uses

    (request_rec *)r->args

    ...to pass the query string to WebLogic Server.

    Apache HTTP Server only

    MaxSkipTime
    10 If a WebLogic Server listed in either the WebLogicCluster parameter or a dynamic cluster list returned from WebLogic Server fails, the failed server is marked as "bad" and the plug-in attempts to connect to the next server in the list. MaxSkipTime sets the amount of time after which the plug-in will retry the server marked as "bad." The plug-in attempts to connect to a new server in the list each time a unique request is received (that is, a request without a cookie).
    DynamicServerList ON When set to OFF, the plug-in ignores the dynamic cluster list used for load balancing requests proxied from the plug-in and only uses the static list specified with the WebLogicCluster parameter. Normally this parameter should remain set to ON. There are some implications for setting this parameter to OFF:

    • If one or more servers in the static list fails, the plug-in could waste time trying to connect to a dead server, resulting in decreased performance.

    • If you add a new server to the cluster, the plug-in cannot proxy requests to the new server unless you redefine this parameter. WebLogic Server automatically adds new servers to the dynamic server list when they become part of the cluster.
    WLProxySSL OFF Set this parameter to ON to maintain SSL communication between the plug-in and WebLogic Server when the following conditions exist:

    • The request is passed through one or more proxy servers (including the WebLogic Server proxy plug-ins)

    • The connection between the plug-in and WebLogic Server uses the HTTP protocol

    When WLProxySSL is set to ON, the location header returned to the client from WebLogic Server specifies the HTTPS protocol.

    WLLocalIP none Defines the IP address to bind to when the plug-in connects to a WebLogic Server instance running on a multihomed machine. If WLLocalIP is not set, a random IP address on the multi-homed machine is used.

     


    SSL Parameters for Web Server Plug-Ins

    Note: SCG Certificates are not supported for use with WebLogic Server Proxy Plug-Ins. Non-SCG certificates work appropriately and allow SSL communication between WebLogic Server and the plug-in.

    Note: Parameters are case sensitive.

    Parameter

    Default

    Description

    EnforceBasicConstraints Strong This parameter closes a security hole which existed with SSL certificate validation where certificate chains with invalid V3 CA certificates would not be properly rejected. This allowed certificate chains with invalid intermediate CA certificates, rooted with a valid CA certificate to be trusted. X509 V3 CA certificates are required to contain the BasicConstraints extension, marked as being a CA, and marked as a critical extension. This checking protects against non-CA certificates masquerading as intermediate CA certificates. The levels of enforcement are as follows:OFF This level entirely disables enforcement and is not recommended. Most current commercial CA certificates should work under the default STRONG setting. EnforceBasicConstraints=offEnforceBasicConstraints=falseSTRONG Default. The BasicConstraints for V3 CA certificates are checked and the certificates are verified to be CA certificates. EnforceBasicConstraints=strongEnforceBasicConstraints=trueSTRICT This level does the same checking as the STRONG level, but in addition it also strictly enforces IETF RFC 2459 which specifies the BasicConstraints for CA certificates also must be marked as "critical". This is not the default setting because a number of current commercially available CA certificates don't conform to RFC 2459 and don't mark the BasicConstraints as critical. Set this if you want to strict conformance to RFC 2459. EnforceBasicConstraints=strict
    SecureProxy OFF Set this parameter to ON to enable the use of the SSL protocol for all communication between the plug-in and WebLogic Server. Remember to configure a port on the corresponding WebLogic Server for the SSL protocol before defining this parameter. This parameter may be set at two levels: in the configuration for the main server and - if you have defined any virtual hosts - in the configuration for the virtual host. The configuration for the virtual host inherits the SSL configuration from the configuration of the main server if the setting is not overridden in the configuration for the virtual host.
    TrustedCAFile none Name of the file that contains the digital certificates for the trusted certificate authorities for the plug-in. This parameter is required if the SecureProxy parameter is set to ON. The filename must include the full directory path of the file.
    RequireSSLHostMatch true Determines whether the host name to which the plug-in is connecting must match the Subject Distinguished Name field in the digital certificate of the WebLogic Server to which the proxy plug-in is connecting.
    SSLHostMatchOID 22 The ASN.1 Object ID (OID) that identifies which field in the Subject Distinguished Name of the peer digital certificate is to be used to perform the host match comparison. The default for this parameter corresponds to the CommonName field of the Subject Distinguished Name. Common OID values are:

    • Sur Name - 23
    • Common Name - 22
    • Email - 13
    • Organizational Unit - 30
    • Organization - 29
    • Locality - 26

     


    Configuring Web Applications and Clusters for the Plug-in

    Set the following attributes on a cluster or a Web application to configure security for applications accessed via the plug-in.

    • WeblogicPluginEnabled - If you set this attribute to true for a cluster or a Web application that receives requests from the HttpClusterServlet, the servlet will respond to getRemoteAddr calls with the address of the browser client from the proprietary WL-Proxy-Client-IP header, instead of returning the Web server address.
    • ClientCertProxy Enabled - If you set this attribute to true for a cluster or a Web application that receives requests from HttpClusterServlet, the plug-in sends client certs to the cluster in the special WL-Proxy-Client-Cert header, allowing user authentication to be performed on the proxy server.

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