Sun Microsystems

★ wanayoo — archive 1999 http://developer.iplanet.com/tech/iws/iws_faq.html


sun.com	How To Buy \| My Sun \| Worldwide Sites

iPlanet™ Web Server 6.0 FAQs

Application Server
Web Server
»	FAQs
»	Quick Reference
»	Downloads
»	Documentation
»	Release Notes
»	Forums
Portal Server
Directory Server
Message Queue

Installation and Configuration
Java Application Environment and JavaServer Pages™ (JSP™) Technology
Performance
Other

Installation and Configuration

How do I start a Web server instance from the command prompt?

For Windows:

Go to the instance directory. Change the <hostname> variable to your hostname:

c:\iPlanet\Servers\https-hostname

In the startsvr.bat batch file, again change the <hostname> variable to your hostname:

net start https-hostname

Invoke startsvr.bat

For Solaris™ Operating Environment:

Go to the instance directory. Change the <hostname> variable to you hostname:

/usr/netscape/server4/https-hostname

Change the directory path according to your installation path.

Invoke the start script.

I'm moving from MS IIS to iPlanet™ Web Server on NT4. How can I make a DLL-based application work with iPlanet Web Server?

These DLLs are ISAPI extensions. ISAPI is a Microsoft API for extending the server with plug-ins. The analogous API in iPlanet Web Server is the Netscape™ Server API (NSAPI). ISAPI and NSAPI are not compatible. An NSAPI version of the ISAPI extension must be used to make it work on iPlanet Web Server.

Is there a way to specify which certificate to use for each virtual server?

Specify hardware virtual servers (that is, virtual servers that have different IP addresses and/or port numbers) to use distinct SSL and TLS certificates.

HTTP requests are sent over a TCP connection, which deals with IP addresses and port numbers (hardware virtual server properties), not hostnames (software virtual server properties). The HTTP protocol adds software virtual server support by allowing a client to identify the hostname of the server with which it wants to communicate. This is done by defining the Host: variable in the header of each HTTP request.

The SSL and TLS protocols require that the Web server present its SSL and TLS certificates before the client sends its HTTP request. Since the software virtual-server information is contained in the HTTP request, it is not possible for the server to select different certificates for different software virtual servers.

How do I change the admin port for iPlanet Web Server?

You can change the admin port either through the command line, or through the Administrative Interface.

To change it through the administrative interface:

Open and log into the Administration Server.

Select the Web Server Administration Server.

Go to the Preferences tab.
Select Network Settings.

The Admin Server Port number appears. Change it to the desired value.

Restart the Web Server.

To change it through the command line:

Change directory to <serversoftware-root>/https-admserver/config/
Change the Admin Port number in the magnus.conf file.

Restart the Web Server.

How do I set the maximum number of sessions allowed on iPlanet Web Server?

Modify either the context.properties or servlets.properties file.

In the context.properties file, add the following line:

context.global.sessionmgr.initArgs=maxSessions=2000,timeOut=300,reapInterval=150

In the servlets.properties file, add the following line:

servlets.sessionmgr.initArgs=maxSessions=2000,time Out=300,reapInterval=150

To invoke the new value, restart the server.

How do I update the Java™ runtime environment and virtual machine for the Java platform ("Java virtual machine" or "JVM"¹) for iPlanet Web Server?

This resides in the JDK™ software. To specify the path to the JDK:

Select the Global Settings tab and use the Configure JRE/JDK Paths page.

Provide the path to the new JRE/JDK.

Restart the server. The server uses the new Java runtime environment.

¹ - The terms "Java virtual machine" and "JVM" mean a virtual machine for the Java™ platform.

For configuration of iPlanet Web Server 4.1, do best practices exist for setting the variables in the magnus.conf file?

For most installations, the default values written to magnus.conf are suitable.

To tune your Web Server for performance, see the suggestions in the Performance Tuning, Sizing, and Scaling Guide for magnus.conf values.

Java Application Environment and JavaServer Pages™ (JSP™) Technology

On Windows NT, how do I redirect System.out.println to a file?

To redirect System.out.println:

Go to the config folder. Change the <hostname> variable to your hostname. For example:

c:\iPlanet\Servers\https-hostname\config\

Change the path according to your server installation path.

In the obj.conf file, add the following line:

Init fn="nt-console-init" stderr="stderr" stdout="stdout" EarlyInit="yes"

Replace stderr and stdout with the desired file names.

This modification is particularly helpful if you are troubleshooting applications or system property settings on iPlanet Web Server, and you want to capture the output in a file.

Is there a way to send the output from a Java Servlet extension to the error logs of iPlanet Web Server 4.0?

Yes. Add the following code to your Java Servlet extension to get a handle to the Java Servlet extension's context:

ServletContext cont = this.getServletContext();

cont.log("Write this String");

As the JVM software does not run in the same process space as the iPlanet Web Server, this additional code establishes the link between your Java Servlet extension code and the container that is hosting the JVM machine.

Performance

How do large log files (greater than 200 MB) affect the Web server's performance?

Typically no performance penalty is associated with appending to large log files. However, for compatibility with 31-bit file systems, you should rotate your log files before they reach 2GB in size. Also, searching through large log files is more expensive than searching through small log files. Many sites rotate their log files once a day. Larger sites rotate their log files more frequently. See the FAQ under Other for instructions on how to rotate log files.

Other

How do I rotate log files?

The following syntax programs a server to perform maintenance activities at regular intervals, such as backing up log files.

Location:
server_root/https-admserv/config

Syntax:
<Object name=name>
Command "command"
User user
Time nn:nn
Days day day ...
</Object>

The following is an example of a <cron.conf file that manages log rotation. (The ns-cron.conf file controls whether or not the cron.conf file is activated. You can set the status variable in ns-cron.conf file to activate (on) or deactivate (off) the cron.conf file.)

<Object name=https-server_id_rotatelg0>
Command "server_root/bin/https/httpadmin/bin/rotlog https-server_id"
User LocalSystem
Time 03:00
Days Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
</Object>

Is it possible to change the server name, type, and version number sent in the HTTP response header by iPlanet Web Server?

No, it is not possible to change the header information.

Developer Sites: