WebFOCUS Deployment Options

In this section:

The WebFOCUS components can be deployed in several different ways so that you can plan your installation according to your needs.


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Basic Internal Deployment Pattern

Internal users (on a trusted network) access WebFOCUS using a standard installation. The WebFOCUS Client and Reporting Server can be installed on the same host or on two hosts connected by a network. The ReportCaster Distribution Server is typically installed on the same host as the WebFOCUS Client to simplify connectivity with the ReportCaster Repository.

The database can be on the business tier or on a separate data tier. If on a separate machine, it can optionally be behind a firewall if necessary. In this case, communication between the tiers can be implemented using a WebFOCUS Reporting Server hub-sub configuration or the database connection software of the vendor.

Internal Network image


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Basic External Deployment Pattern

How to:

When external users access WebFOCUS, you can, optionally, configure them to interact with a reverse proxy server. A reverse proxy server is a Web server that acts as an intermediary between the external network and the Web server on which WebFOCUS is installed. Each component can optionally be protected by a firewall.

With a reverse proxy server, external users think that they are directly accessing WebFOCUS. However, the proxy server actually receives incoming HTTP requests and forwards them to the Web server on which WebFOCUS is installed, adding an additional layer of security. No additional configuration steps are required for WebFOCUS to support a reverse proxy server.



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Procedure: How to Configure a Reverse Proxy for Apache Tomcat

If you are planning to use a reverse proxy configuration with an Apache Tomcat application server, you must configure a setting in the server.xml file to ensure that all URL calls use the address of the Web-facing proxy server instead of the internal server.

To modify the Apache Tomcat server.xml file, perform the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the following directory
    <Tomcat_Home>\conf

    where:

    <Tomcat_Home>

    Is the location on your system where Apache Tomcat is installed.

  2. Edit the server.xml file.
  3. Search for the Coyote/JK2 AJP 1.3 connector block.
  4. Add the proxyName and proxyPort parameters, as shown in the following example:
    <!-- Define a Coyote/JK2 AJP 1.3 Connector on port 8009 -->
    <Connector port="8009"
        enableLookups="false" redirectPort="8443" debug="0"
        protocol="AJP/1.3" proxyName="WEB-FACING PROXY_SERVER"
    proxyPort="WEB FACING PROXY_PORT"
    />
  5. For the proxyName parameter value, specify the host name of the Web-facing proxy server.
  6. For the proxyPort parameter value, specify the port number of the Web-facing proxy server.
  7. Save the changes to the server.xml file.
  8. Restart the Apache Tomcat application server.

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Mixed Deployment Pattern

WebFOCUS supports multiple entry points into a single WebFOCUS installation. For example, there may be both external users going through a reverse proxy server, and internal users directly accessing the Web-tier. There may also be two or more reverse proxy servers for different user communities, as shown in the following image.


WebFOCUS