A
Oracle9i Application Server Configuration Files

A.1 Overview

This appendix provides information about the configuration files and tables which can affect the connection to and the behavior of the Oracle9i Application Server and its components in the middle-tier as well as on other machines to which it is connecting.

Specific topics covered include:

A.1.1 Oracle HTTP Server Configuration File (httpd.conf)

The Oracle HTTP Server configuration file, httpd.conf, contains configuration information for running the Oracle HTTP Server. The contents of this file includes information about listening ports, server names, virtual hosts, proxy configurations, and the like. Also, configuring Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support by defining information such as certificates and other HTTPS configuration directives is done in this file.

ORACLE_HOME/Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.conf

A.1.2 Oracle Database Connection File (tnsnames.ora)

The tnsnames.ora file defines the entries that can be used as connect strings in the DADs.

Also, the tnsnames.ora file in the Oracle Home location containing your Oracle9i Application Server must have a connect string entry pointing to the database where your Oracle Portal installation is located.

In the C shell, for example, type the following at a command line prompt:

setenv TNS_ADMIN path

path points to the tnsnames.ora file. This command differs depending on the shell used.

A.1.3 Web Cache Config files.

The following Oracle9iAS Web Cache configuration file can be found in the ORACLE_HOME/webcache directory:

webcache.xml
internal.xml
internal_admin.xml

See also:
Oracle9iAS Web Cache Administration and Deployment Guide for details on configuring these files.

A.1.4 Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server Configuration Table

The WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$ table is the configuration table for the Single Sign-on enabler stack.

Each Partner Application to the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server has such a table for configuration information. As such, one such table exists in the Oracle9iAS Portal schema as well as the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server schema, since the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server application is a Partner Application as well. This table defines the login URL for the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server which this Partner Application is associated with.

It is important to understand how the LSNR_TOKEN is used in the enabler configuration table in order to plan what entries are required depending on your configuration.

This table may have more than one entry. There is one entry for each way the application's server is addressed. Understanding this requires a review of the authentication sequence. For the purposes of this discussion, the main flows include:

Initial request to the requested URL.
Redirect to the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server for authentication.
Redirect to Oracle9iAS Portal's success URL (wwsec_app_priv.process_signon).
Redirect back to the requested URL.

The Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server (SSO) partner enabler APIs read the WWSEC_ENABLER_CONFIG_INFO$ table for configuration information. Similarly, in the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server, the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server's private APIs read the WWSSO_PAPP_CONFIGURATION_INFO$ table. In the latter table, the URL that should be redirected to each Partner Application.

Since each Partner Application's success URL is stored in the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server's Partner Application configuration table, to support multiple host names for the Partner Application, each distinct host name requires its own Partner Application entry on the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server so that each one can specify a success URL that has the same hostname as the Partner Application so that the session cookie can be scoped appropriately. Furthermore, the domain to which cookies are scoped includes the server name (ServerName) and port, so server.domain.com:80 is treated as a different cookie domain from server.domain.com:8080.

Each entry in the enabler configuration table is then selected based on the host name and port that was used by the Partner Application.

For example, let's say that you wanted Oracle9iAS Portal to be accessible from http://www.xyz.com as well as http://www.abc.com. In this case, two Partner Applications must be registered in the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server. One is defined for the www.xyz.com host and the other for the www.abc.com host. Each one specifies a success URL that is appropriate:

http://www.xyz.com/pls/portal/portal.wwsec_app_priv.process_signon for the www.xyz.com partner
http://www.abc.com/pls/portal/portal.wwsec_app_priv.process_signon for the www.abc.com application

Each of these Partner Application entries on the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server would have a distinct site id, site token, and encryption key. Oracle9iAS Portal's enabler configuration table has one row for each Partner Application, for example:

LSNR_TOKEN SITE_ID LS_LOGIN_URL ...

www.xyz.com 1321 https://www.login.com/pls/...

www.abc.com 1322 https://www.login.com/pls/...

See also:

Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Application Developer's Guide included in the Oracle9i Application Server documentation library.

A.1.5 Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server's Partner Application Table

The configuration table on the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server's side is the Partner Application Table, WWSSO_PAPP_CONFIGURATION_INFO$. Maintenance of this table is typically done using the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server application's user interface for Adding or Editing Partner Applications.

For an initial installation on a single database instance, running the OPCA in the SSO_PARTNERCONFIG mode populates both the Oracle9iAS Single Sign-On Server's partner configuration table as well as Oracle9iAS Portal's enabler configuration table.

A.1.6 Local HOSTS File

The HOSTS file on a network host defines mappings of IP names to IP addresses. Normally, the association of IP name to IP address is provided by a Domain Name Server (DNS). In some of the configurations described in Section 3, "Configuring Oracle9iAS Portal using OPCA", a host may need to be addressed in an internal network with a domain name that is not defined within the internal network. In these cases, the server's HOSTS file can provide the necessary name resolution.

A.1.7 Using Oracle Enterprise Manager

You can use Oracle Enterprise Manager for administering <your component name>. Oracle Enterprise Manager provides a Web-based tool that allows you to perform some of the management tasks described in this book.