Technical data

13 Installing and Configuring the Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In (NSAPI)
13-2 Administration Guide
Overview of the Netscape Enterprise
Server Plug-In
The Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In enables requests to be proxied from Netscape
Enterprise Server (NES, also called iPlanet) to WebLogic Server. The plug-in
enhances an NES installation by allowing WebLogic Server to handle those requests
that require the dynamic functionality of WebLogic Server.
The Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In is designed for an environment where
Netscape Enterprise Server serves static pages, and a Weblogic Server (operating in a
different process, possibly on a different host or hosts) is delegated to serve dynamic
pages, such as JSPs or pages generated by HTTP Servlets. The connection between
WebLogic Server and the Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In is made using clear text
or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). To the end user—the browser—the HTTP requests
delegated to WebLogic Server appear to come from the same source as the static pages.
Additionally, the HTTP-tunneling facility of the WebLogic Server can operate through
the Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In, providing access to all WebLogic Server
services (not just dynamic pages).
The Netscape Enterprise Server Plug-In operates as an NSAPI module (see
http://home.netscape.com/servers/index.html) within a Netscape
Enterprise Server. The NSAPI module is loaded by NES at startup, and then certain
HTTP requests are delegated to it. NSAPI is similar to an HTTP (Java) servlet, except
that a NSAPI module is written in code native to the platform.
For more information on supported versions of Netscape Enterprise Server and iPlanet
servers, see the BEA WebLogic Server Platform Support Page.
As of WebLogic Server 6.1 SP6, 7.0 SP5, 8.1 SP2, the WebLogic Server plug-ins are
now certified to proxy to any version of WebLogic Server, including 5.1.
Connection Pooling and Keep-Alive
The WebLogic Server NSAPI plug-in provides efficient performance by using a
re-usable pool of connections from the plug-in to WebLogic Server. The NSAPI
plug-in automatically implements “keep-alive” connections between the plug-in and