iTP Secure WebServer System Administrator's Guide (Version 7.0)

iTP Secure WebServer System Administrator’s Guide—523346-012
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Planning the iTP Secure WebServer
PATHMON Environment
This section provides background for configuring the iTP Secure WebServer PATHMON
environment. Topics discussed in this section include:
•
Conventional TCP/IP: The Distributor Process
•
Parallel Library TCP/IP, TCP/IPv6, and IP CIP: The Auto Accept Feature on
page 3-2
•
Configuring the PATHMON Environment on page 3-4
•
Threading Considerations for the httpd Server on page 3-4
•
Security for the Server’s Pathway Environment on page 3-5
•
Other Security Considerations on page 3-7
Conventional TCP/IP: The Distributor Process
If you choose not to use Parallel Library TCP/IP, TCP/IPv6, or IP CIP support, you will
need to configure your iTP Secure WebServer to use the Distributor. The Distributor
process is a process that checks for incoming requests for new connections from the
TCP/IP subsystem and distributes the new requests to the iTP Secure WebServer. The
Distributor process runs as an OSS process and uses NonStop TS/MP to provide
process control, persistence, and scalability as required for online enterprises.
The Accept and AcceptSecureTransport directives in the iTP Secure WebServer
configuration file (httpd.config, described in Section 7, Configuring the iTP Secure
WebServer), determine the Distributor process configuration.
The Distributor process can monitor multiple ports on multiple TCP/IP transport
processes for new connection requests, and then distribute those requests to various
iTP Secure WebServer processes within the httpd server class.
The Distributor process runs persistently. PATHMON starts the Distributor process and
keeps it alive persistently, but not as a process pair. If the Distributor process fails,
PATHMON automatically creates a new process.
When started, the Distributor process establishes OPENs with the TCP/IP processes
specified in the configuration file and monitors the configured ports for incoming
connection requests.
When a request for connection arrives on one of the ports, the Distributor process
performs a SERVERCLASS_SEND_() to send the connection information to one of the
iTP Secure WebServer processes in the PATHMON environment. The iTP Secure
WebServer processes the request to completion.