Novell GROUPWISE 7 - WEB ACCESS User manual

WebAccess
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WebAccess
Chapter 53, “Scaling Your WebAccess Installation,” on page 855
Chapter 54, “Configuring WebAccess Components,” on page 869
Chapter 55, “Managing User Access,” on page 915
Chapter 56, “Monitoring WebAccess Operations,” on page 925
Chapter 57, “Using WebAccess Startup Switches,” on page 945

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Scaling Your WebAccess Installation
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53
Scaling Your WebAccess
Installation
If your GroupWise®system is relatively small (one domain and a few post offices) and all post
offices reside in the same location, a basic installation of GroupWise WebAccess might very well
meet your needs. However, if your GroupWise system is large, spans multiple locations, or requires
failover support, you might need to scale your GroupWise WebAccess installation to better meet the
reliability, performance, and availability needs of your users.
The following sections provide information about the various configurations you can implement and
instructions to help you create the configuration you choose:
Section 53.1, “WebAccess Configurations,” on page 855
Section 53.2, “Installing Additional WebAccess Components,” on page 858
Section 53.3, “Configuring Redirection and Failover Support,” on page 860
For information about creating a basic GroupWise WebAccess installation, see “Installing
GroupWise WebAccess” in the GroupWise 7 Installation Guide.
53.1 WebAccess Configurations
A basic installation of GroupWise WebAccess requires the WebAccess Agent and the WebAccess
Application, as shown in the following diagram. The WebPublisher Application is also required if
you plan to use GroupWise WebPublisher.
Figure 53-1 A Basic Installation of GroupWise WebAccess
Depending on your needs, it might be necessary for you to add additional WebAccess Agents or to
have multiple Web servers running the WebAccess Application and WebPublisher Application.
Section 53.1.1, “Multiple WebAccess Agents,” on page 855
Section 53.1.2, “Multiple WebAccess and WebPublisher Applications,” on page 856
53.1.1 Multiple WebAccess Agents
GroupWise WebAccess is designed to allow one installation of the WebAccess Application and
WebPublisher Application to support multiple WebAccess Agents, as shown in the following
diagram.
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Web Server with
WebAccess and
WebPublisher Applications

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Figure 53-2 Multiple WebAccess Agents
There are various reasons why you might want to add additional WebAccess Agents, including:
Improving reliability: One WebAccess Agent might provide sufficient access and
performance, but you want to protect against downtime that would occur if the WebAccess
Agent became unavailable because of server failure or some other reason. Installing more than
one WebAccess Agent enables you to set up failover support to make your system more
reliable.
Improving performance: The WebAccess Agent is designed to be close to the GroupWise
databases. It requires direct access to a domain database and either direct access to post office
databases or TCP/IP access to the Post Office Agents. For best performance, you should ensure
that the WebAccess Agent is on the same local area network as the domain and post offices it
needs access to. For example, in most cases you would not want a WebAccess Agent in Los
Angeles accessing a post office in London.
Improving availability: The WebAccess Agent has 12 threads assigned to process user
requests, which means that it can process only 12 requests at one time regardless of the number
of users logged in. If necessary, you can increase the number of threads allocated to the
WebAccess Agent, but each thread requires additional server memory. If you reach a point
where WebAccess is unavailable to users because thread utilization is at a peak and all server
memory is being used, you might need to have several WebAccess Agents, installed on
different network servers, servicing your post offices. For information about changing the
number of allocated threads, see Section 54.1, “Configuring the WebAccess Agent,” on
page 870.
53.1.2 Multiple WebAccess and WebPublisher Applications
As with the WebAccess Agent, you can also install the WebAccess Application and WebPublisher
Application to multiple Web servers, as shown in the following diagram.
Web Server with
WebAccess and
WebPublisher Applications
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent

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Figure 53-3 The WebAccess Application and WebPublisher Application Installed to Multiple Web Servers
Some reasons for wanting to use this type of configuration include:
Enabling WebAccess users on an intranet to access GroupWise through an internal Web server
and WebAccess users on the Internet to access GroupWise through an exposed Web server.
Increasing Web server performance by balancing the workload among several Web servers,
especially if you are using the Web server for other purposes in addition to GroupWise
WebAccess.
Hosting WebAccess (the WebAccess Application) on one Web server for your GroupWise
users and WebPublisher (the WebPublisher Application) on another Web server for public
Internet use.
If necessary, you can use multiple WebAccess Agents in this configuration, as shown below.
Figure 53-4 The WebAccess Application on One Web Server, and the WebPublisher Application on Another
Web Server with
WebAccess and
WebPublisher A
pp
lications
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Web Server with
WebAccess and
WebPublisher Applications
Web Server with
WebAccess and
WebPublisher Applications
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Domain
Post Office
Post Office
WebAccess
Agent
Web Server with
WebAccess and
WebPublisher Applications

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53.2 Installing Additional WebAccess
Components
The following sections assume that you have installed at least one WebAccess Agent and one
WebAccess Application (or WebPublisher Application) and now need to install additional agents or
applications.
Section 53.2.1, “Installing Additional Components on NetWare or Windows,” on page 858
Section 53.2.2, “Installing Additional Components on Linux,” on page 859
53.2.1 Installing Additional Components on NetWare or
Windows
“Installing a NetWare or Windows WebAccess Agent” on page 858
“Installing a NetWare or Windows WebAccess or WebPublisher Application” on page 858
For more information, see “NetWare and Windows: Setting Up GroupWise WebAccess” in the
GroupWise 7 Installation Guide.
Installing a NetWare or Windows WebAccess Agent
1Insert the GroupWise 7 Administrator for NetWare/Windows CD into the CD drive to start the
Installation program, click Install Products, click GroupWise WebAccess, then click Install
GroupWise WebAccess. If the Installation program does not start automatically, run
setup.exe from the root of the CD.
or
If you’ve already copied the GroupWise WebAccess software to a software distribution
directory, run setup.exe from the internet\webacces directory.
2Click Yes to accept the license agreement and display the Select Components dialog box.
3Deselect all components except the GroupWise WebAccess Agent, then click Next.
4Follow the prompts to create the WebAccess Agent’s gateway directory, install the WebAccess
Agent software, and create the WebAccess Agent’s object in Novell®eDirectoryTM.
If you are installing to a domain where another WebAccess Agent already exists, you must use
a different directory and object name than the one used for the existing WebAccess Agent.
5When installation is complete, you need to configure your system so that the WebAccess and
WebPublisher Applications know about the WebAccess Agent and can direct the appropriate
user requests to it. For information, see Section 53.3, “Configuring Redirection and Failover
Support,” on page 860.
Installing a NetWare or Windows WebAccess or WebPublisher Application
To install a WebAccess Application or a WebPublisher Application to a Web server:
1Insert the GroupWise 7 Administrator for NetWare/Windows CD into the CD drive to start the
installation program, click Install Products, click Groupwise WebAccess, then click Install
GroupWise WebAccess. If the installation program does not start automatically, run
setup.exe from the root of the CD.

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or
If you’ve already copied the Groupwise WebAccess software to a software distribution
directory, run setup.exe from the internet/webacces directory.
2Click Yes to accept the license agreement and display the Select Components dialog box.
3Deselect all components except the GroupWise WebAccess application and/or the Groupwise
WebPublisher Application, then click Next.
The WebAccess Application and WebPublisher Application must be associated with a
WebAccess Agent. For information on configuring a WebAccess or WebPublisher Application
to connect to other WebAccess Agents, see Section 53.3, “Configuring Redirection and
Failover Support,” on page 860.
4Specify the path for the WebAccess Agent’s gateway directory.
5Follow the prompts to install the files to the Web server. Restart the Web server.
53.2.2 Installing Additional Components on Linux
“Installing a Linux WebAccess Agent” on page 859
“Installing a Linux WebAccess and WebPublisher Application” on page 860
For more information, see “Linux: Setting Up GroupWise WebAccess” in the GroupWise 7
Installation Guide.
Installing a Linux WebAccess Agent
1Make sure that LDAP is running on your eDirectory server and that it is configured to accept
login from the WebAccess Agent Installation program.
2In a terminal window, become root by entering sux and the root password.
The sux command enables the X Window System, which is required for running the GUI
GroupWise Installation program, Installation Advisor, and the Setup Advisor. If you do not
want to use the X Window System, you can install GroupWise components individually, as
described in “Installing the GroupWise Agents Using the Text-Based Installation Program” in
“Installing GroupWise Agents” in the GroupWise 7 Installation Guide.
3Change to the root of the GroupWise 7 Administrator for Linux CD.
4Enter ./install.
5Select the language in which you want to run the Installation program and install the
WebAccess software, then click Next.
6In the Installation program, click Install Products > GroupWise WebAccess > Install
WebAccess Agent.
7When the installation is complete, click OK.
8Click Configure WebAccess Agent.
9Follow the prompts to configure the Linux WebAccess Agent.
10 When installation and configuration is complete, you need to configure your GroupWise
system so that the WebAccess and WebPublisher Applications know about this instance of the
WebAccess Agent and can direct the appropriate user requests to it. For instructions, see
Section 53.3, “Configuring Redirection and Failover Support,” on page 860.

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Installing a Linux WebAccess and WebPublisher Application
To install a WebAccess Application and a WebPublisher Application to a Web server:
1After installing and configuring the WebAccess Agent, if you want to use an existing Apache
and Tomcat installations, click Install GroupWise WebAccess Application.
or
Click Install GroupWise WebAccess Application with Apache and Tomcat.
This installs a version of Apache and Tomcat specifically for use with GroupWise. Apache files
are installed under /var/opt/novell/http and /etc/opt/novell/http. Tomcat
files are installed under /var/opt/novell/tomcat4 and /etc/opt/novell/
tomcat4.
In addition, a self-signed certificate is generated, enabling users to use WebAccess and
WebPublisher using an SSL connection.
NOTE: The option to install Apache and Tomcat along with the WebAccess Application is not
available if you are installing to Novell Open Enterprise Server Linux because Apache and
Tomcat are already installed and configured correctly in that environment.
2When the installation is complete, click OK.
3Click Configure WebAccess Application.
4Follow the prompts to configure the Linux WebAccess Application.
5When the installation and configuration is complete, start or restart the Web server.
53.3 Configuring Redirection and Failover
Support
Redirection enables the WebAccess Application to direct user requests to specific WebAccess
Agents. For example, you might want WebAccess Agent 1 to process all requests from users on Post
Office 1 and WebAccess Agent 2 to process all requests from users on Post Office 2.
Failover support enables the WebAccess Application to contact a second WebAccess Agent if the
first WebAccess Agent is unavailable. For example, if the WebAccess Application receives a user
request that should be processed by WebAccess Agent 1 but it is unavailable, the WebAccess
Application can route the user request to WebAccess Agent 2 instead.
The following sections provide information to help you successfully configure redirection and
failover support:
Section 53.3.1, “How the WebAccess Application Knows Which WebAccess Agents to Use,”
on page 861
Section 53.3.2, “Synchronizing the Encryption Key,” on page 863
Section 53.3.3, “Specifying a WebAccess Agent in the WebAccess URL,” on page 864
Section 53.3.4, “Assigning a Default WebAccess Agent to a Post Office,” on page 865
Section 53.3.5, “Assigning a Default WebAccess Agent to a Domain,” on page 866
Section 53.3.6, “Adding WebAccess Agents to the GroupWise Service Provider’s List,” on
page 867

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53.3.1 How the WebAccess Application Knows Which
WebAccess Agents to Use
To redirect user requests or to fail over to a second WebAccess Agent, the WebAccess Application
needs to know which WebAccess Agents you want it to use. This might be all of the WebAccess
Agents in your system, or only specific WebAccess Agents.
Each time a user logs in, the WebAccess Application compiles a list, referred to as a redirection/
failover list, of the WebAccess Agents defined in the locations listed below.
The WebAccess URL. The standard URL does not contain a WebAccess Agent, but you can
modify the URL to point to a specific agent.
The user’s Post Office object. You can assign a default WebAccess Agent to the post office to
handle requests from the post office’s users.
The user’s Domain object. You can assign a default WebAccess Agent to the domain to
handle requests from the domain’s users.
The GroupWiseProvider object. This is the service provider used by the WebAccess
Application to connect to WebAccess Agents.
The commgr.cfg file. This file located in the WebAccess Application’s home directory, which
varies by platform.
By default, only the GroupWise Provider object and the commgr.cfg file include a WebAccess
Agent definition, as shown in the following table:
Table 53-1 WebAccess Agent Default Locations
If no other WebAccess Agents are defined (as is the case by default), the WebAccess Application
directs all user requests to the WebAccess Agent (Agent 1) listed in the commgr.cfg file. This file
is located in the WebAccess Application’s home directory on the Web server. The commgr.cfg
file contains the IP address and encryption key for the WebAccess Agent that was associated with
the WebAccess Application during the application’s installation.
If Agent 1 is not available, the user receives an error message and cannot log in.
NetWare
and
Windows:
novell\webaccess\users on the Web server
Linux: /opt/novell/groupwise/webaccess/users
Location WebAccess Agent
WebAccess URL No agent defined
Post office No agent defined
Domain No agent defined
GroupWise service provider Agent 1
Commgr.cfg Agent 1

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Redirection/Failover List: Example 1
Assume that the WebAccess Agents are defined as follows:
Using this information, the WebAccess Application would create the following redirection/failover
list:
Because there is no WebAccess Agent defined in the WebAccess URL, the WebAccess Application
redirects the user’s request to the default WebAccess Agent (Agent 1) assigned to the user’s post
office. If Agent 1 is unavailable, the WebAccess Application fails over to the domain’s default
WebAccess Agent (Agent 4). If Agent 4 is unavailable, the WebAccess Application fails over to
Agent 2 and then Agent 3, both of which are defined in the GroupWise service provider’s list.
Redirection/Failover List: Example 2
Assume that the WebAccess Agents are defined as follows:
Using this information, the WebAccess Application would create the following redirection/failover
list:
Location WebAccess Agent
WebAccess URL No agent defined
Post office Agent 1
Domain Agent 4
GroupWise service provider Agent 2
Agent 3
Commgr.cfg Agent 4
List Entry Taken From
Agent 1 Post office
Agent 4 Domain
Agent 2 GroupWise service provider
Agent 3 GroupWise service provider
Location WebAccess Agent
WebAccess URL No agent defined
Post office No agent defined
Domain No agent defined
GroupWise service provider Agent 1
Agent 2
Agent 3
Commgr.cfg Agent 2