Tech Talk
Henne Queisser, Servlet Supporter
Many customers already have web servers running when they decide to install Reflection for the Web,
and those web servers are often Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). For customers who do
have IIS, a choice comes up: Install Reflection for the Web as a standalone application, or
integrate Reflection with the existing IIS web server?
The default installation of Reflection for the Web, as a standalone application,
is ideal for cases where a server is dedicated for Reflection and
not already using IIS. Reflection for the Web is then ready to use
out of the box—Jakarta Tomcat functions as the web server,
and runs the Reflection Management component's Java Servlets and
Java Server Pages. Very simple.
The standalone approach is also good for situations where you're
not the IIS administrator, and you want to administer Reflection
for the Web yourself. Because the automated installation does the
initial configuration for you, administering your own web server
is easy. In cases where IIS is installed and you don't need to be
the administrator, you probably want to consider integrating Reflection
for the Web with your IIS web server.
There are plenty of reasons to integrate with IIS. Integration
can make your web developers' work easier, since no new port numbers
are used. This leads to simpler URLs and links. Using IIS ports
improves security because there are fewer openings in your firewall.
Another security benefit from integration with IIS: You can use
your existing SSL web server certificate to cover Reflection for
the Web. There's no need to get additional SSL web server security
certificates for Jakarta Tomcat.
Whether you choose to use Reflection for the Web with its own server,
or integrate with an IIS server, the installation process is automatic.
The default Tomcat server is installed when you install Reflection
for the Web. If you choose not to integrate with IIS, Tomcat will
be both a servlet runner and a web server. If you choose to integrate
with IIS, Tomcat will be just a servlet runner that is called by
IIS. To perform the integration after you complete a default installation,
download and run the utility called IISWizard.jar, available from
download.wrq.com. This application runs a wizard that integrates
Tomcat as an ISAPI filter, and you'll be ready to serve Reflection
for the Web from your existing web infrastructure.
More information
Installing Reflection for the Web 5.x as an ISAPI Filter Within Microsoft Internet Information Server
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