Download the latest version of IBM HTTP Server

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/webservers/httpservers/#

Plugin

http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/download/preconfig.jsp?id=2009-07-30+10%3A21%3A30.828809R&S_TACT=&S_CMP=

The download will add to IBM HTTP download is the HIS download is still not yet complete

Installing IBM HTTP Server on Windows

Locate the zip file as downloaded by the IBM Download Director

My download directory in Windows is:

D:\downloads\IBM\was7_source_trials\ihs.7000.windows.ia32

Change to IHS    folder and run the intalll.exe

When the installer launches you will see the screen as depicted in the image below.

Click Next to move on to the software License Agreement

Read and accept the license. Click Next.

Since I am installing on Windows 7, the wizard says that this is an unsupported OS. It will still work fine, however it means this installation is not officially supported by IBM.

Note: Using a response file via a silent install will allow you to modify the -OPT disableOSPrereqChecking to a value off false. Below is a snippet from the default response file used in silent command-line installs of IHS

Click Next

On the next screen the default installation location will be

C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\HTTPServer this is because I am installing on a 64bit Windows machine. One a 32 bit Windows machine this would be C:\Program Files\IBM\HTTPServer.

However in my example I am using d:\ihs7

Click Next

The default HTTP Port will be 80 and the default HTTP Administration Port will be 8008.

If this is a local install and you have IIS running then there will be a port conflict, either stop IIS if it is installed and make the IIS service manual. Or you can change this port number. Make note of the HTTP port you choose as we will use this later.

The HTTP Administration Port allows WebSphere Application Server to manage IHS as a managed or unmanaged node.

Administering IBM HTTP Server with the administrative console using the node agent and deployment manager:

With (WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment) WAS ND it is possible to start, stop, and monitor the status for IBM HTTP Server using the administrative console. Below are some considerations for administering IHS from an administrative console. Not all organisations choose to administer IHS using this method.

• The IBM HTTP Server you are managing must be installed as a service. You must install IBM HTTP Server with log on as system rights.
• When defining a Web server using the administrative console, use the actual service name, instead of the display name. The actual service name will not contain spaces. If you do not do this, you will have problems starting and stopping the service.
• Status is obtained using the Web server host name and port that you have defined. You do not use the remote administration port.
• If you have problems starting and stopping IBM HTTP Server, check the WebSphere console logs (trace).
• If you have problems starting and stopping IBM HTTP Server using nodeagent, you can try to start and stop the server by setting up the managed profile and issuing the startserver <IBM HTTP Server> -nowait -trace command and check the startServer.log file for the IBM HTTP Server specified.
• If communication between the administrative console and the Web server is through a firewall, then you must define the Web Server port to the firewall program.

Tip: For viewing log files, editing configuration files and propagating the plug-in configuration file:

• Access to files is controlled by AdminAllowDirective in the admin.conf file. Access is granted to the conf and logs directory from the IBM HTTP Server installation directory. If you are reading or writing plug-in configuration or trace files, you must add an entry to the admin.conf file to allow access there.
• Always back up the configuration file. It is possible on the upload of the configuration file, information will be lost.

Using the IBM HTTP Server administrative console:

Using the IHS administrative onsole it is possible to start, stop, and get the status of the IBM HTTP Server, it also must be installed as a service.

• When defining a Web server using the administrative console, use the actual service name, instead of the display name. The actual service name will not contain spaces. If you do not do this, you will have problems starting and stopping the service on the Windows 2003 operating system.
• Status is obtained using the Web server host name and port that you have defined. You do not use the remote administration port.
• If you have problems starting and stopping IBM HTTP Server, check the WebSphere console logs (trace) and check the admin_error.log file.
• The administration server should be started with Administrator rights.
• If communication between the administrative console and the administration server is through a firewall, you must enable the administration server port (default 8008). If communication between the administrative console and the Web server is through a firewall, then you must define the Web Server port to the firewall program.

Tip: For viewing log files, editing configuration files and propagating the plug-in configuration file:

• Access to files is controlled by AdminAllowDirective in the admin.conf file. Access is granted to the conf and logs directory from the IBM HTTP Server installation directory. If you are reading or writing plug-in configuration or trace files, you must add an entry to the admin.conf file to allow access there.
• Always back up the configuration file. It is possible on the upload of the configuration file, information will be lost.

Click Next

As you can see above I have elected to run my services as the local system account, not my current user. You can also change services (run as user) after the installation using the Windows Services applet. (MMC)

I have also set the service to manual, as I want to control when it starts as this is my workstation and I don’t want IHS starting on start-up.

Note: If this was an actual production Windows server, I would want IHS to start upon start-up of the Windows server.

Click Next

On the HTTP Administration Server Authentication screen, I have chosen the username ihsadmin and a password of ihsadmin. Take note of what you type here it is important.

Click Next

Review the summary information and click Next and the wizard will perform the installation. It only takes a few minutes to complete.

Click Finish to close the wizard.

Start IHS using the services applet.

Note: If this was Unix you would most likely start via the command line. You can search http://www.webspheretools.com for information on how to install IHS on Linux.

Once IHS open a browser using localhost as the hostname for port 80 for example : http://localhost/

Let’s have a look at the file structure installed.

The main folders of interest are the bin, conf and logs. Later when we install the WebSphere plug-in the Plugins folder will be something we need to look into.