Configuring UNIX Web Connectors

Connecting Crystal Enterprise to Apache

If you are running Apache as your web server, you can choose between two different Web Connector technologies: ASAPI or CGI. When you installed the Web Connector, the setup script created configuration files that contain custom Apache configuration directives for both Web Connectors.

The ASAPI Web Connector is essentially an Apache Dynamic Shared Object (DSO). When started, the Apache daemon loads the ASAPI Web Connector module; this module handles all Crystal Enterprise requests and forwards them to the Web Component Server.

Apache takes its configuration information from Apache configuration directives, which are typically found in the httpd.conf file. During installation, the setup script creates a file called crystal/enterprise/platform/wcs/conf/asapi.conf, which contains custom Apache configuration directives for the ASAPI Web Connector. Use the Include command to include this file in your Apache httpd.conf file. This ensures that Apache loads the ASAPI Web Connector configuration automatically at startup.

For security reasons, these custom directives are only accessible from within the server's .conf files. This prevents a user from re-directing the ASAPI Web Connector through an .htaccess file or other files defined by the AccessFileName directive.

On UNIX, you must enable the ASAPI Web Connector. For details, see Enabling the ASAPI Web Connector.

The CGI Web Connector for Apache is provided for systems where DSOs are not implemented. This Web Connector works similarly to other CGI binaries. For details, see Enabling the CGI Web Connector for Apache.