Configuring the HTTP Outbound connection in WebSphere Portal

Configure the proxy server in IBM® WebSphere® Portal. To avoid cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, many browsers deny JavaScript commands on a remote server. The commands are denied because the remote server is on a different domain than the WebSphere Portal server. Therefore, the function of Forms that are created on Forms Experience Builder are limited. When you configure the HTTP Outbound connection, a proxy rule is enabled on the portal server that allows the JavaScript commands on the remote server.

1. Open the proxy-config.xml file.
2. Add the following <policy url="...">...</policy> content after the last entry:
   Note: Change {$serverHostname} and {$serverPort} to reflect the IBM Forms Experience Builder server configuration. /forms/ is the standard context-root of the Forms Experience Builder application. If the /forms/ context-root was configured differently during the setup, change it as required. Change {$token.ltpa.name} and {$token.ltpa2.name} to reflect the single sign-on (SSO) configuration page on the portal server. If the fields are blank, then use LtpaToken and LtpaToken2.

   <policy url="{http|https}://{$serverHostname}:{$serverPort}/forms/*"" name="feb">
       <actions>
           <method>GET</method>
           <method>HEAD</method>
           <method>POST</method>
           <method>PUT</method>
           <method>DELETE</method>
       </actions>
       <headers>
           <header>x-lfn-url-callback</header>
           <header>User-Agent</header>
           <header>Accept*</header>
           <header>Vary</header>
           <header>Location</header>
           <header>Content*</header>
           <header>Authorization*</header>
           <header>X-Method-Override</header>
           <header>Set-Cookie</header>
           <header>If-Modified-Since</header>
           <header>If-None-Match</header>
           <header>X-Server</header>
           <header>X-Update-Nonce</header>
           <header>X-Requested-With</header>
           <header>com.ibm.lotus.openajax.virtualhost</header>
           <header>com.ibm.lotus.openajax.virtualport</header>
       </headers>
       <cookie-rule name="feb">
           <cookie>LTPA</cookie>
           <cookie>LTPA2</cookie>
           <cookie>JSESSIONID</cookie>
           <cookie>{$token.ltpa.name}</cookie>
           <cookie>{$token.ltpa2.name}</cookie>
           <cookie>SimpleToken</cookie>
       </cookie-rule>
   </policy>

3. Add the following information to the metadata section of the proxy-config.xml file:

   <meta-data>
   	<name>forward-http-errors</name>
   	<value>true</value>
   </meta-data>

4. Open a command prompt on the portal server. Change to the wp_profile_root\ConfigEngine directory.
5. Run the following command to configure the proxy:
   • AIX® HP-UX Linux Solaris:

     ./ConfigEngine.sh -DWasPassword=wpsadmin
                       -DPortalAdminPwd=wpsadmin checkin-wp-proxy-config
                       -DProxyConfigFileName=/proxy-config.xml

   • IBM i:

     ConfigEngine.sh   -DWasPassword=wpsadmin
                       -DPortalAdminPwd=wpsadmin checkin-wp-proxy-config
                       -DProxyConfigFileName=/proxy-config.xml

   • Windows:

     ConfigEngine.bat  -DWasPassword=wpsadmin
                       -DPortalAdminPwd=wpsadmin checkin-wp-proxy-config
                       -DProxyConfigFileName=C:\proxy-config.xml

   Starting with Combined Cumulative Fix CF10, also perform the following extra steps to configure the proxy:
   1. Create the XML document that contains the connection policy.
   2. Save the XML document somewhere in a working directory
   3. Update the global Outbound Connections profile by using the following portal configuration engine task:
      • AIX HP-UX Linux Solaris:

        ./ConfigEngine.sh update-outbound-http-connection-config   
                          -DConfigFileName=c:/IBM/feb-configuration.xml 
                          -DOutboundProfileType=global

      • IBM i:

        ConfigEngine.sh   update-outbound-http-connection-config   
                          -DConfigFileName=c:/IBM/feb-configuration.xml 
                          -DOutboundProfileType=global

      • Windows:

        ConfigEngine.bat  update-outbound-http-connection-config   
                          -DConfigFileName=c:/IBM/feb-configuration.xml 
                          -DOutboundProfileType=global

   4. To confirm that the updates were applied correctly, export the global configuration again. To do so, use the following portal configuration engine task:
      • AIX HP-UX Linux Solaris:

        ./ConfigEngine.sh read-outbound-http-connection-config
                          -DConfigFileName=c:/IBM/the-global-profile.xml
                          -DOutboundProfileType=global

      • ConfigEngine.sh   read-outbound-http-connection-config 
                          -DConfigFileName=c:/IBM/the-global-profile.xml 
                          -DOutboundProfileType=global

      • ConfigEngine.bat  read-outbound-http-connection-config 
                          -DConfigFileName=c:/IBM/the-global-profile.xml 
                          -DOutboundProfileType=global

6. Restart the portal server.