I need the usage of Proxy Server and Web server Plugin in layment point of view with basic technic. which one is more advantage in secuirty and performance vice? Pls

You might use a proxy server to "hide" resources down stream, content based routing or as an workload sprayer.  If you use a WAS proxy server only deploye the secure proxy server in the DMZ.

The WebSphere plugin is used route requests to WAS servers.  The WebSphere plugin is installed on a web server which can sit in the DMZ.  You can route request to any WAS servers from a web server or you can chose to configure a web server to only route to a "select" number of web servers.

Dont think Proxy can be compared to Plugin, rather Web Server can be compared to your proxy server.

Plugin basically is a intelligent load balancer who respects your HTTP request affinity too. It can be compared to your Load Banacer.

Proxy Server with Caching enabled has different role to play.

The WAS the plugin has no "intelligence".  The "default" WAS plugin uses round robin or a random algorithm for WLM of new requests.  Each plugin operates independently in managing their individual instances of the request routing table. 

When an http request creates an affinity, the WAS plugin does not keep track of affinity, but routes to proper sever based on the JSessionID.

If a server goes down the plugin sending a request to that server will note that the server is down and not route requests to that sever.  This information is not share across plugins.  Each plugin discovers this information on its own.

You can set routing weights in the plugin, but these are static and created by modifying the http plugin config file.

If you want "intelligence" in routing requests to a WAS ND environment, then you need to consider using WebSphere Virtual Enterprise (WVE) in WAS releases prior to WAS v8.5 and Intelligent Management in WAS 8.5.x releases.

The On Demand Router (ODR) available in WVE and WAS v8.5 and the Intelligent Managment (IM) routing plugin available with WAS v8.5.5 adds "intelligence" to the plugin.  The IM plugin supports a subset of ODR capabilities. 

When you enable Intelligement Management in WAS v8.5.x, you enable additional "processes" (application placement monitor (APC) and dynamic workload monitor (DWLM)) that works with the ODR to understand the workload charateristics of the WAS v8.5.x environment. 

The APC and DWLM with the Autonmic Request Flow Manager (ARFM) work together to determine server routing weights, application placement, and server availability dynamically based on service policies create when the application is deployed to a WAS dynamic cluster.  All ODRs deployed in a WVE or IM environment have this information available to them and can all dynamically adjust routing information.


ODR capabilities not supported in the IM plugin:














See chapter 13 of the WebSphere Application Server V8.5 Administration and Configuration Guide for the Full Profile Redbook for an overview of IM - www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg248056....

Thanks for your input Sankar and Paul.. I noticed one more the Routing rule is not that much intelligent in Web server Intelligent management like ODR IM..  But we can do the routing rules in plugin xml using http routing rules.

Hi

Would it be possible if you keep your webserver in DMZ and manage it independently rather than integrating it with WAS? In that , how to enable the intelligent management for the web servers in DMZ? Does, it require creating the plugins manually and place the intelligent management properties in it or does something needs to be updated on WAS server as well?

Thanks