E Configuring the Portal Tools Providers

E.1.3.1 Restricting Users from Clipping Content from Unauthorized External Web Sites

To restrict users from clipping content from unauthorized external Web sites, Web Clipping uses the proxy exception list. This is available only for environments that use a proxy server to reach external Web sites. (Usually, you use the proxy exception list to specify any domain to which you can directly connect, bypassing a proxy server.)

To add an external Web site to the proxy exception list:

1. Go to the Provider Test Page: Web Clipping by entering the following URL:

   http://servername:port/portalTools/webClipping/providers/webClipping
   

2. Go to the Edit Provider: webClipping page.

3. In the Proxy Settings section, for the No proxy for field, enter the Web sites which you want to restrict.

4. Click OK to save the settings and return to the Web Clipping Test page.

Users attempting to reach a Web site in one of the listed domains, from the Web Clipping Studio, will receive an HTTP timeout error.

E.1.4.1 Configuring Caching

To enable caching with Oracle Web Cache, take the following steps:

1. Check the webcache.xml file in the following directory to verify the accurate values of the invalidation host and port number:

   On UNIX:

   INSTANCE_HOME/config/WebCache/wc1
   

   On Windows:

   INSTANCE_HOME\config\WebCache\wc1
   

2. Edit the provider.xml file located in the following directory:

   On UNIX:

   MIDDLEWARE_HOME/user_projects/domains/<DomainName>/servers/WLS_PORTAL/tmp/_WL_user/portalTools/6znell/war/WEB-INF/providers/webClipping
   

   On Windows:

   MIDDLEWARE_HOME\user_projects\domains\<DomainName>\servers\WLS_PORTAL\tmp\_WL_user\portalTools\6znell\war\WEB-INF\providers\webClipping
   

   In the provider.xml file:

   1. Search for the useInvalidationCaching tag and set its value to true to enable Oracle Web Cache invalidation-based caching.

   2. Search for the cacheExpires tag and set a default value if you wish to modify that value. This value is in minutes.

E.2.1.1 Configuring HTTP or HTTPS Proxy Settings

If a proxy server is required for the provider to make a URL connection to a data source outside the firewall, then you must set up the HTTP or HTTPS Proxy.

You'll need to perform the same steps to configure the proxy settings for the OmniPortlet provider as for the Web Clipping provider by editing the OmniPortlet provider.xml file located in the following directory:

On UNIX:

MIDDLEWARE_HOME/user_projects/domains/<DomainName>/servers/WLS_PORTAL/tmp/_WL_user/portalTools/l1nt2k/war/WEB-INF/providers/omniPortlet

On Windows:

MIDDLEWARE_HOME\user_projects\domains\<DomainName>\servers\WLS_PORTAL\tmp\_WL_user\portalTools\l1nt2k\war\WEB-INF\providers\omniPortlet

After editing the file you do not need to restart Oracle WebLogic Server for the new settings to take effect. However, you do need to set up the proxyInfo tag in Web Clipping's provider.xml file for Web Page Data Source to work properly. Refer to the Web Clipping provider section, Section E.1.3, "Configuring HTTP or HTTPS Proxy Settings" for more information on configuring Web Clipping proxy settings in provider.xml.

The following example shows the relevant portion of provider.xml:

<proxyInfo class="oracle.portal.provider.v2.ProxyInformation">
<httpProxyHost>proxy.mycompany.com</httpProxyHost>
<httpProxyPort>80</httpProxyPort>
<dontProxyFor>*.mycompany.com</dontProxyFor>
<proxyUseAuth>true</proxyUseAuth>
<proxyType>Basic</proxyType>
<proxyRealm>realm1</proxyRealm>
<proxyUseGlobal>false</proxyUseGlobal>
<proxyUser>scott</proxyUser>
<proxyPassword>!tiger</proxyPassword>
</proxyInfo>

The element meanings and values are shown in Table E-4:

E.2.1.2 Configuring the Secured Data Repository (PDK only)

OmniPortlet uses the Web Clipping repository to store credentials needed to access secured data. You must configure the repository if you intend to use the Web Page data source or work with secured data (for example, a SQL database or a URL-based data source with HTTP basic authentication). If you have configured the Web Clipping Repository already, you do not need to configure the Secured Data Repository again because they are the same repository.

To configure the repository, click Edit next to Secured Data Repository on the OmniPortlet Provider Test page. The Edit Provider page is displayed, on which you can enter the repository information. Refer to the Web Clipping provider section, Section E.1.1, "Configuring the Web Clipping Repository" for more information.

E.2.1.3 Configuring Caching (PDK Only)

If you want the portlet content cached using invalidation-based caching, then an Oracle Web Cache instance must be configured as a front end to the provider.

You must use the URL host name and port number to point to the Oracle Web Cache instance when registering the provider as shown in the following example:

http://<cache_instance_name>:<cache_port>/portalTools/omniPortlet/providers/omniPortlet

This task must be performed when registering the OmniPortlet provider. Refer to Section E.2.3, "Registering the OmniPortlet Provider (PDK Only)" for details about registering the OmniPortlet provider.

When an OmniPortlet definition is altered either through the Edit Defaults or Personalize page, the provider generates a request that invalidates and removes the portlet content from the cache. The invalidation request is sent to the invalidation port of the Oracle Web Cache instance. Information about the Oracle Web Cache instance is maintained in the webcache.xml file in the INSTANCE_HOME/config/WebCache/wc1 directory. If the Web Cache invalidation settings change, then you must update this file. The following example shows sample entries in the webcache.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<webcache>
    <invalidation
        host="<cache_instance_name>"
        port="<cache_invalidation_port>"
        authorization="<obfuscated_username_password>"/>
</webcache>

Where:

• <cache_instance_name> is the host name of the Web Cache instance.

• <cache_invalidation_port> is the Web Cache invalidation port.

• <obfuscated_username_password> is the invalidator user name and password.

  For information about obfuscating the invalidator user name and password, refer to the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Portal.

E.2.1.4 Configuring OmniPortlet to Access HTTPS URLs

You can configure OmniPortlet to access data through HTTPS URLs by doing the following:

• Adding Certificates for Trusted Sites

• Library For HTTPS Access (PDK Only)

Adding Certificates for Trusted Sites

Perform this task only once, either for Web Clipping or for OmniPortlet.

The trusted server certificate file, ca-bundle.crt, generated from Oracle Wallet Manager is shipped with Oracle Portal. This file contains an initial list of trusted server certificates that may be used for navigating to some secure servers using HTTPS. However, because the file does not contain a complete list of all possible server certificates that exist on the Web, this file must be configured or extended to recognize any additional trusted server certificates for any new trusted sites that are visited. Refer to Section 7.1.12.1, "Adding Certificates for Trusted Sites" for details about configuring or extending the trusted certificate file.

Copying the Library for HTTPS Access (PDK Only)

To access HTTPS URLs, OmniPortlet needs access to the files, njssl10.dll (for Windows) or libnjssl10.so (for UNIX).

For providers running on Windows, the njssl10.dll file must be present in a folder defined in the PATH environment variable. If it is not available, then you can copy this library from the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory.

For providers running on UNIX, the libnjssl10.so file must be present in the folder defined in LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable. If it is not available, then you can copy this library from the ORACLE_HOME/lib directory.

After copying the library, you must restart the WLS_PORTAL instance.

E.2.4.1 Installing DataDirect JDBC Drivers

DataDirect JDBC drivers are packaged in a single ZIP file containing the different drivers used to access supported databases. Download the ZIP file from the following location:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/htdocs/utilsoft.html

To install DataDirect JDBC drivers, perform the following steps:

1. Unzip the contents of the ZIP file into a temporary directory, for example /temp/datadirect.

2. Create the ORACLE_HOME/portal/applib directory if it does not already exist.

3. From the /temp/datadirect/lib directory, copy the DataDirect JDBC drivers to the INSTANCE_HOME>/applib directory.

4. Check the configuration of the WLS_PORTAL instance to ensure that the DataDirect libraries are loaded. To do this, perform the following steps:

   1. Open the MIDDLEWARE_HOME\user_projects\domains\ClassicDomain\servers\WLS_PORTAL\stage\portal\portal\META-INF\application.xml file. This file is used to configure all applications in this instance.

   2. Add the XML entry, <library path="../applib"/>, to the file if it does not already exist.

E.2.4.2 Registering DataDirect Drivers in OmniPortlet

OmniPortlet is implemented as a Web provider and all the configuration properties are stored in the provider.xml file. To use DataDirect JDBC drivers with OmniPortlet, you must register these drivers in the provider.xml file.

To register the new DataDirect JDBC drivers, perform the following steps:

1. Back up the file, MIDDLEWARE_HOME\user_projects\domains\<DomainName>\servers\WLS_PORTAL\tmp\_WL_user\portalTools\l1nt2k\war\WEB-INF\providers\omniPortlet\provider.xml, and then open the file.

2. Add the drivers that you want to use for the SQL data source configuration entry. To do this, perform the following:

   1. Search for the XML tag, driverInfo.

   2. Add a new entry after the last driverInfo tag.

   Following is an example showing a Microsoft SQL Server entry:

   • For OmniPortlet version 9.0.4.1 or later:

     <!-- registration of DataDirect Connect for JDBC SQL Server driver -->
     <driverInfo class="oracle.webdb.reformlet.data.jdbc.JDBCDriverInfo">
       <name>Microsoft SQL Server</name>
       <sourceDataBase>other</sourceDataBase>
       <subProtocol>sqlserver</subProtocol>
       <connectString>mainProtocol:subProtocol://databaseName</connectString>
       <driverClassName>com.oracle.ias.jdbc.sqlserver.SQLServerDriver
       </driverClassName>
       <dataSourceClassName>com.oracle.ias.jdbcx.sqlserver.SQLServerDataSource
       </dataSourceClassName>
       <connHandlerClass>oracle.webdb.reformlet.data.jdbc.JDBCConnectionHandler
       </connHandlerClass>
       <connPoolSize>5</connPoolSize>
       <loginTimeOut>30</loginTimeOut>
     </driverInfo>
     

   • For OmniPortlet versions before 9.0.4.1:

     <!-- registration of DataDirect Connect for JDBC SQL Server driver -->
     <driverInfo class="oracle.webdb.reformlet.data.jdbc.JDBCDriverInfo">
       <name>Microsoft SQL Server</name>
       <sourceDataBase>other</sourceDataBase>
       <subProtocol>sqlserver</subProtocol>
       <connectString>mainProtocol:subProtocol://databaseName</connectString>
       <driverClassName>com.oracle.ias.jdbc.sqlserver.SQLServerDriver
       </driverClassName>
       <connHandlerClass>
       oracle.webdb.reformlet.data.jdbc.JDBCODBCConnectionHandler
       </connHandlerClass>
       <connPoolSize>5</connPoolSize>
       <loginTimeOut>30</loginTimeOut>
     </driverInfo>
     

   Table E-6 describes the parameters in the driverInfo property.

   Table E-6 Parameters in the driverInfo Property

   Parameter	Description
   name	Name of the database you want to use. This name will be used on the Source tab of the OmniPortlet wizard.
   sourceDataBase	Internal value. Set the value to other.
   subProtocol	JDBC subprotocol name used by OmniPortlet to create the connection string, for example sqlserver, sybase, or db2.To get the list of subprotocol names, refer to the DataDirect JDBC driver documentation using the links provided at the end of this section.
   connectString	Description of the connect string format. For DataDirect drivers, the format is: mainProtocol:subProtocol://databaseName
   driverClassName	Name of the driver class. To get the different values, refer to the DataDirect JDBC driver documentation using the links provided at the end of this section.
   dataSourceClassName	Name of the data source class that implements connection pooling. This parameter is only available in OmniPortlet version 9.0.4.1 or later. Refer to Table E-7 for the right data source class name for your driver.
   connHandlerClass	Class used by OmniPortlet to manage the driver and connection pooling. The value is either of the following: For OmniPortlet version 9.0.4.1 or later: oracle.webdb.reformlet.data.jdbc.JDBCConnectionHandler For OmniPortlet versions before 9.0.4.1: oracle.webdb.reformlet.data.jdbc.JDBCODBCConnectionHandler
   connPoolSize	Minimum number of connections that are opened by the connection pool.
   loginTimeOut	Maximum time, in seconds, that this data source will wait while attempting to connect to a database.

   
   

   Table E-7 lists the values for the driverClassName and dataSourceClassName properties for specific DataDirect JDBC drivers.

   Table E-7 Parameters and Values for driverClassName and dataSourceClassName

   DataDirect Drivers Supported	Properties
   Microsoft SQL Server	Parameter: driverClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbc.sqlserver.SQLServerDriver Parameter: dataSourceClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbcx.sqlserver.SQLServerDataSource
   Sybase	Parameter: driverClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbc.sybase.SybaseDriver Parameter: dataSourceClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbcx.sybase.SybaseDataSource
   DB2	Parameter: driverClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbc.db2.DB2Driver Parameter: dataSourceClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbcx.db2.DB2DataSource
   Informix	Parameter: driverClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbc.informix.InformixDriver Parameter: dataSourceClassName Value: com.oracle.ias.jdbcx.informix.InformixDataSource

   
   

3. Save the provider.xml file.

4. Stop and start the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance.

Troubleshooting Information

If you encounter errors or problems when configuring or using the OmniPortlet provider, refer to Appendix G, "Troubleshooting Oracle Portal" for troubleshooting information.