Use Port 443 vs. 9443 in JTS Setup
CLM 6.0.6
WebSphere 8.5.5.13
For years I have been installing Jazz applications and always used the default port of 9443 during JTS setup for the Public URI. So I used:
https://<server name>:9443/jts
Well after I completed JTS setup, I was told by the team that I should not have used 9443. We are using the F5 Load Balancer and want users to reference the Jazz application without any port identification. But when they enter the URI without the port number, the port 9443 pops up in the URL line. They want people to access the application using port 443 as the default but not even have to reference a port number and let the load balancer handle it. Since 9443 was already entered and "locked in" during JTS setup, I know the best way to clean this up is to rebuild and rerun JTS setup. Question is, can I use port 443 in the Public URI during JTS setup? Am I going about this the wrong way? Do I even need a port when I run JTS setup (I assume so).
One answer
Rob,
this is (as far as I can tell) basic network knowledge and how to use ports. 443 is the well-known port for HTTPS (Google if you do not know what that means). Usually you would use 443 if you do not want to have anyone to bother about the port. You can leave it away, because it is used as default. Insead of https://foo.ba.com:443/ you would use https://foo.ba.com/.
I think the problem here is, that there is too few knowledge of these basic network rules in the wild and this causes more and more issues. There basically is a lack of understanding how the fundamental rules work. I would suggest to talk to the network department about this.
Comments
Thanks Ralph, you are right, I really don't understand the basic rules about these ports and I guess that is why I ask. So are you saying that I can just use "https://<server name>/jts" during JTS setup and it will default to port 443? Or do I use "https://<server name>:443/jts"?
late, on vacation,... should not answer, I guess.
Only so lala about IP, but got burnt enough, to be sensible 8)
You can use a well known port - Google, seriously - in this case you do not have to have the port in the URI (see Jazz.net).This would be used at the initial setup.
You have to make sure that the app server uses the port you want. There are configuration settings related to this.
Usually you would have an IHS reverse proxy to host the public URI (with or without port in the URI) and forward the request to the server that actually hosts the app.
You can make sure the setup is correct at the beginning (preferred), or you can use a server rename to fix this URI, if needed.
PS: In IBM we use all kinds of URI's including all kinds of weird port numbers.
8)
The publig URI would be https://<server name> and e.g. for JTS: 'https://<server name>:443/jts' assuming that the app server wroks on 443 as well known port.