Web Services Security Guides › CA SiteMinder® Web Services Security Agent Guide for Apache-based Web Servers › Install and Configure Apache-based Agents on UNIX/Linux › Optional Agent Settings for UNIX/Linux on Apache-based Servers

Optional Agent Settings for UNIX/Linux on Apache-based Servers

CA SiteMinder® agents for apache-based servers offer the following optional settings:

• If you are using the apachectl script, set the agent variables in the script.
• Improve server performance with optional httpd.conf file changes.

Set SiteMinder WSS Agent Variables when using apachectl Script

You run your Apache server using the apachectl script (such as when running an Apache web server on POSIX). Add a line to the apachectl script to set the environment variables for the CA SiteMinder® agent.

Follow these steps:

1. Locate a line resembling the following example:

   # Source /etc/sysconfig/httpd for $HTTPD setting, etc
   

2. Add the following line before the line in the previous example:

   sh /agent_home/ca_wa_env.sh
   

   agent_home

   Specifies the installed location of the SiteMinder WSS Agent.

Improve Server Performance with Optional httpd.conf File Changes

You can improve server performance by modifying the default configuration settings in the httpd.conf file; however, these changes are not required:

Follow these steps:

1. For Apache- based servers, assign a higher priority level to your Apache20WebAgent.dll file than any other auth or access modules on your web server.
2. For low-traffic websites, define the following directives:
   • Set MaxRequestsPerChild>1000 or Set MaxRequestsPerChild=0
   • MinSpareServers >5
   • MaxSpareServers>10
   • StartServers=MinSpareServers>5
3. For high-traffic websites, define the following directives:
   • Set MaxRequestsPerChild>3000 or Set MaxRequestsPerChild=0
   • MinSpareServers >10
   • MaxSpareServers>15
   • StartServers=MinSpareServers>10

Note: CA Services can provide assistance with performance-tuning for your particular environment.