ArcGIS Web Adaptor (Java Platform) allows ArcGIS Server to integrate with your existing web server. The Java Platform setup is compatible with Java EE servers such as WebSphere and WebLogic.
ArcGIS Web Adaptor is an application that runs in your existing website and forwards requests to your server machines. It polls your site at a regular interval to learn which machines have been added or removed. It then forwards traffic to only the currently participating machines. When you prepare to expose your server site to an external audience, you should install the Web Adaptor or implement comparable request forwarding and security technology.
Benefits of the Web Adaptor
You can do the following using the Web Adaptor:
Integrate ArcGIS Server with your organization's existing web server. By including a web server in your site, you can host web applications that use your GIS services.
Provide a single endpoint that distributes incoming requests to the servers in your site.
Make your ArcGIS Server site available through your organization's standard website and port. Use the Web Adaptor if you don't want users to see the default port, 6080, or the default site name, arcgis.
Block the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory and ArcGIS Server Manager from the view of external users.
Prevent ArcGIS Pro users from establishing administrative or publisher connections to ArcGIS Server.
Use your organization's identity store and security policies at the web-tier level. You can also use public key infrastructure (PKI)-based client certificate authentication if the web server has built-in or extensible support. This allows you to provide a single sign-on or other custom authentication experience when logging in to use services, web applications, and ArcGIS Server.
Web Adaptor deployment scenarios
The Web Adaptor can be used in various server site configurations. For example, in a site with a single server machine, you can install the Web Adaptor on the same machine as the server machine, or offload it to a dedicated web server. In a multiple-machine deployment, you can have one entry point into your site by installing the Web Adaptor on a single web server, or you can establish redundancy at the web server tier by installing the Web Adaptor on multiple web servers.
The Web Adaptor version must always match the version of its registered server site.
It's recommended that you use a DNS alias rather than the host name of the machine running ArcGIS Web Adaptor when you register it with ArcGIS Server. If you need to switch the ArcGIS Web Adaptor instance to a new machine in the future, you can remap the DNS alias to that machine. By doing so, you can avoid breaking traffic and interrupting work.
The Web Adaptor is platform independent of ArcGIS Server; therefore, the Web Adaptor you deploy does not have to match the operating system platform of your ArcGIS Server site. For example, if you have a site composed of Linux machines, you can deploy ArcGIS Web Adaptor (Java Platform) to work with ArcGIS Server.
For a detailed description of the different ways you can integrate the Web Adaptor into your existing site architecture, see Deployment scenarios.
Accessing your services with the Web Adaptor installed
After installing and configuring the Web Adaptor, the URLs that you use to access your services will change. Examples of URLs that will change after installing a Web Adaptor to use port 443 are shown below.
Services Directory (REST web services)
Without the Web Adaptor: https://gisserver.domain.com:6443/arcgis/rest/services.
With the Web Adaptor: https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services. For example, if the machine hosting your Web Adaptor is named wa with the domain myorg.net and your Web Adaptor is named arcgis, you'll access the Services Directory using the URL https://wa.myorg.net/arcgis/rest/services.
SOAP web services
Without the Web Adaptor: https://gisserver.domain.com:6443/arcgis/services.
With the Web Adaptor: https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/services. For example, if the machine hosting your Web Adaptor is named wa with the domain myorg.net and your Web Adaptor is named arcgis, you'll access SOAP web services using the URL https://wa.myorg.net/arcgis/services.
Web Adaptor setup experience
The Web Adaptor has its own setup and installation guide that is separate from the ArcGIS Server installation. You must install the Web Adaptor on a machine running a web server. This can be a machine running an ArcGIS Server site or a separate machine.
To learn more about the setup experience, see Steps to implement ArcGIS Web Adaptor.