Configure Instance
After you have installed FlowForce Server, you will need to proceed with server configuration. Methods 1 and 2 enable you to configure the server via the FlowForce Server Setup page. The Setup page provides a centralized way of configuring and managing server instances. Method 3 enables you to configure the server via the command line and configuration files. For more information about server configuration, see the methods below.
Method 1
If you run Linux with a graphical user interface on your local machine, run the FlowForce Web server executable with the setup command as shown below:
sudo /opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/bin/flowforcewebserver setup
Method 2
If you want to connect to the Setup page from a browser on a different machine, run the same setup command as above and add the --listen option and, if necessary, with the --key option (see below).
After you have used Method 1 or 2 above, the terminal will display two alternative URLs for the setup page that you can copy-paste into your browser's address bar. In the event that the first URL does not work, you can use the second one. For information about server configuration on the Setup page, see Configuration via Setup Page.
Method 3
The third method enables you to configure your server instance via the command line and configuration files. For details, see Configuration via Configuration Files and CLI.
Options of the setup command
The setup command supports the following options:
--listen
By default, every time when you run the setup, the URL of the setup page is regenerated on a free random port (e.g., http://localhost:50492/setup). The --listen option enables you to specify an alternative interface/port combination to listen to (other than localhost or 127.0.0.1). This might be useful if you want to access the Setup page from a browser on a different machine.
Note the following points:
•It is not recommended to make the setup run privileged with the actual data directory and bind it to an external network interface. If you intend to do that, the next option (--key) is useful.
•Do not use the same port as the normal (non-setup) FlowForce Web Server or FlowForce Server instance, because when the instance runs, that port will already be in use.
If the binding address (interface) is non-local, you may need to configure the operating system's firewall so as to enable access through the designated port.
Example
For example, the command flowforcewebserver setup --listen=0.0.0.0:10008 would make the setup listen on port 10008 on all interfaces.
--key
The --key option enables you to set an access key for the setup page. With this option set, it is possible to save the setup page only if the correct access key is provided in the URL. The key can be any string that will be included in the URL. The setup page is not available continuously but only for the duration of the setup operation. For example, if you run a Linux command like the one below,
flowforcewebserver setup --listen=wild.berries.com:8015
--key=all_cats_love_fish
--datadir=/var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data
the URL to connect to will be as follows:
http://wild.berries.com:8015/setup?key=all_cats_love_fish
Note that the setup page does not use HTTPS, because it used itself to configure the HTTPS parameters.