Altova FlowForce Server 2024 

The network settings of both FlowForce Server and FlowForce Web Server can be configured either from the Setup Page or by editing .ini configuration files, as described below.

 

There are two .ini files, one for FlowForce Server (flowforce.ini), and another one for FlowForce Web Server (flowforceweb.ini). The .ini configuration files can be found at the following path:

 

Linux

/var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data/flowforce.ini

/var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data/flowforceweb.ini

macOS

/var/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data/flowforce.ini

/var/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data/flowforceweb.ini

Windows

C:\ProgramData\Altova\FlowForceServer2024\data\flowforce.ini

C:\ProgramData\Altova\FlowForceServer2024\data\flowforceweb.ini

 

In the directory above, you can also can find two sample .ini files that contain comments and can be used as a template:

 

flowforce.ini.template

flowforceweb.ini.template

 

After editing the .ini files, remember to restart the corresponding service (FlowForce Server or FlowForce Web Server). For more information, see:

 

Starting and Stopping Services (Linux)

Starting and Stopping Services (macOS)

Starting and Stopping Services (Windows)

 

A sample flowforce.ini file looks as follows:

 

[Listen]

active=1
host=127.0.0.1
port=4646

hostname=
 
[ListenSSL]
active=1
SSL=1
host=0.0.0.0
port=4647

hostname=
 
[SSL]
certificate=/path/to/certificate.crt
private_key=/path/to/private_key.key

certificate_chain=/path/to/certificate_chain

 

A sample flowforceweb.ini file looks as follows:

 

[Listen]

active=1
host=0.0.0.0
port=8082
hostname=example.domain.org
 
[ListenSSL]
active=1
SSL=1
host=0.0.0.0
port=8083

hostname=example.domain.org
 
[SSL]
certificate=path/to/certificate.crt
private_key=path/to/private_key.key

certificate_chain=/path/to/certificate_chain
 
[FlowForce]
host=127.0.0.1
port=4646

hostname=

 

The .ini files are organized into sections, as described below. Differences between both files are mentioned below where applicable.

 

[Listen]

A [Listen] section defines the HTTP connection settings. It is possible to define multiple [Listen] sections. Each [Listen] section must begin with "Listen", for example [ListenSSL].

 

active

(Optional) Activates or deactivates this [Listen] section. Valid values:

 

0

disabled

1

enabled

 

For example, active=1 means that HTTP connections are enabled.

ssl

(Optional) Enables SSL support for this [Listen] section. Valid values:

 

0

disabled

1

enabled

 

To enable SSL support, set ssl=1 and also create a [SSL] section, as shown below.

host

Specifies the network bind address of FlowForce (Web) Server, for example, 127.0.0.1. This can be an IPv4 or IPv6 address. Use 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces. For local access only, use 127.0.0.1.

port

Specifies the port on which FlowForce (Web) Server will listen. Make sure that this port is not already 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.

hostname

The Host name field, if non-empty, sets a fixed host name that is used for the binding. It sets the name of the machine running FlowForce Web Server that other machines on the network would use to connect to it.

 

Normally, FlowForce detects automatically the appropriate host name to use. If you set this field explicitly, then automatic detection will be overridden. You may need to use a value like somehost or somehost.example.org, depending on the network configuration in your organization.

 

The host name associated with a binding is used for SSL (see Enabling SSL for FlowForce Web Server) and by Altova Service Controller on Windows. If SSL is enabled, the host name has to match the Common Name property of the certificate.

max_request_body_size

This option enables you to specify the maximum size, in bytes, of HTTP requests to either FlowForce Server or FlowForce Web Server, for example:

 

max_request_body_size=500000000

 

The default, implicit limit is around 100 MB (100,000,000 bytes). You may need to set this option explicitly in the following situations:

 

1.If you call FlowForce Web services exposed as jobs and the HTTP request body is larger than the default limit.

2.If you deploy mappings from MapForce to FlowForce Server and the input files are larger than the default limit.

 

For case 1 above, the option must be set only in the flowforce.ini file. For case 2, the option must be set in both flowforce.ini and flowforceweb.ini files.

 

[SSL]

This section defines the SSL/HTTPS connection settings.

 

certificate

Specifies the absolute path to the certificate file in PEM format.

private_key

Specifies the absolute path to the private key file.

certificate_chain

(optional) The path to the certificate chain file.

 

[FlowForce]

This section is applicable only for FlowForce Web Server (the flowforceweb.ini file). It defines the connection details between FlowForce Web Server and FlowForce Server.

 

ssl

(Optional) Enables SSL support for the connection between FlowForce Web Server and FlowForce Server. Valid values:

 

0

disabled

1

enabled

host

Specifies the IP address or host name of FlowForce Server.

 

If FlowForce Server is not bound to all interfaces, this value must be the same as the one in the “[Listen]” section of the flowforce.ini, otherwise it is 127.0.0.1.

 

If SSL is enabled, this value must match the "Common Name" property of the certificate configured in “[SSL]” section of the flowforce.ini.

port

Specifies the TCP port on which FlowForce Web Server is to connect to FlowForce Server.

 

This value must be the same as the one in corresponding “[Listen]” or “[ListenSSL]” section of the flowforce.ini that has the same port number.

 

If SSL is enabled on this port, host and hostname (or just host if hostname is not present) must match the "Common Name" property of the certificate configured in “[SSL]” section of flowforce.ini.

hostname

If non-empty, this field sets a fixed host name that is used by other machines on the network to connect to FlowForce jobs exposed as Web services (see Exposing Jobs as Web Services).

 

You may need to use a value like somehost or somehost.example.org, depending on the network configuration in your organization.

 

If SSL is enabled on that port and this value is present, this value has to match the "Common Name" property of the certificate configured in the “[SSL]” section of flowforce.ini.

 

The host name is also used by Altova Service Controller.  If you don't set the host name, FlowForce detects automatically the first appropriate host name to be used by Altova Service Controller.

 

If hostname is configured, the FlowForce web interface can present clickable links to navigate to jobs exposed as Web services, including links in the Active Triggers and Services section of the home page. Also, a Call Web Service fs_ic_call_ws button becomes available in the "Service" section of the job configuration page that enables you to call the Web service in a new browser window.

certificate

(Optional) Defines what server certificate will be accepted by FlowForce Server. If no certificate is given, the system root CA certificates will be used to verify the server certificate. If present, this value must match the certificate that FlowForce Server is using (the one in the flowforce.ini file).

 

[FlowForceWeb]

This section is applicable only for FlowForce Web Server (the flowforceweb.ini file).

 

timezone

Specifies the default time zone of FlowForce Web Server, for example timezone=Europe/Berlin

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