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Troubleshooting Tip: Directory Listing in Sun Java System Web Server 7.0

Meena Vyas, May 2007

In response to inquiries, I wrote this tech tip to describe the configuration required for directory listing. This tip also tells you how to give both authenticated and unauthenticated users that access.

To obtain a directory listing in Sun Java System Web Server 7.0, ensure that the appropriate configuration is in place. That is, verify that your obj.conf file—or the virtual server's obj.conf file, if applicable—contains this line with the parameter index-common for fn:

Service method="(GET|HEAD)" type="magnus-internal/directory" fn="index-common"

Note: The obj.conf file is in the Web-Server-install-dir/Web-Server-instance-name/config directory, where Web-Server-install-dir is the location in which Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 resides and Web-Server-instance-name is the name of the Sun Java System Web Server instance.

For a directory listing, users must have the list right. By default, Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 does not grant that right to unauthenticated users. Verify that your file that contains the Access Control Lists (ACLs)—default.acl or the virtual server's ACL file, if applicable—reflects the appropriate permissions. The default.acl file also resides in the Web-Server-install-dir/Web-Server-instance-name/ config directory.

Here are the relevant lines in the default.acl file:

version 3.0;
acl "default";
authenticate (user, group) {
    prompt = "Sun Java System Web Server";
};
allow (read, execute, info) user = "anyone";
allow (list, write, delete) user = "all";

The line at the bottom grants the list right to authenticated users only. To give even unauthenticated users that right, move list from that line to the one above, as follows:

allow (read, execute, info, list) user = "anyone";
allow (write, delete) user = "all";

Note: For details on access control in Sun Java System Web Server 7.0, refer to Meena's two blogs: I and II.

Refer to sun.com for more information on Sun Java System Web Server.

And make sure to see the product hub put together for sys admins by the engineers and writers who developed the Sun Java Application Platform Suite.

About the Author

Meena Vyas, who joined the software industry in 1996, is a member of the Sun Java System Web Server development team. She has been working on Web Server releases since 2001 with a focus on Web security and Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV). Her blog addresses numerous technical topics in those areas.

Unless otherwise licensed, code in all technical manuals herein (including articles, FAQs, samples) is provided under this License.