BusinessObjects Enterprise Administrator's Guide

Web Component Adapter (WCA)

The web server communicates directly with the application server that hosts the BusinessObjects Enterprise SDK. The Web Component Adapter (WCA) runs within the application server and provides all services that are not directly supported by the BusinessObjects Enterprise SDK. The web server passes requests directly to the application server, which then forwards the requests on to the WCA.

The WCA has two primary roles:

• It processes ASP.NET (.aspx) and Java Server Pages (.jsp) files
• It also supports Business Objects applications such as the Central Management Console (CMC) and Crystal report viewers (that are implemented through viewrpt.aspx requests).

Note:    In Crystal Enterprise 10 on Windows, the communication between the web server and the application server was handled through the Web Connector; the functionality of the Web Component Adapter (WCA) was provided through the Web Component Server (WCS). In BusinessObjects Enterprise XI, the web server communicates directly with the application server and the WCA handles the WCS functionality, both on Windows and Unix platforms.