HTTP tunneling provides a way to simulate a stateful socket 
connection between WebLogic Server and a Java client when 
your only option is to use the HTTP protocol. It is 
generally used to tunnel through an HTTP port in a security 
firewall. HTTP is a stateless protocol, but WebLogic Server 
provides tunneling functionality to make the connection 
appear to be a regular T3Connection. However, you can 
expect some performance loss in comparison to a normal 
socket connection.

Configuring the HTTP Tunneling Connection
Under the HTTP protocol, a client may only make a request, 
and then accept a reply from a server. The server may not 
voluntarily communicate with the client, and the protocol 
is stateless, meaning that a continuous two-way connection 
is not possible. 

WebLogic HTTP tunneling simulates a T3Connection via the 
HTTP protocol, overcoming these limitations. There are two 
attributes that you can configure in the Administration 
Console to tune a tunneled connection for performance. It 
is advised that you leave them at their default settings 
unless you experience connection problems. These properties 
are used by the server to determine whether the client 
connection is still valid, or whether the client is still 
alive. 

Enable Tunneling

Enables or disables HTTP tunneling. HTTP tunneling is 
disabled by default. 

Note that the server must also support both the HTTP and T3 
protocols in order to use HTTP tunneling.

Tunneling Client Ping

When an HTTP tunnel connection is set up, the client 
automatically sends a request to the server, so that the 
server may volunteer a response to the client. The client 
may also include instructions in a request, but this 
behavior happens regardless of whether the client 
application needs to communicate with the server. If the 
server does not respond (as part of the application code) 
to the client request within the number of seconds set in 
this attribute, it does so anyway. The client accepts the 
response and automatically sends another request 
immediately.

Default is 45 seconds; valid range is 20 to 900 seconds. 

Tunneling Client Timeout

If the number of seconds set in this attribute have elapsed 
since the client last sent a request to the server (in 
response to a reply), then the server regards the client as 
dead, and terminates the HTTP tunnel connection. The server 
checks the elapsed time at the interval specified by this 
attribute, when it would otherwise respond to the client's 
request. 

Default is 40 seconds; valid range is 10 to 900 seconds.