RMI 5: RMI through Firewalls Via Proxies

• RMI uses HTTP based mechanisms to enable a client within a firewall to invoke a method on a remote object that resides outside the firewall
• java.rmi.server.RMISocketFactory
• Configuring the client: Nothing needed; client cannot export its own remote objects outside the firewall
• Configuring the server:
  • setup hostname: to set up the RMI server class ServerImpl

    	java -Djava.rmi.server.hostname=
    		gem.dcs.warwick.ac.uk ServerImpl
    

  • HTTP server listening at port 80
  • CGI script at the URL path:

    /cgi-bin/java-rmi.dgi
    

• Performance Issues and Limitations: http call an order of magnitude slower than those sent through sockets directly.