Getting started with IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Web Content Manager Hypervisor

Introduction This document details the deployment instructions for IBM® WebSphere® Portal and Web Content ManagerTM Hypervisor Edition in the form of an Open Virtual Archive (hereafter referred to as "OVA", or "image") for deploying through the WebSphere CloudBurstTM Appliance (WCA). This OVA lets you experience the fully functional WebSphere Portal Server and Web Content Manager instance deployed through WebSphere CloudBurst. The image also includes definitions and configurations for multiple parts of a typical WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager deployment, allowing you to build very-simple-to-more complex topologies quickly and easily. This document guides you through the steps of deploying this OVA, as well as how to build new OVA images based on an instance created from the original image. You may wish to build new OVAs to contain your own custom WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager solutions that can be used to build deployment patterns of your own design. We focus on the process of setting up an instance of WebSphere Portal Hypervisor, covering the following topics in detail: Initializing a new instance based on the OVA, using deployment patterns created by the user Accessing and managing WebSphere Portal Building a new OVA based on an instance you customize Assumptions This documentation is intended for users who have a general knowledge of Linux® and how it works. To get the most from this article, you should have a good understanding of Linux commands and how to manipulate input and output. You should also have a good working knowledge of the WebSphere CloudBurst appliance, its administrative console, and how to deploy patterns using it. We provide a basic overview of how to manage WebSphere Portal and include links to product documentation for more detailed information and guidance on how to use the product to build a Web site. OVA contents and configuration The WebSphere Portal OVA is a pre-installed and pre-configured instance of the product. Instances created based on this OVA are ready to use and pre-configured with certain features to make it easier to get started. The product configuration includes: Security enablement. WebSphere Application Server security is enabled with the virtuser user ID, serving as both the WebSphere Portal administrator and WebSphere Application Server administrator id. During the deployment of the OVA, you will be required to set the password for the virtuser user id. HTTP Server enablement. The IBM HTTP Server is configured to provide port 80 access to WebSphere Portal. The IBM HTTP Server is configured in its own part definition, so that it can be set up as a remote virtual machine for certain topologies instead of running on the same machine as WebSphere Portal. Section 3.3 below covers how to use the HTTP Server. External DB2 database. An instance of IBM® DB2 Enterprise Edition is installed and configured as WebSphere Portal's external database, providing an enterprise-class and highly performing database environment. It's configured in its own part definition, so that it can be set up as a remote virtual machine if desired. Deployment Manager. A Deployment Manager part is defined to be run in its own virtual machine for managing a cell containing a WebSphere Portal / Web Content Manager cluster. Portal light mode enablement. Portal light mode speeds up the start time for WebSphere Portal by deferring the start of individual Web applications and portlets until they are first requested by the user. For more information on developer mode, refer to the Installation options topic in the WebSphere Portal Information Center. Web Content Manager enablement. The OVA has Web Content Manager configured for rendering and authoring. Several sample content libraries are also provided, including support for blogs and wikis. Adding the OVA to WebSphere CloudBurst There are two methods for adding the Portal OVA into WebSphere CloudBurst: the Web interface and the command line. To use the Web interface: Click the link "Add virtual images" located under the Additional Tasks column on the Welcome page. This takes you to a page containing all the virtual images in the catalog. Click the New Virtual Image icon and enter the requested information to add the Portal OVA into the catalog. For remote access, specify either an FTP or HTTP URL in the Location field and, optionally, a user ID and password, if the URL is protected (see figure 1). Figure 1. Set up remote access for OVA upload To add the Portal OVA using the command line tools, log into the CloudBurst Server from your command line and run the following command: clouburst.virtualimages.create('[full path to OVA]/WebSphere_Portal.ova') Initializing a new instance of the OVA The following sections outline prerequisite information and steps for creating a new instance or pattern of an image. Details of how to use the WCA administrative console, set up an account, and a cloud of hypervisors are not provided here. For more information on the WCA, refer to the WebSphere Cloudburst InfoCenter. Creating patterns To create a new pattern: 1. Click the new pattern icon ( ) on the patterns tab of the WCA Web interface to create a new pattern for the Portal image (see figure 2). Figure 2. Creating a new pattern 2. Enter the required information and optional description. Select the desired Virtual image from the drop-down menu and click OK. Cloudburst then creates a new blank pattern with the information specified (see figure 3). Figure 3. New blank pattern 3. Click the edit pattern icon ( ). A list of all the parts provided by the virtual image that are available for the pattern to use are in the left-hand column (see figure 4). The right-hand side is where you drag parts over to model virtual machines that will be created. Figure 4. The pattern editor 4. To create a standalone WebSphere Portal instance in a single virtual machine that runs DB2 and the IBM HTTP Server locally, simply drag the Standalone server part over into the right side of the page. A single box containing the part appears (figure 5), representing a single virtual image, which is the simplest to deploy for standalone systems. Figure 5. A simple pattern 5. To build a more complex pattern, such as a standalone portal instance with a remote DB2 instance, or a portal cluster, use the Portal Part instead of the Standalone server part and add additional machines to the deployment, simply by dragging over multiple parts (see figure 6). CloudBurst automatically detects and creates links between various machines and configures them accordingly at deployment. The Portal Part is used over the Standalone Server Part to provide for more configuration options for supporting more complex configurations. Figure 6. Portal cluster of two nodes 6. Click Done editing, to save a draft of your pattern. You can then make additional changes, make your pattern read-only, or deploy it. Parts of the OVA The WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager OVA ships with five parts that can be used for defining patterns for deployment: Standalone server. Configures a self-contained virtual machine for setting up simple single-server deployments and for extending and capturing a new virtual image (see Section 5). Deployment Manager. A virtual machine configured to run the Deployment Manager, for managing a cell containing a WebSphere Portal cluster. Remote IHS. Sets up a remote IBM HTTP Server to load-balance Web access to the portal cluster. Portal Part. The most versatile part, this creates a self-contained Portal instance with a local DB2 instance and HTTP Server, or is linked to a Deployment Manager as a part of a cluster pattern. It can also link to the remote IHS and DB2 parts. Selecting a Portal Part instead of a Standalone server provides for more configuration options at deployment. The Portal Part also contains more links with other parts than the Standalone, making it the desired part to use with clustering. Remote DB2. Creates a remote DB2 instance for either a single-server instance (using a single Portal Part) or a cluster of portal instances. Deploying patterns To deploy a pattern: Select a pattern to deploy, and then click the "Deploy in the cloud..." icon () or the Deploy button located lower on the page. A prompt displays in which you can configure the deployment by setting the virtual system name, scheduling the deployment, and configuring each virtual machine. For the Portal OVA, the configuration consists of setting passwords and the cell and node names, determining whether to federate the node if it's the primary node, and enabling VNC. On the initial deployment window (see figure 7), specify a name for this deployment. Select a Cloud Group on which to deploy the pattern, and then click the "Configure virtual parts" link to provide the missing configuration details for the portal pattern, on a per-part basis. Figure 7. Deploying a virtual system 3. As you click each part in the virtual system description window, a resulting window displays to set the required parameters for each part (see an example in figure 8). This include setting machine sizes, required passwords, node and cell identities, and indicating which portal node in the cluster will serve as the primary. Figure 8. Configuring the virtual machine 4. Click OK after filling out each part's required values in the window, and then click the OK button to start the deployment. CloudBurst will notify you via email when the deployment has completed. Working with an OVA instance Congratulations on completing the deployment of a WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager OVA. We now brief you on how to get started with the system. For more information on how to administer, customize, and develop applications for the WebSphere Portal platform, refer to the WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager product documentation page. File system locations Table 1 summarizes the locations for the file systems. Table 1. Item Location WebSphere Portal installation directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/PortalServer WebSphere Application Server installation directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer Application server configuration profile for portal /opt/IBM/WebSphere/Profiles/wp_profile Deployment Manager configuration profile /opt/IBM/WebSphere/Profiles/Dmgr01 DB2 install directory /opt/IBM/db2 DB2 instance directory /home/db2inst1/db2inst1 WebSphere Portal log directory / opt/IBM/WebSphere/Profiles/wp_profile/logs /WebSphere_Portal IBM HTTP Server installation directory /opt/IBM/HTTPServer Starting and stopping WebSphere Portal You can start and stop WebSphere Portal by using the WebSphere Application Server startServer.sh and stopServer.sh shell scripts, respectively. By default WebSphere Portal is started at the end of deployment. For a cluster of WebSphere Portal instances, it is easier to start and stop instances and manage other resources from the Deployment Manager's administration console. To manage individual server instances, even in a cluster, open a secure shell session with your new instance and change to the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/Profiles/wp_profile/bin directory. To start WebSphere Portal, run the following command from within this directory: ./startServer.sh <server_Name> Where is WebSphere_Portal for a standalone server, or the cluster member name running on this machine. Likewise, stop WebSphere Portal using the following command within the same directory: ./stopServer.sh <server_name> -user virtuser -password <password> Note that with the stopServer.sh script, you must specify the administrative user (virtuser) and password that were provided in the password configuration windows during initial setup of this instance. If you are accessing the graphical desktop remotely, use the icons on the desktop for starting and stopping WebSphere Portal. Accessing the Deployment Manager console To access the Deployment Manager administration console, in which individual cluster members can be managed centrally, open a browser and point it to the server where the Deployment Manager part was deployed, logging in as virtuser: http://<dmgr_server>:9060/ibm/console Starting and stopping the HTTP Server The OVA comes pre-configured with the IBM HTTP Server to allow port 80 access to WebSphere Portal. By default, the HTTP Server is started only on cluster patterns with a remote IHS part. To stop the HTTP Server, change to the /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/bin directory and run the following command: ./apachectl stop Likewise, to start the HTTP Server, run the command: ./apachectl start The HTTP Server reads its application server plug-in configuration from /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/Plugins/config/webserver1/plugin_cfg.xml, which is automatically refreshed during pattern deployment. On standalone server deployments, the HTTP Server is on the same server as WebSphere Portal. In cluster pattern deployments, the HTTP Server is on the machine running the IHS Part. Accessing the site from a browser After WebSphere Portal has started, you can access it using the following URLs: WebSphere Portal home page (if HTTP Server is stopped): http://<public host name>:10040/wps/portal WebSphere Portal home page (if HTTP Server is active): http://<public host name>/wps/portal WebSphere Application Server admin console (standalone pattern): http://<public host name>:10027/ibm/console WebSphere Application Server admin console (cluster pattern): http://<public host name>:9060/ibm/console If you are accessing the graphical desktop remotely, use the icons on the desktop for accessing the WebSphere Portal home page and administration console. Servicing instances A WebSphere Portal Server and Web Content Manager instance based on this OVA can be serviced just like any other native installation of this software. Corrective service packages in the form of iFixes (or "interim fixes" that address a particular product issue) or fixpacks (regular, cumulative roll-ups of iFixes into a single installable unit) are available for download from the IBM Support Web sites: WebSphere Portal: http://www.ibm.com/software/genservers/portal/support Web Content Manager: http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/webcontentmanagement/support From these sites you can search on problem symptoms and obtain information from Technotes, Redbooks publications, and fixes that can address problems. To install iFixes and fixpacks, you need the Portal Update Installer, which can be downloaded from here: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24006942 Alternatively, you may wish to re-apply your customizations to a new instance created from an OVA that has been updated to a more recent service level by IBM. To do this, you must have extracted all custom artifacts from the instance so that they can be applied again, such as: Exported content libraries using the ConfigEngine's export-wcm-data configuration task Exported portal configuration using the xmlaccess utility Collecting all portlet WAR files and other J2E resources These artifacts can be imported into the new instance using the appropriate administration utilities. Refer to the WebSphere Portal InfoCenter for topics on administering WebSphere Portal and the use of the xmlaccess utility: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r1m0/index.jsp Refer to the Web Content Manager InfoCenter for topics on exporting and importing content libraries: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wcmdoc/v6r0/index.jsp Extending and capturing an OVA After customizing an instance of a WebSphere Portal Server and Web Content Manager OVA with custom applications, site designs, and content libraries, you may want to build a new OVA based on this instance from which new instances can be created. Follow the instructions below to prepare and capture a new OVA. Extending a virtual image To do this: Go to the virtual images catalog and select the OVA you wish to extend. It is recommended you use the Standalone server image. Click the extend icon (), enter the requested information, and click OK. A new virtual image is created, along with a single virtual machine of that image. Once the virtual machine is deployed, you can make any changes you wish to the virtual machine. These changes are what you will capture as a part of your new virtual image. Capturing a virtual image To do this: Stop WebSphere Portal, using either the desktop icon or the stopServer.sh script, as described above. Capture the virtual image by clicking the capture icon ( ). When the capture is finished the virtual image will contain all the changes you made. Those changes will be reflected in any patterns you deploy that use that virtual image. WCA will automatically reset the virtual machine before capturing. You can recapture your virtual machine as many times as you like. When you are finished with your changes, you can mark the virtual image as read-only by clicking the Make read-only icon ().

About the authors

Xinyi Xu is a WebSphere Portal Software Developer working out of IBM's Grand Rapids, MI, facility. You can reach her at xinyi@us.ibm.com.

Charles Covar is an Engineer based at IBM's Research Triangle Park facility in Durham, NC. You an reach him at crcovar@us.ibm.com.

Paul Kelsey is a WebSphere Portal Software Developer based at IBM's Research Triangle Park facility in Durham, NC. You can reach him at pkelsey@us.ibm.com.