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Oracle® Application Server 10g Advanced Topologies for Enterprise Deployments
10g (9.0.4)
Part No. B12115-01
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2 Installation and Configuration Considerations for an Enterprise Topology

The following sections contain installation and configuration considerations for these topologies:

2.1 J2EE Applications Topology

Table 2-1 summarizes considerations when installing and configuring a J2EE Applications topology in an enterprise environment such as a data center.

Table 2-1 Installation Considerations for the J2EE Application Developer Topology

Consideration Deployment Scenarios
Install Multiple Host installations on hardware clusters, NFS machines

Multiple Middle Tier instances

Dedicated Product Metadata Services for Portal applications

Shared Product Metadata Services for some applications

Shared Security Services for throughout the enterprise

Central Management Services

Support for Test to Stage to Production cycles

Oracle Application Server won’t break if there are hard disk replacements, CPU changes, or RAM upgrades

Management Central Management Services

Oracle Application Server plugs into existing central management services

Role-based management (initial functionality in 904 and major functionality in Oracle Application Server)

Multiple administrators

Backup and Recovery: Complete cold backup of the entire distributed environment

Security Global OID/SSO or logical SSO (consisting of 1 or more SSO instances) sharing the same logical OID (consisting of 1 or more OID instances)

Both SSO and OID behind the external firewall for internal users

When hosting applications for both internal and external users (such as MOC), security considerations will need to make sure some security services can be shared by both users.

Integrating with departmental third-party directories (iPlanet, Active Directory, eDirectory)

Provisioning/De-Provisioning users

Application Deployment and Performance J2EE applications deployed on Oracle Application Server Clusters with or without Web Cache

Portal application using Web Cache, even on a single node environment

Forms applications working against a OLTP System with no SSO

BI applications working against a data warehouse with tighter security

All applications accessible by Portal and Wireless devices

Self Service Applications (using IP and Workflow)

High Availability (HA) Infrastructure HA: Multiple types of HA solutions for different Infrastructure Services

Optional: OPMN based cluster management for middle tier applications

Third-Party Products Firewall, load balancers, hardware clusters, hardware accelerators

2.1.1 Hardware Requirements

You can look at Table 2-2 to get an idea of some of the hardware requirements you’ll need to meet to successfully install, configure, and run various components of an enterprise deployment topology.

2.1.2 Installation Sequence

Install the items in the following order:

  1. Infrastructure DMZ: Install an OracleAS Infrastructure 10g with Identity Management services and Oracle Application Server Metadata Repository. See Chapter 5, Section 5.14, "Installing OracleAS Infrastructure" in Oracle Application Server 10g Installation Guide for complete installation information.


    Note:

    Do not select Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On or Oracle Delegated Administration Services in the Select Configuration Options screen. You will install these components in the next step.

  2. Web Server Tier DMZ: Install Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On and Oracle Delegated Administration Services.

    See "Installing Identity Management Components Only (Excluding Oracle Internet Directory)" in Oracle Application Server 10g Installation Guide. Note the following points:

    • In the Select Configuration Options screen, select only Oracle Delegated Administration Services and Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On.

    • When the installer prompts you for Oracle Internet Directory information, enter the connect information for the Oracle Internet Directory installed in step 1.

  3. Web Server Tier DMZ: Install Business Intelligence and Forms (or Portal and Wireless) middle tier. This installs Oracle HTTP Server and OracleAS Web Cache as well.

    For more information, see Chapter 6, "Installing Portal and Wireless or Business Intelligence and Forms" in the Oracle Application Server 10g Installation Guide.

2.2 Enterprise Topology: Portal, BI, Wireless, Forms and Reports Services Installation and Configuration

The following table is a summary of the user considerations when installing and configuring Portal, BI, Wireless, and Forms and Reports

Table 2-2 Considerations when installing and configuring Portal, BI, Wireless, and Forms and Reports

Consideration User Consideration
Overview Web Server Tier: OHS stand alone installs on multiple machines

Application Server Tier: Middle tiers hosted on one big machine or multiple machines for multiple applications

Infrastructure: Dedicated or shared Product Metadata Services. Shared Security Service, Centralized Management

Special Install Requirements:

Cluster Machine installs

Cloning, Reassociation: NFS Machine installs Hardware Cluster Support

Co-existence of other Oracle Products: Oracle Application Server and Oracle Application Server Infrastructure in 2 different Oracle Home, IP Platform Build time environment in another Oracle Home

Criteria for Best User Experience regarding Install:

Easy to install and clone

No patch requirements immediately after install

Installations that can be easily cloned

Flexible Distributed Infrastructure Services

Hardware Details Web server tier/Application Server tier:

Single big Host or farm of small machines for Middle tier

Single big Host machine details:

OS: Solaris (Of the order of E280’s or above) or HP or IBM AIX

CPU: 2 – 4 (400Mhz or greater)

RAM: 8G

Hard Disk: 80GB

Small machine details (min. 2-3, high end 6-8):

OS: Linux, or Solaris or HP or IBM AIX

CPU: 1 - 2 (400Mhz or greater for Solaris, 600Mhz or greater for Linux)

RAM: 512M – 1G per node

Hard Disk: 10 – 20 GB

Infrastructure:

OS: Solaris or HP or IBM AIX

CPU: 1 – 2 CPU

RAM: 512M - 1G

Hard Disk: 10 – 20 GB

Distributed Install Topology Web Server Tier: OHS in DMZ – 1, separate from application server.

Application Server Tier: Application Server in DMZ – 2

Product Metadata Services: In DMZ – 2 for most cases. Dedicated host running just Product Metadata Services used by either dedicated or a small set of middle tier instances

Security Services: Behind the firewall. Dedicated host running just Security Services. Shared by all middle tier instances

Management Services: Central management inside the firewall

User Profile System Administrator (Advanced User)

2.3 Departmental Topology: Departments Hosting Their Applications

Table 2-3 describes the considerations for installing and managing a departmental topology:

Table 2-3 Considerations for the Departmental Topology

Consideration User Considerations
Installation and Management Multiple Host installations on cluster machines, NFS machines

Multiple Middle Tier instances used

No Infrastructure used if deploying only Java or J2EE applications

Dedicated Product Metadata Services for Portal applications

Shared Product Metadata Services for some applications

Shared Security Services to secure subset of enterprise level users

Management Services -> Number of instances managed is less than enterprise data center. All other management issues are the same

Oracle Application Server should not break if there are hard disk replacement, or CPU change or RAM upgrades or Network Interfaces

Security Single install which would contain both Infrastructure Software and OID/SSO data

Contains subset of users as compared to the enterprise OID

Application Deployment and Performance Important not to pay overhead for enterprise configuration services

Use OHS as load balancer for multiple OC4J instances.

J2EE applications deployed on Oracle Application Server Clusters with or without Web Cache

Portal application using Web Cache

High Availability (HA) HA requirement for departmental deployment depends on the nature of the application

If there is a requirement, recommendation would be Local Data Guard or Cold Failover ClusterIf there is no requirement, complete cold backup and recovery methodology is used

Third-Party Products Depending on the load on the application, Load balancers might be needed

2.4 Enterprise Topology: Development Life Cycle Topology Installation and Configuration

Table 2-4 describes the installation and management considerations for the development life cycle topology:

Table 2-4 Considerations for the Development Life Cycle Enterprise Topology

Consideration User Considerations
Install Test Environment: Single host for mid tier and Infrastructure (all services from one DB).

Staging Environment: Multiple mid tiers on one single big machine or multiple machines with either dedicated or shared product metadata services, but always shared security services.

Production Environment: Very similar to Staging environment, except now using enterprise wide security service

Oracle Application Server won’t break when there are hard disk replacements, CPU changes, or RAM upgrades

Management Test - Stand Alone or command line tools

Development - Stand Alone or centralized management

Production - Centralized Management

Security Fluid Security requirements

Re-association of security services is mandatory

Application Deployment and Performance Shutdown/startup, deploy time are prioritiesFrequent reconfiguration of tunable parameters, needs to be fastMay have multiple versions installed and possibly runningThis is the environment for testing load balancing, combinations of applications on one box.
High Availability (HA) Testing Environment: Not a concern. Applications and specific configuration files will be backed up.

Staging Environment: Cold Failover Cluster or Local DG. Complete cold backup.

Production Environment: RAC or Cold Failover Cluster and Remote DG for Disaster Recovery. Complete cold backup.

Third-Party Products Depending on the load on the application, DMZ, firewalls, load balancers, routers might be needed.

2.5 Enterprise Topology Post-Installation Tasks

This section describes post-installation tasks you’ll need to perform for these areas of your enterprise deployment topology:

2.5.1 Infrastructure

OracleAS Portal needs post-installation steps with Oracle Internet Directory and OracleAS Web Cache at the Infrastructure level.

2.5.1.1 OracleAS Portal and Oracle Internet Directory

Every OracleAS Portal middle-tier installation drops and recreates the Portal users in Oracle Internet Directory (OID). This means that the Oracle Application Server instance password of the last run middle-tier installation should be used for Portal runtime access.

After all the middle-tier installations are performed, users can change their Portal user passwords in OID. This does not require any other changes in the OracleAS Metadata Repository.

2.5.1.2 OracleAS Portal and OracleAS Web Cache

Detailed steps for setting up Oracle Application Server Web Cache in a multiple middle-tier environment are described in section 5.1.2 of the Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide.

2.5.2 OracleAS Portal and Oracle Application Server Wireless

If Oracle Application Server Wireless is configured with OracleAS Portal during the middle-tier installation, the middle-tier install registers the Portal on the Oracle Application Server Wireless service. In case of multiple middle-tier installs, the last configured Oracle Application Server Wireless service URL is stored in the OracleAS Portal instance. You can change this to your choice of Oracle Application Server Wireless service by running the following scripts in the Oracle Application Server middle-tier selected for the Oracle Application Server Wireless service:

UNIX:

ORACLE_HOME/wireless/sample/portalRegistrar.sh

Windows:

ORACLE_HOME/wireless/sample/portalRegistrar.bat

Portal Provider UI Framework

Multiple Portal middle-tier installations overwrite the existing Default JPDK Instance URL that is used for creating the Providers. Users can change this to their choice of JPDK Instance URL using the following steps:

  1. Log in to Portal using the browser.

  2. Click on the Builder link.

  3. Click the Administrator tab.

  4. Click on Global Settings in the Services portlet.

  5. Click the Configuration tab.

  6. Enter the Default JPDK Instance URL of any installed Portal middle-tier.


See also:

Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide

2.6 J2EE Applications Topology Post-Installation Tasks

This section describes the post-installation tasks for the J2EE applications that are part of the Web Tier of an Enterprise Deployment Topology:

2.6.1 Oracle Application Server Web Cache

Here is a post installation and configuration check list for OracleAS Web Cache.

  1. Configure a Ping URL

    For Watchdog to check the health status of Web Cache, the configurable URL recommend being a cacheable. When a non-cacheable URL is configured, Web Cache will try to connect to the origin server. If the origin server is not responding with the time out from Watchdog, Watchdog will restart Web Cache.

  2. Optimize connection limits

    The Application Server (origin server) connection limit and the Inbound Connection limit should be set to an optimum number.This number depends on the volume of traffic from client requests from OracleAS Web Cache to the origin server when it caches missed requests.

  3. Physical memory

    To reduce disk swapping with objects in the cache, install enough memory for the cache. Oracle recommends a minimum of 256MB.

  4. Set up apology pages (Network Error, Server Busy, and ESI Fragment)

    The default apology pages for network error, Origin server busy and ESI fragment may not match the format (look-and-feel) of the application.

  5. Set up SSL Certificates

    To set up the client side SSL certificate:

    1. Create a new wallet with the Oracle Wallet manager

    2. Specify the new wallet in the Listen Ports page (Ports -> Listen Ports) of the OracleAS Web Cache Manager administrative interface.

    To set up the origin server (OS) SSL certificate:

    1. Create a new wallet with the Oracle Wallet manager

    2. Specify the new wallet in the Origin Servers, Sites, and Load Balancing page (Origin Servers, Sites, and Load Balancing -> Origin Server Wallet)

  6. Set up Site Definitions (virtual hosting)

    Site definitions enable Web Cache to apply different caching rules for different sites. Requests for different sites can also be routed to specific origin servers through Site-to-Server Mappings.

    Site Definitions in Web Cache must match the visibly external host name. By default Web Cache takes on the default name and port numbers of the host it is installed on.

    Alias definitions enable the mapping of multiple host names to a single site. For example, site www.company.com:80 may have an alias of company.com:80. By specifying the alias of company.com:80 for site www.company.com:80, Web Cache can cache the same content from either company.com:80 or www.company.com:80. Site and alias definitions also affect Error Pages configuration.

  7. Logging

    Make sure to disable verbose event logging while Web Cache is running in normal mode. Verbose logging is for debugging purposes and is system-resource intensive.

    For more information, see Chapter 10, "Administering Oracle Application Server Web Cache", in Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator’s Guide.

  8. Invalidation Requests

    For advance invalidation request use the invalidation index option.

    For more information, see Chapter 10, "Administering Oracle Application Server Web Cache", in Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator’s Guide.

2.6.2 Oracle HTTP Server

Be aware that you may need to make changes to the Oracle HTTP Server based on components and services that are reconfigured. See the appropriate sections in the respective component guide for configuration information.

2.6.3 Oracle Application Server Forms Services

There is no additional post-installation task to configure Oracle Application Server Forms Services. See chapter 8 of the Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide for more information about how Oracle Application Server Forms Services works. You should also consult the Oracle Application Server Forms Services Release Notes for last minute issues and workarounds.

2.6.4 Oracle Application Server Reports Services

There is no additional post-installation task to configure Oracle Application Server Reports Services. You should also consult the OracleAS Reports Services Release Notes for last minute issues and workarounds.

2.6.5 Oracle Application Server Discoverer

In the Discoverer Configuration and Communications Protocols page, change the value from default to tunneling to work with the load balancer and the firewall.

2.6.6 Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On

If you are working with multiple Single Sign-on servers, you may need to perform additional configurations to the Oracle HTTP Server. See Chapter 3, "Multiple Single Sign-On Middle Tiers with One Oracle Internet Directory" for more information.

2.6.8 Oracle Enterprise Manager

Make sure that EM is only accessible within a firewall setup. Port 1814 must be open to the various tiers behind a firewall for Application Server Control to work correctly.

For more information about using Application Server Control to administer an enterprise deployment topology, see Chapter 5, " Managing an Enterprise Deployment Topology", and the Oracle Enterprise Manager Advanced Configuration guide.

2.7 What to Read Next

After installing Oracle Application Server, you should read the Oracle Application Server 10g Administrator's Guide. It contains an excellent chapter called "Getting Started After Installing Oracle Application Server".

If you plan to use any of the components listed in this chapter, you need to perform some steps specific to the component after installation before you can use the component. Table 2-5, "Component Configuration Guides" lists the component guides that describe the steps.

Table 2-5 Component Configuration Guides

Component Guide That Describes the Post-Installation Steps
OracleAS Portal
Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide
Oracle Application Server Forms Services
Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide

Oracle Application Server Forms Services Release Notes

Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On
Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator’s Guide
Oracle Application Server Discoverer
Oracle Application Server Discoverer Configuration Guide

Note: You can find this guide on the documentation CD-ROM for Oracle Developer Suite, not Oracle Application Server.

Oracle Application Server Reports Services
Oracle Application Server Reports Services Publishing Reports to the Web
OracleAS Web Cache
Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator's Guide
Oracle HTTP Server
Oracle HTTP Server Administrator's Guide