3 Configuring Oracle WebCenter

This chapter describes how to configure Oracle WebCenter after the components have already been installed.

The following topics are covered:

3.1 Configuration Instructions

After the installation is complete, you can configure the components using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard.

If this is a new installation and you need to create a new domain, follow the instructions in Section 3.1.7, "Creating a New Domain". You can also run the Configuration Wizard to extend an existing domain, as described in Section 3.1.8, "Extending an Existing Domain".

3.1.1 Using Custom Port Numbers for Your Servers

By default, the servers that are created in each domain use the same set of port numbers (for example, the Administration Server uses port 7001). If you want to use custom port numbers, you can change the port number when you run the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard:

  • The Administration Server port number can be changed on the Configure the Administration Server Screen.

  • The port number for all Managed Servers in your domain can be changed on the Configure Managed Servers Screen.

Oracle recommends that you use the default port numbers for all servers. If you modify the default settings, then you will have to perform some manual configuration steps before the Fusion Middleware environment can be started.

For more information about port numbers, refer to "Port Numbers" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

3.1.2 Using Default Settings for Managed Servers

During the configuration, the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard automatically creates certain default Managed Servers in the domain to host the Fusion Middleware system components; only Managed Servers for the components you choose to configure are created. Oracle recommends that you use the default configuration settings for these Managed Servers. If you modify the default configuration settings, then you will have to perform some manual configuration steps before the Fusion Middleware environment can be started.

Table 3-1 shows the Managed Servers that are created:

Table 3-1 Oracle WebCenter Managed Servers

Server Description

WC_Spaces

Created if Oracle WebCenter Spaces is selected on the "Select Domain Source" screen. This Managed Server hosts Oracle WebCenter Spaces.

WC_Portlet

Created if Oracle Portlet Producers is selected on the "Select Domain Source" screen. This Managed Server hosts Oracle WebCenter Portlets and Oracle Pagelet Producer.

WC_Collaboration

Created if Oracle WebCenter Discussion Server is selected on the "Select Domain Source" screen. This Managed Server hosts Oracle WebCenter Discussions.

WC_Utilities

Created if Oracle WebCenter ActivityGraph Engines is selected on the "Select Domain Source" screen. This Managed Server hosts utility applications, such as Activity Graph and Analytics, as well as the Personalization server.

3.1.3 Shutting Down Running Managed Servers

Before you start the Configuration Wizard, you must shut down any managed servers that are currently running. If you do not, validation of your managed servers will fail due to port number conflicts from the managed servers that are currently running.

For more information, see "Starting and Stopping Oracle Fusion Middleware" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

3.1.4 Running the Configuration Wizard with an Oracle RAC Database

If you are running the Configuration Wizard with a backend Oracle RAC database, Oracle recommends that you keep all the Oracle RAC instances configured for the service to be up and running. This will ensure that JDBC validation checks are reliable and minimize the possibility of accidental mis-configuration.

For more information, refer to Oracle Fusion Middleware High Availability Guide.

3.1.5 Starting the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard

To start the Configuration Wizard on UNIX operating systems:

cd WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME/common/bin
./config.sh

On Windows operating systems:

cd WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME\common\bin
config.cmd

If this is a new installation and you need to create a new WebLogic domain, follow the instructions in Section 3.1.7, "Creating a New Domain". You can also run the Configuration Wizard to extend an existing WebLogic domain, as described in Section 3.1.8, "Extending an Existing Domain".

If you are using a 32-bit operating system, Oracle JRockit SDK is installed as part of the Oracle WebLogic installation. This is the JDK that the Configuration Wizard will use by default. If you want to invoke the Configuration Wizard with the Sun JDK, do the following prior to starting the Configuration Wizard:

  1. Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to the location of the Sun JDK. For example, you can set it to the Sun JDK that was installed with Oracle WebLogic Server in the MW_HOME/jdk160_21 (on UNIX operating systems) or MW_HOME\jdk160_21 (on Windows operating systems) directory.

  2. Set the JAVA_VENDOR environment variable to "Sun".

3.1.6 Creating a Configuration Log File

To create a log file for your configuration session, use the -log=log_filename parameter when you start the Configuration Wizard.

On UNIX operating systems:

./config.sh -log=log_filename

On Windows operating systems:

config.cmd -log=log_filename

The log files are created in the WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME/common/bin (on UNIX operating systems) or WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME\common\bin (on Windows operating systems) directory. For more information about the Configuration Wizard log files, see Section D.2.2, "Configuration Log Files".

3.1.7 Creating a New Domain

Follow the instructions in "Creating a WebLogic Domain" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Creating Domains Using the Configuration Wizard to create a new WebLogic domain for your Oracle WebCenter components.

3.1.7.1 Selecting Oracle WebCenter Products for Configuration

The Select Domain Source screen (Figure 3-1) is where you select the products you want to configure in your domain:

Figure 3-1 Configuration Wizard - Oracle WebCenter Products

Description of Figure 3-1 follows
Description of "Figure 3-1 Configuration Wizard - Oracle WebCenter Products"

The following Oracle WebCenter products (Table 3-2) are available for configuration (note that if a product has any dependencies, the dependencies are automatically selected for you):

Table 3-2 Oracle WebCenter Products Available for Configuration

Product Dependencies

Oracle WebCenter Spaces

Oracle Enterprise Manager

Oracle WSM Policy Manager

Oracle JRF

Oracle Portlet Producers

Oracle WSM Policy Manager

Oracle JRF

Oracle WebCenter Discussion Server

Oracle WSM Policy Manager

Oracle JRF

Oracle WebCenter ActivityGraph Engines

Oracle WebCenter Analytics Collector

Oracle JRF

Oracle WebCenter Personalization

Oracle JRF

Oracle WebCenter Pagelet Producer

Oracle JRF

Oracle WebCenter Analytics Collector

Oracle JRF

3.1.7.2 Specifying a Domain Name

On the "Specify Domain Name and Location" screen, you are asked to provide a directory path and name for the domain you want to create. This is your Domain home directory (see "WebLogic Server Domain" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Planning Guide for more information).

When creating a domain on a Windows operating system, make sure neither the directory path nor domain name contain a space character; otherwise, the domain will not be created.

3.1.7.3 Granting Administrator Privileges to a Non-Default User

The domain administrator you create for Oracle WebCenter is also the administrator for WebCenter Spaces and Oracle WebCenter Discussions. While creating a domain, if you specify any user other than weblogic as the domain administrator, that user is granted all the domain administrative rights. However, after creating the domain, you must manually grant the administrator role to that nondefault user for WebCenter Spaces and Oracle WebCenter Discussions server. For information about granting the administrator role to a non-default user for:

3.1.8 Extending an Existing Domain

While creating or configuring the WebCenter domain if you chose not to configure one or more WebCenter components, you can add them later by extending the domain. When you extend your domain, you can add Oracle WebCenter products to an existing WebCenter domain, or a domain created by another Fusion Middleware product.

You can extend your domain for the following scenarios:

Note:

Oracle WebCenter relies on the MDS schema. Depending on the WebCenter components used in your WebCenter applications, your WebCenter installation may also require the following schemas: WEBCENTER, DISCUSSIONS, ACTIVITIES, and PORTLET.

  • MDS: WebCenter applications can share the same MDS schema. This means that multiple deployed applications can use the same MDS schema, each having its own partition defined in MDS.

  • WEBCENTER: There must be a distinct WEBCENTER schema for each WebCenter Portal application.

  • DISCUSSIONS: Two WebCenter Portal applications, both using Discussions, can use a single Discussions Server. The Discussions Server is wired to a single DISCUSSIONS schema. The only thing that must be unique is the category ID, which is set for each WebCenter Portal application when the Discussion Forum connection is configured. For information about setting the category ID, see how to set application.root.category.id using setDiscussionForumServiceProperty, in the Oracle WebCenter Custom WLST Commands chapter in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

  • ACTIVITIES: Analytics and Activity Graph can be used only by a single application within a domain, whether it is Oracle WebCenter Spaces or a WebCenter Portal application.

  • PORTAL: Many WebCenter producer applications can be deployed to a single Custom Services Producer managed server. WebCenter Producer applications can share a single PORTLET schema.

For information about the various schemas that your WebCenter applications may require, see Table 5-1. For information about how to create schemas, refer to "Creating Schemas" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Repository Creation Utility User's Guide.

3.1.8.1 Extending the Domain to Install Oracle WebCenter Product Components

You can extend your existing WebCenter domain to install additional WebCenter products listed in Table 3-2. When you run the Configuration Wizard to extend the domain, you must select Generate a domain configured automatically to support the following products on the Select Domain Source screen, then select the product(s) you want to add to the domain (Figure 3-1).

Refer to Oracle Fusion Middleware Interoperability and Compatibility Guide for important information. Follow the instructions in "Extending WebLogic Domains" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Creating Domains Using the Configuration Wizard to extend an existing domain.

Note:

Before extending a domain, make sure that schemas exist in your database for the components you plan to configure. For example, if you are planning to extend the domain and configure Oracle WebCenter Discussion Server, then make sure the DISCUSSIONS schema exists in your Oracle database before you continue.

3.1.8.2 Extending the Domain to Create Custom Managed Servers

Oracle WebCenter enables application developers to build two kinds of applications: WebCenter Portal applications and WebCenter Portlet Producer applications. To enable deployment of these applications, you must extend your domain with the required domain extension templates to create custom managed servers. While extending the domain, you can also customize the JDBC connections and change the JMS file store. The Configuration Wizard uses your input to update the configuration files, such as config.xml, and all other generated components in the domain directory, as required.

For more information about WebCenter custom templates, see "Oracle WebCenter Templates" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Domain Template Reference.

This section includes the following subsections:

3.1.8.2.1 Creating a Custom Managed Server for WebCenter Portal Applications

If your application developers need to develop WebCenter Portal applications, you must create the Custom Portal managed server for deployment of these applications.

Note:

WebCenter Portal applications can include various WebCenter services. Some of these services require the WebCenter schema. There must be a distinct WEBCENTER schema for each WebCenter Portal application. Before you create the Custom Portal managed server, you must run the RCU again to create a second version of the WebCenter schema. Note that this schema is separate from the WebCenter schema used by Oracle WebCenter Spaces, and therefore, make sure you use a different schema prefix.

For information about WebCenter services that require the WebCenter schema, see Table 5-1. For information about how to create schemas, refer to "Creating Schemas" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Repository Creation Utility User's Guide.

To create the Custom Portal managed server, extend the domain with the oracle.wc_custom_portal_template_11.1.1.jar template. On the Select Domain Source screen, select the Base this domain on an existing template option, and click Browse to locate the template.

  • On UNIX operating systems, the template is located at the following location:

    WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME/common/templates/applications/oracle.wc_custom_portal_template_11.1.1.jar

  • On Windows operating systems, the template is available here:

    WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME\common\templates\applications\oracle.wc_custom_portal_template_11.1.1.jar

Follow the instructions in "Extending WebLogic Domains" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Creating Domains Using the Configuration Wizard to extend an existing domain.

When you extend the WebCenter domain with the custom portal template, it creates the Custom Portal managed server named WC_CustomPortal and targets all the necessary resources to it. It also adds the following JDBC data sources:

  • mds-CustomPortalDS (for accessing the MDS schema)

  • WebCenter-CustomPortalDS (for accessing the WebCenter schema)

  • Activities-CustomPortalDS (for accessing the Activities schema)

If your WebCenter services use the security and policy manager, you must run the Configuration Wizard a second time to extend your domain with the Oracle WSM Policy Manager template if it is not already installed. This template is available on the Select Domain Source screen. You do not have to do this if your WebCenter services do not use the security and policy manager.

3.1.8.2.2 Creating a Portal Managed Server for WebCenter Producer Applications

If your application developers need to build WebCenter Producer applications, you must create a Custom Services Producer managed server for deployment of these applications. To create the managed server, extend the domain with the Custom Portal template, oracle.wc_custom_services_producer_template_11.1.1.jar. On the Select Domain Source screen, select Base this domain on an existing template, and click Browse to locate the template at the following paths:

  • On UNIX operating systems:

    WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME/common/templates/applications/oracle.wc_custom_services_producer_template_11.1.1.jar

  • On Windows operating systems:

    WebCenter_ORACLE_HOME\common\templates\applications\oracle.wc_custom_services_producer_template_11.1.1.jar

When you extend the WebCenter domain with the custom producer services template, it creates the Custom Services Producer managed server named WC_CustomServicesProducer and targets all the necessary resources to it. It also adds the following JDBC data sources:

  • mds-CustomServicesProducerDS (for accessing the MDS schema)

  • WebCenter-CustomServicesProducerDS (for accessing the WebCenter schema)

  • Activities-CustomServicesProducerDS (for accessing the Activities schema)

  • Portlet-CustomServicesProducerDS (for accessing the Portlet schema)

3.1.8.2.3 Creating Multiple Custom Managed Servers

A template can only be applied once to a domain. If you want to create multiple custom Managed Servers, you must clone the existing custom Managed Server with the cloneWebCenterManagedServer() WLST command.

For more information, see "cloneWebCenterManagedServer" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

3.2 Post-Configuration Tasks

This section contains general information that will help you verify your installation and configuration. Some components may require custom or manual configuration, and this information is also included in this section:

3.2.1 Starting the Servers

To get your deployments up and running, you must start the Administration Server and various Managed Servers:

  1. Run the DOMAIN_HOME/bin/startWebLogic.sh (on UNIX operating systems) or DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startWebLogic.cmd (on Windows operating systems) script.

  2. Run the DOMAIN_HOME/bin/startManagedWebLogic.sh (on UNIX operating systems) or DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedWebLogic.cmd (on Windows operating systems) script. This command also requires that you specify a server name. The servers that need to be started are:

    • WC_Spaces - Hosts Oracle WebCenter Spaces

    • WC_Portlet - Hosts Oracle WebCenter Portlets and Oracle Pagelet Producer

    • WC_Collaboration - Hosts Oracle WebCenter Discussions

    • WC_Utilities - Hosts utility applications, such as Activity Graph and Analytics.

    For example, to start the Oracle WebCenter Spaces server on a UNIX operating system:

    DOMAIN_HOME/bin/startManagedWebLogic.sh WC_Spaces http://administration_server_host:administration_server_port

    On Windows operating systems:

    DOMAIN_HOME\bin\startManagedWebLogic.cmd WC_Spaces http://administration_server_host:administration_server_port

Before the server is started, you will be prompted for the WebLogic Server username and password. These were provided on the Configure Administrator Username and Password Screen in the Configuration Wizard.

If you do not know the names of the managed servers that need to be started, you can view the contents of the following file on UNIX operating systems:

DOMAIN_HOME/startManagedWebLogic_readme.txt

On Windows operating systems:

DOMAIN_HOME\startManagedWebLogic_readme.txt

Or, you can access the Administration Server console at the following URL:

http://administration_server_host:administration_server_port/console

Supply the username and password that you specified on the Configure Administrator Username and Password Screen of the Configuration Wizard.

3.2.2 Starting Node Manager

Node Manager is a Java utility that runs as separate process from Oracle WebLogic Server and allows you to perform common operations for a Managed Server, regardless of its location with respect to its Administration Server. For example, Node Manager can be used for:

  • Starting servers on remote machines (via the Console).

  • Automatically restarting failed servers.

  • Automatic Service Migration when using consensus-based leasing.

  • Whole Server Migration.

While use of Node Manager is optional, it provides valuable benefits if your WebLogic Server environment hosts applications with high-availability requirements. It also allows for OPatch, which is a tool used to update or patch your existing software, to be run in an automated fashion.

If you want to use Node Manager to start Managed Servers, you must first configure Node Manager to be able to start Managed Servers. For more information, see "General Node Manager Configuration" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Node Manager Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Instructions for starting Node Manager and using Node Manager to control servers can be found in "Using Node Manager" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Node Manager Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebLogic Server.

3.2.3 Starting Managed Servers from the Administration Console

In order to start a Managed Server from the Administration Console, you must first create a machine, then associate the Managed Server with that machine. This can be accomplished using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard:

If you did not create a machine and associate your Managed Servers with the machine using the Configuration Wizard, you can also do this from the Administration Console:

Note:

Node Manager (see Section 3.2.2, "Starting Node Manager") must be up and running in order to start Managed Servers from the Administration Console.

  1. Login to the Administration Console.

  2. Navigate to Environment > Machines.

  3. Click New.

  4. Enter a machine name (for example, Machine-WC).

  5. In the Administration Console, navigate to Environment > Servers and select the Managed Server for which you want to associate this machine (Machine-WC). Use the drop-down list to associate the Managed Server with the machine.

Note:

This procedure only works if the Managed Servers are shut down. If the Managed Servers are up and running, then no values will appear in the drop-down list.

After this procedure, the Managed Server will start successfully and be accessible.

3.2.4 Verifying the Installation

Start your browser and enter the following URLs:

  • To access the Administration Server:

    http://administration_server_host:administration_server_port

    This information was visible on the Creating Domain Screen (the last screen) of the Configuration Wizard.

  • To access the Administration Server console:

    http://administration_server_host:administration_server_port/console

    You will be prompted for the username and password credentials that you specified on the Configure Administrator Username and Password Screen of the Configuration Wizard.

  • To access Enterprise Manager:

    http://administration_server_host:administration_server_port/em

  • To access WebCenter Spaces:

    http://WC_Spaces_server_host:WC_Spsaces_server_port/webcenter

    The default port number for WebCenter Spaces is 8888.

  • To access WebCenter Pagelet Producer:

    http://WC_Portlet_server_host:WC_Portlet_server_port

    The default port number for WebCenter Pagelet Producer is 8889.

    To access the WebCenter Pagelet Producer console:

    http://WC_Portlet_server_host:WC_Portlet_server_port/pageletadmin

  • To access WebCenter Analytics, Activity Graph and Personalization Server:

    http://WC_Utilities_server_host:WC_Utilities_server_port/activitygraph-engines

    To access WebCenter Activity Graph:

    http://WC_Utilities_server_host:Wc_Utilities_server_port/activitygraph-engines/Login.jsp

    To access WebCenter Personalization Server:

    http://WC_Utilities_server_host:Wc_Utilities_server_port/wcps/api/property/resourceIndex

    The default port number for the WebCenter Analytics, Activity Graph and Personalization Server is 8891.

  • To access WebCenter OmniPortlet and Web Clipping Portlets:

    http://WC_Portlet_server_host:WC_Portlet_server_port/portalTools/

    The default port number for WebCenter Portlets is 8889.

  • To access WebCenter Discussions:

    http://WC_Collaboration_server_host:WC_Collaboration_server_port/owc_discussions

    The default port number for WebCenter Discussions is 8890.

3.3 Setting Up an External LDAP-Based Identity Store

By default, WebCenter applications use Oracle WebLogic Server's embedded LDAP identity store for storing user accounts and groups, and an XML file-based policy store for storing policy grants. Although secure, the embedded LDAP identity store is not a "production-class" store. You must replace it with an external LDAP-based identity store, such as Oracle Internet Directory, for enterprise production environments. Further, the default XML file-based policy store can be used only for single-node WebCenter configurations. For multi-node configurations, you must reassociate the policy store and the credential store with an external LDAP-based identity store. An external LDAP-based identity store manages identities of users across diverse servers and enables you to configure single sign-on (SSO) authentication across applications.

Oracle Content Server and Oracle WebCenter Discussions rely on external LDAP-based identity stores. Therefore, if you want to use the Documents, Discussions, or Announcements services, you must install and configure an external LDAP-based identity store.

Table 3-3 describes the tasks that you must perform to configure an external LDAP-based identity store for Oracle WebCenter.

Table 3-3 Tasks for Configuring an External LDAP-Based Identity Store

Task Description Mandatory/Optional?

1. Install an external LDAP-based identity store

Install an external LDAP-based identity store, such as Oracle Internet Directory.

For information about how to install Oracle Identity Management, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Identity Management.

Mandatory

2. Configure Oracle WebCenter to use the external LDAP-based identity store

Reassociate the identity store with an external LDAP, rather than the default embedded LDAP.

For information, see the "Reassociating the Identity Store with an External LDAP Server" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

While creating a domain, if you specified any user other than weblogic as the domain administrator, you must manually grant the administrator role to that nondefault user for WebCenter Spaces, as described in section "Granting the WebCenter Spaces Administrator Role" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

Mandatory

3. Configure the policy and credential stores

Reassociate Oracle WebCenter's policy store and credential store with an external LDAP server or database.

For information, see the "Configuring the Policy and Credential Store" chapter in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

Mandatory

If you configure an external LDAP-based identity store, WebCenter Spaces and all the back-end components configured for any WebCenter services must use the same external LDAP-based identity store. Table 3-4 describes whether additional configuration is required for any back-end component if a shared external LDAP-based identity store is used.

For information about installing and configuring back-end components for WebCenter services, see Chapter 5, "Preparing Back-End Components for WebCenter Services."

Table 3-4 Configuring Back-End Components for a Shared External LDAP-Based Identity Store

Back-End Component Out-Of-The-Box Support Additional Configuration Requirement

Oracle WebCenter Discussions

Embedded LDAP store

No additional configuration required on Oracle WebCenter Discussions to use an external LDAP-based identity store.

Oracle Content Server

Database

Configure Oracle Content Server to use the same external LDAP-based identity store as Oracle WebCenter.

For information, see the "Reassociating the Identity Store with an External LDAP Authentication Provider" section in Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Enterprise Content Management Suite.

Oracle SES

None

Configure Oracle SES to use the same external LDAP-based identity store as Oracle WebCenter.

For information about configuring LDAP in Oracle SES, see either of the following sections depending on your Oracle SES version:

Oracle SOA Suite (BPEL server)

Embedded LDAP store

Configure Oracle SOA Suite to use the same external LDAP-based identity store as Oracle WebCenter. For information about:

Oracle WebCenter can use libOVD to allow multiple identity stores to be used with WebCenter applications. Sites with multiple identity stores can use libOVD to aggregate their user profile information. For information, see the section "Aggregating Multiple Identity Store LDAP Servers Using libOVD" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.