Automating resource deployment with IBM Rational application Framework for WebSphere

Automate resource deployment using the IBM Rational application Framework for WebSphere, part 1th

Ibm®rational®application Framework for websphere® to Ibm®websphere®application server and Ibm®websphere®portal server Automated installation and patching, configuration management and program deployment provide a foundation. This article provides an introduction to some basic resource management concepts, such as how resource configurations are stored in XML files, how command line syntax works with resources, the concept of operating patterns, and so on.

Introduction

Ibm®rational®application Framework for websphere® to Ibm®websphere®application server and Ibm®websphere®portal server Automated installation and patching, configuration management and program deployment provide a foundation. This article gives you a closer look at how you can use the tool to manage data sources, Java™message Service (JMS) queries, mail, or URL resources. There are a number of ways you can use the Rational framework:

Performance tuning: One important aspect of performance tuning is debugging resources. For example, an administrator can determine the maximum number of database connections and the optimal number of standby state cache space that should be used to handle actual workloads. After the performance test environment is debugged, you can use the Rational framework to replicate all the environments from the performance test environment and apply these test environments to the product environment.

Automated deployment of resources: Most companies have separate teams to deploy programs, and to install and manage their WebSphere base. These companies face a problem: how does the development team let the management team understand what resources the program needs and how to provide it with the information it needs? They don't send e-mails about all the details, some can make all the changes manually, or they can use Ibm®rational®build forge® plus the Rational application Framework for WebSphere, To create a web-based workflow that a development team or base team can use to create resources.

Release Management: Most companies use a development environment or an integrated test environment to integrate code developed by different teams, thus creating the resources needed for different programs to make sure that each part is coordinated. When the integration test succeeds, you can use the Rational application Framework for WebSphere to move the version from one environment to another. For example, you can move a release from development to QA (quality assurance) and eventually production.

Create a resource as part of the installation process: You may want to create a resource as part of the installation. For example, you might want to create a data source that points to a central database, or create a series of JMS queries as part of installing a new environment. You can use the Rational application Framework for WebSphere to automate the installation and creation of resources as part of the installation.

The Rational application Framework for WebSphere is a command-line tool that provides a command for automating private resources. For example, you can use commands to control Java™database connectivity (JDBC) providers, and another command to control a JDBC data source, and so on. The software is bundled with the Rational build Forge, which is building and publishing management software. You can use build Forge to create a workflow that defines the steps required to create a data source, and it can invoke some Rational application Framework for WebSphere commands. For example:

First, create the Java™ Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) entry.

It then creates a JDBC provider and sets a value for the WebSphere variable.

Then create a data source and so on.

This article is the first of two articles that discuss how to use this framework to automate the deployment of resources in a WebSphere application Server. This article covers the basic aspects of resource management in the Rational application framework for WebSphere, and the second part is a specific guide to how to use the Rational application framework for We Bsphere the union with the Rational build Forge to automate deployment resources. You will learn how the resource configuration is stored, how to create different scopes of resources, and how to apply the concept of operational patterns then you can create a build Forge project that can be used to automate the deployment of the data source, thus translating the theory into practical work.

Four basic components

The Rational application Framework for WebSphere tool provides commands for controlling resources. It provides a rafw.bat or rafw.sh file as an entry point, and you can invoke it by using the following command-line format:

Listing 1. Rational application Framework for WebSphere command line format

rafw.bat/.sh　-e　<environment>
<Scope>　<actionmode>　<action>　

The Rafw.bat file command line information can be divided into the following four basic sections:

The action:action command line parameter specifies the action you want to perform. You can use the Was_common_configure_jdbc_data sources parameter to control the data source. Emphasis: Note that all resource configuration actions begin with the name Was_common_configure.

Resource Configuration: The framework is designed so that a Rational application framework for WebSphere server can be used to manage multiple environments. For example, you can manage development and the product environment from one server. Tip: You must always use the-e command-line argument to specify the name of the environment you want to execute.

Action Scope: You can use the Rational framework to execute commands at different levels within the WebSphere scope. For example, if you have an integrated environment with three nodes and three servers, then the Rational application Framework for WebSphere can run commands at the Unit, node, group, or server level. You must send range information through the command line so that the software can detect the scope of the command line that should be executed.

Action mode: The Program Framework tool uses action mode to reduce the number of operations. For example, in addition to creating a separate operation to export the data source configuration running the server and importing the data source configuration into the running server, the software introduces the concept of action mode, which is just a switch between command lines. For example, the was_common_configure_jdbc_datasources operation is used to control the data source. You can use it to export the configuration of a running WebSphere application Server to an XML file and add an-I (import) command line switch. However, if you replace the-I command configuration with-t (execute), the framework tool reads the data source configuration from the XML file and applies it to run the server.