Administrator's Guide

CHAPTER 2

Administration Overview

This chapter introduces the Novell exteNd Application Server architecture and outlines administrative tasks in the server environment. It contains sections on:

The Novell exteNd Application Server

The Novell exteNd Application Server is a multithreaded J2EE application server implemented in Java. Client communications are conducted through the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the most common protocol for the World Wide Web.

NOTE: The application server uses RMI (Java's Remote Method Invocation) instead of HTTP when EJBs on different servers communicate.

The application server provides business logic processing and access to corporate data.

Three-tiered communications

The application server supports a three-tiered architecture that consists of a client tier, a middle tier, and a data tier.

Tier	Description
Client	Web browsers or standalone application clients.
Middle	Includes the Novell exteNd Application Server. The middle tier includes two runtime environments: Web container—Provides support for receiving and responding to client requests EJB container (or business tier)—Where the business logic (including data access) resides
Data	Includes corporate data accessed via relational databases or J2EE Connectors. For a list of supported databases and connectors, see the Release Notes.

Tier

Description

Client

Web browsers or standalone application clients.

Middle

Includes the Novell exteNd Application Server. The middle tier includes two runtime environments:

Web container—Provides support for receiving and responding to client requests
EJB container (or business tier)—Where the business logic (including data access) resides

Data

Includes corporate data accessed via relational databases or J2EE Connectors. For a list of supported databases and connectors, see the Release Notes.

admJ2EETiers

Three-tiered communications provide the following benefits:

Benefit	Description
Security management	The application server mediates all communication to the data tier, enforcing the security you set up.
Code management	By encapsulating your business logic into server-side objects, it is easier to manage and maintain code, especially in a large-scale development environment.
Data validation	Because the business logic is contained in one tier, you can protect data by controlling access and operations from one central point.

Application server environments

As an application server administrator, you'll set up and support these environments:

Environment	Description
Production	The production environment consists of one or more application servers, one or more database servers or Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), and clients. For more information about the production environment, see Server Configuration.
Deployment	The deployment environment consists of one or more application servers, one or more database servers or EIS systems, and the deployment tools. Deployment responsibilities can include mapping role references to users and groups in the security system and mapping resource references to data sources. Deployment tools include SilverCmd or the deployment tools provided by Novell exteNd Director^TM. For more information about deployment, see the chapter on J2EE archive deployment in the Facilities Guide.

Environment

Description

Production

The production environment consists of one or more application servers, one or more database servers or Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), and clients.

For more information about the production environment, see Server Configuration.

Deployment

The deployment environment consists of one or more application servers, one or more database servers or EIS systems, and the deployment tools.

Deployment responsibilities can include mapping role references to users and groups in the security system and mapping resource references to data sources.
Deployment tools include SilverCmd or the deployment tools provided by Novell exteNd Director^TM.

For more information about deployment, see the chapter on J2EE archive deployment in the Facilities Guide.

Application server administration

As the application server administrator, you have some administrative responsibilities for each tier in the server architecture: the client tier, the middle tier, and the data tier.

Client tier administration

These are the requirements for running each client type:

Client	Requirements
Web clients	Browser requirements depend on the kind of HTML applications being run. NOTE: Browser administration is not covered in this guide. For more information, see your browser documentation.
Java clients	SilverJ2EEClient is used to host J2EE application clients on user machines. For more information, see the chapter on SilverJ2EEClient in the Facilities Guide.

Client

Requirements

Web clients

Browser requirements depend on the kind of HTML applications being run.

NOTE: Browser administration is not covered in this guide. For more information, see your browser documentation.

Java clients

SilverJ2EEClient is used to host J2EE application clients on user machines.

For more information, see the chapter on SilverJ2EEClient in the Facilities Guide.

Middle tier administration

When you administer the middle tier, you administer the application server. You use the server's Server Management Console (SMC), a standalone administration tool described later in this chapter.

These are the major areas of application server administration:

Administration area	Description	For information
Installation	Use the Novell exteNd installation program to install the application server.	For instructions, see Installing Novell exteNd For the latest system requirements, see the exteNd Application Server Release Notes
Access to corporate data sources	You need to create and maintain the connection pools that the server will use to provide access to the corporate data on the data tier.	See Data Source Configuration
Deployment	J2EE applications are deployed to relational databases that have been added to the application server. You may need to add the databases to the server and maintain and tune connections.	See Data Source Configuration
Statistics	Once a production application server is up and running, you can monitor statistics in order to tune performance and schedule maintenance activity.	See Maintaining the Server
Logging	The application server can log different types of system information to either a database or a file.	See Using server logging
Certificates	Certificates are used in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections for the server to authenticate itself to clients and for the clients to authenticate themselves to the server. You can install RSA and DSA certificates on the application server.	See Setting Up Security
Security	The application server offers several levels of security.	See Using Security
Server performance	The application server has several settings that define its behavior when busy or under light load. You can define the number of connections required for the application server to be in a specific state.	See Tuning the Server
Load balancing	Load balancing lets you use multiple applications servers (clusters) in a large-scale production environment.	See Administering a Cluster
Troubleshooting	—	See Troubleshooting

For more information For a quick reference of administration tasks, see Administration tasks.

Data tier administration

The application server relies on components located on the data tier for system management resources (the SilverMaster database), deployment targets (deployment databases), and corporate data (connection pools). You'll need to work with the administrators responsible for these resources to ensure that the application server has the appropriate access.

For more information on how the application server uses resources on the data tier and the administrative implications, see Data Source Configuration.

The Server Management Console (SMC)

The application server's Server Management Console (SMC) is the tool you use for most application server administration tasks. You can use the SMC to:

Maintain the environment
Monitor the environment
Measure and improve performance
Set up and administer security
Set up and maintain server clusters for load balancing

You can administer multiple servers from the same SMC.

SMC or httpd.props file? A few of the SMC settings affect entries in the httpd.props file, which you can edit directly. But whenever possible, use the SMC to change the server's settings.

For more information about the httpd.props file, see Appendix A, "The httpd.props File".

Running the SMC

You can run the SMC from the command prompt (system console) or from a GUI.

Procedure To run the SMC from a GUI:

Operating system	Action/Description
NetWare^®	From the GUI screen, choose Novell>exteNd Application Server>SMC.
Windows	From the Start menu, choose Programs>Novell exteNd n.n>AppServer>Server Management Console. If you change the port your server is listening on from the port you installed the server on, you need to update your program shortcut used to launch the SMC.

Operating system

Action/Description

NetWare^®

From the GUI screen, choose Novell>exteNd Application Server>SMC.

Windows

From the Start menu, choose Programs>Novell exteNd n.n>AppServer>Server Management Console.

If you change the port your server is listening on from the port you installed the server on, you need to update your program shortcut used to launch the SMC.

Procedure To run the SMC from the command prompt or system console:

Type the following command (located in the server's \bin directory):

smc

The smc command can take the following command-line options:

Command-line option	Description
-as_noconsole	Suppress the Java console at startup
-as_username username	Log in using the specified user name
-as_password password	Log in using the specified password
-as_nosplash	Do not display the SMC splash screen
+Dsssw.ssl.nocacheck	Do not verify self-signed server certificates
-?or -help	List options

Using ports The application server supports separate runtime and administration ports. During installation, both HTTP ports are configured to whatever port number you specified as the default. The default ports are:

Operating system	Default port
NetWare	83
UNIX	8080
Windows	80

If you have configured separate server ports, you must specify your administration port number when starting the SMC.

For more information, see About enabling ports.

Creating a secure connection You can establish a secure (SSL) connection between the SMC and the application server. For information, see Establishing a secure connection to the server.

The SMC properties file The SMC properties file (smc.props located in the server's \Resources directory) contains information about:

The list of servers that have been added to the SMC (through the SMC)
The property that specifies the settings for charting

If you pass a server name on the command line, it is not added to the list of servers. If you supply the user name and password on the command line but not the server, the command is ignored (since the SMC cannot determine which server the parameters apply to).

The smc.props file is updated when you use the SMC to make changes to these properties and when you close the SMC. Do not edit smc.props manually while the SMC is running—none of the changes will be saved.

The SMC user interface

The SMC consists of a series of panels that you can use to administer the server:

smcmain

NOTE: The SMC displays different options if you are running the server in a clustered environment. For more information, see Administering a Cluster.

About SMC panels

The administrative options are grouped into panels, such as General, Advanced, and so on.

For more information For a quick reference to the SMC panels, see SMC panels.

About the toolbar

The toolbar at the top of the console displays icons that allow you to perform actions:

toolbar

Task	Icon	Description
Configuration		Provides access to configuration options—such as general server options, database options, and client connection options
Security		Provides access to security options—such as users and groups, the use of user authentication, certificates, and security providers
Monitor		Provides access to charts of server statistics and logs
Deployment		Provides access to J2EE objects deployed on the server, the server's JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) tree, settings for the server's or database's default URL, and listings of RARs deployed to the server
Choose (server)		Adds a server on your network to administer using the SMC; you can administer multiple servers from one SMC console
Restart (server)		Restarts the selected server after changing parameters
Stop (server)		Shuts down the selected server
New (cluster)		Creates a cluster for load balancing
Dissolve (cluster)		Dissolves a load balancing server cluster (applies to server clustering only)

Menu option	Description
File>Login	Allows you to log in to the SMC. For more information, see Logging in.
View>Server console	Displays the server console.

Logging in

You must start the application server before you can log in to the SMC.

If you start the SMC without providing a user name or password, you are connected as Anonymous. You can connect as Anonymous only if the application server was installed in unrestricted mode. If the application server was installed in restricted mode (the installation default and the recommended mode for production environments), all users are required to log in.

The SMC uses the admin port for all actions.

Procedure To log in:

Select File>Login.

The Enter Login Credentials dialog displays.

NOTE: The application server installs a predefined group named Administrators, which initially contains only the server administrator.
Enter your application server administrator user name and password, then click OK.

Your administration account name and password are whatever you specified when you installed the application server. Passwords are always case-sensitive. The user name might be case-sensitive if your SilverMaster database is set up to support case-sensitivity. For more information, see About your administrator account.

You now have all administration permissions. The SMC shows the name of the user in its window title.

Logging out

Procedure To log out:

In the left panel of the SMC, select the server.
Select File>Logout.

You are now connected to that server as Anonymous (as shown in the window title). If you want, you can log back in as a user.

Online help

To access the administration documentation in the application server's help:

From here	Do this
SMC	Press F1 or select Help>Help Topics. The "Administration Quick Reference" displays in your browser. From there you can access the entire Administrator's Guide and the rest of the exteNd Application Server help.
Windows	From the Start menu, select Programs>Novell exteNd n.n>Product Documentation. Then go to the exteNd Application Server help and open the Administrator's Guide.

From here

Do this

SMC

Press F1 or select Help>Help Topics.

The "Administration Quick Reference" displays in your browser. From there you can access the entire Administrator's Guide and the rest of the exteNd Application Server help.