Create a custom profile so that you can include application servers,
clusters, or other Java processes, such as a messaging server, in its empty
node. You can use the Profile Creation wizard to
create a custom profile.
About this task
After installing the core product files
for the Network Deployment product, you must create a profile. It can be a
deployment manager profile, an application server profile, or a custom profile.
This topic describes creating a custom profile using
the Profile Creation wizard.
A custom profile is an empty node that you can customize to include application
servers, clusters, or other Java processes, such as a messaging server.
You can use the Profile Creation wizard in silent mode with a response file instead of the graphical user interface.
See responsefile.pct.NDmanagedProfile.txt for
examples of using the Profile Creation wizard in silent mode.
You can also use the wasprofile command to create a custom profile. See the description of the wasprofile for
more information.
By default, the Profile Creation wizard federates
a custom node when you create a custom profile. Federating the node makes
the node operational. You must have access to a running deployment manager
to federate the node.
If the custom profile is on a machine that does not have a
deployment manager, then the deployment manager must be accessible over the
network to support the federation of the node.
- Install the product to create the core product files.
- Start the Profile Creation wizard to create a new
runtime environment.
Select the Profile Creation wizard from the First
steps console:
- Open a command prompt.
- Change directories to the firststeps directory
in the installation root directory:
- Issue one of the following firststeps command
to start the console:
./firststeps.sh
firststeps.bat
- Select the Profile Creation wizard option from
the console.
The Profile Creation wizard is an InstallShield
for Multiplatforms application. The wizard loads the Java 2 SDK and
then displays its Welcome panel.
See the description of the firststeps command
for more information.
Ways to start the wizard
Several
ways exist to start the wizard:
- Click Next on the Welcome panel.
The wizard
displays the Profile type selection panel.
- Select Create a custom profile, and
click Next.
The wizard displays the Custom-profile federation
panel.
- Select either Typical profile creation, Advanced
profile creation, or if you are running on Version 6.1.0.21 or later, Feature
Pack for Web Services, and then click Next.
The Typical
profile creation or Feature Pack for Web Services option creates
a profile that uses default configuration settings. With the Advanced profile
creation option, you can specify your own configuration values for a profile.
- Specify the host name and SOAP port of the
deployment manager, and click Next.
After federation, the process in the custom profile
is the node agent process. The node agent process is the agent of
the deployment manager for the custom node. The node agent responds
to commands from the deployment manager to perform tasks that include
the following actions:
- Creating application server processes, clusters, and cluster members
- Starting and stopping application server processes
- Synchronizing configurations between the current edition on the
deployment manager and the copy that exists on the node
- Deleting application server processes
See the system administration section in the information center
for more information about node agents and their tasks.
Should you federate the node?
The recommendation is that you federate the custom
node at this time. The deployment manager must be running and accessible
when you click Next on the Federation panel to federate the
custom node. If the custom profile is on a machine that does not have
a deployment manager, then the deployment manager must be running
and accessible over the network to allow the federation of the node.
If the deployment manager is not running or not accessible before
you click Next, but you can start it and make it accessible
at this time, then do so. Otherwise, select the Federate the node
later check box.
If you are unsure whether
the deployment manager is running or accessible, then do not federate
now. Federate the node when you can verify the availability of the
deployment manager.
If
security is enabled on the deployment manager node, you must federate
later using the addNode command to enter a user ID and password
on the command.
A possibility exists that
the deployment manager is reconfigured to use the non-default remote
method invocation (RMI) as the preferred Java Management Extensions
(JMX) connector. Click System Administration > Deployment manager
> Administrative services in the administrative console of the
deployment manager to verify the preferred connector type.
If RMI is the preferred JMX connector, then you
must use the addNode command to federate the custom profile later.
Use the addNode command so that you can specify the JMX connector
type and the RMI port.
If the deployment
manager uses the default SOAP JMX connector type, specify the host
name and SOAP port and federate the node now to create a functional
node that you can customize.
Federating
when the deployment manager is not available
If you federate a custom node when the deployment
manager is not running or is not available because of security being
enabled or for other reasons, the installation indicator in the logs
is INSTCONFFAIL to indicate a complete failure. The resulting custom
profile is unusable. You must move the custom profile directory out
of the profile repository (the profiles installation root directory)
before creating another custom profile with the same profile name.
If the deployment
manager is unavailable, an immediate failure occurs prior to profile
creation. You must restart the profile creation and either ensure
the deployment manager is active and the connection information specified
is correct, or select the federate later option.
Click Next to
display the Profile name panel.
- Specify a name
for the profile, or accept the default: click Next.
Profile naming guidelines: Double-byte
characters are supported. The profile name can be any unique name
with the following restrictions. Do not use any of the following characters
when naming your profile:
- Spaces
- Special characters that are not supported within the name of a
directory on your operating system, such as *&?
- Slashes (/) or (\)
The default profile
The
first profile that you create on a machine is the default profile.
The default profile is the default target for commands that are issued
from the bin directory in the product installation root.
When one profile exists on a machine, every command works on the only
server process in the configuration.
Addressing a profile in a multiprofile environment
When multiple profiles exist on a machine, certain commands
require that you specify the profile to which the command applies.
These commands use the -profileName parameter to identify which profile
to address. You might find it easier to use the commands that are
in the bin directory of each profile.
The
commands are found in the following location:
A command has two lines. Set the WAS_USER_SCRIPT environment
variable on the first line for the command prompt. You use the variable
to set up the command environment to address the profile. Use the
second line to call the command in the following location:
Use the command to query the command shell
to determine the calling profile and to autonomically address the
command to the calling profile.
The wizard then displays the Profile directory
panel.
- Specify a location for the profile and click Next.
If you click Back and change the name of the profile, you
must manually change the name on this panel when it displays again.
The
wizard displays the Node and host names panel.
- Specify the node and host characteristics for the
custom profile, and click Next.
Migration considerations
If
you plan to migrate an installation of Network Deployment Version 5 to Version
6, then use the same cell name for the Version 6 deployment manager that you
used for the Version 5 cell. A cell name must be unique whenever the product is running on the same physical machine or cluster of machines, such as a sysplex. Additionally, a cell name must be unique when network connectivity between entities is required either between the cells or from a client that must communicate with each of the cells. Cell names also must be unique if you want to federate their name spaces. Otherwise, you might encounter symptoms such as a javax.naming.NameNotFoundException exception. In which case, you need to create uniquely named cells.
After
migrating the cell, the Version 5 managed nodes are now managed by the Version
6 deployment manager in compatibility mode. You can migrate individual Version
5 managed nodes in the cell to Version 6. To do so, you must create a Version
6 profile with the same node name as the Version 5 managed node.
Reserved names: Avoid using reserved folder
names as field values. The use of reserved folder names can cause
unpredictable results. The following terms are reserved folder names:
- cells
- nodes
- servers
- clusters
- applications
- deployments
The
custom profile has the following characteristics:
Field Name |
Default Value |
Constraints |
Description |
Node name |
The name of your machine,
or a unique derivation of the machine name. |
Avoid using the reserved terms. Use a unique name
within the deployment manager cell.
If you plan to migrate a Version
5 managed node, then use the same node name for this Version 6 custom profile.
|
The name is used for administration within the deployment
manager cell to which the custom profile is added. Use a unique name within
the deployment manager cell. After migrating a Version 5 deployment manager
cell to a Version 6 deployment manager, you can migrate the Version 5 custom
profiles that are running in compatibility mode in the Version 6 deployment
manager.
|
Host name |
The long
form of the domain name server (DNS) name.
|
The host name must be addressable through your network. |
Use the actual DNS name or IP address of your machine
to enable communication with your machine. See additional information about
the host name that follows this table. |
Directory path considerations
The number of characters in the profiles_directory_path\profile_name directory
must be less than or equal to 80 characters.
Host
name considerations
The host name is the network name for the physical machine
on which the node is installed. The host name must resolve to a physical
network node on the server. When multiple network cards exist in the
server, the host name or IP address must resolve to one of the network
cards. Remote nodes use the host name to connect to and communicate
with this node. Selecting a host name that other machines can reach
within your network is important. Do not use the generic identifier, localhost,
for this value. Also, do not attempt to install WebSphere Application
Server products on a machine with a host name that uses characters
from the double-byte character set (DBCS). DBCS characters are not
supported when used in the host name.
If you define
coexisting nodes on the same computer with unique IP addresses, define
each IP address in a domain name server (DNS) look-up table. Configuration
files for stand-alone application servers do not provide domain name
resolution for multiple IP addresses on a machine with a single network
address.
The value that you specify for the host
name is used as the value of the hostName property in configuration
documents for the stand-alone application server. Specify the host
name value in one of the following formats:
- Fully qualified domain name server (DNS) host name string, such
as xmachine.manhattan.ibm.com
- The default short DNS host name string, such as xmachine
- Numeric IP address, such as 127.1.255.3
The fully qualified DNS host name has the
advantages of being totally unambiguous and flexible. You have the
flexibility of changing the actual IP address for the host system
without having to change the application server configuration. This
value for the host name is particularly useful if you plan to change
the IP address frequently when using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP) to assign IP addresses. A format disadvantage is a dependency
on DNS. If DNS is not available, then connectivity is compromised.
The short host name is also dynamically resolvable.
A short name format has the added function of being redefined in the
local hosts file so that the system can run the application server,
even when disconnected from the network. Define the short name as
the loopback address, 127.0.0.1, in the hosts file
to run disconnected. A format disadvantage is a dependency on DNS
for remote access. If DNS is not available, then connectivity is compromised.
A numeric IP address has the advantage of not requiring
name resolution through DNS. A remote node can connect to the node
that you name with a numeric IP address without DNS being available.
A format disadvantage is that the numeric IP address is fixed. You
must change the setting of the hostName property in Express configuration
documents whenever you change the machine IP address. Therefore, do
not use a numeric IP address if you use DHCP, or if you change IP
addresses regularly. Another format disadvantage is that you cannot
use the node if the host is disconnected from the network.
After
specifying custom profile characteristics, the wizard displays the Port value
assignment panel.
- Specify port assignments that do not conflict
for the custom profile and click Next.
When federating
a custom profile, the addNode command uses non-conflicting ports. This
means that you can take the default port assignments as you create the profile,
and let the addNode command specify non-conflicting ports as you federate
the node. Port assignments must be unique on a machine. application server
processes on different machines can use the same port assignments without
conflict.
After specifying non-conflicting port assignments, the wizard
displays the Profile summary panel.
- Verify that the ports specified are unique, and click Next.
The
Profile Creation Summary panel is displayed.
The
deployment manager must be running and accessible when you click Next so
that the profile creation succeeds. Since the deployment manager
had to be running and accessible when you clicked on the previous
panel, it is most likely still running and accessible. If you think
the deployment manager might not be running or might be inaccessible,
then follow the recommendations in this step to start and make the
deployment manager accessible.
- Click Next to create
the custom profile, or click Back to change the characteristics of
the custom profile.
The wizard displays
a Status panel as the wizard creates the custom profile. At the end of the
installation, the wizard displays the Profile creation is complete panel.
- Click Finish to exit the Profile Creation wizard.
Results
You created a custom profile. The node within the profile is empty
until you federate the node and use the deployment manager to customize the
node.
The directory structure shows the
new profile folder within the profiles directory. The profile folder
has the same name as the profile that you create.
Refer
to the description of the wasprofile command
to learn about creating a profile using a command instead of a wizard.
The Profile Creation wizard creates a log during
profile creation. The logs are in the install_dir/logs/wasprofile directory.
The files are named in this pattern: wasprofile_create_profile_name.log.
One known problem
in the log for a custom profile is that the -federateLater option
is displayed in the log, regardless of whether the option is used.