Lotus

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Overview of IBM WebSphere

Application Server Concepts for IBM
Lotus Connections Administrators
Author: Jessica Piziak, IBM WPLC Support Education



Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Terminology for IBM

Lotus Connections Administrators
In this document you will learn about IBM WebSphere Application Server terminology and how it is
used in an IBM Lotus Connections environment.

Time needed
It will take approximately 30 minutes to complete this content.

Prerequisites and system requirements

There are no prerequisites or system requirements for this content. No prior WebSphere Application
Server knowledge is required.

Learning topics
The following learning topics are addressed:
v Define terminology related to WebSphere Application Server architecture.
v Describe the function of a WebSphere Application Server Profile.
v Define WebSphere Application Server terminology related to Lotus Connections topologies.
v Describe the use of WebSphere Application Server profiles with Lotus Connections.

IBM WebSphere Application Server Terminology

Learning topics
After reading this section, you should be able to:
v Define terminology related to WebSphere Application Server architecture.
v Describe the function of a WebSphere Application Server Profile.

The ABC's of IBM WebSphere Application Server

In this section, you will learn about commonly used WebSphere Application Server architectural terms.
The following diagram shows one possible architecture of a WebSphere Application Server environment:

Below, you will find definitions for each of the terms shown in the graphic above.
Application Server

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Server Concepts for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

According to the WebSphere Application Server Glossary, an application server is "a server program
in a distributed network that provides the execution environment for an application program."
More specifically:
The application server is the primary runtime component in all configurations and is where
an application actually executes. All WebSphere Application Server configurations can have
one or more application servers. ... With Network Deployment, you can build a distributed
server environment consisting of multiple application servers maintained from a central
administration point. In a distributed server environment, you can cluster application
servers for workload distribution.
Source: WebSphere Application Server V6 Technical Overview
Cell
The WebSphere Application Server Glossary defines a cell as: "A group of managed processes that
are federated to the same deployment manager and can include high-availability core groups."
The IBM Redbooks publication WebSphere Application Server V7: Concepts, Planning, and design
provides the following, more detailed, explanation:
A cell is a grouping of nodes into a single administrative domain. ... In a Network
Deployment environment, a cell can consist of multiple nodes (and node groups), which are
all administered from a single point, the deployment manager. If your cell configuration
contains nodes running on the same platform, it is called a homogeneous cell. It is also
possible to have a cell made up of nodes on mixed platforms. This is referred to as a
heterogeneous cell.
Cluster
A cluster is defined as "a group of application servers that collaborate for the purposes of
workload balancing and failover" in the WebSphere Application Server Glossary.
In other words:
... A cluster is a logical collection of application server processes that provides workload
balancing and high availability. Application servers that belong to a cluster are members of
that cluster and must all have identical application components deployed on them. Other
than the applications configured to run on them, cluster members do not have to share any
other configuration data. For example, one cluster member might be running on a large
multi-processor server while another member of that same cluster might be running on a
small mobile computer. The server configuration settings for each of these two cluster
members is very different, except in the area of the application components that are
assigned to them. In that area of configuration, they are identical. The members of a cluster
can be located on a single node (vertical cluster), across multiple nodes (horizontal cluster),
or on a combination of the two. When you install, update, or delete an application, the
updates are automatically distributed to all members in the cluster.
Source: WebSphere Application Server V6 Technical Overview
Deployment Manager
A Deployment Manager is "a server that manages operations for a logical group or cell of other
servers," as stated in the WebSphere Application Server Glossary.
A more detailed explanation is that the deployment manager is:
... the central administration point of a cell that consists of multiple nodes and node groups
in a distributed server configuration. ... The deployment manager uses the node agent to
manage the application servers within one node. A deployment manager provides
Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Terminology for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

management capability for multiple federated nodes and can manage nodes that span
multiple systems and platforms. A node can only be managed by a single deployment
manager and must be federated to the cell of that deployment manager. The configuration
and application files for all nodes in the cell are centralized into a master configuration
repository. This centralized repository is managed by the deployment manager and
synchronized with local copies that are held on each of the nodes.
Source: WebSphere Application Server V7: Concepts, Planning, and design
Node
As defined in the WebSphere Application Server Glossary, a node is "a logical grouping of
managed servers."
In particular:
A node is an administrative grouping of application servers for configuration and
operational management within one operating system instance (virtualization allows
multiple operating systems on one machine). It is possible to create multiple nodes inside
one operating system instance, but a node cannot leave the operating system boundaries. In
a stand-alone application server configuration, there is only one node. With Network
Deployment, you can configure a distributed server environment consisting of multiple
nodes, which are managed from one central administration server.
Source: WebSphere Application Server V7: Concepts, Planning, and design
Node Agent
A Node Agent is "an administrative agent that manages all application servers on a node and
represents the node in the management cell" according to the WebSphere Application Server
Glossary
In addition:
In distributed server configurations, each node has a node agent that works with the
deployment manager to manage administration processes... A node agent is created
automatically when you add (federate) a stand-alone node to a cell. It is not included in the
Base and Express configurations.
Source: WebSphere Application Server V7: Concepts, Planning, and design
In simpler terms, the node agent's purpose is to pass information between the deployment
manager and the application server.
Profile
A profile is "an instance of a WebSphere Application Server configuration."
More specifically:
Profiles are collections of user files. They share core product files. A profile contains its own set of
scripts, its own environment, and its own repository. Each profile is stored in a unique directory
path selected by the user at profile creation time. Profiles are stored in a subdirectory of the
installation directory by default, but they can be located anywhere.
WebSphere Profiles were introduced in WebSphere Application Server v6.0. One main advantage
of profiles is that they allow an administrator to have multiple application servers on a single
machine that all use the same binaries from one install of WebSphere Application Server.
Administration is greatly enhanced when using profiles instead of multiple product installations.
Not only is disk space saved, but updating the product is simplified when you maintain a single

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Server Concepts for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

set of product core files. Also, creating new profiles is more efficient and less prone to error than
full product installations, allowing a developer to create separate profiles of the product for
development and testing.
Templates for several types of profiles are provided with WebSphere Application Server Network
Deployment:
v Cell
This environment creates two profiles:
- A management profile with a deployment manager
- An application server profile added (federated) to the management profile
v Management
A management profile provides components for managing multiple application server
environments. Possible profiles are as follows:
- Deployment manager
- Administrative agent
- Job manager
v Application server
An application server profile runs your enterprise applications and makes them available to
the internet or to an intranet. It contains a stand-alone application server.
v Custom
A custom profile contains an empty node with no servers. However, a server can be added
after the profile is created.
v Secure proxy (configuration-only)
A secure proxy (configuration-only) profile is for use with a DeMilitarized Zone (DMZ)
secure proxy server. This configuration-only profile is intended only to be used to configure
the profile using the Integrated Solutions Console. After you configure the profile, you can
export the profile configuration and then import it into the secure proxy profile in your
DMZ. Secure proxy (configuration-only) profile is only an administrative component.
Source: WebSphere Application Server V7: Concepts, Planning, and design
For more information on profiles, watch the IBM Education Assistant module WebSphere Profiles
The following screen capture shows where profiles, cells, nodes, and servers are found in a
simple WebSphere Application Server deployment with no Lotus products installed:

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Terminology for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

Note: The colors of the boxes correspond to the color scheme of the first graphic.
The following screen capture shows where profiles, cells, nodes, and servers are found in a
WebSphere Application Server deployment, with no Lotus products installed, that uses a
Deployment Manager:

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Server Concepts for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

Note: The colors of the boxes correspond to the color scheme of the first graphic.

WebSphere Application Server terminology in the context of Lotus

Connections
In this section you will learn how the WebSphere Application Server components that you learned about
in the previous part come into play with Lotus Connections.
Learning topics
v Define WebSphere Application Server terminology related to Lotus Connections topologies.
v Describe the use of WebSphere Application Server profiles with Lotus Connections.
You will explore the following configurations of Lotus Connections:
v Stand-alone
v Network Deployment

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Terminology for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

The following graphics show how profiles, cells, nodes, and servers are used in a WebSphere Application
Server configuration with Lotus Connections installed:
In the first graphic, Lotus Connections is installed in an advanced stand-alone configuration with all
Lotus Connections features installed on one machine, but across multiple server instances:

Note that there is a single Cell, Node and Profile, but two application servers running on that profile
with each server running two applications.
In the second graphic, Lotus Connections is installed using the Network Deployment option. In the
configuration shown, subsets of application servers and applications are installed into separate clusters.

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Server Concepts for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

Note the following:

v There is a single cell for this configuration, even though it is spread across several machines.
v The deployment manager is installed on a separate machine from the nodes that it manages.
v Each WebSphere Application Server installation has a single node and profile, but the servers running
Lotus Connections applications each have two application servers and two applications configured.
The following graphic shows where the WebSphere Application Server components are found at the
Operating System level when Lotus Connections is installed using the Network Deployment option:

Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Terminology for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators

Note: The colors of the boxes correspond to the color scheme of the architecture graphics.

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Overview of IBM WebSphere Application Server Concepts for IBM Lotus Connections Administrators




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