WebSphere Application Server V8

• What is IBM® WebSphere® Application Server V8.5?

  WebSphere Application Server drives business agility by providing developers and IT architects with an innovative, performance-based foundation to build, reuse, run, integrate and manage Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) applications and services. From business critical and key enterprise-wide applications to the smallest departmental level applications, WebSphere Application Server offers high levels of reliability, availability, security, and scalability.

  Enhancements in Version 8.5 include the following

  • The new WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Liberty profile delivers a lightweight, simple-to-use, and powerful application server for increased developer productivity and for use as a lightweight production server for application workloads. Extremely fast restart times coupled with its small size and ease of use make the Liberty profile a great option for building web, mobile, and OSGi applications. It is also a good option for production servers where minimizing resource utilization is a primary requirement.
  • WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 is designed to ensure industry-leading levels of resiliency and availability. New Intelligent Management capabilities deliver application availability, elasticity, and qualities of service programmatically instrumented and executed to ensure high levels of end-user availability. These autonomic capabilities sense and respond to problems within the application environment and autocorrect or route around these problems before end users experience an outage. Previously, these enhanced resiliency capabilities were available separately through WebSphere Virtual Enterprise. They are now included in WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment Version 8.5.
  • WebSphere Batch offers an enterprise-level managed batch execution environment that enables the entry, execution, and management of Java batch processing. It provides an infrastructure for batch processing to allow sharing of business logic with online transaction processing (OLTP) applications. This helps to lower cost by reducing risk and management effort, supplies an "always-on" business experience by eliminating offline batch windows, and delivers enterprise qualities of service required by mission-critical batch applications. Previously, these enhanced batch capabilities were available separately by using WebSphere Compute Grid; they are now included in WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5.
  • The optional IBM WebSphere SDK Java Technology Edition Version 7.0 provides a full-function SDK for Java that is compliant with Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) 7 application programming interfaces (APIs). With IBM WebSphere SDK Java Technology Edition Version 7.0, you can develop and deploy Java applications at the Java 7 API level and continue the "write once, run anywhere" Java paradigm at the Java API level. The SDK contains the Runtime Environment. The Runtime Environment allows users to run Java applications. The SDK also contains other tools that enable developers to create Java applications.
  • A Web 2.0 and Mobile Toolkit is included that provides developers with ready-to-use components to extend service-oriented architecture by connecting web services, SOA services, and Java Enterprise Edition objects into interactive desktop-web and mobile web user interfaces. With this toolkit, applications developed initially for desktop browsers can now be adapted and deployed to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

  Read WebSphere Application Server V8.5 for detailed information on the features and benefits of WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5.

• What is included in the AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5?

  The AMI contains WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 and Installation Manager Version 1.5.3.

  The operating system of the AMI is SuSE Linux® Enterprise Server 11. Within this AMI is a secured application server that is registered to a WebSphere Application Server administrative agent.

  • To determine the IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 level, run the following command:

    /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/versionInfo.sh

  • To determine the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 level, run the following command:

    cat /etc/SuSE-release

  • To determine the Linux kernel level, run the following command: uname -a.
  • To determine the Installation Manager level, change to the Installation_Manager_binaries/eclipse/tools directory, where Installation_Manager_binaries is the installation root directory for the Installation Manager, and run the following command:

    ./imcl listInstalledPackages -long

  The image contains the following products:

  • IBM HTTP Server for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5

    IBM HTTP Server for WebSphere Application Server provides advanced web server capabilities with consistent management and security in a WebSphere Application Server environment. IBM HTTP Server for WebSphere Application Server is based on Apache HTTP Server.

    Refer to the IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Information Center for more information.

  • IBM Installation Manager Version 1.5.3

    IBM Installation Manager is a single installation program that can use remote or local software repositories to install, modify, or update new WebSphere Application Server products. It determines and shows available packages (including products, fix packs, interim fixes, and so on) checks prerequisites and interdependencies, and installs the selected packages. You also use Installation Manager to easily uninstall the packages that it installed.

    Keep Installation Manager and the products that it installed up-to-date.

    Refer to the IBM Installation Manager Information Center for information on using Installation Manager.

  • IBM Rational Agent Controller (RAC) Version 8.3.5

    IBM Rational Agent Controller is a daemon process that enables client applications to launch host processes and interact with agents that coexist within host processes. IBM Rational Agent Controller (RAC) Version 8.3.5 can be used to profile applications running on WebSphere Application Server.

    Refer to the IBM Rational Agent Controller (RAC) Version 8.3.5 installation instructions and documentation for further information on using RAC with WebSphere Application Server.

  • IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5

    The IBM WebSphere Application Server family is the leading open standards-based Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) compliant application foundation offering broad programming model choice and lower total cost of ownership through high performance and high manageability. WebSphere Application Server delivers the availability and security your business depends on while optimizing cost. This base edition of WebSphere Application Server is the foundation of the IBM WebSphere software platform.

    Refer to the following for more information on WebSphere Application Server:

    IBM WebSphere Application Server product information

    IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Information Center

    Discuss this image on IBM developerWorks forum for WebSphere

    IBM WebSphere Application Server on IBM developerWorks

  • IBM WebSphere Application Server Web 2.0 and Mobile Toolkit

    The IBM WebSphere Application Server Web 2.0 and Mobile Toolkit offers targeted, incremental new features that can make your web applications running on WebSphere Application Server easier to use. With this offering, WebSphere Application Server applications that were originally developed for desktop browsers can be adapted and deployed to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

    This offering extends Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) by connecting external web services, internal SOA services, and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) objects into highly-interactive web application interfaces. The Web 2.0 and Mobile Toolkit provides a supported, best-in-class Ajax development toolkit for WebSphere Application Server.

  • IBM WebSphere SDK Java Technology Edition Version 7.0

    This IBM Software Development Kit (SDK) provides a full-function SDK for Java that is compliant with Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) 7 application programming interfaces (APIs). With IBM WebSphere SDK Java Technology Edition Version 7.0, you can develop and deploy Java applications at the Java 7 API level and continue the "write once, run anywhere" Java paradigm at the Java API level. The SDK contains the Runtime Environment. The Runtime Environment allows users to run Java applications. The SDK also contains other tools that enable developers to create Java applications.

  • Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5

    Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server provides an optimized connection to route requests from a web server and WebSphere Application Server.

    Refer to the WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Information Center for more information.

  • WebSphere Customization Toolbox Version 8.5

    The WebSphere Customization Toolbox includes tools for customizing various parts of your WebSphere Application Server environment. For example, you can use the WebSphere Customization Toolbox graphical user interface (GUI) to launch the Web Server Plug-ins Configuration Tool to configure your web server plug-ins for any operating system on which the WebSphere Customization Toolbox can be installed.

  The new WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Liberty profile delivers a lightweight, simple-to-use, and powerful application server for increased developer productivity and for use as a lightweight production server for application workloads.

  Fast restart times coupled with its small size and ease of use make the Liberty profile a good option for building web, mobile, and OSGi applications. It is also an option for production servers where minimizing resource utilization is a primary requirement.

  Although the Liberty profile is not included with this AMI and cannot be installed in the image using Installation Manager, you can install the standalone version of the Liberty profile using the instructions in Installing the Liberty profile application-serving environment by executing a JAR file.

• I noticed that other items are mentioned in the license information, like IBM Tivoli® Directory Server. However, this offering is not on the AMI. Am I entitled to use this offering?

  The AMI was tailored for usage on AWS. Therefore, a number of items are not included on the AMI. You are only entitled to use what is provided in the AMI.

• What are typical types of IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 solutions that work well on AWS, and what solutions do not?
  • For optimal results, develop and test applications that are deployed on a single implementation of WebSphere Application Server and require minimal interaction outside the AWS environment for development and testing.
  • Some systems are less-suited to an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) based WebSphere Application Server solution. Careful consideration and testing are required if you want to use Amazon EC2 to deploy such a solution. Some examples include:
    • Aggregating applications outside of Amazon EC2: If your WebSphere Application Server solution requires a highly available, high-performance connectivity to backend services located outside the AWS environment (local services, for example) then the overall performance and availability might be at risk. In this situation, consider other solutions where you have more control over bandwidth, performance and availability.
    • Integration with external corporate user directories such as LDAP: This is similar to the need to aggregate external applications, but user directory access is a global requirement, raising the importance of a reliable, secure and fast connection between Amazon EC2 and the external registry. This capability is not provided by default in the AMI; however, several VPN-based solutions are documented in the AWS forums.
• How does the AMI for IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 differ from the way IBM traditionally sells these offerings?

  The offering on AWS differs from the IBM traditional purchasing model in a number of ways:

  • Pricing. IBM traditionally sells this software on a processor value unit basis. For AWS, this software is offered on the standard AWS pricing model.
  • You are only entitled to use what software is provided on the AMI.
  • Operating system and underlying infrastructure. If purchased traditionally, you can install WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 software on a number of hardware and software platforms and work with multiple database servers. In the AWS environment, the hardware and operating system are static in the AMI and cannot be changed.
  • Support is handled via Amazon. Read IBM EC2 AMI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the details..
• Does the AMI for IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 have restrictions?

  In general, you can use this AMI for development and testing of commercially available network-delivered applications or software-as-a-service applications for users in the marketplace. Refer to the Development AMI license agreement for additional details.

  You can use the Production AMI for any purpose as you would a standard WebSphere Application Server license, such as development, test, production, and deployment. Refer to the Production AMI license agreement for additional details.

• When was IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 released to market?

  You can find detailed information in the announcement letter for IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 (April 24, 2012): IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 delivers a faster, more flexible development environment along with new intelligent management capabilities for enhanced resiliency.

• If an IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 customer is under current maintenance, do they get AWS AMIs for free?

  No. However, an existing IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 customer might decide to deploy their existing products on AWS. See PVUs required for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud for more details.

• Which AWS instance types are available with the AMI for IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5?

  Standard Small instances or High-CPU Medium instances are currently available.

• Can I cluster my AMIs for WebSphere Application Server V8.5 for performance and load balancing?

  The WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 AMI does not provide clustering or load balancing. Amazon provides AMI load-balancing options that can be considered.

• Can I have a failover scenario with the AMI for WebSphere Application Server V8.5 on AWS?

  With the AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 available for AWS, content can only be served from one single server running the AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 at a time. Review the AWS Customer Agreement and license information for a full set of requirements and restrictions that apply to WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5.

  Generally, when you set up these AMI instances on AWS, you choose Elastic Block Storage (EBS) as the storage option. EBS provides a persistent store. If your live AWS instance fails, you can start a new instance and reuse the existing EBS storage to restore your server. Your website is not available from the time the AWS instance fails to the time the new AMI instance starts and you reconfigure the AMI. This process takes several minutes, depending on the specific configuration of the AWS instance.

• If the restrictions imposed by the AMI for WebSphere Application Server V8.5 do not suite my needs, are there AMIs with a fully unrestricted version of WebSphere Application Server V8.5?

  There is no unrestricted (full) version of WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 currently available from AWS. You can purchase the full version of WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 from IBM WebSphere Application Server site. These full versions can be installed on AWS, using AWS as the hosted infrastructure.

• How do I use the remote deploy functionality in IBM Rational Application Developer with the AMI for WebSphere Application Server V8.5?

  AMIs hosted on Amazon EC2 use network address translation (NAT) technology. NAT technology maps an external public IP address to an internal IP address within the Amazon EC2 network.

  To configure the remote deploy functionality in Rational Application Developer to work with the AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5, the network of the Rational Application Developer machine must be configured to account for the EC2 NAT technology.

  1. Determine the external public IP address of your AMI.
  2. Determine the fully qualified host name of your AMI using the following command:
     hostname –fqdn
  3. Determine the internal host name of your AMI using the following command:
     hostname
  4. On your Rational Application Developer machine, configure the /etc/hosts files to account for the Amazon EC2 NAT technology; for example:

     echo <public_AMI_IP_address> <interal_AMI_fully_qualified_hostname> <interal_AMI_hostname> >> /etc/hosts

• What education resources are available?

  For additional resources, refer to the IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Education Assistant Modules.

• How do I access my AMI for WebSphere Application Server V8.5 from my Web browser?

  Access your AMI for WebSphere Application Server V8.5 instance using its public DNS server name, which can be obtained from the properties of the instance. See the ec2-describe-instances command for more information. By default, the AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 administrative agent is listening on port 24000, so that it can be accessed using a URL in the following format:

  http://ec2-public-server-name:24000/ibm/console

  The ec2-public-server-name value is the fully qualified public DNS server name.

• Can I use my corporate LDAP User Directory with the WebSphere Application Server V8.5?

  There are some key options and considerations to take into account.

  Because AWS is a cloud-based offering, do not integrate your corporate user directory in real time. Doing so creates a significant impact to performance and reliability, especially since the link between AWS and your remote office relies on the Internet, which cannot guarantee bandwidth and availability. Therefore, consider the following two core options:

  1. Use the file-based federated repositories that are included in WebSphere Application Server.
  2. 2. Use a third-party supported LDAP server hosted on Amazon EC2, thereby reducing the impact of Internet bandwidth and reliability by linking to a local user directory. For a list of supported user directories, read System Requirements for WebSphere Application Server Base and Network Deployment v8.5.
• What user ID should I use to log into the WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 administrative console?

  The AMI instance comes with a default user account, virtuser, which is used to enable WebSphere Application Server global security and to access the administrative console. During the boot sequence of the AMI instance, you are asked to set the password for this user.

• How do I access the UNIX® console of my AMI instance?

  The AMI instance is preconfigured to allow you to access the UNIX console using a secure shell (SSH) and the private key you had to generate and specify at the time the instance was created. With this configuration, you can open a secure console without having to know the root password of the instance. The boot sequence of the instance presents panels for license agreements and the localization of the image.

• If I suspect an error with my AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5, how do I begin to debug the problem?

  If you suspect a problem with WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5, refer to the troubleshooting section of the information center.

  You can also use the AWS forums to see if your problem has already been discussed with others, and to solicit the help of the AWS user community in correcting your error.

• How do I monitor the AMI for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 to ensure that I am not running out of capacity?

  You use traditional UNIX tools to determine if the instance has enough memory and disk capacity. For WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5, since it is a Java-based product, you must also employ traditional Java monitoring mechanisms, such as monitoring garbage collection activity using the verbosegc JVM option.

• Can I apply publicly available WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 fixes to my AMI?

  Embedded in the AMI is the IBM Installation Manager Version 1.5.3. Use the Installation Manager to apply WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 fix packs and interim fixes from the IBM WebSphere Application Server support website.

• Where do I find more information on IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5?

  IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 Information Center (public)

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

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