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Person tags, also known as "PeopleService tags", is a Lotus Collaborative Components feature in IBM ® WebSphere® Portal 4.2. By using Person tags in portlets, you can easily integrate Sametime functions, such as online awareness and chatting, into portlets. Person tags automatically generate context sensitive menus and Sametime connectivity Java code. Developing Person tags does not need much coding and is relatively easy. However, because it involves different kinds of servers, such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Sametime, Domino, and WebSphere Portal, the configuration is complex. The implementation of Person tags is platform-independent.
In this article, you learn how to configure Sametime Server, Domino Server, and Webphere Portal Server (hereafter called Portal Server) with Person tags. Because these servers may use an LDAP server, an HTTP server, a WebSphere Application Server, and a Tivoli Access Manager, we also provide hints and tips for configuring those servers. In addition to learning configurations, you learn how to use WebSphere Studio Application Developer (hereafter called WebSphere Studio) to develop collaborative portlets using Person tags.
This article focuses on the integration of different servers. It does not provide details about server installation. You should have basic knowledge of the following areas:
- LDAP server
- HTTP server
- WebSphere Application Server
- WebSphere Portal Server
- Sametime server
This article uses the following software applications:
- IBM Directory Server 4.1
- IBM HTTP Server 1.3.19
- WebSphere Application Server 4.0, Fixpack 4
- WebSphere Portal 4.2
- Domino Server 6.0.2CF1
- Sametime Server 3.1
- WebSphere Studio Application Developer 5.0.1
- WebSphere Portal Toolkit 4.3
- Tivoli Access Manager 4.1
Note: WebSphere Portal 4.2 does not officially support
Sametime 3.1 on Domino 6, although they work together. You can use Sametime
3.0 on Domino 5 instead, which is officially supported by WebSphere Portal 4.2. However,
if you need a reverse proxy server in your network, such as WebSEAL, and
your users access the Sametime server through a reverse proxy server, you must
use Sametime 3.1 because Sametime 3.0 does not support reverse proxy server.
Configuring Sametime, Domino, and Servers
Before proceeding, ensure that both Sametime Server and Portal Server are fully installed, configured, and functioning separately. We will focus on how to integrate them and make Person tags work in portlets. Some hints and tips follow to ensure proper configuration so that integration is implemented smoothly.
Hint for Installing Domino Server
To make Domino ready for Sametime and WebSphere Portal, ensure that the following tasks are running on the Domino console when launching the Domino Server:
- HTTP Web Server
- DIIOP
Hint for Installing Sametime Server
To align your configuration with this article, select LDAP, instead of the Domino directory, when installing Sametime Server. After you install the Sametime Server, either configure the Sametime server to accept all IPs as trusted or add the IP address of Portal Server to the list of IP addresses of trusted servers for the Sametime server, as shown in the following:
[Debug] VPS_BYPASS_TRUSTED_IPS=1 [Config] VPS_TRUSTED_IPS=trusted IP address, trusted IP address |
Person tags use functions provided by Sametime links. Sametime links is a set of HTML/JavaScript APIs for adding "live names" to Web applications or Web pages with a few lines of HTML. In this section, you configure Sametime and Domino to make Sametime links work.
Starting with Sametime Server V3.0, you must install Sametime Server on the Domino Server and complete Domino Server configurations to set up Sametime. As an alternative to using Sametime to the Sametime Administration Web interface, you can configure Sametime server using Domino Administrator. In the following examples, we use Domino Administrator to do all the configurations.
If you already have Sametime Server installed, make sure Sametime Server uses Directory Assistance to work with the LDAP server. For more information, see Sametime Administrator's Guide. Using Domino Administrator to open the Current Server document, you see a database name, for instance, "da.nsf", in the Directory assistance database name as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Directory assistance database name
- Verify the LDAP setting in the Directory
assistance database specified above. Open it using Domino Administrator, and
verify that it uses the right LDAP server and other configuration parameters as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. LDAP setting
- If the LDAP server needs
authentication for searching, enter the username and password in the
Credential section. Otherwise, leave these fields blank.
Base DN for search points out the root directory you use when searching for users in the LDAP server. Note that the format of the IBM Directory Server is different from that of the Domino Directory Server. Attribute to be used as Notes Distinguished Name is the uid for the IBM Directory Server and cn for the Domino Directory Server.
- If the setting of the Directory assistance database is correct, the next step is to check LDAP Server setting for Sametime Server.
- Using the Domino Administrator, select
File => Database => Open, select your Domino Server, for instance,
wpst41/ibm, select Sametime Configuration database, and then click on "Open".
Figure 3. Database setting
- Open item LDAPServer by double-clicking on the time
stamp below LDAPServer as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Opening LDAPServer
- Figure 5 shows the correct LDAP Server settings of
the Sametime Server.
Figure 5. Correct LDAP Server settings
- Similar to the Directory Assistance database, if the LDAP server needs authentication for searching, enter the username and password in the Credential section. Otherwise, leave these fields blank.
- If you use Tivoli Access Manager with WebSphere Portal and the LDAP server is the IBM Directory server, select ePerson as the object class for person and accessGroup as the object class for group.
- Set the attribute of the group object class that contains the names of the group members as member.
Make sure you make the changes in IBM Directory Server as well as in these settings. Note that you can use cn and uid to resolve person names. Using uid only displays a single word short name in Person tags. Because uid cannot include blank spaces and is usually a short name of the username, use cn instead in Person tags in a productive environment. cn represents the common name of the user and can include blank spaces. For the purpose of testing portlets, you can use uid in Person tags.
After finishing the configurations above, you can start testing the Sametime links.
Make sure the LDAP server is started. Follow these steps to test the Sametime links:
- Install the Sametime SDK (lib, examples) from the second Sametime installation CD or the downloaded Sametime image.
- Make sure the Sametime server is running and use the Sametime Connect Client to check if Sametime works.
- Use the Sametime SDK examples to verify that the Sametime links are working.
- To access the Sametime links example, refer to the Sametime Toolkit home page.
- Click Sametime Links Toolkit => Samples => Sametime Links.
- Login name and password are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Login name and password
- Type user names that will be
displayed as Sametime links with the user's uid as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Sametime Links
- The sample page displays as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Sample page
- Click the green link to display a chat box. If you see the chat box, Sametime links is working
as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9. Chat box
Configuring HTTP Server and WebSphere Application Server
If you have installed Tivoli Access Manager with Portal Server, you need to add a bind username and bind password in all the LDAP-related settings discussed previously. Follow the instructions for WebSphere Portal 4.2 at the WebSphere Portal 4.2 InfoCenter to configure the HTTP Server and WebSphere Application Server. The instructions are shown below:
| Using SSL security with Sametime If you are implementing
SSL security within WebSphere Portal Extend or Experience in any combination
with Lotus Sametime, some additional configuration steps are required.
Follow these steps even when WebSphere Portal is not configured to use SSL,
but any SSL connections, including to Notes data, will be made for portal
services. |
Setting up Collaborative Components Samples
WebSphere Portal 4.2 provides a sample application, cs.ear, that includes
collaborative components samples. One of the samples in the application
uses Person tags. However, it is in a JSP Web page, rather than a portlet.
Use it to test if the configurations for Person tags among Sametime
and WebSphere Portal are correct.
Hints for Configuring Portal
Before setting up collaborative components samples, make sure your Portal Server is working. The following is an example of the security configuration for Portal Server.
Figure 10. Security configuration
If the LDAP server needs authentication for searching, type Bind Distinguished Name and Bind Password. Otherwise, leave these fields blank. Click Advanced to display the LDAP Advanced Properties as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11. LDAP Advanced Properties
The cs.ear application is installed to the
installableApps directory of
WebSphere Portal. To install cs.ear on WebSphere:
- Go to the Admin Console and run the Install Enterprise Application wizard. Select Next to proceed through the wizard. There is no need for any settings, including the application name on the first tab.
- For Sametime connectivity, add a
hostAddress.xmlin a directory called Sametime under the document root of your HTTP server, and then change the server name within to point to your ST server (>= version 2.5 with STLinks). - Change the settings in the
CSEnvironment.propertiesfile, which was installed in Step 1 to point to your LDAP server, QP server, and Discovery Server server (all optional). - Restart the default app on WebSphere Application Server.
- Click a url, such as
http://yourserver.yourdomain.com:9080/cs/index.jsp(the :9080 is important). - For debugging support, you can turn tracing on for
com.lotus.cs.DominoServiceby selecting Default Server => Services => Trace Service facility. Click the Edit Properties button. A dialog box appears where you can edit trace specifications.
The following is an example of the
hostAddress.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <sametime> <hostAddress>wpst41.torolab.ibm.com</hostAddress> <httpPort>80</httpPort> </sametime> |
The CSEnvironment.properties file
is in the AppServer\installedApps\Collaborative_Examples.ear\cs.war\config
directory. Collaborative_Examples is the name of the
application when it is installed.
The following is an example of the CSEnvironment.properties file:
CS_SERVER_WEBSPHERE_PORTAL_EXTEND.enabled=true ############################################################## # # SAMETIME properties # Only valid property is enabled. Other values configured # through hostAddress.xml ############################################################## CS_SERVER_SAMETIME.enabled=true ############################################################## # # QUICKPLACE properties # enabled indicates whether or not QP creation is allowed. ############################################################## CS_SERVER_QUICKPLACE.enabled=false CS_SERVER_QUICKPLACE_1.hostname= CS_SERVER_QUICKPLACE_1.version=3.0 ############################################################## # # DISCOVERY SERVER properties ############################################################## CS_SERVER_DISCOVERY_SERVER.enabled=false CS_SERVER_DISCOVERY_SERVER_1.hostname= CS_SERVER_DISCOVERY_SERVER_1.version=2.0 ############################################################## # # DOMINO DIRECTORY properties # (LDAP server) # Only valid property is hostname. Leave enabled flag as true. ############################################################## CS_SERVER_DOMINO_DIRECTORY.enabled=true CS_SERVER_DOMINO_DIRECTORY_1.hostname=wpst40.torolab.ibm.com ############################################################## # # LDAP server performance properties # (LDAP server) # Leave enabled flag as true, if using WMM. # Setting this flag to false will improve performance # while using Domino as the primary (and only) LDAP server # in the Portal. ############################################################## CS_PERF_PROP_USEWMM.enabled=true |
In this property file, the Sametime Server is enabled and Quickplace and Discovery Server are disabled. In the Domino Directory properties section, if you are using the IBM Directory Server as the LDAP server for your Portal Server, you can use the host name of IBM Directory Server.
After completing the previous steps, test the
Person Tags Sample. You can see an index to the samples at
/cs/index.jsp,
for example,
http://yourserver.yourdomain.com:9080/cs/index.jsp.
Figure 12 shows the Person tags sample.
Figure 12. Person tags sample
If the Person tags sample works, the username displays with a green underline as shown in Figure 12. Click the name to display the action menu.
Figure 13. User name in green
If the Person tags sample does not work, the user name is displayed with a blue underline as shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14. User name in blue
Most likely, the Person tags sample does not work because
the instructions for installing cs.jar above does not mention configuring Single
Sign-On (SSO) between Sametime and WebSphere Portal, which is actually the Single Sign-On
between Domino Server and WebSphere Application Server. The following section
discuses how to configure SSO and make the sample work.
Open the names.nsf
database using Domino Administrator.
Figure 15. Opening LDAP Advanced Properties
Import the WebSphere LTPA keys by modifying the LDAP Realm field
from wpst40.torolab.ibm.com:398 to wpst40.torolab.ibm.com\:398.
Note the backward slash, \, between wpst40.torolab.ibm.com and :398.
Figure 16. SSO Configuration
To test SSO, use the Snoop servlet on the Default Server and the Sametime Meeting Client.
- Access the Snoop servlet on the Default Server
for example,
http://yourserver.yourdomain.com/servlet/snoop. - Enter your username and password.
- Access the Sametime Meeting Client. Go to the Sametime Home page
at
http://yoursametimeserver/STCenter.nsf, and click Attending Meeting.
If the SSO works, you can log on without providing the username and password. SSO uses the username and password that you used in Step 1. In the top right corner of the Web page, a message similar to the following one displays:
Figure 17. SSO Message
Verify if People Sample works as shown in Figure 18.
Figure 18. Verifying People Sample
If it does not work, check the
WebSphere\AppServer\logs\Default_Server_stdout.log
file. The following is an example of the Default_Server_stdout.log file.
[8/18/03 17:03:11:562 EDT] 5c6b13c6 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: PeopleSample: init [8/18/03 17:03:22:562 EDT] 5c6b13c6 DominoService X com.lotus.cs.DominoService Servlet.Engine.Transports:25 No matches were found. (DominoLDAPConnector) [8/18/03 17:03:22:703 EDT] 5c6b13c6 SystemOut U STUtil - Sametime server name = wpst41.torolab.ibm.com [8/18/03 17:03:22:719 EDT] 5c6b13c6 SystemOut U STUtil - Sametime server port = 80 [8/18/03 17:03:22:766 EDT] 5c6b13c6 SystemOut U STUtil - Sametime server version = 2.5 [8/18/03 17:03:23:438 EDT] 319753cc SystemOut U STServerApp - logged in. |
In this log file, you see the Sametime server name, port, version, and a
"STServerApp-logged in" message.
However, note that the Sametime server version shown in this log file is
not correct. It does not affect the functions of the Person tags.
Developing Collaborative Portlet using Person Tags
After you verify that the People Sample works, you can start developing and testing the portlet that uses Person tags. WebSphere Portal 4.2 does not come with a portlet that uses only Person tags. You need to develop your own portlet using Person tags.
This article uses WebSphere Studio Application Developer V5.01 and the WebSphere Portal Toolkit V4.3 (hereafter called Portal Toolkit) to develop the portlet. WebSphere Studio V4 with the corresponding Portal Toolkit also works.
Hint: After Portal Toolkit 4.3 is installed, the changes do not apply automatically. Use Update Manager in WebSphere Studio to apply them. See Portal Toolkit Installation Guide for details.
Follow these steps to create a portlet project:
- Select File => New => Other... from the main menu to launch the New Project wizard.
- Select Portlet Application Project from the Portlet Development
category, then click Next.
Figure 19. New Project
- Name the portlet project
PeoplePortletand the enterprise application serverPeopleEAR, then click Next.
Figure 20. Creating a Portlet Project
- Select Basic portlet, then click Next.
Figure 21. Porlet Selection
- Name the portlet class name
PeoplePortlet, then click Finish.
Figure 22. Portlet Parameters
- To add Person tags to the portlet, import two tag libraries,
people.tldandmenu.tld. You can find these tag libraries in the following directory in Portal Server:<WASROOT>\PortalServer\app\wps.ear\wps.war\WEB-INF\tld
- Right-click the folder
\WEB-INF\tldin the J2EE perspective and select Import from the context menu. In the Import dialog box, select File system as shown in Figure 23. Import the two files from the location above.
Figure 23. File system
- You also need to add
cs.jarto the Java Build Path.
Figure 24. Java Build Path
Next, editWeb Content\jsp\html\View.jspas follows:<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <%@ page language="java" import="com.lotus.cs.*, java.util.*, javax.naming.*, javax.naming.directory.*" %> <%@taglib uri="/WEB-INF/tld/people.tld" prefix="Person" %> <%@taglib uri="/WEB-INF/tld/menu.tld" prefix="menu" %> <HEAD> <META name="GENERATOR" content="IBM WebSphere Studio"> </HEAD> <h3>My Buddy List</h3> <% CSEnvironment environ = CSEnvironment.getEnvironment(request); CSCredentials cred = environ.getCredentials(request); %> <BR> <p><Person:person><%=cred.getUserLoginName()%></Person:person></p>
- Use the
CSEnvironmentandCSCredentialsCollaborative component APIs to retrieve the environment of the request and the user's credentials information. - We are almost finished with the portlet. The last step is
to modify
web.xmlto add references of these two tag libraries. OpenWEB-INF\web.xmland select the References tab. Select JSP tag libraries, and then click Add to add two tag libraries.
Figure 25. Tab libraries
- Export the project as a WAR file as shown in Figure 26.
Figure 26. Export to WAR file
- To deploy this portlet, log in as
Administrator, for example,
wpsadmin, and install it in a new page. Before testing the portlet, check thehostAddress.xmlin thePortalServer\app\wps.ear\wps.war\peopleawarenessdirectory andCSEnvironment.propertiesin theAppServer\lib\app\configdirectory. Restart and log on to Portal Server and see the People portlet as follows.
Figure 27. People portlet
- Check
PortalServer\log\appserver-out.txt. You should see the following messages:[8/24/03 9:42:33:109 EDT] 41b394f6 SystemOut U STUtil - Sametime server name = wpst41.torolab.ibm.com [8/24/03 9:42:33:125 EDT] 41b394f6 SystemOut U STUtil - Sametime server port = 80 [8/24/03 9:42:33:203 EDT] 41b394f6 SystemOut U STUtil - Sametime server version = 2.5 [8/24/03 9:42:33:875 EDT] 31af9491 SystemOut U STServerApp - logged in. [8/24/03 9:44:42:719 EDT] 780754a9 ServletEngine A SRVE0169I: Loading Web Module: PeoplePortlet. [8/24/03 9:44:43:641 EDT] 780754a9 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: JSP 1.1 Processor: init [8/24/03 9:44:43:672 EDT] 780754a9 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: FormLoginServlet: init [8/24/03 9:44:43:688 EDT] 780754a9 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: FormLogoutServlet: init [8/24/03 9:44:43:719 EDT] 780754a9 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: SimpleFileServlet: init [8/24/03 9:44:43:734 EDT] 780754a9 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: InvokerServlet: init [8/24/03 9:47:11:875 EDT] 41bf14f6 WebGroup I SRVE0091I: [Servlet LOG]: PeoplePortlet: init
- You have successfully developed a portlet using Person tags!
You can download an example of a WAR file in the Download section
and save it as a PeoplePortlet.war file.
To test this WAR file, you can deploy it according to the instructions in Step 12.
This article showed you how to configure and develop collaborative portlets using Person tags, which is part of the Lotus Collaborative Components feature in WebSphere Portal 4.2. With this feature, you can design and develop these portlets to automatically generate a context menu and Sametime Java code for online chatting. By using these techniques, you can set up Portal Server and Sametime Server along with other servers to develop portlets with Person tags.
| Name | Size | Download method |
|---|---|---|
| Download file PeoplePortlet.war | 0.009 MB | FTP |HTTP |
Information about download methods
- Collaborative Features of IBM
WebSphere Portal V4.2
- Integrating WebSphere Portal Extend V4.2.1 with
Lotus Sametime 3.0: Enabling Collaboration for Portal Users
- Meet the Experts: Stephen Hardison on IBM
Lotus and WebSphere Portal
-
Setting up a Portlet Development Environment Using WebSphere Studio V5.0.1 and Portal Toolkit 4.3
- developerWorks Toolbox subscription online catalog,
which includes a download for
IBM WebSphere Portal Enable V4.2
for Multiplatforms.
Bill Zhu is a Software Engineer with the IBM WebSphere Platform System House in Toronto, Canada. You can contact him at billzhu@ca.ibm.com .
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