IBM Support

EAR Deployment for IBM Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server

Product Documentation


Abstract

This document provides information for installing IBM® Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server as an EAR file into an existing WebSphere® Application Server. Optional steps include deploying problem determination tools as JEE web applications.

Content

If you already have a WebSphere Application Server environment then installing IBM Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server as a JEE application can be an appealing deployment option. With this deployment option you can also install several of the problem determination tools as web applications in the same WebSphere Application Server instance.

The instructions below describe how to install the application and the optional tools. These steps assume you are familiar with how to use the WebSphere Application Server administrative console. Refer to the Information Center for your version of WebSphere Application Server for detailed instructions. It is also assumed that the EAR file will be deployed on the same server as the IBM Installation Manager installation of IBM Support Assistant.

System Requirements

Application Server:
IBM Support Assistant can be installed into WebSphere Application Server 7.0.0.21 or higher.

Disk space: Minimum 1.5GB (Additional space may be required for optional problem determination tools, logs, and case artifacts.)

Memory: Minimum 512MB physical memory (1GB or more recommended, depending on diagnostic files analyzed by problem determination tools.)

Pre-installation Notes:

  1. IBM Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server can be upgraded from Beta 3, but not earlier releases. IBM Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server and previous versions may coexist.
  2. Directions in this document assume that the EAR file will be deployed on the same server as the IBM Installation Manager installation of IBM Support Assistant.
  3. There is not a separate install package for the EAR option. To get the EAR and WAR files you must install the package for IBM Support Assistant Team Server 5.0 using the IBM Installation Manager. When presented with the Features panel, select the IBM Support Assistant feature: EAR Deployment option.



    When installation is complete, the IBM Support Assistant EAR will be available in the <install_location>ISA5/lib directory.
  • For example, /opt/IBM/ISA5/lib/ISA5.ear


For more information on installing IBM Support Assistant 5.0 Team Server with IBM Installation Manager click here.

Installation Steps

These steps assume that WebSphere Application Server is installed and running under the user ID wasadm. If your server instance is running under a different ID, make appropriate changes to the directory locations in the steps below.
  1. From the <install_location>/ISA5 directory, copy isa.properties to the wasadm home directory.
    • AIX / Linux - Copy to ~wasadm.
    • Windows - Copy to C:\Users\wasadm.

      Note
      : If WebSphere Application Server is running as a Windows service and is not associated with a specific user ID, then copy the file to C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile.
  2. Edit the copied isa.properties file and set the install.root property as shown below.
    • AIX / Linux - install.root=<install_location>/ISA5
    • Windows - install.root=<install_location>/ISA5
  3. IBM Support Assistant stores case data in a directory named cases within the filestore.root directory. By default, the filestore.root is mapped to the install.root directory. If you want to store case data in a different location, change the filestore.root to the directory where case data is to be stored. If you have existing cases from a beta release, you may copy them to your IBM Support Assistant 5 cases directory.
    • For example, if you want your cases directory located in /IBM/my_case_data then edit isa.properties and set filestore.root to /IBM/my_case_data.
    • AIX / Linux - filestore.root=/IBM/my_case_data
    • Windows - filestore.root=/IBM/my_case_data
  4. Using the WebSphere Application Server administrative console, install the ISA5.ear file located in the <install_location>/ISA5/lib directory. You can use the 'fast path' defaults for the installation.
  5. Start the IBM Support Assistant application from the administrative console.

Post-Installation Configuration Steps



When deploying IBM Support Assistant as an enterprise application to an existing WebSphere Application Server, you will need to edit the security role to user/group mapping's. The role names used for IBM Support Assistant with a description of the role's usage and a recommended mapping are included in the table below. See the WebSphere Application Server administration documentation for details on configuring security roles to user/group mapping's.
Role name
Description
admin-role
The admin-role role restricts access to the administrative console. It is recommended to map this role to a specific user or group of users to prevent unauthorized users from making application level changes to IBM Support Assistant.
user-role
The user-role role restricts access to the application. For the 5.0 release, it is recommended to map this role to the special subject "Everyone" to allow all users to access the IBM Support Assistant application and problem determination tooling.
unsecured
The unsecured role is used to manage access to resources which should be accessible by all users. Map this role to the special subject "Everyone".






Steps to install optional tools

Some of the problem determination tools in the IBM Support Assistant tool catalog require deployment independent of the IBM Support Assistant EAR.

Web tools are deployed as web applications, using the appropriate WAR files from the table below.

Tool Name
File Location
File Name
IDDE Server Link Generator
[Web]
<install_location>/ISA5/wlp/usr/servers/com.ibm.java.web.idde/dropins/com.ibm.java.diagnostics.idde.server.war
Memory Analyzer
[Web]
<install_location>/ISA5/wlp/usr/servers/com.ibm.java.web.memoryanalyzer/dropins/mat.war


The desktop tools are packaged as Java Web Start applications. Each of these has a WAR file located in <install_location>/ISA5/wlp/usr/servers/isa/dropins/.

These components can be installed as JEE applications using the WebSphere Application Server administrative console. Ensure that the JEE web module context root for each is as shown in the table below.

Tool Name
File Name
Context Root
Classloader Analyzer
[Desktop]
com.ibm.jinwoo.classloader.jws.war/com.ibm.jinwoo.classloader.jws
FileNet Optical Storage and Retrieval
(OSAR) Cable Tool
[Desktop]
com.ibm.osar.jws.war/com.ibm.osar.jws
Garbage Collection and Memory Visualizer [Desktop]
com.ibm.java.diagnostics.visualizer.jws.war/com.ibm.java.diagnostics.visualizer.jws
Health Center [Desktop]
com.ibm.java.diagnostics.healthcenter.jws.war/com.ibm.java.diagnostics.healthcenter.jws
Heap Analyzer
[Desktop]
com.ibm.jinwoo.heapanalyzer.jws.war/com.ibm.jinwoo.heapanalyzer.jws
IDDE Server Link Generator
[Web]
com.ibm.java.diagnostics.idde.server.war/idde
Interactive Diagnostic Data Explorer (IDDE) [Desktop]
com.ibm.java.diagnostics.idde.jws.war/com.ibm.java.diagnostics.idde.jws
Memory Analyzer
[Desktop]
com.ibm.java.diagnostics.memory.analyzer.jws.war/com.ibm.java.diagnostics.memory.analyzer.jws
Memory Analyzer
[Web]
mat.war/mat
Pattern Modeling and Analysis Tool for
Java Garbage Collector
[Desktop]
com.ibm.jinwoo.pmat.jws.war/com.ibm.jinwoo.pmat.jws
Processor Time Analysis Tool for Linux
[Desktop]
com.ibm.esupport.tool.ptat.jws.war/com.ibm.esupport.tool.ptat.jws
Thread and Monitor Dump Analyzer for Java [Desktop]
com.ibm.jinwoo.jca.jws.war/com.ibm.jinwoo.jca.jws
WebSphere Cross Component
Trace Logviewer
[Desktop]
com.ibm.esupport.tool.xct.jws.war/com.ibm.esupport.tool.xct.jws
Web Server Plug-in Analyzer for
WebSphere Application Server
[Desktop]
com.ibm.jinwoo.wspa.jws.war/com.ibm.jinwoo.wspa.jws

Notes
  1. The Memory Analyzer [Web] problem determination tool is used to analyze Java heap dumps. Its memory consumption is high when analyzing large heap dumps, so you may want to install it in its own dedicated application server. If you do, then ensure that the referenceURL property is set to an absolute URL in the file: <install_location>/ISA5/ToolBox/com.ibm.java.web.memoryanalyzer.xml
  2. When deploying IBM Support Assistant on Windows, ensure that the install.root property in the isa.properties file does not contain individual backslashes. Replace each single backslash path separator character with two backslashes (or with a single forward slash). For example,
    • install.root=\\<install_location>\\ISA5 or /<install_location>/ISA5 and not install.root=\<install_location>\ISA5
  3. When all WAR files for the tools are installed, the deployment manager for the server may need its heap size increased to 512MB or higher.

To access this installation click the "Download Now" button below:




You can find getting started information, restrictions, and requirements in <install_location>/ISA5/ReleaseNotes.txt. There is also a copy here.


System Requirements
Operating System Software Hardware
AIXAIX Version 7.1 (ppc-64)

Package dependencies: X11 is required to generate images by some problem determination tools. *
Disk: Minimum 1.5 GB (Additional space may be required for logs and case artifacts.) **

Memory: Minimum 512 MB physical memory (1 GB or more recommended, depending on artifacts analyzed by diagnostic tools.) ***
LinuxRed Hat Enterprise Linux, Version 6 Server with Update 5 (x86-64)

Package dependencies: X11 is required to generate images by some problem determination tools. *
Disk: Minimum 1.5 GB (Additional space may be required for logs and case artifacts.) **

Memory: Minimum 512 MB physical memory (1 GB or more recommended, depending on artifacts analyzed by diagnostic tools.) ***
WindowsWindows 2008 Server R2 with SP1

Windows 2008 Server R2 x64 with SP1

Windows 7 with SP1 (x86-32 and x86-64)
Disk: Minimum 1.5 GB (Additional space may be required for logs and case artifacts.) **

Memory: Minimum 512 MB physical memory (1 GB or more recommended, depending on artifacts analyzed by diagnostic tools.) ***

* In a headless configuration, an X11 virtual frame buffer can be used. The relevant RedHat RPM is xorg-x11-server-Xvfb. (See the ReleaseNotes.txt file in the IBM Support Assistant 5 install directory for more information.)

** Diagnostic files added to IBM Support Assistant 5 will require additional disk space. This may be significant if large files (such as dump files) will be managed by IBM Support Assistant and should be considered during initial planning.

*** Analysis of large files (such as dump files) can require a significant amount of memory depending on the size of the file.




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Document Information

Modified date:
17 June 2018

UID

swg27039275