Websphere Automation Tool ( WASIC)

WASIC is Websphere Application Server Installation and Configuraton Automation Tool.

Overview:-

WASIC is a tool to install, configure and administrate Websphere application server Version 6.1/7.0.

Features of WASIC:

1. Deployment Manager Installation.
2. Node Installation
3. Federate node to Deployment Manager.
4. Creating Profiles.
5. Install Update installers
6. Apply Fix Packs on Base Installation.
7. Changes port of deployment Manager
8. Checks whether ports are already in use.
9. Changes and checks node agent ports.
10.Webserver Installation and configure them with Application Server.
11.Cluster and server creation and configuring servers.
12.Create Cluster.
13.Create server and add the server to cluster.
14.Create Virtual hosts.
15.Max and minimum heap size.
16.Debug argument.
17.Http Transports
18.Boot classpath.
19.Classpath.
20.Create server level variable.
21.JVM arguments.
22.Changes ports of server.
23.JDBC and Data source creation.
24.Create JDBC provider at cluster level scope..
25.Create Data Source at cluster level scope.
26.Create J2c Authentication.
27.Create Connection Pool Setting.
28.Testing Database connection.
29.Cluster Stop and start.
30.Application installation.

Pre-requisites:-

These are the pre-requisites which we need to do before installing this tool.

1. Create one user which will be used as administrator.
2. ssh for this user should work in all UNIX boxes.
3. Directory under which deployment manager, node and webserver are to be installed should be under this user.
4. The Directory under which we will place this tool should be mounted on all UNIX boxes where we will be installing Websphere Application server.
5. Download the Websphere application server and HTTP server binaries.

Description:-

This tools does Base installation of Websphere Application server version 6.1, first it checks whether the WAS base installation is already done on UNIX m/c and if the base installation is not there it will install WAS base binaries. The location under which it will check whether WAS is already installed depends on the value specified in configure.properties file and response file and then it install Update installer and apply fix packs and after installing base binaries, it install deployment manager using manageprofile utility and values specified in property files and using ports defined in ports properties file. It also checks whether the ports are already in use or not if they are in use I will send the list the ports which are already in use and it also changed the SOAP TIME OUT value to 6000 as it is 180 by default which is very less.

It will then install number of Nodes specified in property file and install them on host specified in properties file and install the Base binaries if they are not installed on unix box and it they are installed then it install nodes and federate nodes to deployment manager, changes node agents ports and start node. It also changes Soap time out for nodes.
*It also install node and federate with Deployment Manager for existing environment.

After node installation is completed, then it installs webservers on the host where we want to install it as specified in property files and configure webserver to deployment manager and generate plug-in and propagate the plug-in back to webserver and start the admin and http server. Http server will be listening on the port in property file.



It then create cluster and create server and add server to cluster and configure all these things on server:-
o Create Virtual hosts.
o Max and minimum heap size.
o Web Container Thread Pool Setting
o Debug argument.
o Http Transports
o Boot class path.
o Class path.
o Create server level variable.
o JVM arguments.
o Changes ports of server.

All these values are picked from property files.
• Other things can also be configured depending upon requirement and script can be modified to accommodate those changes.

After configuring cluster and server creation now it create JDBC provider, Data source , J2c Authentication and connection pool setting on cluster level scope.

It then installs the application on cluster which is created and starts the cluster and sends an email out with Deployment manager console login.

So with one script execution it will do a full fledged environment creation taking all possible intervention of manual stuff to be done and script which we will have to execute will be WASIC.sh.

All these steps in environment creation can run as on single step and they can be executed separately as single steps depending upon needs and new feature can be added as per requirement.


NOTE ***** ALL VALUE ARE PULLED FROM PROPERTY FILES, SO EVERYTHING CAN BE VERSION CONTROLLED IN CLEARCASE.


This tool also works under these scenarios also:

1. If we have to just create Deployment manager.
2. If we have create standalones Application server.
3. If we have to add new node to existing environment.
4. If we have to add new cluster in existing environment.
5. If we have to add new server to existing cluster and configure it.
6. If we have to modify existing JDBC, Data source connection settings.
7. For daily to daily application deployments, cluster stop and cluster start.
8. Create new webserver.
9. Create new webserver and add this webserver to existing environment.
10. It will generate plug-in after application installation or any configuration change and propagate the plug-in to webserver.

For all this environment creation to work, all we have to do is copy the existing environment in WASIC configuration and rename it to the new environment what we want to create change the values in properties file and change the name of scripts and run the WASIC.sh with functional area name and environment name.

These all steps can also be integrated as part of Build Forge.

FUTURE ENHANCEMENT:

1. Create a Graphical user interface for WASIC tool.
2. Adding New features for V 7.0 which are installation of admin agent, Job Manager and registering node to admin Agent and job manager
3. Configuring Global Security, LDAP, LTPA, SSO.
4. Configuring SSL configuration, creating self signed certificate, replace an existing self signed certificate, creating certificate authority requests, receiving a certificate issued by a certificate authority, retrieving a signer certificate from a remote ssl port and adding a signer certificate to a keystore.
5. Installations of Websphere Portal Sever and Websphere Process server.
6. This tool can be modified as per requirement and more features can be added.
7. These scripts can be broken into small scripts, so that if we have to change one configuration file of server it will work.
8. The scripts can also be integrated with build Forge