Plan to install WAS Clients

This topic helps you examine typical topologies and uses for WAS Clients.

 

Before you begin

This topic is one in a series of topics described in Planning the installation (diagrams). Consider all of the planning scenarios that are mentioned in the parent article to determine the best approach to installing your e-business network. This topic describes installing and using the WAS Clients.

 

Overview

In a traditional client server environment, the client requests a service and the server fulfills the request. Multiple clients use a single server. Clients can also access several different servers. This model persists for Java clients except that now these requests use a client run-time environment.

In this model, the client application requires a servlet to communicate with the enterprise bean, and the servlet must reside on the same machine as the WebSphere Application Server.

The Application Client for WebSphere Application Server, V6 now consists of the following models:

The following graphic shows a topology for installing the Application Client and using client applications:

The example shows two types of application clients installed in a topology that uses client applications to access applications and data on Machine A:

  • The ActiveX application client on Machine B is a Windows only client that uses the Java Native Interface (JNI) architecture to programmatically access the Java virtual machine (JVM) API. The JVM code exists in the same process space as the ActiveX application (Visual Basic, VBScript, or Active Server Pages (ASP) files) and remains attached to the process until that process terminates.

  • The J2EE application client on Machine C is a Java application program that accesses enterprise beans, Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) APIs, and Java Message Service message queues. The application program must configure the execution environment of the J2EE application client and use the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) name space to access resources.

Use the following procedure as a roadmap for installing the Application Client.

 

Procedure

  1. Install the WAS product from your product CD on Machine A to establish the core product files.

  2. Use the Profile creation wizard to create both stand-alone application server profiles.

  3. Use the administrative console of each application server to deploy any user applications.

  4. Use the administrative console of each application server to create a Web server configuration for the Web server.

  5. Use the administrative console of each application server to regenerate each plugin-cfg.xml file in the local Web server configuration.

  6. Install the IBM HTTP Server from the product CD on Machine A.

  7. Use the Plug-ins installation wizard to install the plug-in for IBM HTTP Server on Machine A.

    The wizard automatically configures the HTTP Server to communicate with the first application server.

  8. Install the Application Client from your product CD on Machine B.

    1. Select the Custom install type.

    2. Select the ActiveX to EJB Bridge feature.

    3. Select to add the Java run time to the system path.

    4. Select the Java run time as the default JRE, which adds the Java run time path to the beginning of the system path.

  9. Install the Application Client from your product CD on Machine C.

    1. Select the Custom install type.

    2. Select the J2EE application client feature.

 

Result

This topic can help you plan run-time environments for client applications.

 

What to do next

See Application Client for WebSphere Application Server for information about creating client applications.