Managing Your Application Server 10g Instance
Managing Your Application
Server 10g Instance
| This tutorial explains how to manage an Oracle
Application Server 10g instance by using Oracle Enterprise Manager
10g Application Server Control. The Application Server Control Console,
which is a part of the Oracle Enterprise Manager product set, is a Web-based
interface for managing the application server and its components. Application
Server Control is automatically installed with Oracle Application Server
10g. In this lesson, you are introduced to the features that you
use to perform management operations and configuration changes, and monitor
your Oracle Application Server 10g instance. The lesson focuses on
common tasks involved in managing Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Application
Server Containers for J2EE (OC4J). |
Approximately 30 minutes
This tutorial covers the following topics:
Place the cursor over this icon to load and view
all the screenshots for this tutorial. (Caution: Because this action loads all
screenshots simultaneously, response time may be slow depending on your Internet
connection.)
Note: Alternatively, you can
place the cursor over each individual icon in the following steps to load and
view only the screenshot associated with that step.
| Oracle Application Server 10g provides out-of-box
management capabilities with the Web-based Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g
Application Server Control Console. Application server administrators can
use the Application Server Control Console to perform management operations
such as starting and stopping services, adding OC4J instances, configuring
Oracle HTTP Server properties, and monitoring the availability and real-time
performance of the application server. |
Back to Topic List
Before starting this tutorial, you should:
| 1. |
Install the J2EE and Web Cache Middle Tier component
of Application Server 10g.
|
| Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Application Server
Control provides a central point for managing your application server instance
and its components such as
OracleAS Portal, OracleAS Reports Services, Oracle HTTP Server, OracleAS
Web Cache, and so on. To examine the status and performance of your Oracle
Application Server 10g instance, perform the following: |
Back to Topic List
| 1. |
Open your browser and enter the following URL. This
brings you to the Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Application Server
Control's Application Server Home page. The Application Server Home page
provides an overview of the Oracle Application Server 10g instance:
status, performance, and configured components. It also provides common
operations such as starting and stopping services, modifying settings,
and administering J2EE services and applications.
http://<hostname>.<domain>:1810/
Note: 1810 is the default port that is automatically assigned while installing Application Server. However, if
another instance is already running on 1810, then the next port may be assigned during installation.
Log in as ias_admin/<admin password you specified during install>, and click OK.
|
| 2. |
The Application Server Home page appears, which
provides a high-level overview of your Application Server, including
status, system resource usage, and enabled and configured components.

|
| 3. |
From the Application Server Home page, check the status
of the instance's System Components.

The Oracle Application Server 10g installation
provides a default OC4J "home" J2EE container that you can use
to deploy your J2EE applications. The default container is powered by
a single Java Virtual Machine (JVM). You can add more server resources to your application as
necessary in two ways: adding more JVM resources to the container and/or
creating additional OC4J containers.
|
| 4. |
Add a new OC4J to your application server. Click the
Create OC4J Instance button.

|
| 5. |
Name your new OC4J instance, and click the Create
button. In this OBE, obe_oc4j is the name of the OC4J instance.

|
| 6. |
Your OC4J Instance is being created.

|
| 7. |
After the instance is created, a confirmation message is displayed. Click
OK to return to the Application Server Home page.

Observe that obe_oc4j is currently down and its performance
metrics unavailable.

To start the component, select the corresponding check box
in the Select column, and click the Start button.



|
| 8. |
You can also control the scope of your application server
by enabling or disabling components. Click the Enable/Disable Components
button.
This operation allows you to control which components
are available for use within the application server instance. It also
adds or removes components from the administration interface. Components
that have been disabled can be reenabled.
|
| 9. |
Disable the OC4J instance that you just created.
Select obe_oc4j from the Enabled Components list and click the
Move link. The obe_oc4j instance will then appear in the
Disabled Components list.

|
| 10. |
Click the OK button.

Click Yes in the warning message window.


Components that are disabled will not appear in the
System Components table on the Application Server Home page. In addition,
these disabled components will not be started when the application server
is started.

|
| 11. |
Click J2EE Applications.


This page displays a list of the J2EE applications that
have been deployed across all OC4J instances of your Oracle Application
Server instance. From here, you can drill down to a specific application
to obtain details on its performance and configuration.
|
| 12. |
Click Ports.

|
| 13. |
The Ports property page provides you with a list of
the ports configured for use by the application server. The Port In
Use column will be empty if the port is not defined or if the component
is not running. You can use the icon in the Configure column to
configure the ports; however, not all ports support modification from
Application Server Control. Before changing any port value, you should
review the port dependency information by clicking "About
OracleAS Port Dependencies."

|
| 14. |
Click Infrastructure. The Infrastructure property page is displayed. You
can use this page to review, configure, and change the Identity Management,
Grid Control (for central management of the Oracle platform), and OracleAS
Farm Repository that may be associated with this J2EE and Web Cache midtier.


|
| 15. |
The Identity Management section of
the infrastructure property page is used to configure the current application
server instance to use Identity Management; specifically, to identify
or to change Oracle Internet Directory and or Single Sign-On capabilities.

A key requirement in changing
the identity management services used by an application server mid tier
is to support the test-stage-production life cycle of an application. An
intuitive wizard coupled with a best practices document guides the user
through the process of moving an application through the various phases.
|
| 16. |
The OracleAS Farm Repository Management section is used
to configure the instance to use an OracleAS Database-based Farm or OracleAS
File-based Farm, or use a different farm if it is already using one. By
joining the farm, you can take advantage of Oracle Application Server Clusters
for efficient management of Oracle HTTP Server and OC4J across multiple
application server instances.

|
| 17. |
The Grid Control Management section of the Infrastructure
property page is used to configure or change the Management Service to
which the Application Server is affiliated.
You configure Grid Control Management to add the Application
Server instance and its components to Enterprise Manager 10g Grid
Control. This allows the instance to be centrally managed along with other
instances in your enterprise.
You change Grid Control Management to modify the Management
Service with which the Application Server instance and its components
are already associated. This allows the instance to be centrally managed
within an entirely separate Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control
management solution.

|
Back to Topic List
The Ports property page of the Application Server Control
Console displays ports being used by components of the Application Server. From
this page, you can also modify various port values. Go ahead and modify
the Oracle HTTP Server Listen (non-SSL) port used by this instance.
| 1. |
Open the Ports property page.


|
| 2. |
Change the port for the Oracle HTTP Server (non-SSL)
component. Observe that Oracle HTTP Server is currently running on port
7778.

|
| 3. |
You should check the dependencies before you change
a port, because changing a port can have a negative impact on other Application
Server components that might rely on the port setting that you are changing.
For example, Web Cache uses the listening port for Oracle HTTP Server.
If you change the Oracle HTTP Server listening port, you must make the
necessary changes to the Web Cache configuration; otherwise, users may
not be able to access your Web site.
Before you change the port, verify that Oracle HTTP
Server is running on port 7778. Open a browser and enter the following
URL:
http://<hostname>.<domain>:7778

|
| 4. |
Switch back to the Application Server Control window.
Click the icon in the Configure column for
Oracle HTTP Server.
Note: You cannot configure the ports for components that do not
have an icon in the Configure column.

|
| 5. |
The Server Properties page is displayed. Scroll
down to check the Listening Addresses and Ports section.

|
| 6. |
The default non-ssl listening port value is 7778. In
this step, you will change it to 7779. Enter the new port number in the
Listening Port column. There may be more than one listening port listed.
Modify the one whose value is the old non-SSL listening port value. Scroll
down, and click Apply.

You will see the warning message. Click No so
that you can restart Oracle HTTP Server later.

|
| 7. |
Update the Application Server Control Console with the new port number.
Use WordPad to edit the targets.xml
file present in the folder <ORACLE_HOME>\sysman\emd.
Update each occurrence of the old Oracle HTTP Server listen port number
(7778) with the new port number (7779). Save and close the file.
|
| 8. |
Reload the Application Server Control Console. Open
a command prompt and enter the following command:
emctl reload


|
| 9. |
Switch back to the browser window. Examine the links
listed directly under the Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Application
Server Control banner in the upper left corner. These links, also known
as "breadcrumbs" provide you with a trail of your navigation
path and an easy way of returning to the previous page. Click the Application
Server instance in the breadcrumbs to go back to the home page.

|
| 10. |
You have already learned that Web Cache has a dependency
on the Oracle HTTP Server port. Therefore, edit Web Cache configuration
to make necessary changes. Click Web Cache under System Components
to navigate to the Web Cache Home page.

|
| 11. |
Click the Administration link to navigate to
the Administration property page.
|
| 12. |
Click the Origin Servers link under Properties.

|
| 13. |
Select the host that has HTTP in the Protocol
column, and click Edit.

|
| 14. |
Enter the new port number in the Port field,
and click OK.


|
| 15. |
Navigate back to the Application Server instance
home page, and click Restart All to restart the instance.

Click Yes for confirmation.



Note: Although
you have just learned how to use Application Server Control to change
the Oracle HTTP Server Listen port, you can also use the command line
to perform the same configuration change. That is, to ensure that the
port dependencies are modified correctly, you can use a single Java command
to change the Oracle HTTP Server Listen port. To perform the same steps
performed above, you would use the following command:
portconfig -oracle_home $ORACLE_HOME -oldPort 7778
-newPort 7779 -webCache -restart
This Java command automatically modifies the necessary
configuration files within the Oracle home and optionally restarts the
required components within the Oracle home. For more information on portconfig
usage please refer to "Application Server Administration Guide"
|
| 16. |
Verify the port change. Open a browser, and enter http://<hostname>.<domain>:7778.

In the URL, change the port to 7779.

|
Back to Topic List
The Application Server Home page provides an overview of server
availability and system resource usage for the server as a whole and for individual
components. You can obtain more granular performance details for a given component
from its home page.
Note that the metrics displayed in Oracle Enterprise Manager
10g Application Server Control are collected from the running server
and, therefore, represent the current and aggregate performance of the server
since startup.
| 1. |
In the Application Server Home page, click the HTTP_Server
link to examine Oracle HTTP Server Home page.

|
| 2. |
Click the Status Metrics link under the Performance
section.

|
| 3. |
The system usage metrics appear.

|
| 4. |
Click HTTP_Server in the breadcrumbs to go back
to the Oracle HTTP Server Home page.

Click the Module Metrics link in the Performance
section.

|
| 5. |
This provides a breakdown of HTTP activity and performance
for each HTTP module.

|
| 6. |
Click HTTP_Server in the breadcrumbs to go back
to the Oracle HTTP Server home page.

|
| 7. |
Click the All Metrics link under the Performance
section. The All Metrics page provides you with a list of performance
metrics that Application Server Control monitors for the Oracle HTTP Server.

Click Expand All to expand all the metrics that
are being monitored for the Oracle HTTP Server.
Note: Any Application Server component that Application Server
Control manages will also offer an All Metrics page with similar capabilities.


|
| 8. |
Scroll down and select Request Processing Time (seconds)
metric under OHS Server Metrics.

Observe that the values for Real Time Statistics are
0. None of the applications are being accessed and hence the values are
0.

|
| 9. |
Access any application that is
deployed to your Application Server and then check the graphics. Open
another browser window and access the default application, IsWebCacheWorking,
with the following URL:
http://<hostname>.<domain>:7779/IsWebCacheWorking.
|
| 10. |
Switch back to the browser window that is displaying
the Request Processing Time page and click the refresh icon .
Observe that the values for Real Time Statistics have changed.

|
| 11. |
Change the refresh interval to every 30 seconds by selecting
Real Time: 30 Second Refresh from the View Data drop-down menu.

Observe the page while it refreshes. Notice that Application
Server Control charts the value for the metric over time such that trends
can be observed quickly and easily.




|
Back to Topic List
Oracle HTTP Server configuration changes involve modifying
or adding properties contained in the various server configuration files. Changes
can be made to these files through the Application Server Control Console using
the appropriate properties page or by editing the configuration file directly
in the interface. Such properties pages provide easy access to commonly modified
server settings. All other changes can be made by using the Advanced Configuration
page, which provides a list of the configuration files and an edit window. To
modify the Oracle HTTP Server configuration, perform the following steps:
| 1. |
Click HTTP_Server in the breadcrumbs to go back to
the Oracle HTTP Server home page.

Click the Administration link to navigate to
the Administration properties page.

|
| 2. |
Click the Server Properties link. This leads
you to the Server Properties page for the Oracle HTTP Server.

|
| 3. |
Scroll down to the Logging section of the page and change
the error logging level from Warning to Error. To apply
this change to the configuration file, scroll to the bottom of the page,
and click the Apply button.

|
| 4. |
Application Server Control will inform you that
Oracle HTTP Server must be restarted for the changes to take effect. You
can either defer the change until the next time the server is restarted
or restart the server now, depending on your server's current usage. If
your situation allows, select "Yes" and restart Oracle
HTTP Server. After it is restarted, click "OK" on the
confirmation page.


|
| 5. |
Navigate back to the Oracle HTTP Server Home page by
selecting the HTTP_Server link in the breadcrumbs.
|
| 6. |
Select the Advanced Server Properties link on
the Administration property page.
|
| 7. |
This provides a list of Oracle HTTP Server configuration
files and links to pages from which you can view or edit files directly.
It is always best to use the properties page to modify configuration settings
if possible. If you find, however, that you must edit the files directly,
it is highly recommended that you use the Application Server Control's
Advanced Server Properties interface rather than editing the file using
a command line or OS utility. Editing the file through the Application
Server Control's interface will automatically update and synchronize the
configuration changes with the Distributed Configuration Management (DCM).
|
Back to Topic List
The application server log files are a valuable source of
diagnostic information. Depending on your Oracle Application Server 10g
installation, you may have several log files for various components. These
log files can be located and viewed from the Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g
Application Server Control.
| 1. |
Select the Logs link at the top of the page.


|
| 2. |
You will see the search results. You were already in
the context of Oracle HTTP Server and, therefore, the log search shows only
the log files associated with Oracle HTTP Server.

|
| 3. |
Scroll up and observe that you are in the View Logs
page. Because you are already in the context of Oracle HTTP Server, the
component is displayed under Selected Components. You can use this
page to search for log files of other components displayed under Available
Components.

|
| 4. |
Scroll down to go back to the list of log files. If
the search returns a long list of log files, you can sort the table by
clicking the column heads. You can also filter the results by clicking
the Advanced Search button. Click a log file to display the detailed
information.

|
| 5. |
You will see a maximum of the last 2,000 lines of the
selected log file.

|
| 6. |
You also have a link to see the log file as plain text.

|
| 7. |
You can choose to have the page automatically refreshed.

|
Back to Topic List
A visual representation of the Application Server environment
is essential for administrators to understand component relationships. Enterprise
Manager satisfies this requirement through the Topology Viewer available from
the Application Server Control Console. Topology Viewer provides a graphical,
real-time view of Application Server processes managed by Oracle Process Manager
and Notification Server (OPMN). From Topology Viewer, a user can perform several
common administrative tasks such as start or stop a process, or monitor performance.
| 1. |
You have seen the log files associated with Oracle HTTP
Server. Now you can see how Oracle HTTP Server fits into the topology of
this Application Server environment. Click the Topology link at
the top right corner of the page.

|
| 2. |
Topology Viewer offers a graphical real-time view of
application server processes that are managed by OPMN. On the left of the page is the navigator. This navigator highlights the
area of the topology that is currently displayed. You can use the navigator
to manipulate what within your topology appears on the right
of the page.

|
| 3. |
Click in the top-left area of the navigator window to
refresh the focus of the topology.

You will see the corresponding topology area on the
right. Observe that the OC4J component is displayed in the topology.

|
| 4. |
Click the Hide Navigator link to hide the navigator so that the entire page can
be used for viewing the topology.


|
| 5. |
You can perform various administration tasks from the
Topology Viewer. Click the arrow icon for OC4J component.

Note that you can start, stop, or restart
your OC4J instance.
|
| 6. |
Click the down arrow in the topology window to scroll
down the topology.

You will see the process used by the OC4J instance.
In this example, the OC4J instance is using process 3178. You can also
see some real-time performance metrics such as CPU Time and Memory Usage.

|
| 7. |
You can go to the OC4J Home page by clicking the
icon displayed for the process.

You will see the OC4J Home page.

|
| 8. |
Click Back to go back to the Topology page.

|
| 9. |
Observe the various options on the top-right corner
of the topology.

View Data: You can specify how often the data in the topology should
be refreshed by choosing the appropriate option from the View Data
drop-down menu. You can choose from Manual refresh or various automatic
refresh options.
Search: You can search for various components
within the topology. If you enter a component's name in the Search field
and click Go, then that component will be highlighted in the Navigator
and in the topology for quick and easy access.
Zoom: To see more components in the topology,
you can select from various Zoom options.
|
Back to Topic List
In this lesson, you've learned how to:
 |
To ask a question about this OBE tutorial, post a query on the OBE
Discussion Forum. |
 |
To learn more about Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Application Server Control,
click here |
Place the cursor on this icon
to hide all screenshots
|