IBM Books

Bean Extender Configuration

Introduction

Before many of the Bean Extender components can be used for the first time, they need to be configured. Configuration allows the various Bean Extender components to adapt themselves to the system and network environment they will be used in.

For the most part, configuration is a one time process and should be the first activity performed after completing Bean Extender installation. However, configuration can be performed any time a change in the system or network environment would affect the operation of any Bean Extender component. In particular, it is a good idea to perform configuration each time Bean Extender is installed on a machine. This includes installation of updates and new versions of Bean Extender, since these may include changes to existing Bean Extender components as well as completely new components which may require additional configuration information.

To make the process of configuring Bean Extender as simple as possible, a configuration utility is provided. The configuration utility provides a single place for you to specify all of the configuration information needed by each of the various Bean Extender components.

To further simplify the process of configuring Bean Extender, the configuration utility also attempts to provide useful default values for each item of configuration information. When the configuration utility is run for the first time on a particular system, it analyzes its environment and determines reasonable values for each configuration parameter. As a result, in many cases it will not even be necessary for you to change any of the values displayed by the utility. Simply run the configuration utility to let it analyze your system and network environment, then save the results. In fact, until you are more familiar with the various Bean Extender components and the way in which they interact with your system, you may be more comfortable simply accepting the set of suggested configuration values. As your learn more about the various Bean Extender components, you can invoke the configuration utility at any time to update your current configuration.

The most important thing to know at this point is that you must run the configuration utility immediately after installing Bean Extender in order to provide each Bean Extender component with valid configuration information.

Using the Configure utility

You start the configuration utility by running the command:

     java com.ibm.beans.util.Configure

The configuration utility that appears consists of a window containing a notebook control with a tab for each section of Bean Extender configuration information. The various tabs and the configuration information they define are as follows:

Working
Specifies the name of the directory on your system that Bean Extender components can use to install files such as Java .class files and serialized data (i.e. .ser) files. This must be a writable directory contained in your Java CLASSPATH. It is also recommended that this directory, and all of its subdirectories, be provided only for the use of Bean Extender components, since it is possible that existing files stored there could be overwritten. The working directory defaults to the last writable directory found in your Java CLASSPATH at the time the confguration utility is run for the first time.
Logging
Specifies the initial setting for the Bean Extender logs. See Bean Extender Log Initialization for more information.
Scripting
Specifies the scripting component registration. See the the "The Scripting Component" for more information.
Client
Specifies the name of the Network Deployment client daemon. The Network Deployment client daemon manages the client-side publishing and retrieval of information stored in Network Deployment catalogs and warehouses. The name defaults to the standard client daemon name (i.e. com.ibm.beans.netdeploy.client.ClientDaemon) running on the local host machine. In most cases, this default name should not be changed.

If the Allow the 'Start' tab or utility to automatically start execution checkbox is selected, then the configuration utility Start tab or the Bean Extender Start utility can be used to automatically start the client daemon for you. If it is not selected, then you must manually start the client daemon.

Catalog
Specifies the name of the Network Deployment catalog server to connect to in order to retrieve or publish catalog information. The name defaults to the standard catalog server name (i.e. com.ibm.beans.netdeploy.catalog.CatalogServer) running on the local host machine. If you are an administrator setting up a catalog server, or are a user setting up a catalog for your own use, then the default name is most often correct. However, if you are a user that wishes to connect to an existing catalog server running on a different host system, then you should enter the host name and domain name of the server in the fields provided. In most cases, there is no need to change the default server name or port number fields.

If you are setting up a catalog server to run on the local host machine, then you can also select the Allow the 'Start' tab or utility to automatically start execution checkbox to allow the configuration utility Start tab or the Bean Extender Start utility to automatically start the catalog server for you. If it is not selected, then you must manually start the catalog server.

Warehouse
Specifies the name of the Network Deployment warehouse server to connect to in order to retrieve or publish warehouse information. The name defaults to the standard warehouse server name (i.e. com.ibm.beans.netdeploy.warehouse.WarehouseServer) running on the local host machine. If you are an administrator setting up a warehouse server, or are a user setting up a warehouse for you own use, then the default name is most often correct. However, if you are a user that wishes to connect to an existing warehouse server running on a different host system, then you should enter the host name and domain name of the server in the fields provided. In most cases, there is no need to change the default server name or port number fields.

If you are setting up a warehouse server to run on the local host machine, then you can also select the Allow the 'Start' tab or utility to automatically start execution checkbox to allow the configuration utility Start tab or the Bean Extender Start utility to automatically start the warehouse server for you. If it is not selected, then you must manually start the warehouse server.

Start
Allows you to start any of the Network Deployment servers and daemons you have configured to start automatically using the Client, Catalog, and Warehouse notebook tabs. To start the selected servers and daemons, click the Start Network Deployment servers and daemons button at the bottom of the notebook page. The log window above the button will display information about the status of the servers and daemons being started. If any of the servers or daemons fail to start, you should check the configuration information entered under the appropriate server or daemon notebook tab, then retry the start operation.
At the bottom of the configuration utility window are several buttons that allow you to save or discard any of the configuration information you have specified:
Save changes
Saves the configuration information to the BeanSystem.properties file. A message will be displayed if the save operation is successful. If any of the configuration information entered is invalid, an error message will be displayed and the notebook page containing the error will automatically be selected.
Exit and save changes
Saves the configuration information to the BeanSystem.properties file and terminates the configuration utility. If any of the configuration information entered is invalid, an error message will be displayed and the notebook page containing the error will automatically be selected.
Exit without saving changes
Terminates the configuration utility without saving the current configuration information to the BeanSystem.properties file. Note that any changes previously saved using the Save changes button are still reflected in the contents of the BeanSystem.properties file.

[ Top of Page | Previous Page | Table of Contents | Documentation Homepage ]