Deploying MobileFirst Server on IBM PureApplication System

IBM MobileFirst™ Platform Foundation provides the capability to deploy and manage IBM MobileFirst Platform Server and MobileFirst applications on IBM® PureApplication® System and IBM PureApplication Service on SoftLayer®.

Using IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation in combination with IBM PureApplication System and IBM PureApplication Service on SoftLayer provides a simple and intuitive environment for developers and administrators to develop mobile applications, test them, and deploy them to the cloud. This version of IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns provides MobileFirst runtime and artifacts support for the PureApplication Virtual System Pattern technologies that are included in the latest versions of IBM PureApplication System and IBM PureApplication Service on SoftLayer, as opposed to the Classic Virtual System Pattern supported in earlier versions of IBM PureApplication System.

Key benefits

IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns provides the following benefits:

  • Predefined templates enable you to build patterns in a simple way for the most typical MobileFirst Server deployment topologies such as IBM WebSphere® Application Server Liberty Profile single and multiple nodes, IBM WebSphere Application Server full profile single and multiple nodes, and clusters of WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment servers.
  • Script packages act as building blocks to compose extended deployment topologies such as automating the inclusion of an analytics server in a pattern, supporting multiple runtimes, and flexible DB VM deployment options. WebSphere Application Server and DB2® script packages are available through the inclusion of WebSphere Application Server and DB2 pattern types.
  • Optional JNDI properties in the runtime deployment script package allow fine-grained tuning for the deployment topology. In addition, deployment topologies that are built with IBM WebSphere Application Server full profile now support accessing the WebSphere Application Server Administration Console, which gives you full control over the configuration of the application server.

Important restrictions

Depending on the pattern template you use, there are some component attributes that you should not change. If you change any of these component attributes, the deployment of patterns that are based on these templates fails:
MobileFirst Platform (WAS single node) template
In the Standalone server component of the MobileFirst Platform Server node, do not unlock or change the values for any of the following attributes:
  • Cell name
  • Node name
  • Profile name
If you change any of these attributes, your pattern deployment will fail.
MobileFirst Platform (WAS server farm) template
In the Standalone server component of the MobileFirst Platform Server node, do not unlock or change the values for any of the following attributes:
  • Cell name
  • Node name
  • Profile name
If you change any of these attributes, your pattern deployment will fail.
MobileFirst Platform (WAS ND) template
In the Deployment manager component of the DmgrNode node or the Custom nodes component of the CustomNode node, do not unlock or change the values for any of the following attributes:
  • Cell name
  • Node name
  • Profile name
If you change any of these attributes, your pattern deployment will fail.

Limitations

The following limitations apply:

  • Dynamic scaling for WebSphere Application Server Liberty profile server farms and IBM WebSphere Application Server full profile server farms is not supported. The number of server farm nodes can be specified in the pattern by setting the scaling policy but cannot be changed during run time.
  • The IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns Extension for MobileFirst Studio and Ant command line interface supported in versions earlier than V7.0 are not available in this version of IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns.
  • IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns depends on WebSphere Application Server Patterns, which has its own restrictions. For more information, see Restrictions for WebSphere Application Server Patterns.
  • Due to restrictions in the uninstallation of Virtual System Patterns, you must delete the script packages manually after you delete the pattern type. In IBM PureApplication System, go to Catalog > Script Packages to delete the script packages that are listed in the Components section.
  • The MobileFirst Platform (WAS ND) pattern template does not support token licensing. If you want to use this pattern, you must use perpetual licensing. All other patterns support token licensing.

Composition

IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns is composed of the following patterns:

  • IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment Patterns 1.0.0.2.
  • [PureApplication Service] WebSphere8554ForMobile IM Repository to allow the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment Patterns to work. (Contact the administrator for IBM PureApplication System to confirm that the WebSphere8554 IM Repository is installed.)
  • IBM DB2 with BLU Acceleration® Pattern 1.2.2.
  • IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns.

Components

In addition to all components provided by IBM WebSphere Application Server Pattern and IBM DB2 with BLU Acceleration Pattern, IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation System Patterns provides the following Script Packages:

Compatibility between pattern types and artifacts created with different product versions

If you use MobileFirst Studio V6.3.0 or earlier to develop your applications, you can upload the associated runtime, application, and adapter artifacts into patterns associated with IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation V7.0.0 and later.

Pattern types that are associated with IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation V6.3.0 or earlier are not compatible with runtime, application, and adapter artifacts created by using MobileFirst Studio V7.0.0 and later.

For versions V6.0.0 and earlier, only the same versions of server, .war file, application (.wlapp file) and adapters are compatible.

For more information about version compatibility, see Version compatibility.

Parent topic: Deploying MobileFirst projects