Deploying, updating, undeploying, or upgrading MobileFirst Server by using the Server Configuration Tool
The Server Configuration Tool is a graphical tool that you can use to deploy, update, undeploy, or upgrade a MobileFirst Server instance to or from an application server and database.
If you use this tool in production to upgrade a MobileFirst Server, you must complete more actions to upgrade the server, as described in Upgrading to MobileFirst Server V7.1.0 in a production environment.
Before you use this tool, verify that the user who runs the Server Configuration Tool has the privileges that are described in File system prerequisites.
The Server Configuration Tool provides the same capabilities as the Ant tasks that are described in Ant tasks for installation of MobileFirst Operations Console and Administration Services and Ant tasks for installation of MobileFirst runtime environments. Compared to Ant tasks, the Server Configuration Tool is limited to a set of operations that are described in the following list:
- The supported databases are IBM® DB2®, Oracle, MySQL, and Cloudant®.Restriction: The Derby database is not supported.
- It is not possible to define JNDI deployment properties, such as publicWorkLightHostname or other properties that are listed in JNDI environment entries for MobileFirst projects in production. To define those properties, use Ant files. You can use the Server Configuration Tool to export an Ant file from a server configuration and then add JNDI deployment properties to it manually. (See Other operations available in the Server Configuration Tool.)
- The Server Configuration Tool must be started on the computer where your application server is installed.
- The Server Configuration Tool maintains a deployment status of configuration server components, whether they are deployed or not. This status is not accurate if the MobileFirst Server components are modified outside the Server Configuration Tool.
- The Server Configuration Tool is available only on Windows and Linux (x86). It is also available on Mac OS for test or demonstration purposes, but the MobileFirst Server is not supported for production in this environment.
- You can use the Server Configuration Tool to install MobileFirst Server to WebSphere® Application Server Network Deployment (clusters, servers), to a stand-alone WebSphere Application Server instance, or to a Liberty or Tomcat server. However, you cannot use the Server Configuration Tool to install MobileFirst Server to a server farm.
- You cannot use the Server Configuration Tool to add a runtime to an Administration Service that was installed or upgraded with Ant tasks and not with the Server Configuration Tool.
Running the Server Configuration Tool
You can start the Server Configuration Tool in the following ways:- On Linux
- By using the desktop menu shortcut Server Configuration Tool.
- In a File Manager, click the file mf_server_install_dir/shortcuts/configuration-tool.sh.Note: mf_server_install_dir is the directory where you install MobileFirst Server. mf_server is the shortcut for MobileFirst Server.
- From a shell command line, run the command mf_server_install_dir/shortcuts/configuration-tool.sh.
- On Windows
- By using the menu command.
- In Windows Explorer, double-click the file mf_server_install_dir/shortcuts/configuration-tool.bat.
- In a console window, run mf_server_install_dir/shortcuts/configuration-tool.bat.
- On Mac OS X
- Restriction: MobileFirst Server is not supported for production in this environment.
- In the Finder, double-click the file mf_server_install_dir/shortcuts/configuration-tool.sh.
- In a Terminal window, run mf_server_install_dir/shortcuts/configuration-tool.sh.
Main tasks
- Create a MobileFirst Server configuration
For more information, see Installing MobileFirst Server administration with the Server Configuration Tool.
After a MobileFirst Server configuration is created, you can do the following tasks:
- Edit an existing MobileFirst Server configuration and redeploy
- Use this task to edit and modify an existing MobileFirst Server configuration.
If you select this action, the work flow is as follows:
- You are prompted to select one of the configurations visible in the Navigation view.
- If passwords are required to redeploy the configuration, you are prompted to enter them.
- After you enter the passwords, the configuration is checked for errors.
- If errors are found, a report is displayed.
- You can then edit the configuration.
- If the configuration contains no errors, the Redeploy button is enabled.
- When you click Redeploy, the MobileFirst administration components are uninstalled from the application server, and reinstalled with the new parameters.
- Add a MobileFirst runtime environment to a configuration
- Use this task to add a MobileFirst runtime
environment to a MobileFirst Server configuration.
To create a new MobileFirst runtime environment, complete the following steps:
- Select a MobileFirst Server configuration.
- Select .
- Enter a descriptive name for the MobileFirst runtime environment.
- Select the path for the MobileFirst project WAR file to be deployed.
- Step through the wizard to describe the target database management
system.
If you need to create a relational database for your MobileFirst runtime environment, the Server Configuration Tool can create it for you. If you provide the requested administrator password when you are prompted in the Database Creation Request panel, the database for MobileFirst runtime environment is created. Alternatively, you can ask your database administrator to create the database manually by following the instructions in Optional creation of databases.
Note: The Server Configuration Tool does not create a database if you select Cloudant as the database management system for your MobileFirst runtime environment. The database name depends on values that you are prompted for, and is displayed on the Database Creation Request panel. - After you provide all the necessary information, the Deploy button
is enabled. When you click Deploy, the following
effects take place:
- The configuration file is saved.
- If the database contains no MobileFirst tables, these tables are created.
- If the database contains MobileFirst tables for an older version of the product, the tables are upgraded to the current version.
- If the database operations succeed, the MobileFirst Server is deployed to the application server.
- If the WAR file needs to be migrated to the current version, it is migrated.
- Replace the project WAR file of a deployed runtime
- Use this task to update the WAR files and libraries of the MobileFirst administration components. For example, apply a fix pack to the installation directory of MobileFirst Server.
- Replace the WAR file of a deployed MobileFirst Server configuration
- If you applied a fix pack to your installation of MobileFirst Server, use this task to update the console and administration WAR files of a deployed configuration.
Other operations available in the Server Configuration Tool
- Export a Configuration
- When you click MobileFirst Operations
Console and
Administration Services, and for each MobileFirst runtime
environment of the configuration:
- Create or update the databases
- Deploy the WAR file
- Update the WAR file
- Undeploy the WAR file
- To add deployment JNDI properties, then run the Ant file in command-line mode with Apache Ant.
- To run the Ant file on a computer without a graphical user interface.
- To perform the MobileFirst Server operations in batch mode (from the command line and without using a graphical user interface).
, Ant files are
exported. These Ant files contain tasks that take the following actions
for the - Migrate a V6.1.0 Configuration
- Configurations that were created with IBM Worklight V6.1.0
are displayed in a folder called Worklight 6.1 Configurations.
To migrate such configurations to IBM MobileFirst™ Platform Foundation V7.1.0,
complete the following steps:
- Select the configuration.
- Right-click to open a contextual menu.
- Select Migrate a V6.1 configuration. An IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation V7.1.0 configuration is created.
- Review all the pages of the wizard. In Database Additional Settings, you must enter information for the new administration database.
- When all the pages are reviewed, click Migrate.
- Upgrade a MobileFirst configuration to the current version with the Server Configuration Tool
- Since IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation V7.1.0, you can use the Server Configuration Tool to upgrade an older configuration already deployed, in a single action. For more information, see Upgrading with the Server Configuration Tool.
- Change the working directory where the configurations are stored
- Click and select a different working directory.