Using the WAR or EAR file to install
Depending on your application server, you can deploy Information Console as a WAR or EAR file. See your application server documentation about how to deploy a WAR or EAR file. For details about application servers for which Actuate supports WAR and EAR deployments, see the Supported Products Matrix for this release on the Actuate Support site at the following URL:
http://support.actuate.com/documentation/spm
This section describes how to configure Information Console to run on one machine, and communicate with a BIRT iHub server located on another machine. After performing these configuration tasks, you deploy the Information Console WAR or EAR file to install Information Console.
About deployment formats
Table 2‑1 lists the Information Console WAR and EAR files Actuate provides for installing Information Console, and the application server Actuate supports for each file.
Table 2‑1 BIRT Information Console deployment formats
File
Application server
WL_ActuateInformationConsole.war
BEA WebLogic
TOMCAT_ActuateInformationConsole.war
Apache Tomcat, Jetty HTTP and Application Server
JBOSS_ActuateInformationConsole.ear
JBoss
WAS_ActuateInformationConsole.ear
IBM WebSphere
Only the JBoss and WebSphere application servers support EAR deployment.
General deployment tasks
You must configure the Information Console WAR and application server for integration. You must also verify that you have a standard J2EE installation.
To integrate your application server with Information Console, complete the following tasks:
*Download the WAR or EAR file appropriate to your application server from the software distribution site.
*Configure the application server to operate with BIRT iHub server.
*Configure the Information Console WAR to integrate with the application server as described in Preparing the WAR file.
*Deploy Information Console to the application server.
Preparing the server
Actuate recommends the following configuration for best performance:
*Use at least a two-CPU machine for Information Console.
*If BIRT iHub system uses more than four CPUs, configure one CPU for Information Console for every two CPUs that iHub uses.
Set the following configuration values on the application server:
*On a machine with 1 GB of available physical memory, set the Java heap size to a value between 256 MB and 512 MB. If more memory is available, increase this value based on performing load tests on the server machine.
*Set the number of threads to a value between 50 and 75.
Preparing the WAR file
To prepare the Information Console for deployment, open the WAR file and perform the following tasks:
*Modify volumeProfile.xml to support communication between Information Console and BIRT iHub server.
*Modify the following files to enable shindig 2.0 support for Information Console:
*container.js
*shindig.properties
*Modify web.xml to enable shindig 2.0 support for Information Console and specify values for Information Console configuration parameters.
*Remove the el-api.jar file from the WAR file if necessary.
The following sections describe these tasks. As a best practice, make a backup copy of a file before modifying it.
Modifying volumeProfile.xml
Replace the following variables with their appropriate values in the WEB‑INF\volumeProfile.xml code shown in Listing 2‑1:
*$$SERVER_URL$$
URL of the machine hosting BIRT iHub Server. For example, http://URUP:8000.
*$$VOLUME$$
Name of the volume to which Information Console connects. For example, Default Volume.
Listing 2‑1 Modifying WEB-INF\volumeProfile.xml
<VolumeProfiles>
...
<Profile>
<Default>true</Default>
<ProfileName>enterprise</ProfileName>
<RepositoryType>enterprise</RepositoryType>
<ServerUrl>$$SERVER_URL$$</ServerUrl>
<Volume>$$VOLUME$$</Volume>
</Profile>
</VolumeProfiles>
Add further Profile entries if your iHub system supports more than one volume.
Modifying container.js
Replace the following variables with their appropriate values in the WEB-INF\classes\containers\default\container.js code shown in Listing 2‑2.
*$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$
Context root of the Information Console web application
*$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$
Fully qualified domain name of the Information Console web application
Listing 2‑2 Modifying WEB-INF\classes\containers\default\container.js
"gadgets.jsUriTemplate" : "http://%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/js/%js%",
...
"gadgets.uri.js.host" : "http://$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$/",
"gadgets.uri.js.path" : "/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/js",
...
"gadgets.uri.oauth.callbackTemplate" : "//%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/oauthcallback"
...
"gadgets.osDataUri" : "http://%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/rpc"
...
// Default Js Uri config: also must be overridden.
"gadgets.uri.js.host": "${Cur['defaultShindigTestHost']}",
"gadgets.uri.js.path": "/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/js",
 
// Default concat Uri config; used for testing.
"gadgets.uri.concat.host" : "${Cur['defaultShindigProxyConcatAuthority']}",
"gadgets.uri.concat.path" : "/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/concat",
"gadgets.uri.concat.js.splitToken" : "false",
 
// Default proxy Uri config; used for testing.
"gadgets.uri.proxy.host" : "${Cur['defaultShindigProxyConcatAuthority']}",
"gadgets.uri.proxy.path" : "/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/proxy",
 
// This config data will be passed down to javascript. Please
// configure your object using the feature name rather than
// the javascript name.
 
// Only configuration for required features will be used.
// See individual feature.xml files for configuration details.
 
// This config data will be passed down to javascript. Please
// configure your object using the feature name rather than
// the javascript name.
 
// Only configuration for required features will be used.
// See individual feature.xml files for configuration details.
 
"gadgets.features" : {
"core.io" : {
// Note: /proxy is an open proxy. Be careful how you expose this!
// Note: Here // is replaced with the current protocol http/https
"proxyUrl" : "//%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/proxy?container=default&refresh=%refresh%&url=%url%%rewriteMime%",
"jsonProxyUrl" : "//%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/makeRequest"
},
"views" : {
"profile" : {
"isOnlyVisible" : false,
"urlTemplate" : "http://$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/profile?{var}",
"aliases": ["DASHBOARD", "default"]
},
"canvas" : {
"isOnlyVisible" : true,
"urlTemplate" : "http://$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/canvas?{var}",
"aliases" : ["FULL_PAGE"]
}
},
...
"opensocial" : {
// Path to fetch opensocial data from
// Must be on the same domain as the gadget rendering server
"path" : "http://%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/rpc",
// Path to issue invalidate calls
"invalidatePath" : "http://%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/rpc",
...
"osapi" : {
// The endpoints to query for available JSONRPC/REST services
"endPoints" : [ "http://%host%/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/rpc" ]
},
...
Modifying shindig.properties
Replace the following variables with their appropriate values in the WEB‑INF\classes\shindig.properties code shown in Listing 2‑3:
*$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$
Fully qualified domain name of the Information Console web application
*$$IPORTAL_PORT$$
TCP port assigned to the Information Console web application
*$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$
Context root of the Information Console web application
Listing 2‑3 Modifying WEB-INF\shindig.properties
...
shindig.signing.global-callback-url=http://$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$:$$IPORTAL_PORT$$/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/oauthcallback
...
shindig.content-rewrite.proxy-url=/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/proxy?url=
#shindig.content-rewrite.concat-url=/gadgets/concat?container=default&
shindig.content-rewrite.concat-url=/$$IPORTAL_CONTEXT$$/gadgets/concat?
...
Modifying web.xml
Set properties in WEB‑INF\web.xml for supporting shindig 2.0, and for configuring Information Console.
How to modify WEB-INF\web.xml
1 Locate the definition for INSTALL_MODE and change the value from standalone to enterprise.
2 Replace the following variables with their appropriate values in the web.xml code shown in Listing 2‑4. Use a text editor that accepts UTF‑8 encoding to edit web.xml.
*$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$
Name of the machine hosting the Information Console web application
*$$IPORTAL_PORT$$
TCP port assigned to the Information Console web application
Listing 2‑4 Modifying the <param-value> element in WEB-INF\web.xml
...
<context-param>
<param-name>system.properties</param-name>
<param-value>
shindig.host=$$IPORTAL_MACHINE$$
shindig.port=$$IPORTAL_PORT$$
</param-value>
</context-param>
...
3 Review the Information Console configuration parameters shown in Table 2‑2 and update as necessary.
Table 2‑2 Information Console configuration parameters
Parameter name
Description
Action
BIRT_RESOURCE_PATH
The location of the standard templates and properties files that Report Studio uses. This location can be in a WAR file or on a disk.
If you specify a location on disk, copy the contents of the Information Console resources folder to this physical location on the file system.
DEFAULT_LOCALE
The default locale is en_US. You can leave this value unchanged. A user can select a locale at login.
If you change the locale, select the new locale from the locales in /WEB‑INF/Localemap.xml.
DEFAULT_TIMEZONE
The default time zone is Pacific Standard Time (PST). You can leave this value unchanged. A user can select a time zone at login.
If you change the time zone, select the new time zone from the time zones in the TimeZones.xml file, in the WEB‑INF directory.
LOG_FILE_LOCATION
The location of the files that log Information Console activity.
You must create this physical location on the file system.
TEMP_FOLDER_LOCATION
The location where Information Console creates temporary files.
You must create this physical location on the file system.
TRANSIENT_STORE_PATH
The location where Information Console creates temporary files.
You must create this physical location on the file system.
Removing el-api.jar file from the WAR file
Perform this task only if you are deploying Information Console using one of the following WAR files:
*WAS_ActuateInformationConsole.war
To deploy Information Console to the IBM WebSphere application server. WAS_ActuateInformationConsole.ear contains WAS_ActuateInformationConsole.war.
*WL_ActuateInformationConsole.war
To deploy Information Console to the Oracle WebLogic application server.
Remove the WEB-INF/lib/el-api.jar file from the WAR file if the /lib directory for your application server also contains el-api.jar. The presence of el-api.jar in both the Information Console WEB-INF/lib directory and the application server /lib directory may cause errors.
Deploying Information Console client
Exit the WAR file and deploy the WAR or EAR file to your application server.
About clusters of servers
If the application server supports clustering, see the application server documentation for more information about setting up clusters and deploying web applications such as Information Console.
Avoiding cache conflicts after installing
Information Console uses Java Server Page (JSP) technology. Application servers and browsers cache pages. A browser can use a cached copy of a page instead of the new page. After you install, using a cached copy of some pages can lead to errors or missing functionality.
To avoid this problem, clear the application server cache after you install Information Console. With some application servers, you must restart the application server. For more information about the necessary steps for clearing the cache, see the application server documentation.
If possible, also clear the browser cache to ensure that the browser does not use an old copy of the page from its cache. Alternatively, you can refresh recently visited pages or clear the browser cache if a problem occurs. For more information about clearing the browser’s cache and refreshing a page, see the browser documentation.
Testing the installation
Complete the steps in the following section to test the Information Console installation.
How to test the installation
1 Start the Actuate iHub 3.1 Service or the application server and web server, if necessary.
2 To start using Information Console, type the Information Console URL into the address bar of your web browser. For example, if Tomcat is your application server, type a URL similar to the following:
http://Actuate1:8080/iportal/
*Actuate1 is the name of your computer, and 8080 is the default port to access Information Console when using Tomcat as the application server.
*iportal is the default context root for Information Console.
The Information Console login page appears.
3 On the Information Console login page, type a user name and password.
4 Choose Log In.