The following is the first part of a six-part series on Oracle Application Server 10g administration. Each tip is excerpted from the Osborne Oracle Press book, "Oracle Application Server 10g administration handbook," by John Garmany and Don Burleson. Click for the next installment, or go to the main series page for all installments.
Planning for Application Server installation
As with installing any version of Oracle's application server, some understanding of the components and their interaction is required. The application server is much more than the Apache Web server. The application server is the marriage of the Web server to the Oracle containers for Java (OC4J). If your only requirement is to serve static Web pages with servlets accessing a database, the Oracle Database installs with a fully functional web server that implements Apache's Jserv. On the other hand, if you need to configure and load balance 10 Web servers connected to a back-end database, and your applications require a range of J2EE services, you will need the clustering capabilities and consolidated management that Oracle Application Server 10g provides.
Installation types
Oracle Application Server 10g has four installation types. The smallest mid-tier installation is the J2EE and Web Cache installation type, the second type adds Oracle Application Server Portal and Wireless 10g, while the largest is the Business Intelligence and Forms installation. The fourth type of installation is the Oracle Application Server Infrastructure. Installations that include more than J2EE also require the installation of an infrastructure instance.
J2EE and Web Cache
The J2EE and Web Cache installation includes the Oracle HTTP Server (OHS), the Oracle containers for Java (OC4J) and the Web Cache. These are the base components and are included in all other installations. The J2EE and Web Cache installation can function in standalone mode or be included in an infrastructure instance's farm. When used in the standalone mode, the J2EE and Web Cache instance requires manual configuration and management. When installed as a member of a farm, the instance is configured within the Oracle Enterprise Manager Application Server Control.
Portal and Wireless
This installation includes the J2EE and Web Cache installation plus the portal and wireless components. Both components require access to Oracle's identity management and the metadata repository in the infrastructure instance.
Business Intelligence and Forms
To install all available components, you need to install the Business Intelligence and Forms. This installation type includes the Portal and Wireless components plus Oracle Application Server Discoverer, Personalization, Reports Services and Oracle Forms. This middle tier also requires access to an infrastructure instance.
Even though the installation types build on each other, you are not required to configure and start all of the components. For instance, if your organization uses Oracle Forms, you can install the Business Intelligence and Forms installation type but choose not to configure Portal, Wireless, Discoverer, Personalization and Reports Services. This will allow you to utilize your server resources properly by not starting components that are not needed. This will be discussed later when we walk through the installation.
Infrastructure
Many of the application server's capabilities require the use of an infrastructure instance. The infrastructure instance provides access for the middle tiers to Oracle's Internet Directory, Identity Management and the metadata repository. When a middle tier instance is installed, it is tied to an infrastructure instance, so the infrastructure instance must already be installed and running.
Go to the main series page.
About the authors
A senior Oracle trainer with Burleson Consulting, John Garmany is also a respected Oracle expert and author and chosen by Oracle Press to write the "officially authorized edition" for the "Oracle Application Server 10g administration handbook." John also serves as a writer for DBAZine, "Oracle Internals" and has authored several popular Oracle books.
Don Burleson is one of the world's top Oracle database experts with more than 20 years of full-time DBA experience. He specializes in creating database architectures for very large online databases and he has worked with some of the world's most powerful and complex systems. Don's professional Web sites include www.dba-oracle.com and www.remote-dba.net.
