3
Basic Oracle Portal Configurations

The Oracle Portal architecture supports a wide variety of topologies and configuration options. Factors that determine how to configure Oracle Portal depend on the intended purpose, its local network environment, the anticipated load, how it will be accessed by users, and the like.

The basic Oracle Portal configurations covered in this chapter include:

• Configuring Oracle Portal on a Standalone Laptop

• Configuring Oracle Portal as an Integrated Server

• Configuring a Traditional Three-tier Architecture

• Configuring Distinct Oracle Portal and Login Server Instances

3.1 Configuring Oracle Portal on a Standalone Laptop

The standalone laptop configuration is very appropriate if you require a very compact and portable installation. For example, you would use this setup if you are demonstrating Oracle Portal without a network connection or if you change your hostname frequently.

In this configuration, the browser, Oracle9i Application Server middle-tier, and Oracle8i database containing the Login Server and Oracle Portal objects, all reside on a single laptop. To set this up, follow these steps:

1. Install Oracle9i Application Server with Oracle Portal according to the instructions in the "Oracle9i Application Server Installation Guide" for your particular operating system.

   Note: When prompted for the name of the host, enter "localhost."

2. Edit your local TCP/IP host file, HOSTS, so that an entry exists for the local host. For example:

   127.0.0.1   localhost
   
   
   
   
   
   Note:
   
   
   
   The HOSTS file is created when you install TCP/IP to include remote host names and their IP addresses for each computer with which you will communicate. Specify only a valid DNS name for your host. If you are unfamiliar with editing your host file, consult your network administrator for assistance. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Verify that the Oracle HTTP Server's powered by Apache file, httpd.conf, specifies the ServerName entry as local host. For example, replace <hostname> with localhost as follows:

   ServerName   localhost
   

   Note: This file is located in the Oracle Home containing your Oracle9i Application Server installation: <ORACLE_HOME>/Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.confSee also: "Oracle HTTP Server Configuration File (httpd.conf)".

4. Associate the new Oracle Portal installation with the Login Server by running the ssodatan script as follows:
   1. Start a command line prompt.

   2. Change to the <ORACLE_HOME>/portal30/admin/plsql/ directory where Oracle Portal is installed.

   3. Enter the following command:

      ssodatan <-w portal_url> <-l login_server_url> <-s portal_schema> 
      <-p portal_password> <-o sso_schema> <-d sso_password> <-e pstore_
      schema> <-c portal_connect_string> 
      

Example

ssodatan -w http://localhost/pls/portal/ -l http://localhost/pls/portal_sso/ 
-s portal30 -p portal30 -o portal30_sso -c orcl

See: For parameter descriptions, see "Configuring a New Oracle Portal Instance and Login Server with the ssodatan Script".

In this example, the ORACLE_HOME environment variable is set to the Oracle9i Application Server's home and the connect string `orcl' points to the database containing Oracle Portal and the Login Server schema. The default Oracle Portal schema is assumed to be "portal30" and the Login Server schema is assumed to be "portal30_sso".

Note:



For parameter descriptions, see Table B-3, "ssodatan script parameters". 

Access Oracle Portal by entering the following in your browser's URL address field:

http://localhost/pls/portal30/

See: "Accessing Oracle Portal in Your Browser"

3.2 Configuring Oracle Portal as an Integrated Server

While a standalone laptop configuration is only accessible to the person using the laptop, the integrated server configuration allows any authorized user to access the Oracle Portal installation remotely across a LAN with a browser.

Figure 3-1 Integrated server configuration

Text description of the illustration integsvr.gif

1. Install Oracle9i Application Server with Oracle Portal according to the instructions in the "Oracle9i Application Server Installation Guide" for your particular operating system.

   Note: When prompted for the name of the host, enter the full domain name of the server where you are installing Oracle Portal. Take a note of this name for future reference.

2. In the Oracle HTTP Server's powered by Apache file, httpd.conf, verify that the ServerName entry is specified with the full domain name of the server containing your Oracle Portal installation. For example:

   ServerName   portal.acme.com
   
   

3. You would access Oracle Portal by entering the following in your browser's URL address field:

   http://portal.acme.com/pls/portal30/
   

3.3 Configuring a Traditional Three-tier Architecture

If the Oracle9i Application Server middle-tier, which includes the Oracle HTTP Server and the Servlet Engine, is installed on a separate machine from Oracle Portal, the traditional three-tier architecture is used. For more information, refer to the "Oracle9i Application Server Overview Guide" in the documentation library.

Figure 3-2 Traditional three-tier architecture

Text description of the illustration 3tieru.gif

This architecture is set up the same way as the integrated server configuration with the following exceptions:

1. Install Oracle9i Application Server with Oracle Portal according to the instructions in the "Oracle9i Application Server Installation Guide" for your particular operating system. The Login Server is installed as part of the Oracle Portal installation in a separate schema. The default Oracle Portal schema is assumed to be "portal30" and the Login Server schema is assumed to be "portal30_sso".

   The Oracle9i Application Server middle-tier is installed on a separate machine.

2. During Oracle Portal installation, when prompted for a connect string, the database connection string must identify a database instance in a host which is separate from the Oracle9i Application Server middle-tier.

3. In the Database Access Descriptor (DAD) configuration page, make sure that the connect string for both the Oracle Portal DAD and the Login Server DAD is the same.

   Note: The DAD configuration page is accessible by clicking Listener Gateway Settings in the Services portlet.

3.3.0.1 Configuring Distinct Oracle Portal and Login Server Instances

This configuration can be used if you want to have multiple Partner Applications accessing a centralized Login Server to leverage Single Sign-On. In this case, Oracle Portal and the Login Server reside on separate database instances.

Figure 3-3 Three-tier architecture with distinct Oracle Portal and Login Server

Text description of the illustration 3tier.gif

Since this configuration uses distinct instances for the Login Server and Oracle Portal, a slightly different installation sequence is required. Running the Oracle Universal Installer for Oracle9i Application Server on the middle-tier installs the application server and loads up all the source files and scripts enabling more complex topologies such as this to be configured.

The following is one of several ways to set up this configuration:

1. Run the Oracle9i Application Server installer on the middle-tier according to the instructions in the "Oracle9i Application Server Installation Guide" for your particular operating system.

   For the connect string, specify the hostname that points to the Oracle Portal host.

   Upon installation, the middle-tier software such as the PL/SQL Gateway reside in the Oracle9i Application Server host in the following Oracle Home location:

   <ORACLE_HOME>/portal30/admin/plsql
   
   

   where <ORACLE_HOME> is the location of the Oracle9i Application Server.

2. Verify that a connect string for the Login Server host is defined in the <ORACLE_HOME>/network/admin/tnsnames.ora file on the Oracle9i Application Server.

3. From the Oracle9i Application Server, run the linstall script located in <ORACLE_HOME>/portal30/admin/plsql to install a standalone Login Server on the Login Server host, by specifying the connect string to the Login Server database instance.

4. Associate the Oracle Portal node with the Login Server.
   1. Log on to the Login Server by accessing its DAD, for example:

      http://server.company.com/pls/portal30_sso/
      
      

   2. Log on, and add Oracle Portal as a Partner Application. The home URL should be similar to:

      http://server.company.com/pls/portal30/portal30.home
      
      

      The success URL should be similar to:

      http://server.company.com/pls/portal30/portal30.wwsec_app_priv.process_signon
      
      

   3. Click Apply.

   4. This generates a site id, site token, and encryption key for the newly added Oracle Portal Partner Application. Use these values to run the ssodatax script on Oracle Portal.

5. From the Oracle9i Application Server's <ORACLE_HOME>/portal30/admin/plsql location, run the ssodatax script:

Syntax

ssodatax <-w portal_url> <-l login_server_url> <-s portal_schema> <-p 
portal_password> <-o sso_schema> <-d sso_password> <-e pstore_schema> 
<-c portal_connect_string> 

Specify the site id, site token, and encryption key obtained in step 4 above. For the other parameters, enter as follows:

Example

ssodatax -i 1234 -t A1B2C3 -k X9Y8Z7 -w 
http://server.oracle.com:3000/pls/portal30/ 
-l http://server.oracle.com:3000/pls/portal30_sso/ -s portal30 -v v1.0 -o 
portal30_sso -c orcl

See: For parameter descriptions, see "Updating an Existing Portal Instance with the ssodatax Script".

For the connect string (-c parameter), enter the TNS entry for the Oracle Portal database connection.

When the ssodatax is run, it only updates information in the specified database connection. Furthermore, it does not clear any information that may be in the enabler configuration table unless the host or port specified in the URL prefix for the -w parameter matches one that is already in the table. In this case, the newly-provided information replaces the previous values.

This chapter discussed basic Oracle Portal configurations. For topologies with several database providers or multiple content areas, each residing on a separate Oracle Portal node, consider a distributed Oracle Portal configuration to aggregate these into a single Oracle Portal instance which is covered in Chapter 4, "Distributed Oracle Portal Installations".