Sun Java System Reference Configuration Series: Portal Service on Application Server Cluster

Deployment Architecture of the Reference Configuration

A deployment architectureis a mapping of software components to a hardware environment. More specifically, for the Portal Service on Application Server Cluster reference configuration, it represents how to map the components in the logical architecture to networked computers in a way that achieves the specified quality-of-service requirements.

The logical architecture in Figure 2–1 identifies the components that are needed to meet the functional requirements of the reference configuration. The deployment architecture, however, shows how to do so with the specified quality of service.

The following sections present the deployment architecture diagram and discuss how the deployment architecture addresses the quality-of-service requirements:

Summary of Quality-of-Service Requirements

The quality-of-service requirements for the portal service on Application Server Cluster reference configuration are summarized in the following table.

Table 2–4 Quality-of-Service Requirements for the Reference Configuration

Service Quality 

Requirements 

Performance 

Response time under two seconds for default portal channels at peak load levels. 

See Performance Requirements.

Availability 

Service availability with both user session availability and application session state availability.  

No single points of failure. 

See Availability Requirements.

Security 

Protected services in separate network subnets. 

Firewall protection for Internet access and for portal service subnet zone. 

Encrypted Internet transport over SSL. 

See Security Requirements.

Scalability 

Easily scalable so that no computer system is more than 80% utilized under daily peak load. Also the deployed system should accommodate long-term growth of 10% per year. 

See Scalability Requirements.

Serviceability 

Minimize planned downtime needed to scale the portal service or to upgrade software components in the configuration. 

See Serviceability Requirements.

Deployment Architecture Diagram

Figure 2–2 is a graphical representation of the deployment architecture for the Portal Service on Application Server Cluster reference configuration. It shows the following features of the deployment architecture:

Figure 2–2 Deployment Architecture of the Reference Configuration

Graphic representation of the deployment architecture
consisting of four modules, described in the text.

Modularity in the Deployment Architecture

The reference configuration deployment architecture is based on a Service Delivery Network Architecture (SDNA) approach, in which individual services within a solution are modularized (see https://wikis.sun.com/display/BluePrints/The+Service+Delivery+Network-+A+Case+Study). The result is a deployment architecture consisting of four independent service modules: SRA Gateway, portal, Access Manager, and directory.

In accordance with SDNA principles, each service module in the reference configuration independently implements its own level of availability, security, scalability, and serviceability. The overall solution can therefore be easily deployed, secured, maintained, and upgraded. An explanation of how the reference configuration's modular architecture facilitates quality-of-service objectives is provided in subsequent sections of this chapter.

The service modules that make up the reference configuration, shown in Figure 2–2, have the following common SDNA characteristics:

While the modular architecture depicted in Figure 2–2 has many advantages, as described in subsequent sections of this chapter, alternative approaches in common practice do exist. The drawbacks of two such alternatives, which are not supported by this reference configuration, are discussed below.

Not Supported: Portal Server and Access Manager Combined

In some situations, the modular architecture of Figure 2–2 might result in lower resource utilization than could be achieved by combining components on the same computer and running them in the same web container. In fact, many deployment architects have traditionally deployed Portal Server and Access Manager in the same web container in an effort to maximize resource utilization and reduce network traffic in updating Access Manager session information. However, such designs cannot realize the availability, security, scalability, and serviceability benefits of SDNA modularity, which generally outweigh the drawbacks.

Not Supported: Access Manager Internal Configuration for Multiple Directory Server Instances

Access Manager supports, by way of post-installation configuration, multiple LDAP directories for each Access Manger service. In this way, Access Manager can detect failure of a primary Directory Server instance and fail over to an standby instance. This built-in mechanism has several drawbacks:

By contrast, the modular architecture of Fig 2-2 has the following advantages:


Note –

In the multimaster replication approach of Figure 2-2, write operations are synchromized between directory instances. In environments with many write operations, the overhead of the multimaster replication process can slow down Directory Server processing of client requests. In these situations, the best approach is to direct all write operations to a single master by placing a Directory Proxy Server instance in front of each Directory Server instance. Such situations are not common in portal service deployments, so the reference configuration does not include Directory Proxy Server.


Availability in the Deployment Architecture

The deployment architecture that is represented in Figure 2–2 uses several strategies to meet the availability requirements of the reference configuration. Availability requirements fall into the two categories that are discussed in the following sections:

Service Availability

Service availability means that a service is available, even when a service provider fails. Service availability is generally achieved using multiple identically configured service instances (redundancy). Redundancy eliminates single points of failure (assuming that simultaneous failure of all instances is extremely unlikely). If one instance providing a service fails, another instance is available to take over. This mechanism is known as service failover.

Service failover is supported in the reference configuration through two mechanisms:

Session State Availability

Session state availability means that data associated with a user session is not lost during a service failover. When a service failover occurs, the session state data that is stored by the failed instance is made available to the failover instance. This mechanism is known as session failover. The result is that the service failover is transparent to the user: the user will not be required to log in again or to restart a business operation.

Session failover is supported in the reference configuration through two mechanisms:


Note –

When a user is successfully authenticated with Access Manager, the browser is redirected to a Portal Server instance. A portal desktop session is created on this instance and is mapped to the user's Access Manager session. This portal desktop session is used to track Portal Server specific information such as the user's merged display profile and provider properties. If a Portal Server instance fails, the desktop session is automatically re-created by using the user's display profile and attributes that are stored in the Access Manager's user session. However, provider properties that are stored in local memory are lost.


Security in the Deployment Architecture

The security requirements of the portal service reference configuration (see Security Requirements) are met through several mechanisms, each of which are discussed in the following sections:

Authentication and Authorization

Each user's access must be limited to the portal services and data channels that he or she is authorized to view.

The reference configuration uses Access Manager and Directory Server to control user access to portal content. The directory service maintains each user's portal desktop profile. This profile includes any desktop customization that is performed by the user, as well as mechanisms for determining what content the user is authorized to view.

Separate Administration

The modularized architecture makes it easy for different organizations to administer different service modules so that each organization has the level of administrative security it needs. In most enterprises, for example, directory services and Access Manager services are administered by security-oriented organizations, while portal services are administered by end-user applications organizations.

Network Segmentation

The portal service must be secured against unauthorized and unauthenticated access.

The deployment architecture uses a secure network topology for the portal service, which includes the use of firewalls, controlled access through load balancers with virtual service addresses, and private subnets behind the firewall.

Figure 2–2 shows a portal services zone in which the portal service, Access Manager service, and directory service modules are deployed behind the Internal Firewall. Within this zone, the deployment architecture protects the service modules in the following ways:

Not shown in Figure 2–2 is that the individual computers hosting service instances are hardened and that the operating system installations are minimized. Minimizing the number of installed Solaris OS packages means fewer security holes. Because the majority of system penetrations are through exploitation of operating system vulnerabilities, minimizing the number of installed operating system packages will reduce the number of vulnerabilities. Minimizing the operating system is covered in detail in Computer Hardware and Operating System Specification.

Secure Remote Access

The secure remote access option provides secure access to portal services, applications, and other content on an internal intranet to employees or customers on the public Internet. This option prevents such access to unauthorized people.

The requirement for secure remote access is met in the Portal Service on Application Server Cluster reference configuration through Portal Server SRA components, specifically the SRA Gateway service, and by network access zones, demarcated by firewalls, that take maximum advantage of the SRA Gateway service. The access zones and the firewalls are represented in Figure 2–2.

The outermost zone in Figure 2–2 is the so-called demilitarized zone, or DMZ, which contains the SRA Gateway service. The Gateway service can only be accessed through the External Firewall at one specific URL. Employees or customers who connect to the portal service with remote browser clients or mobile clients do so by accessing the Gateway service at the specified URL. The External Firewall blocks all other ports and addresses.

Because remote access to the portal service from the public Internet is through the Gateway service, the portal service itself can reside behind an additional firewall (the Internal Firewall) and an additional layer of hardware load balancing.

In addition to deploying the Gateway service behind an Internet-facing firewall, the deployment architecture secures the Gateway service in the following ways:

Scalability in the Deployment Architecture

The modular nature of the reference configuration's deployment architecture means that you can scale each module independently, depending on the kind of traffic that your portal service receives.

Each service module in the deployment architecture is composed of two or more service instances running on separate computers behind a load balancer. This architecture allows you to scale any of the modules vertically (by adding CPUs or memory to the host computers) or horizontally (by adding additional service instances). Some modules are better suited to vertical scaling, and some modules are better suited to horizontal scaling.

The recommended techniques for scaling each module in the reference configuration are as follows:

Serviceability in the Deployment Architecture

The reference configuration architecture builds the portal service out of several subservices, such as the Access Manager service and directory service. Because each subservice is implemented in a separate module, it is possible to maintain each module independently.

In addition, the reference configuration architecture creates each subservice as a virtual service, which means that interoperability among the subservices is not dependent on specific hardware connections, and the individual subservices are maintained, upgraded, replaced, and scaled without affecting each other. For example, if it is necessary to add an Access Manager instance to the architecture, the Portal Server instances that depend on Access Manager do not need to be modified or affected in any way.