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Concepts

To install, configure, and administer Oracle Internet File System (Oracle 9iFS), administrators must understand key administration concepts, including:

• The Oracle 9iFS Domain

• Oracle 9iFS Management Tools

The Oracle 9iFS Domain

The basic administrative unit of Oracle Internet File System (Oracle 9iFS) is the domain. A domain is a single Oracle 9iFS instance. Oracle 9iFS domains consist of several elements, such as nodes, running either on a single computer or spread across a set of interconnected computers.

The principal elements of an Oracle 9iFS domain are:

• The Oracle 9iFS repository. All data managed by Oracle 9iFS resides in an Oracle9i database schema, called the Oracle9i repository. You specify the database instance and schema name of the repository during installation of Oracle 9iFS.

• One or more nodes. The Oracle 9iFS software runs as a set of processes, called nodes. Each node executes on a particular computer, or host. Although a domain's nodes are often split across a set of hosts, a single host can have more than one Oracle 9iFS node. A node may also execute on the same machine as the Oracle 9iFS repository. Each node has a name, which is unique across the Oracle 9iFS domain.

• A single domain controller. The domain controller manages the nodes comprising the domain. For example, the domain controller controls which nodes are running, tracks nodes' statuses, and allows nodes to be monitored and administered.

The repository, nodes, and domain controller comprise the logical elements of an Oracle 9iFS domain. However, a domain's physical configuration may be quite different than its logical configuration. There is no requirement that any element of the domain be on the same host as any other, or that any of element be on a different host than another. For small installations, the repository, nodes, and domain controller may all reside on a single host (Figure 1-1, "A Simple Oracle 9iFS Domain"). Larger installations may use separate hosts for each element (Figure 1-2, "A More Complex Oracle 9iFS Domain"). (In Figures 1-1 and 1-2, dotted lines represent host boundaries.)

Determining the logical and physical configurations of the Oracle 9iFS domain based on proposed use and expected load is a pre-installation step. You can change the domain's logical and physical configurations over time in response to changing requirements.

Figure 1-1 A Simple Oracle 9iFS Domain

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Figure 1-2 A More Complex Oracle 9iFS Domain

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Services and Servers

Each Oracle 9iFS node can have one or more services and one or more servers (Figure 1-3, "Services and Servers").

• Services. A service manages user sessions on a node and allows those sessions to access the repository's data. Typically, a single service runs on each node. However, it is possible to run more than one service on a node to provide, for example, services with different configurations (for example, cache sizing or default language). However, every service on the node (and more generally, every service in the domain) must bind to the same repository. Services have names which are unique across the node (but not necessarily unique across the domain).

• Servers. A server is an application running on a node. Servers run inside the node's process, and against the node's services. Servers are either protocol servers or agents. A protocol server opens a TCP/IP server socket, awaits connections from clients, and performs operations dictated by a protocol specification in response to client requests. The Oracle 9iFS FTP server is an example of a protocol server. An agent runs unattended, performing predefined operations either periodically or in response to repository operations performed asynchronously by other servers. The Oracle 9iFS Garbage Collection Agent is an example of an agent. Like services, servers have names that are unique across the node (but not necessarily unique across the domain).

Figure 1-3 Services and Servers

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Locators

Domain controllers and nodes are identified by locators. A locator is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that specifies the host on which the domain controller or node is running and its port number.

For example, the locator of the domain controller in Figure 1-2, "A More Complex Oracle 9iFS Domain" might be:

ifs_socket://grape.acme.com:53140

Guarded and Unguarded Nodes

Each node has a node guardian that monitors the node, detects error conditions, and attempts to recover from them. For unguarded nodes, the guardian runs in the node's process, whereas for guarded nodes, the node guardian runs in a separate process. Guarded nodes offer better fault recovery because the guardian can terminate and restart the node's process if necessary.

Nodes are guarded by default.

HTTP Nodes

Oracle 9iFS provides HTTP and WebDAV support using a Java servlet running in the Oracle HTTP Server. By default, this servlet is loaded when Oracle HTTP Server is started. Once loaded, the servlet creates a node (the "HTTP node") in the Java VM of the servlet. The HTTP node has an Oracle 9iFS service which manages user sessions and provides access to the domain's repository, and an Oracle 9iFS server which provides HTTP and WebDAV protocol support.

Because its process is owned by the Oracle HTTP Server, an HTTP node is always unguarded.

Node Configuration

The configurations of a domain's nodes are stored as objects in the Oracle 9iFS repository. Three types of objects are used to manage this information.

• Service configurations

• Server configurations

• Node configurations

Service Configurations

A service configuration is a template for creating a service on a generic node. Each service configuration specifies values for properties such as the database instance and schema name of the repository, the sizes of the cache and database connection pools, the maximum number of sessions, and the service's default language and character set. (See Appendix B of the Oracle 9iFS Setup and Administration Guide for a complete list of service configuration parameters.) Service configurations are uniquely named across the domain.

When Oracle 9iFS is installed, three service configurations are automatically created, corresponding to "small," "medium," and "large" services. You can edit these three configurations or create additional service configurations (see Figure 1-4, "Parameters for a Medium Configuration".

Figure 1-4 Parameters for a Medium Configuration

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Server Configurations

A server configuration is a template for creating a particular type of server on a generic node. Server configurations specify their server types as Java classnames. In addition to the server type, each server configuration specifies values for parameters relevant to that type. For example, a server configuration for the Oracle 9iFS FTP server specifies the FTP port number, whether anonymous FTP connections are allowed, and the connection time-out period.

When Oracle 9iFS is installed, server configurations are automatically created for each protocol server and agent. Server configurations are uniquely named across the domain. Figure 1-5, "Configuration Parameters of Command Line Utilities Server" shows the default configuration parameters for the Command Line Utilities.

Figure 1-5 Configuration Parameters of Command Line Utilities Server

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Node Configurations

A node configuration defines the behavior of a particular node, or instance of Oracle 9iFS. The set of active node configurations determines the domain's nodes. The domain controller only allows nodes in this set to access the domain's repository.

On the General property sheet (see Figure 1-6, "Configuration of an Oracle 9iFS Node"), the following information appears:

• Name of the node.

• Locator of the node.

• Whether the node is currently active.

Figure 1-6 Configuration of an Oracle 9iFS Node

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The Content property sheet (see Figure 1-7, "A Node's Services and Servers") displays information about the node's services and servers, including:

• Default services for the node. For each, the node configuration records:
  • Service name.

  • Which service configuration object provides the service's configuration properties.

  • Whether the service is currently active. Inactive services are not automatically started by the node.

Figure 1-7 A Node's Services and Servers

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• The node's default servers. For each, the node configuration records:
  • Server name

  • Which server configuration object provides the server's configuration parameters

  • Whether the server is currently active. Inactive servers are not automatically loaded by the node.

  • Name of the service against which the server should operate

  • Priority of the server

  • Whether the server is automatically started once loaded

Oracle 9iFS Management Tools

A full range of administration tools are provided with Oracle 9iFS to manage the repository, start and stop Oracle 9iFS domains and nodes, configure nodes in the Oracle 9iFS domain, manage users and document security, work from the command line, and import/export data and users from one Oracle 9iFS schema to another.

• Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Console

• Oracle 9iFS Manager

• Oracle 9iFS Configuration Assistant

• The Web Interface

• Command Line Utilities

• XML Configuration Files

• Administration Scripts

Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Console

Oracle 9iFS is tightly integrated with Oracle9i Enterprise Manager to facilitate enterprise system management.

• Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Console is used to monitor and administer the Oracle 9iFS domain. Notice in Figure 1-8, "Oracle 9iFS Is Integrated with the Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Console" that Internet File Systems is one of the main folders accessed through the Console.

Figure 1-8 Oracle 9iFS Is Integrated with the Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Console

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• Oracle Intelligent Agents (IAs) are used to discover the Oracle 9iFS services. The IAs also control the jobs that Oracle 9iFS creates to start the nodes and domain. Starting the Intelligent Agents and the Oracle Management Server are described in "Restart the Intelligent Agent" and "Start Oracle Management Server" in Chapter 5, "Post-installation".

• Oracle Enterprise Manager events detect failed domain controller and node processes and trigger Oracle Enterprise Manager "fix it" jobs which send email or automatically restart these processes. (For nodes, this is in addition to the fault detection provided by the node guardian.) For information on managing events and "fix-it" jobs, see the Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Administrator's Guide.

Oracle 9iFS Manager

Oracle 9iFS Manager is the administrative interface for Oracle 9iFS. Oracle 9iFS Manager is integrated with Oracle Enterprise Manager and can be launched in an Oracle Management Server (OMS)-connected mode or in a standalone mode.

Oracle 9iFS Manager provides a powerful and easy-to-use graphical interface, and is divided between administrative tasks and developmental tasks (see Figure 1-9, "Oracle 9iFS Manager").

Figure 1-9 Oracle 9iFS Manager

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Oracle 9iFS Configuration Assistant

The Oracle 9iFS Configuration Assistant is a wizard that is started automatically by the Oracle Universal Installer during installation to specify Oracle 9iFS configuration parameters. For installation information, see "Run the Configuration Assistant" in Chapter 3, "Installing the Oracle 9iFS Software". For information on changing parameters, see Chapter 4, "Service and Server Configuration" in the Oracle Internet File System Setup and Administration Guide.

Figure 1-10 Oracle 9iFS Configuration Assistant

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The Web Interface

Though limited in its administrative functionality, the Web interface (see Figure 1-11, "The Web Interface") is the easiest tool to use and best suited for creating users and groups one-by-one. You must have administrative privileges to use these functions in the Web interface. For more information, click the Help icon on the Web interface.

Figure 1-11 The Web Interface

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Command Line Utilities

The Command Line Utilities are an interface for administrators familiar with using the command line. These commands are best used for browsing the Oracle 9iFS objects in the repository and for performing scripted tasks. For example:

ifsput

Stores the specified local file in Oracle Internet File System. If iFSfile is not specified, the file is stored in the current Oracle Internet File System directory. If iFSfile exists, the file is updated according to the versioning semantics.

Syntax:

ifsput <localfile> [<iFSfile>]

Examples:

ifsput sample.html

Stores the local file in the current Oracle Internet File System directory as sample.html.

ifsput sample.html sample2.html

Updates sample2.html with the local file, sample.html, following versioning semantics.

For more information on using the Command Line Utilities, see Appendix A, "Command Line Utilities Reference" in the Oracle Internet File System Setup and Administration Guide.

XML Configuration Files

XML configuration files can be used to streamline the creation of large numbers of repository objects. For example, the following file creates an Oracle 9iFS user:

    <SimpleUser>
       <UserName>gking</UserName>
       <Password>ifs</Password>
       <DistinguishedNameSuffix>.yourcompany.com</DistinguishedNameSuffix>
       <DirectoryUserDescription>Gary King</DirectoryUserDescription>
       <AdminEnabled>true</AdminEnabled>
       <HomeFolderRoot>/home</HomeFolderRoot>
       <EmailAddressSuffix>@yourcompany.com</EmailAddressSuffix>
    </SimpleUser>

Using an XML configuration file, you can configure multiple objects with a single file. If one section of the file has a problem, however, everything after it in the file does not execute. For more information on using XML files with Oracle 9iFS, see the Oracle Internet File System Developer Reference.

Administration Scripts

Also available to manage Oracle 9iFS is a set of scripts that are run at the command line. These accomplish many of the tasks included in the Oracle9i Enterprise Manager Console and the Oracle 9iFS Manager. A number of these scripts are described in Chapter 5, "Post-installation". The scripts are also listed in the Index to this guide, under "scripts," as well as in the Index of the Oracle Internet File System Setup and Administration Guide.