WLOC is an application administrator’s tool for deploying and managing multiple applications. It provides a policy-base framework for SLA governance of Java applications deployed across virtualized or non-virtualized platforms.
Installation Modes
You can install WLOC in one of the following modes.
Graphical Mode—GUI-based installation that displays windows that prompt for settings to use during installation.
Silent Mode—A non-interactive install that requires the use of an XML file that contains settings to use during installation. Silent-mode installations are intended for administrators to perform the same installation on many machines.
Console Mode—An interactive, text-based method for installing from the command line.
After you have installed the software, use the WLOC Configuration Wizard to create the Controller and Agent components. See the WLOC Configuration Guide, which provides details for configuring, using, and administering WLOC.
Configure ISO images
Optionally, use the WLOC ISO Builder to configure ISO-9660 image files from a template ISO-9660 file. For information about using the LVM Tools, see the LiquidVM User Guide.
Product Distribution Methods
You can obtain the WLOC software in one of the following ways:
Purchase the software on DVD from your local sales representative.
Planning Your WLOC Installation
This section describes some aspects you should consider in planning your WLOC installation:
Verifying That Your Environment Supports WLOC
Before planning any WLOC implementation, you must verify that your environment has a supported configuration of hardware, operating system, and application server on which you can run WLOC Controllers and Agents. See Supported Configurations for WLOC documentation.
WLOC Installation Components
The WLOC installation program installs three separate components. You may install all components or elect to install specific ones.
WLOC Controller—The Controller is the centralized system that maintains all information about the applications and resources under governance, and serves as the authority for executing any deployment, and configuration and monitoring changes. The Controller also hosts the WLOC Administration Console.
WLOC Agent—The Agent is the remote system through which the Controller communicates with the application instances and server resources for management and monitoring.
LVM Tools—LiquidVM is the foundation for creating virtualized Java software appliances that can be deployed directly onto virtualized server resources. LiquidVM allows users to create and deploy such software appliances. For information about using LVM Tools, see the LiquidVM User Guide.
Note: LVM Tools are not supported on Solaris platforms.
Recommended Component Topology
You can use a variety of different topologies when you install WLOC. Here are some recommendations:
Place all WLOC components and the processes that WLOC manages behind the same firewall.
Install the Controller on a physical machine. If you use VMware Virtual Center, you may achieve better performance if you run it and the WLOC Controller on different physical machines.
Install Hypervisor Agents on a physical machine. For convenience, you can install Agents on the same physical machine as the Controller; however, you may achieve better performance if you run the Agents and the Controller on different physical machines.
Selecting Directories for Your Installation
During the installation process, you need to specify locations for the following directories:
Choosing a BEA Home Directory
During installation, you are prompted for the location of an existing or new BEA Home directory. This directory serves as a repository for files that facilitate any future upgrades or installation of patches.
The BEA Home directory can be considered a central support directory for all BEA products installed on the same system. For example, if you use WLS, WLW, and WLOC, you can maintain a single BEA Home directory for all products.
WARNING:
The use of spaces in the BEA Home directory (BEA_HOME) and the WLOC product directory name (WLOC_HOME) are not supported.
BEA Home Directory Structure
Table 2-2 shows the files and directories created in the BEA Home directory when WLOC is installed. Note that installation of other BEA products in this directory will add additional resources.
Table 2-2 BEA Home Directory Description
Component
Description
jrockit_150_12 directory
Contains the BEA JRockit JDK that provides the Java run-time environment (JRE) for the WLOC configuration.
logs directory
Contains a log file of installations/uninstallations in BEA Home.
modules directory
Common BEA modules that are used by the specific products (WLOC) installed in this BEA Home.
utils directory
Contains utilities that are used to support the installation of all BEA products installed in this BEA Home directory.
user_projects directory
Created when WLOC Controller and/or Agent instances are configured by the user using the WLOC Configuration Wizard.
A file that contains a persistent record of all BEA products installed in BEA Home. This includes the version number, patch or service pack number, and install location of each product.
Note:
Do not modify this file. Doing so may cause operating problems for the currently installed BEA products, or result in installation problems when future BEA products or maintenance upgrades are installed.
For more information about the BEA registry file, see “Using the BEA Registry API” in ISV Partners’ Guide at the following URL:
The product installation directory contains all the software components that you choose to install on your system, including the WLOC Controller, WLOC Agent, and LVM tools. You are prompted during your initial installation to choose a product installation directory.