Q6: How much planning do I need to do before I install Java ES?

Answer: If you are installing for evaluation only, the best preparation is to install on a host that contains only the operating system. You select all components except Monitoring Console and Sun Cluster software, and accept most defaults offered by the installer.

However, for a production deployment across multiple hosts, the following planning activities are important for ensuring a successful installation:

1. Developing a deployment architecture In general, the deployment architecture and deployment design indicate what needs to be done, the implementation specifications indicate how to implement the design, and the installation plan indicates how to perform installation tasks to meet the technical requirements. Refer to the instructions for creating a deployment architecture and deployment design in the Sun Java Enterprise System Deployment Planning Guide. For additional specifics, refer to the Planning page on the Java ES hub Planning tasks.

2. Developing an installation plan Based on the deployment architecture, the installation plan determines how to implement Java ES to meeting the technical requirements for the deployment. The installation sequence examples can be helpful in determining the sequence of events for installation. See Chapter 2, Example Installation Sequences, in Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Installation Guide for UNIX. Instructions for creating an installation plan are contained in the Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Installation Planning Guide.

3. Surveying your hosts By surveying the software that is already on your hosts, you can take steps to bring hosts to the optimum state before installation. See Surveying Existing Hosts in Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Installation Guide for UNIX. Activities might include upgrading or removing some installed components. Instructions for upgrading are contained in the Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Upgrade Guide for UNIX.

4. Determining your configuration values Some product components can be configured during installation, so you must determine the configuration values that you are asked to supply during installation. See Chapter 3, Configuration Information, in Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Installation Reference for UNIX.

5. Additional tasks for specific deployment needs

   • Single sign-on This type of configuration is done after postinstallation configuration is complete. Example instructions on how to implement single sign-on for your components are contained in the evaluation deployment example. Substitute your configuration specifics in these Chapter 8, Configuring and Using Single Sign-On, in Sun Java Enterprise System 2005Q1 Deployment Example Series: Evaluation Scenario.

   • Redundancy Most production deployments include a redundancy requirement, such as load balancing, clustering, or multimaster replication. These methods help to increase throughput or to protect against downtime or data loss. Java ES redundancy strategies are discussed in Installation Planning Issues in Sun Java Enterprise System 5 Installation Planning Guide. Additional material is contained in Availability in Sun Java Enterprise System Deployment Planning Guide. Also refer to Q14: What do I have to do if my Java ES installation will include Sun Cluster software? (for Solaris OS only).

   • User management This type of configuring is done after postinstallation configuration is complete. Example instructions on how to implement user management for your components is contained in the evaluation deployment example. See the Chapter 7, User Management for the Evaluation Solution, in Sun Java Enterprise System 2005Q1 Deployment Example Series: Evaluation Scenario. Substitute your configuration specifics in these example user management instructions. To plan your schema, see Q15: What is the significance of LDAP Schema 1 and LDAP Schema 2 for Java ES?. For extensive schema instructions, see the Directory Server documentation.