Chapter 8 Application Server

This chapter describes how to upgrade Application Server to Java ES 2005Q4 (Release 4): Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q4.

The chapter provides a general overview of upgrade issues and procedures for the different upgrade paths supported by Java ES Release 4.



Note	File locations in this chapter are specified with respect to a directory path referred to as ApplicationServer-base. At least part of this path might have been specified as an installation directory when Application Server was initially installed. If not, the Java ES installer assigned a default value. The default value is ApplicationServer-base depends on Application Server version and HP-UX: Release 3 and Release 4 (Application Server 8.1) ApplicationServer-base: /opt/sun/appsserver.

Overview of Application Server Upgrades

This section describes the following general aspects of Application Server that impact upgrading to Java ES 2005Q4 (Release 4):

About Java ES Release 4 Application Server

Java ES Release 4 Application Server represents selected bug fixes to the Release 3 version. Functionally Release 4 Application Server is the same as Release 3.

Application Server Upgrade Roadmap

Table 8-1 shows the supported Application Server upgrade paths to Java ES Release 4.

Table 8-1 Upgrade Paths to Java ES Release 4: Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q4
Java ES Release	Component	General Approach	Re-configuration Required
Release 3	Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.1 2005Q1	Direct upgrade: Performed by applying patches.	None

Application Server Data

The following table shows the type of data that could be impacted by an upgrade of Application Server software.

Table 8-2 Application Server Data Usage
Type of Data	Location	Usage
Environment variables	ApplicationServer-base/config/asenv	Global Variables
Configuration data	Release 3 & 4: ApplicationServer-base/domains/domainName/config	Configuration of Application Server instances
Deployment data	Release 3 & 4: ApplicationServer-base/domains/domainName/ applications	Configuration of J2EE container for specific J2EE components and applications.

Compatibility Issues

Release 4 Application Server does not introduce any interface changes with respect to Release 3.

Application Server Dependencies

Application Server dependencies on other Java ES components can impact the procedure for upgrading and re-configuring Application Server software. Changes in Application Server interfaces or functions, for example, could require upgraded versions of components upon which Application Server depends. The need to upgrade such components depends upon the specific upgrade path.

Shared components. Application Server has dependencies on specific Java ES shared components (see Table 1-6).

Message Queue. Application Server depends on Message Queue to provide J2EE Java Message Service-compliant asynchronous messaging support.

Web Container (optional). Application Server depends upon web container services for its optional load balancing plugin. This support can be provided either by Java ES Web Server or third-party web containers (such as Apache Web Server, and Microsoft IIS).

High Availability Session Store (optional). Application Server depends upon High Availability Session Store to maintain session state information needed to support failover between instances.

Upgrading Application Server from Java ES Release 3

This section includes information about upgrading Application Server from Java ES 2005Q1 (Release 3) to Java ES 2005Q4 (Release 4). The section covers the following topics:

Introduction

When upgrading Java ES Release 3 Application Server to Release 4, consider the following aspects of the upgrade process:

General Upgrade Approach. The upgrade is performed by applying patches to the Release 3 version. No re-configuration or migration of J2EE components is required to upgrade from Release 3 Application Server to Release 4.

Upgrade Dependencies. While Application Server has dependencies on a number of Java ES shared components (see Table 1-6), Release 4 Application Server is compatible with the Release 3 versions of all these components. Upgrade of these shared components is therefore optional with respect to upgrade of Application Server to Release 4.

In addition, Release 4 Application Server is dependent upon Release 4 Message Queue and optionally dependent on Java ES Web Server or third-party web containers, as described in Application Server Dependencies. However, these are soft upgrade dependencies; upgrade of these components is optional with respect to upgrade of Application Server to Release 4.

Release 4 Application Server is also optionally dependent upon on High Availability Session Store. If being used by Application Server, High Availability Session Store should be upgraded to Release 4. Note that upgrade of High Availability Session Store automatically upgrades the J2SE shared component to Release 4.

Application Server Upgrade

This section describes how to perform an upgrade of Application Server from Java ES Release 3 to Java ES Release 4. This section covers the following topics:

Pre-Upgrade Tasks

Before you upgrade Application Server you should perform the tasks described below.

Verify Current Version Information

You can verify the current version of Application Server by entering the following command:

ApplicationServer-base/bin/asadmin version --verbose

Table 8-3 Application Server Version Verification Outputs
Java ES Release	Application Server Version Number
Release 3	Sun Java Enterprise System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8.0.0_01
Release 4	Sun Java Enterprise System Application Server Enterprise Edition

Upgrade Application Server Dependencies

It is generally recommended that all Java ES components on a computer system (and in a computing environment) be upgraded to Java ES Release 4. However, because the upgrade of Application Server to Release 4 does not require upgrading other Release 3 components, this task is optional. If you choose to upgrade components upon which Application Server depends, those components would generally be upgraded in the following order:

Shared Components. Instructions for upgrading Java ES shared components to Release 4 are provided in Chapter 2, "Upgrading Java ES Shared Components".

Message Queue. Instructions for upgrading Message Queue to Release 4 are provided in Chapter 6, "Message Queue".

Web Container Software. Instructions for upgrading Web Server or Application Server are provided in Chapter 5, "Web Server" and Chapter 8, "Application Server", respectively.

High Availability Session Store. Instructions for upgrading High Availability Session Store on Solaris are provided in Chapter 7, "High Availability Session Store" as the High Availability Session Store instructions are not available on HP-UX.

Back Up Application Server Data

The Application Server upgrade from Release 3 to Release 4 does not modify configuration data. There is no need to back up current data.

Obtain Required Configuration Information and Passwords

You should know the Application Server administrator user ID and password for your currently installed version.

Upgrading Application Server

This section discusses considerations that impact the upgrade procedure for Application Server followed by a description of the procedure itself.

Upgrade Considerations

The upgrade of Application Server software to Java ES Release 4 takes into account the following considerations:

Any J2EE components running in an Application Server instance should be shut down before you upgrade that instance. However, if load balancing provides for high availability or scalability, this requirement can be relaxed.

All instances of Application Server running on a single computer (all corresponding to the same installed Application Server image) must be shut down while the patch is being applied to the installed image.

In multiple node deployments, perform the upgrade procedure on each node or computer that hosts Application Server instances.

Table 8-4 Patches1 to Upgrade Application Server
Component	Patch-ID
Application Server	121514-01
Application Server locale	121934-01

1Patch revision numbers are the minimum required for upgrade to Java ES Release 4. If newer revisions become available, use the newer ones instead of those shown in the table.

Upgrade Procedure

The procedure documented below applies Application Server instances residing locally on the computer where the upgrade is taking place.

Obtain the required patches using the patch numbers and depot names from Table 8-4.

Patches can be downloaded from:

http://sunsolve.sun.com.

Shut down all J2EE components running in the Application Server instances that are to be upgraded.

Shut down all Application Server instances on the computer that is to be upgraded.

ApplicationServer-base/bin/asadmin stop-domain domainName

Install java 1.5.0.01.

Apply the appropriate Application Server patch in Table 8-4.

swinstall -s <absolute_path of depot>/<patch_ID>

Confirm that the patch upgrade was successful:

swlist | grep <patch_ID>

Restart the Application Server instance.

ApplicationServer-base/bin/asadmin start-domain domainName

Verifying the Upgrade

You can verify that the patch has been properly applied using the following command:

Post-Upgrade Tasks

There are no post-upgrade tasks beyond the steps described in Upgrade Procedure.

Rolling Back the Upgrade

This section describes considerations that impact the upgrade rollback procedure for Application Server followed by the procedure itself.

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