4 Preparing the File System for an Enterprise Deployment

This chapter describes how to prepare the file system for an Oracle WebCenter Content enterprise deployment. It provides information about recommended directory structure and locations, and includes a procedure for configuring shared storage.

This chapter includes the following sections:

4.1 Overview of Preparing the File System for Enterprise Deployment

It is important to set up your file system in a way that makes the enterprise deployment easier to understand, configure, and manage. Oracle recommends setting up your file system according to information in this chapter. The terminology defined in this chapter is used in diagrams and procedures throughout this guide.

Use this chapter as a reference to help understand the directory variables used in the installation and configuration procedures. Other directory layouts are possible and supported, but the model adopted in this guide is chosen for maximum availability, providing both the best isolation of components and symmetry in the configuration and facilitating backup and disaster recovery. The rest of the document uses this directory structure and directory terminology.

4.2 Terminology for Directories and Directory Environment Variables

This section describes the directory environment variables used throughout this guide for configuring the Oracle WebCenter Content enterprise deployment. The following directory variables are used to describe the directories installed and configured in the guide:

  • ORACLE_BASE: This environment variable and related directory path refer to the base directory under which Oracle products are installed.

  • MW_HOME: This environment variable and related directory path refer to the location where Oracle Fusion Middleware resides.

  • WL_HOME: This environment variable and related directory path contain installed files necessary to host an Oracle WebLogic Server.

  • ORACLE_HOME: This environment variable and related directory path refer to the location where Oracle SOA Suite or Oracle WebCenter Content is installed.

  • ORACLE_COMMON_HOME: This environment variable and related directory path refer to the Oracle home that contains the binary and library files required for Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control and Java Required Files (JRF).

  • DOMAIN Directory: This directory path refers to the location where the WebLogic Server domain information (configuration artifacts) is stored. Different Oracle WebLogic Servers can use different domain directories even when in the same node, as described in the following text.

  • ORACLE_INSTANCE: An Oracle instance contains one or more system components, such as Oracle Web Cache, Oracle HTTP Server, or Oracle Internet Directory. An Oracle instance directory contains updateable files, such as configuration files, log files, and temporary files.

  • JAVA_HOME: This is the location where JRockit is installed.

  • ASERVER_HOME: This is the primary location of the domain configuration.

  • MSERVER_HOME: This is a copy of the domain configuration used to start and stop Managed Servers.

  • WEBGATE_ORACLE_HOME: This is the location of the WebGate installation.

Tip:

You can simplify directory navigation by using environment variables as shortcuts to the locations in this section. For example, you could use an environment variable called $ORACLE_BASE to refer to /u01/app/oracle/ (that is, the recommended ORACLE_BASE location).

4.3 About Recommended Locations for the Different Directories

The following sections describe some basic recommendations for using shared storage for an enterprise deployment topology:

4.3.1 Shared Storage Recommendations for Binary (Oracle Home) Directories

The following sections describe guidelines for using shared storage for your Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle home directories:

4.3.1.1 About the Binary (Oracle Home) Directories

When you install any Oracle Fusion Middleware product, you install the product binaries into an Oracle home. The binary files installed in the Oracle home are read-only and remain unchanged unless the Oracle home is patched or upgraded to a newer version.

In a typical production environment, the Oracle home files are saved in a separate location from the domain configuration files, which you create using the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard.

The Middleware home for an Oracle Fusion Middleware installation contains the binaries for Oracle WebLogic Server, the Oracle Fusion Middleware infrastructure files, and any Oracle Fusion Middleware product-specific directories.

For more information about the structure and contents of an Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle home, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Concepts.

4.3.1.2 About Sharing a Single Oracle Home for Multiple Domains

Oracle Fusion Middleware enables you to configure multiple Oracle WebLogic Server domains from a single Oracle home. This allows you to install the Oracle home in a single location on a shared volume and reuse the Oracle home for multiple hosts installations.

Note:

The domain directories of the Managed Servers can reside in local or shared storage, except that the WebCenter Content and Inbound Refinery Managed Servers cannot reside in shared storage. These Managed Servers include Oracle WebCenter Content Server, which uses node-specific files, such as intradoc.cfg.

When an Oracle home is shared by multiple servers on different hosts, there are some best practices to keep in mind. In particular, be sure that the Oracle Inventory (oraInventory) on each host is updated for consistency and for the application of patches.

To update the oraInventory for a host and attach an Oracle home on shared storage, use the following command:

ORACLE_HOME/oui/bin/attachHome.sh

For more information about the oraInventory, see "Oracle Universal Installer Inventory" in the Oracle Universal Installer Concepts Guide.

4.3.1.3 About Using Redundant Binary (Oracle Home) Directories

For maximum availability, Oracle recommends using redundant binary installations on shared storage.

In this model, you install two identical Oracle homes for your Oracle Fusion Middleware software on two different shared volumes. You then mount one of the Oracle homes to one set of servers, and the other Oracle home to the remaining servers. Each Oracle home has the same mount point, so the Oracle home always has the same path, regardless of which Oracle home the server is using.

Should one Oracle home become corrupted or unavailable, only half your servers are affected. For additional protection, Oracle recommends that you disk mirror these volumes.

If separate volumes are not available on shared storage, Oracle recommends simulating separate volumes using different directories within the same volume and mounting these to the same mount location on the host side. Although this does not guarantee the protection that multiple volumes provide, it does allow protection from user deletions and individual file corruption.

4.3.2 Shared Storage Recommendations for Domain Configuration Files

The following sections describe guidelines for using shared storage for the Oracle WebLogic Server domain configuration files you create when you configure your Oracle Fusion Middleware products in an enterprise deployment:

4.3.2.1 About Oracle WebLogic Server Administration and Managed Server Domain Configuration Files

When you configure an Oracle Fusion Middleware product, you create or extend an Oracle WebLogic Server domain. Each Oracle WebLogic Server domain consists of a single Administration Server and one or more Managed Servers.

For more information about Oracle WebLogic Server domains, see Understanding Domain Configuration for Oracle WebLogic Server.

In an enterprise deployment, it is important to understand that the Managed Servers in a domain can be configured for active-active high availability. However, the Administration server cannot. The Administration Server is a singleton service. That is, it can be active on only one host at any given time.

4.3.2.2 Shared Storage Requirements for Administration and Managed Server Domain Configuration Files

Oracle recommends creating two copies of the domain configuration files:

  • One copy is for the Administration Server configuration files.

    You install this directory on shared storage and mount it exclusively to the host that is running the Administration Server.

    In the event of the failure of that host, you can mount the directory on a different host, and the administration server started on that host.

  • The other copy is for the Managed Server configuration files.

    The domain directories of the Managed Servers can reside in local or shared storage, except that the WebCenter Content and Inbound Refinery Managed Servers cannot reside in shared storage. These Managed Servers include Oracle WebCenter Content Server, which uses node-specific files, such as intradoc.cfg.

    Sharing domain directories for Managed Servers facilitates the scale-out procedures. However, sharing the Managed Server configuration files can also have a potential performance impact.

    As a result, the deployment you decide upon should conform to the requirements (if any) of the storage system. Some storage systems offer configuration options to facilitate multiple machines mounting the same shared volume.

    The configuration steps provided for this enterprise deployment topology assume that a local domain directory for each node is used for each Managed Server.

4.3.3 Shared Storage Recommendations for JMS File Stores and Transaction Logs

JMS file stores and JTA transaction logs must be placed on shared storage to ensure that they are available from multiple hosts for recovery in the case of a server failure or migration.

For more information about saving JMS and JTA information in a file store, see "Using the WebLogic Persistent Store" in Administering Server Environments for Oracle WebLogic Server.

4.3.4 Recommended Directory Locations

Based on the previous assumptions, the following paragraphs describe the recommended directories. Wherever a shared storage location is directly specified, it is implied that shared storage is required for that directory. When using local disk or shared storage is optional, the mount specification is qualified with "if using a shared disk." The shared storage locations are examples and can be changed as long as the provided mount points are used. Oracle recommends this structure in the shared storage device for consistency and simplicity.

ORACLE_BASE:

/u01/app/oracle/

MW_HOME (application tier):

ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/ (VOL1 and VOL2)

  • Mounted from: Nodes alternatively mount VOL1 or VOL2 in such a way that at least half of the nodes use an installation and the other half use the other one. In the Oracle WebCenter Content enterprise deployment, SOAHOST1 and WCCHOST1 mount VOL1 and SOAHOST2 and WCCHOST2 mount VOL2. When only one volume is available, nodes mount two different directories in shared storage alternatively (for example, SOAHOST1 would use ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw1/ as a shared storage location, and SOAHOST2 would use ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw2/ as a shared storage location).

    Note:

    When there is just one volume available in the shared storage, you can provide redundancy using different directories to protect from accidental file deletions and for patching purposes. Two Middleware homes would be available; at least one at ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw1/ and another at ORACLE_BASE/
    product/fmw2/    . These Middleware homes are mounted on the same mount point in all nodes.

ORACLE_HOME (web tier):

ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/web/

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw/ (VOL1 and VOL2)

  • Mounted from: For shared storage installations, nodes alternatively mount VOL1 or VOL2 in such a way that at least half of the nodes use an installation and the other half use the other one. In the WebCenter Content enterprise deployment, WEBHOST1 would mount VOL1, and WEBHOST2 would mount VOL2. When only one volume is available, nodes mount the two suggested directories in shared storage alternatively (that is, WEBHOST1 would use ORACLE_BASE/
    product/fmw1/     as a shared storage location, and WEBHOST2 would use ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw2/ as a shared storage location).

    Note:

    Web tier installation is usually performed on storage local to the WEBHOST nodes. When using shared storage, appropriate security restrictions for access to the storage device across tiers need to be considered.

WL_HOME:

MW_HOME/wlserver_10.3/

ORACLE_HOME:

MW_HOME/soa/ or MW_HOME/wcc/

ORACLE_COMMON_HOME:

MW_HOME/oracle_common/

ORACLE_INSTANCE (OHS instance):

ORACLE_BASE/admin/instance_name/

  • If you are using a shared disk, the mount point on the machine is ORACLE_BASE/admin/instance_name/, mounted to ORACLE_BASE/admin/instance_name/ (VOL1).

    Note:

    (VOL1) is optional. You could also use (VOL2).

Domain directory for Administration Server domain directory:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/domain_name/ (The last domain_name directory is added by the Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard.)

  • Mount point on machine: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/

  • Mounted from: Only the node where the Administration Server is running needs to mount this directory. When the Administration Server is relocated (failed over) to a different node, the node then mounts the same shared storage location on the same mount point. The remaining nodes in the topology do not need to mount this location.

Domain directory for Managed Server directory:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/mserver/domain_name/

  • If you are using a shared disk, the mount point on the machine is ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/mserver/ mounted to ORACLE_BASE/admin/
    domain_name/Noden/mserver/ (each node uses a different domain directory for Managed Servers).

Note:

This procedure is really dependent on shared storage. The preceding example is specific to NAS, but other storage types may provide this redundancy with different types of mappings.

Location of JMS file-based stores and tlogs:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/cluster_name/jms/

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/cluster_name/tlogs/

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/cluster_name/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/cluster_name/

  • Mounted from: All nodes running Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle WebCenter Content components need to mount this shared storage location so that transaction logs and JMS stores are available when server migration to another node take place.

Note:

The jms and tlogs directories are created for soa_cluster and img_cluster.

Location of Oracle WebCenter Content: Imaging input files, images, samples, and Viewer Cache directories:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/input_files/

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/input_files/Samples/

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/images/

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/ViewerCache/

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/

  • Mounted from: All nodes containing Imaging mount these locations (all nodes need to have access to input files and the images to process).

The location of input files and images may vary according to each customer's implementation needs. It is relevant, however, that image files are located in a device isolated from other concurrent accesses that can degrade the performance of the system. A separate volume can be used for this purpose. In general, it is good practice to place the files under the cluster directory structure for consistent backups and maintenance.

In a multinode Imaging installation, this location is shared among all the input agents and must be accessible by all agents. If input agents are on different machines, this must be a shared network.

Note:

To process input files, the input agent must have the appropriate permissions on the input directory, which must allow file locking. The input agent requires that the user account that is running the WebLogic Server service have read and write privileges to the input directory and all files and subdirectories in the input directory. These privileges are required so that the input agent can move the files to the various directories as it works on them. File locking on the share is needed by the input agent to coordinate actions between servers in the cluster.

Location of the Oracle WebCenter Content vault (native file repository):

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/cs/vault/

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/

  • Mounted from: All nodes that contain WebCenter Content mount this location (all nodes need to have access to input files and the images to process).

Location of the Inbound Refinery directory:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/ibr_cluster_name/

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/ibr_cluster_name/ibrN/ (where N is the number of an Inbound Refinery instance)

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/ibr_cluster_name/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/ibr_cluster_name/

  • Mounted from: All nodes that contain Inbound Refinery mount this location.

Location of the applications directory for the Administration Server:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/applications/

  • Mount point: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/
    applications/

  • Shared storage location: ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/

Location of the applications directory for a Managed Server:

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/mserver/applications/

Note:

This directory is local in the context of the Oracle WebCenter Content enterprise deployment. A shared domain directory for a Managed Server with Content Server does not work because certain files within the domain, such as intradoc.cfg, are specific to each node.

4.3.5 Directory Structure and Configurations

This section provides diagrams and to help illustrate the recommended directory structure and shared storage.

Figure 4-1 shows this directory structure in a diagram.

Figure 4-1 Enterprise Deployment Directory Structure for Oracle WebCenter Content

Description of Figure 4-1 follows
Description of "Figure 4-1 Enterprise Deployment Directory Structure for Oracle WebCenter Content"

The directory structure in Figure 4-1 does not show other required internal directories, such as oracle_common and jrockit.

Table 4-1 explains what the various color-coded elements in Figure 4-1 mean.

Table 4-1 Directory Structure Elements

Element Explanation

Admin Server element

The Administration Server domain directories, applications, deployment plans, file adapter control directory, JMS and TX logs, and the entire Middleware home are on a shared disk.

Managed server elements

The Managed Server domain directories can be on a local disk or a shared disk. Further, if you want to share the Managed Server domain directories on multiple nodes, then you must mount the same shared disk location across the nodes. The instance_name directory for the web tier can be on a local disk or a shared disk.

Fixed name element

Fixed name.

Installation-dependent names

Installation-dependent name.

Figure 4-2 shows an example configuration for shared storage with multiple volumes for Oracle SOA Suite.

Figure 4-2 Example Configuration for Shared Storage

Shared storage, explained in table following image.
Description of "Figure 4-2 Example Configuration for Shared Storage"

Table 4-2 summarizes the directory structure for an Oracle WebLogic Server domain that includes Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle WebCenter Content Managed Servers that share storage.

Table 4-2 Contents of Shared Storage

Server Type of Data Volume in Shared Storage Directory Files

WLS_WCC1 and WLS_WCC2

Tx Logs

VOL1

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/tlogs/

The transaction directory is common (decided by WebLogic Server), but the files are separate.

WLS_WCC1 and WLS_WCC2

JMS Stores

VOL1

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/jms/

The transaction directory is common (decided by WebLogic Server), but the files are separate.

WLS_SOA1 and WLS_WCC1

WLS Install

VOL1

MW_HOME/

Individual in each volume, but both servers see the same directory structure (SOAHOST1 and WCCHOST1 mount VOL1).

WLS_SOA2 and WLS_WCC2

WLS Install

VOL2

MW_HOME/

Individual in each volume, but both servers see the same directory structure (SOAHOST2 and WCCHOST2 mount VOL2).

WLS_WCC1

WCC Install

VOL1

MW_HOME/wcc/

Individual in each volume, but both servers see the same directory structure.

WLS_WCC2

WCC Install

VOL2

MW_HOME/wcc/

Individual in each volume, but both servers see the same directory structure.

WLS_SOA1 or WLS_SOA2

Domain Config

VOL1

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/aserver/domain_name/

Used by only one server where the Administration Server is running.

WLS_WCC1

Domain Config

VOL1

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/mserver/domain_name/

Individual in each volume, but both servers see the same directory structure.

WLS_WCC2

Domain Config

VOL2

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/mserver/domain_name/

Individual in each volume, but both servers see the same directory structure.

WLS_WCC1 and WLS_WCC2

Web and Vault Files

VOL3

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/vault/

Directory for vault files on a separate volume.

WLS_WCC1 and WLS_WCC2

Web and Vault Files

VOL3

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/weblayout/

Directory for weblayout files on a separate volume.

WLS_IBR1

Inbound Refinery Files

VOL3

ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/ibr_cluster_name/ibrn/

Directory for all Inbound Refinery files.

4.4 Configuring Shared Storage

Use the following commands to create and mount shared storage locations so that WCCHOST1 and WCCHOST2 can see the same location for binary installation in two separate volumes.

Note:

The user ID used to create a shared storage file system owns those files and has read, write, and execute privileges for them. Other users in the operating system group can read and execute the files, but they do not have write privileges. For more information about installation and configuration privileges, see the "Understanding Installation and Configuration Privileges and Users" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Planning Guide.

In the commands, nasfiler is the shared storage filer.

From SOAHOST1 and from WCCHOST1:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw -t nfs

From SOAHOST2 and from WCCHOST2:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol2/ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw -t nfs

If only one volume is available, you can provide redundancy for the binaries by using two different directories in the shared storage and mounting them to the same directory in the Oracle WebCenter Content servers.

From SOAHOST1 and from WCCHOST1:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw1 ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw -t nfs

From SOAHOST2 and from WCCHOST2:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw2 ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw -t nfs

The following commands show how to share the Oracle WebCenter Content TX logs location across different nodes.

From WCCHOST1:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/tlogs ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/tlogs -t nfs

From WCCHOST2:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/tlogs ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/wcc_cluster_name/tlogs -t nfs

The following commands show how to share the Imaging jms location across different nodes.

From WCCHOST1:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/jms 
ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/jms  -t nfs

From WCCHOST2:

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/jms 
ORACLE_BASE/admin/domain_name/img_cluster_name/jms  -t nfs

The following commands show how to share WebCenter Content and Inbound Refinery files across different nodes.

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol3/ORACLE_BASE/admin/wcdomain/wcc_cluster_name/vault
-t nfs -o rw,bg,hard,vers=3

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol3/ORACLE_BASE/admin/wcdomain/ibr_cluster_name/
nfs -o rw,bg,hard,vers=3

Validating the Shared Storage Configuration

Ensure that you can read and write files to the newly mounted directories by creating a test file in the shared storage location you just configured.

For example:

cd newly_mounted_directory
touch testfile

Verify that the owner and permissions are correct:

ls -l testfile

Then remove the file:

rm testfile

Note:

The shared storage can be a NAS or SAN device. The following example illustrates creating storage for an NAS device from SOAHOST1. The options may differ.

mount nasfiler:/vol/vol1/fmw11shared ORACLE_BASE/wls -t nfs -o rw,bg,hard,nointr,tcp,vers=3,timeo=300,rsize=32768,wsize=32768

Contact your storage vendor and machine administrator for the correct options for your environment.