3 Preparing the Network for an Enterprise Deployment

This chapter describes the network environment preconfiguration required by the SOA enterprise topology. Use this chapter to plan your configuration of virtual server names, load balancers, IPs and Virtual IPs, and firewalls and ports.

This chapter includes the following topics:

• Section 3.1, "Overview of Preparing the Network for an Enterprise Deployment"

• Section 3.2, "About Virtual Server Names Used by the Topology"

• Section 3.3, "Configuring the Load Balancer"

• Section 3.4, "About IPs and Virtual IPs"

• Section 3.5, "About Firewalls and Ports"

• Section 3.6, "About LDAP as Credential and Policy Store"

3.1 Overview of Preparing the Network for an Enterprise Deployment

You must configure several virtual servers and associated ports on the load balancer for different types of network traffic and monitoring. These virtual servers should be configured to the appropriate real hosts and ports for the services running. Also, the load balancer should be configured to monitor the real host and ports for availability so that the traffic to these is stopped as soon as possible when a service is down. This ensures that incoming traffic on a given virtual host is not directed to an unavailable service in the other tiers.

3.2 About Virtual Server Names Used by the Topology

The SOA enterprise topology uses the following virtual server names:

• soa.mycompany.com

• admin.mycompany.com

• osb.mycompany.com

• soainternal.mycompany.com

Ensure that the virtual server names are associated with IP addresses and are part of your DNS. The nodes running Oracle Fusion Middleware must be able to resolve these virtual server names.

You will define the virtual server names on the load balancer using the procedure in Section 3.3, "Configuring the Load Balancer."

3.2.1 soa.mycompany.com

soa.mycompany.com is a virtual server name that acts as the access point for all HTTP traffic to the runtime SOA components, such as soa-infra, workflow, and B2B. Traffic to SSL is configured. Clients access this service using the address soa.mycompany.com:443.

3.2.2 admin.mycompany.com

admin.mycompany.com is a virtual server name that acts as the access point for all internal HTTP traffic that is directed to administration services such as WebLogic Administration Server Console and Oracle Enterprise Manager.

The incoming traffic from clients is not SSL-enabled. Clients access this service using the address admin.mycompany.com:80 and the requests are forwarded to port 7777 on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2.

3.2.3 osb.mycompany.com

osb.mycompany.com is a virtual server name that acts as the access point for all HTTP traffic to the runtime Oracle Service Bus resources and proxy services. Traffic to SSL is configured. Clients access this service using the address osb.mycompany.com:443.

3.2.4 soainternal.mycompany.com

soainternal.mycompany.com is a virtual server name used for internal invocations of SOA services. This url is not exposed to the internet and is only accessible from the intranet. (For SOA systems, users can set this while modeling composites or at runtime with the appropriate EM/MBeans, as the url to be used for internal services invocations.)

The incoming traffic from clients is not SSL-enabled. Clients access this service using the address soainternal.mycompany.com:80 and the requests are forwarded to port 7777 on WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2.

3.3 Configuring the Load Balancer

This enterprise topology uses an external load balancer. Configure the load balancer by defining the virtual server names described in Section 3.2, "About Virtual Server Names Used by the Topology."

The procedure described below contains high-level steps. The actual steps you will perform vary depending on the type of load balancer you use. For detailed instructions for completely the procedure below consult the documentation for your load balancer.

For more information on load balancers, see Section 2.1.3, "About the Web Tier Nodes."

Note:

For more information on validated load balancers and their configuration, see the following page on Oracle Technology Network at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/tested-lbr-fw-sslaccel-100648.html.

To configure the load balancer by defining the virtual server names:

1. Create a pool of servers. You will assign this pool to virtual servers.

2. Add the addresses of the Oracle HTTP Server hosts to the pool. For example:

   • WEBHOST1:7777

   • WEBHOST2:7777

3. Configure a virtual server in the load balancer for soa.mycompany.com:443 and define the following rules for this virtual server.

   • For this virtual server, use your system's frontend address as the virtual server address (for example, soa.mycompany.com). The frontend address is the externally facing host name used by your system and that will be exposed in the Internet.

   • Configure this virtual server with port 80 and port 443. Any request that goes to port 80 (non-ssl protocol) should be redirected to port 443 (ssl protocol).

   • Specify ANY as the protocol (non-HTTP protocols are required for B2B).

   • Enable address and port translation.

   • Enable reset of connections when services and/or nodes are down.

   • Assign the pool created in step 1 to the virtual server.

   • Create rules to filter out access to /console and /em on this virtual server.

4. Configure a virtual server in the load balancer for admin.mycompany.com:80 and define the following rules for this virtual server.

   • For this virtual server, use your internal administration address as the virtual server address (for example, admin.mycompany.com). This address is typically not externalized.

   • Specify HTTP as the protocol.

   • Enable address and port translation.

   • Enable reset of connections when services and/or nodes are down.

   • Assign the pool created in step 1 to the virtual server.

5. Configure a virtual server in the load balancer for soainternal.mycompany.com:80 and define the following rules for this virtual server.

   • For this virtual server, use your internal administration address as the virtual server address (for example, soainternal.mycompany.com). This address is typically not externalized.

   • Specify HTTP as the protocol.

   • Enable address and port translation.

   • Enable reset of connections when services and/or nodes are down.

   • Assign the pool created in step 1 to the virtual server.

   • Optionally, create rules to filter out access to /console and /em on this virtual server.

6. Configure a virtual server in the load balancer for osb.mycompany.com:443 and specify HTTP as the protocol.

7. Configure monitors for the Oracle HTTP Server nodes to detect failures in these nodes.

   • Set up a monitor to regularly ping the "/" URL context.

     Tip:

     Use GET /\n\n instead if the Oracle HTTP Server's document root does not include index.htm and Oracle WebLogic Server returns a 404 error for "/".

   • For the ping interval, specify a value that does not overload your system. You can try 5 seconds as a starting point.

   • For the timeout period, specify a value that can account for the longest time response that you can expect from your SOA system, that is, specify a value greater than the longest period of time any of your requests to HTTP servers can take.

   After you configure the virtual host in Section 7.6, "Defining Virtual Hosts," you should be able to access the virtual host name addresses. If you cannot access them, review this procedure to ensure this procedure was completed correctly.

3.4 About IPs and Virtual IPs

Configure the Administration Server and the managed servers to listen on different virtual IPs and physical IPs as illustrated in Figure 3-1. As shown in this figure, each virtual IP and IP is attached to the WebLogic server that uses it. VIP1 is failed manually to restart the Administration Server in SOAHOST2. VIP2 and VIP3 fail over from SOAHOST1 to SOAHOST2 and from SOAHOST2 to SOAHOST1 respectively through Oracle WebLogic Server Migration feature. WLS_BAM1 also uses server migration to failover VIP4 from BAMHOST1 to BAMHOST2.

See Oracle Fusion Middleware High Availability Guide for information on the WebLogic Server Migration feature.

Physical IPs (non virtual) are fixed to each node. IP1 is the physical IP of SOAHOST1 and is used by the WLS_WSM1 WebServices Policy Manager server. IP2 is the physical IP of SOAHOST2 and is used by the WLS_WSM2 WebServices Policy Manager server. IP3 is the physical IP of BAMHOST2 and is used as the listen address by the WLS_BAM2 Server.

Figure 3-1 IPs and Virtual IPs Mapped to Administration Server and Managed Servers

Table 3-1 provides descriptions of the various virtual hosts.

Table 3-1 Virtual Hosts

Virtual IP	VIP Maps to...	Description
VIP1	ADMINVHN	ADMINVHN is the virtual host name that is the listen address for the Administration Server and fails over with manual failover of the Administration Server. It is enabled on the node where the Administration Server process is running (SOAHOST1 by default).
VIP2	SOAHOST1VHN1	SOAHOST1VHN1 is the virtual host name that maps to the listen address for WLS_SOA1 and fails over with server migration of this managed server. It is enabled on the node where WLS_SOA1 process is running (SOAHOST1 by default).
VIP3	SOAHOST2VHN1	SOAHOST2VHN1 is the virtual host name that maps to the listen address for WLS_SOA2 and fails over with server migration of this managed server. It is enabled on the node where WLS_SOA2 process is running (SOAHOST2 by default).
VIP4	BAMHOST1VHN1	BAMHOST1VHN1 is the virtual host name that maps to the listen address for WLS_BAM1 and fails over with server migration of this managed server. It is enabled on the node where WLS_BAM1 process is running (BAMHOST1 by default).
VIP5	SOAHOST1VHN2	SOAHOST1VHN2 is the virtual host name that maps to the listen address for the WLS_OSB1 server and fails over with server migration of this server. It is enabled in the node where the WLS_OSB1 process us running (SOAHOST1 by default)
VIP6	SOAHOST2VHN2	SOAHOST2VHN2 is the virtual host name that maps to the listen address for the WLS_OSB2 server and fails over with server migration of this server. It is enabled in the node where the WLS_OSB2 process us running (SOAHOST2 by default)

3.5 About Firewalls and Ports

Many Oracle Fusion Middleware components and services use ports. As an administrator, you must know the port numbers used by these services and ensure that the same port number is not used by two services on a host.

Most port numbers are assigned during installation.

Table 3-2 lists the ports used in the SOA topology, including the ports that you must open on the firewalls in the topology.

Firewall notation:

• FW0 refers to the outermost firewall.

• FW1 refers to the firewall between the web tier and the application tier.

• FW2 refers to the firewall between the application tier and the data tier.

Table 3-2 Ports Used

Type	Firewall	Port and Port Range	Protocol / Application	Inbound / Outbound	Other Considerations and Timeout Guidelines
Browser request	FW0	80	HTTP / Load Balancer	Inbound	Timeout depends on all HTML content and the type of process model used for SOA.
Browser request	FW0	443	HTTPS / Load Balancer	Inbound	Timeout depends on all HTML content and the type of process model used for SOA.
Browser request	FW1	80	HTTPS / Load Balancer	Outbound (for intranet clients)	Timeout depends on all HTML content and the type of process model used for SOA.
Browser request	FW1	443	HTTPS / Load Balancer	Outbound (for intranet clients)	Timeout depends on all HTML content and the type of process model used for SOA.
Callbacks and Outbound invocations	FW1	80	HTTPS / Load Balancer	Outbound	Timeout depends on all HTML content and the type of process model used for SOA.
Callbacks and Outbound invocations	FW1	443	HTTPS / Load Balancer	Outbound	Timeout depends on all HTML content and the type of process model used for SOA.
Load balancer to Oracle HTTP Server	n/a	7777	HTTP	n/a	See Section 3.3, "Configuring the Load Balancer."
OHS registration with Administration Server	FW1	7001	HTTP/t3	Inbound	Set the timeout to a short period (5-10 seconds).
OHS management by Administration Server	FW1	OPMN port (6701) and OHS Admin Port (7779)	TCP and HTTP, respectively	Outbound	Set the timeout to a short period (5-10 seconds).
WSM-PM access	FW1	7010 Range: 7010 - 7999	HTTP / WLS_WSM-PMn	Inbound	Set the timeout to 60 seconds.
SOA Server access	FW1	8001 Range: 8000 - 8010	HTTP / WLS_SOAn	Inbound	Timeout varies based on the type of process model used for SOA.
Oracle Service Bus Access	FW1	8011 Range: 8011-8021	HTTP / WLS_OSBn	Inbound/ Outbound	Set the timeout to a short period (5-10 seconds).
BAM access	FW1	9001 Range: 9000 - 9080	HTTP / WLS_BAMn	Inbound	Connections to BAM WebApps are kept open until the report/browser is closed, so set the timeout as high as the longest expected user session.
Communication between SOA Cluster members	n/a	8001	TCP/IP Unicast	n/a	By default, this communication uses the same port as the server's listen address.
Communication between WSM Cluster members	n/a	7010	TCP/IP Unicast	n/a	By default, this communication uses the same port as the server's listen address.
Session replication within a WebLogic Server cluster	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	By default, this communication uses the same port as the server's listen address.
Administration Console access	FW1	7001	HTTP / Administration Server and Enterprise Manager t3	Both	You should tune this timeout based on the type of access to the admin console (whether it is planned to use the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console from application tier clients or clients external to the application tier).
Node Manager	n/a	5556	TCP/IP	n/a	n/a For actual values, see "Firewalls and Ports" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Enterprise Deployment Guide for Oracle Identity Management.
Access Server access	FW1	6021 (OAM 10g) 5575 (OAM 11g)	OAP	Inbound	For actual values, see "Firewalls and Ports" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Enterprise Deployment Guide for Oracle Identity Management.
Identity Server access (OAM 10g)	FW1	6022	OAP	Inbound	n/a
Database access	FW2	1521	SQL*Net	Both	Timeout depends on all database content and on the type of process model used for SOA.
Coherence for deployment	n/a	8088 Range: 8000 - 8090		n/a	n/a
Oracle Internet Directory access	FW2	389	LDAP	Inbound	You should tune the directory server's parameters based on load balancer, and not the other way around.
Oracle Internet Directory access	FW2	636	LDAP SSL	Inbound	You should tune the directory server's parameters based on load balancer, and not the other way around.
JOC for OWSM	n/a	9991	TCP/IP	n/a	n/a

Note:

The TCP/IP port for B2B is a user-configured port and is not predefined. Similarly, the firewall ports depend on the definition of TCP/IP ports.

3.6 About LDAP as Credential and Policy Store

With Oracle Fusion Middleware, you can use different types of credential and policy stores in a WebLogic domain. Domains can use stores based on XML files or on different types of LDAP providers. When a domain uses an LDAP store, all policy and credential data is kept and maintained in a centralized store. However, when using XML policy stores, the changes made on managed servers are not propagated to the Administration Server unless they use the same domain home.

An Oracle Fusion Middleware SOA Suite Enterprise Deployment Topology uses different domain homes for the Administration Server and the managed servers as described in Section 4.3, "About Recommended Locations for the Different Directories." Derived from this, and for integrity and consistency purposes, Oracle requires the use of an LDAP as policy and credential store in the context of Oracle Fusion Middleware SOA Suite Enterprise Deployment Topology. To configure the Oracle Fusion Middleware SOA Suite enterprise deployment topology with an LDAP as credential and policy store, follow the steps in Section 15.3, "Configuring the Policy Store."