2 Using the Administration Console to Configure a Domain

This chapter describes how to configure a Service Broker domain using the Administration Console.

About the Administration Console

The Administration Console provides a graphical user interface for performing configuration tasks easily and intuitively without programming knowledge. Each Administration Console manages a single domain.

The Administration Console should be used for the initial domain configuration. When your configuration changes are smaller, you can optionally use other clients.

After initial domain configuration, the typical method for a telecom carrier to work with Service Broker is to integrate it with a JMX-compatible Network Management System (NMS).

In a production deployment, usually you will deploy two instances of the Administration Server one to manage the Signaling Domain and another to manage the Processing Domain. Only a single Administration Server can be connected to a domain at a time.

To control points of failure you can do the following:

• Install each Administration Server on a separate physical server.

• Have available redundant Administration Servers that can be connected, only if needed, to a domain with a faulty server.

Audience For Using The Administration Console

The roles who use the Administration Console include the following: System Administrator, Service Operator, Network Engineer, and Support Engineer.

Tasks You Can Perform Using the Administration Console

You can perform many essential tasks using the Administration Console including the following:

• Add and configure managed servers in a domain

• Manage Signaling Domain Signaling Server Units (SSUs): Configure IP addresses, point codes, routes, timeout intervals

• Manage Processing Domain Interworking Modules (IMs) and supplementary IMs

• Configure the Orchestration Engine (OE)

• Manage Applications

• Manage the Subscriber Store

• Install and update software bundles

• Configure SNMP traps

• Configure Diameter AVPs

• Manage the credential stores

• Manage the persistent stores

Overview of the Administration Console User Interface

The Administration Console consists of several working areas described in Table 2-1.

Figure 2-1 Illustration of the Administration Console Working Areas

Table 2-1 Administration Console Working Areas

Working Area	Description
Navigation pane	Provides a logical tree-structure view of the domain. You can use it to access individual components deployed in the domain. In a Signaling Domain you can navigate through SSUs. In a Processing Domain you can navigate through the IM's, OE, Subscriber Store, and other components. The Navigation pane also includes Domain Management settings.
Configuration pane	When you select a component in the Navigation pane, configuration parameters appear in the right-side area. Use the Configuration pane to set up and modify the configuration of components deployed in the domain.
Change Center icons	A horizontal set of graphical icons you can use for managing a configuration change life-cycle. The change center operations include: Lock domain for changes, commit changes, and discard changes. See "Making Configuration Changes in a Domain" for more information.

Making Configuration Changes in a Domain

When you update the domain configuration using the Administration Console, Service Broker performs all changes in the transaction mode. This means that Service Broker accumulates multiple changes into a single transaction and applies all at once.

See "Domain Configuration and Managed Server Update Modes" for more information about the transaction mode.

You can perform the following actions when updating domain configuration:

• Lock Domain for Changes

• Commit Changes

• Discard Changes

Lock Domain for Changes

To make changes in the domain configuration, you must first lock the domain for changes. After you lock the domain, no one except you can make any changes to it. During the lock, Service Broker accumulates all configuration changes. Service Broker applies these changes only when you commit them.

To lock a domain for changes:

• In the Change Center pane, click the Lock & Edit button.

Note:

Access to edit a domain configuration is available to one Administration Console at a time. All other users view the Administration Console in read-only mode though an administrator can seize the lock ("force lock") to go to edit mode.

Commit Changes

You must commit your configuration changes for them to take effect. Service Broker applies all changes you made after locking the domain for changes.

To commit changes:

• In the Change Center pane, click the Commit button.

Discard Changes

As long as you do not commit changes, you can discard your changes. To discard changes, click the Discard button. After you discard all changes, the domain configuration is unlocked.

To discard changes:

• In the Change Center pane, click the Discard button.

Switching the Domain Configuration Update Mode

The Domain Configuration Update Mode specifies how configuration updates are propagated to servers in the domain. You can use one of the following modes:

• Online mode: Configuration updates are propagated to all servers in the domain when the changes are committed.

• Offline mode: Updates are carried out to the domain configuration and applied to each server only when the server is restarted.

  Setting the domain configuration offline makes it possible to perform a set of configuration updates and apply them the next time a server is restarted. This is used, for example, when performing a rolling upgrade of an installation.

To switch between the Domain Configuration Update Modes:

• In the Change Center pane, click the Switch to Offline Mode button. To switch back from the offline to online mode, click this button again.