4 Getting Portal Framework Applications Up and Running

The chapter describes what system administrators must do, after installation, to get Portal Framework applications up and running. Portal Framework applications are portal applications built using the WebCenter Portal Framework application template in Oracle JDeveloper.

Note:

Oracle recommends creating new portals using Portal Builder, rather than Portal Framework. While custom Portal Framework applications may provide a greater degree of flexibility when developing your portal solution, such flexibility typically forfeits product supportability and the ability to upgrade to new WebCenter Portal releases. Using Portal Builder avoids these constraints without sacrificing complexity or scalability. Building portals using Portal Builder is covered in Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal.

The chapter includes the following topics:

Section 4.1, "Installing Oracle WebCenter Portal and the WebCenter Portal Framework Libraries"
Section 4.2, "Deploying Portal Framework Applications for the First Time (Roadmap)"

Permissions:

To perform the tasks in this chapter, you must be granted the following roles:

WebLogic Server: Admin role granted through the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console.

Users with this role are also known as Fusion Middleware administrators.
Portal Framework application: Administrator role granted through the Administration Console.

Users with this role are also known as Portal Framework administrators.

Oracle WebCenter Portal's out-of-the-box portal application "WebCenter Portal" requires some special administration tasks that your own Portal Framework applications do not. To see a comprehensive list of these tasks, refer to Chapter 2, "Getting WebCenter Portal Up and Running."

4.1 Installing Oracle WebCenter Portal and the WebCenter Portal Framework Libraries

Oracle WebCenter Portal installation is described in Installation Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Oracle JDeveloper installation, required for building Portal Framework applications, is described in Installation Guide for Oracle JDeveloper.

Portal Framework applications can be deployed to any WebLogic Server instance that is provisioned with WebCenter Portal's Framework shared library files. For details, see, Section 42.1.4, "Creating a Managed Server."

4.2 Deploying Portal Framework Applications for the First Time (Roadmap)

The roadmap in Table 4-1 outlines the tasks that a system administrator must perform to deploy a Portal Framework application, and get it up and running.

Note:

Oracle WebCenter Portal's out-of-the-box portal application "WebCenter Portal" requires additional administration tasks that other Portal Framework applications do not. To see a comprehensive list of these tasks, refer to Chapter 2, "Getting WebCenter Portal Up and Running."

Table 4-1 Roadmap - Getting Portal Framework Applications Up and Running for the First Time

Step	Documentation	Role
Step 1 - Verify your Oracle WebCenter Portal installation	Verify your Oracle WebCenter Portal installation and settings. See: Installing Oracle WebCenter Portal and the WebCenter Portal Framework Libraries Starting Node Manager	Fusion Middleware Admin
Step 2 - Launch Fusion Middleware Control	Launch the Fusion Middleware Control Console, a Web-based management tool for WebCenter Portal applications. See: Displaying Fusion Middleware Control Console Navigating to the Home Page for Portal Framework Applications Learn about the command-line administration tool WLST. See Section 1.13.3, "Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST)."	Fusion Middleware Admin
Step 3 - Deploy the Portal Framework application	Create a suitable container in which to deploy the Portal framework application archive: Creating a Managed Server Creating and Registering the Metadata Service Repository Deploying the Application to a WebLogic Managed Server See also, Section 42, "Deploying Portal Framework Applications."	Fusion Middleware Admin
Step 4 - Reconfigure back-end servers	Reconfigure back-end server connections, if required, through Fusion Middleware Control.	Fusion Middleware Admin
Content Repositories	Managing Content Repositories
Mail Servers	Managing Mail
BPEL Servers	Managing Worklists
Collaboration	Managing Announcements and Discussions Managing Instant Messaging and Presence Managing Subscriptions and Notifications
Secure Enterprise Search	Managing Oracle Secure Enterprise Search in WebCenter Portal
Analytics	Managing Analytics
Activity Graph	Managing Activity Graph
External Applications	Managing External Applications
Portlet Producers	Registering WSRP Producers Registering Oracle PDK-Java Producers Registering Pagelet Producer
People Connections, Group Events, Links, Lists, Notes, and Tags	Setting Up Database Connections Setting Up the MDS Repository
Step 5 - Connect to an identity store	Ensure that your identity store is installed, configured, and contains all the required user data. See: Configuring the Identity Store See also Securing Applications with Oracle Platform Security Services.	Fusion Middleware Admin
Step 6 - Restart the managed server	Restart the managed server on which the application is deployed. See: Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments	Fusion Middleware Admin
Step 7 - Verify Portal Framework application configuration	Login to the application to verify the configuration: identity store, tools/services, applications, and so on. Administering Portal Framework Applications Using the Administration Console	Portal Framework Application Admin
Step 8 - Perform administrative tasks through the application's Administration Console	Perform administrative duties: Set application-level preferences Manage users and grant application roles Manage and configure application assets Manage and configure content Manage and configure portlet producers Manage and configure external applications Create and manage polls See: Administering Portal Framework Applications Using the Administration Console	Portal Framework Application Admin