This chapter includes the following sections:
Deployment is the process of packaging application files as an archive file and transferring that file to a target application server. You can use JDeveloper to deploy ADF applications directly to the application server or indirectly to an archive file as the deployment target, and then install this archive file to the target server.
This section outlines key aspects of the process of preparing and completing deployment of ADF applications.
For test running an application during development, you can use JDeveloper to run an application in Integrated WebLogic Server. When running an application in the Integrated WebLogic Server, you do not have to manually complete many of the steps that are necessary for deployment to a standalone server. For example, you do not have to create a deployment profile or an EAR file, and the ADF Runtime libraries are automatically included in the Integrated WebLogic Server instance.
For deployment to standalone servers, you can choose from among the following tools and approaches:
Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control
Scripting tools that are specific to a given application server, such as WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST)
Administration consoles, such as Oracle WebLogic Administration Console
Command scripts and Ant scripts
JDeveloper
Before you deploy your application to a production server, you may wish to test the application on a standalone server instance that is not in a production environment. Doing so enables you to make sure that the application deploys as expected in a remote environment. This step is recommended to help identify and fix potential problems in the deployment that otherwise would not be revealed by running the application in an Integrated WebLogic Server instance, where most of the steps are automated to benefit the development workflow and are not geared toward a production server environment.
This section outlines the key elements that are necessary for deploying an ADF application to an application server.
ADF applications are generally deployed to application servers as EAR files. EAR files are composite archives that contain one or more other archives, such as WAR, JAR, and MAR files, and one or more deployment descriptors.
Once your application is developed, you follow the steps below to deploy the application to a standalone server. These steps do not include running the application in Integrated WebLogic Server from JDeveloper.
Create deployment profiles to define the way the application contents are packaged into archive files that will be deployed to the target environment. In addition to specifying the format and contents of the archive file, a deployment profile includes dependency information, platform-specific instructions, and other information.
Create or edit the necessary deployment descriptors for the target server. Deployment descriptors are XML server configuration files that define the configuration of an application for deployment and that are deployed with the application as needed.
When developing the application in JDeveloper, the necessary deployment descriptor files for Oracle WebLogic Server are generated. JDeveloper also provides visual editors for these files that you can use to view and edit properties.
Prepare the application's security policies and credentials for migration to the standalone server. This includes ensuring that any policies and credentials that you have set up for testing purposes are removed from the application's configuration files and setting up application roles that map to standard roles on the target server.
In the user interface project's web.xml file, register any ADF MBeans that you want to use.
ADF MBeans correspond to various configuration files. After the application has been deployed, you can change configuration properties by accessing the ADF MBeans using the Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control MBean browser.
In JDeveloper, generate an EAR file from the deployment profile.
Set up a standalone instance of the target application server for test deploying and install the ADF runtime in that instance.
Migrate the application's policy store to the domain level on the standalone server instance.
You typically handle the migration task outside of JDeveloper using tools like Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control. For details about using tools outside of JDeveloper to migrate the policy store to the domain-level in a standalone environment, see Migrating from a Test to a Production Environment in Securing Applications with Oracle Platform Security Services.
Test deploy the application using any of the approaches cited in Deployment Tools and fix any problems that arise.
On the target server, make sure that the ADF runtime libraries are installed and add the application's policy store.
Deploy the application to the target server.
For more information on preparing applications for deployment, see Deploying Fusion Web Applications in Developing Fusion Web Applications with Oracle Application Development Framework.
For more information on setting up standalone servers on which to deploy applications, deploying the applications, and then configuring and managing the deployed applications, see Part II Basic Administration in Administering Oracle ADF Applications.
For more information on migrating security policies and credentials to the target server, see Migrating from a Test to a Production Environment in Securing Applications with Oracle Platform Security Services.
For more information on deploying Oracle ADF Essentials applications to GlassFish see Deploying ADF Applications to GlassFish in Developing Fusion Web Applications with Oracle Application Development Framework.