Understanding and Managing WebSphere V5

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Understanding and Managing WebSphere V5

• Tony Higham
• FatWire Software

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What Well Cover

• Understanding WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere V5 packaging
• Understanding WebSphere V5 architecture
• Managing WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere performance

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What Is WebSphere?

• WebSphere is not a product it's a software
  platform that includes many products
• WebSphere Application Server, or WAS, is often
  referred to as WebSphere
• The WebSphere software platform is an e-business
  solutions framework
• IBM uses WebSphere and Domino to provide a
  runtime environment for its business solutions
• Business solutions include
• WebSphere Portal Server (WPS)
• WebSphere Commerce Suite (WCS)
• Mobile computing and more

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What Does WebSphere Do?

• In this session the term WebSphere means the
  WebSphere Application Server product
• WAS provides a runtime environment for Java 2
  Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications
• J2EE defines a bunch of Java APIs for
  enterprise-level applications that are portable
  across application servers
• Includes Java servlets, Java Server Pages (JSPs),
  Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), and other J2EE APIs
• WAS V5 implements J2EE 1.3 APIs with extensions
• WebSphere business solutions (portal, commerce,
  etc.) are implemented as J2EE applications that
  run on WAS
• WAS also provides proprietary extensions to J2EE
  1.3

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What Well Cover

• Understanding WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere V5 packaging
• Understanding WebSphere V5 architecture
• Managing WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere performance

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WAS V5 Packaging
WebSphere Application Server Enterprise Edition
WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment
WebSphere Application Server
WebSphere Application Server Express
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WAS Express

• WAS Express contains development tools and a
  limited version of WebSphere Application Server
• Does not provide support for EJBs
• Supports a limited number of database products
• WAS Express has an embedded HTTP server that is
  built to handle a limited number of concurrent
  users
• WAS Express doesnt support external HTTP
  servers and cant be integrated with Domino
• WAS Express is designed for development,
  testing, and small pilot project activities only
• Great for building dynamic Web applications
• Lowest-cost entry-level WebSphere package

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WebSphere Application Server (WAS Base)

• WebSphere Application Server is commonly called
  WAS Base or just Base to differentiate it
• This session uses the terminology WAS Base
• WAS Base extends WAS Express with
• Full J2EE 1.3 support
• Support for a wide range of database products
• Support for external HTTP servers such as Domino
• WAS Base is designed for production systems that
  have a relatively low number of concurrent users
• Runs on a single server and has limited
  scalability
• Similar to WebSphere V4 Advanced Single-Server

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WAS Network Deployment

• WAS Network Deployment extends WAS Base with
• Multi-server deployment for mission-critical
  applications
• Centralized administration model
• Servers can be clustered for high scalability
• Supports both load-balancing and failover to
  provide 24x7x365 operations for mission-critical
  applications
• Similar to WebSphere V4 Advanced Edition
• WAS Network Deployment includes WAS Base plus
• The Deployment Manager to configure and manage
  multiple instances of WebSphere on multiple
  servers
• Edge components that provide HTTP load balancing
  and Web page caching capabilities for enhanced
  scalability

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WAS Enterprise Edition

• WAS Enterprise Edition provides proprietary
  extensions to the J2EE programming model
• Adds sophisticated application functions like
  workflow
• Provides application performance enhancements
• IBM uses these capabilities to add functionality
  and performance for its business solutions
• WebSphere Portal Server, WebSphere Commerce Suite
• IBM shares common services across business
  solutions and makes them available to their
  customers (at a price)
• These extensions can save development time, but
  applications are no longer portable to other J2EE
  application servers (vendor lock-in)!

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What Well Cover

• Understanding WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere V5 packaging
• Understanding WebSphere V5 architecture
• Managing WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere performance

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WAS Express Architecture
Web Browser
WebSphere Node
Application Server
HTTP
HTTPS
JSPEngine
Embedded HTTP Server
JavaServlet
HTTP
Administrator's Console
HTTPS
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WAS Base Architecture
Web Browser
HTTP Server
WebSphere Node
HTTP
Application Server
WebSpherePlug-In
JSPEngine
HTTP
HTTPS
Embedded HTTP Server
JavaServlet
EJB
HTTP
Administrator's Console
HTTPS
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WAS Network Deployment Architecture
Web Browser
WebSphere Cell
HTTP Server
WebSpherePlug-In
Admin Node
Administrator's Console
Embedded HTTP Server (Port 9080)
DeploymentManager
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What Well Cover

• Understanding WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere V5 packaging
• Understanding WebSphere V5 architecture
• Managing WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere performance

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Managing WebSphere

• Typical WebSphere administration tasks
• Starting and stopping WebSphere
• Creating and configuring application servers
• Creating and configuring virtual hosts
• Deploying WebSphere applications
• The tasks required to manage WebSphere are the
  same for all of the WebSphere packages
• But the way in which you execute the tasks
  differs significantly between WAS Base and WAS
  Network Deployment

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What Well Cover

• Understanding WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere V5 packaging
• Understanding WebSphere V5 architecture
• Managing WebSphere
• Understanding WebSphere performance

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Measuring WebSphere Performance

• All systems are limited by resources
• For example, cars are limited by fuel
  combustibility, engine size, transmission, tire
  type and size, etc.
• When the resources in any system are low,
  bottlenecks occur and performance is reduced
• To manage WebSphere effectively, you must
  understand how to monitor its resources
• Resources have data values that you use to
  determine their availability

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Understanding WebSphere Resources

• WebSphere uses system resources such as memory,
  database connections, threads, etc.
• WebSphere resources are described in Chapter 15
  of the Redbook WebSphere V5.0 Performance,
  Scalability and High Availability SG24-6198-00
• Knowing what resources WebSphere uses and how to
  monitor those resources, you will
• Understand and identify the underlying causes of
  performance issues in a WebSphere environment
• Know whether to tune WebSphere or ask the
  application developer to address a design issue

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Capturing the Performance Data

• Now that you know what to measure, you need to
  know how to capture the data
• Performance monitoring and analysis capabilities
  are built into WebSphere
• This feature is called the Performance
  Monitoring Infrastructure, or PMI
• PMI is embedded in the application server to
  capture performance data
• IBM provides tools for analyzing the data

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Analyzing WebSphere Performance

• To analyze performance, use tools that can store
  and display the data captured by PMI
• PMI makes performance data available
• PMI does not record or analyze the data
• IBM provides two tools for analyzing WebSphere
  performance
• Tivoli Performance Viewer
• Used to be called Resource Analyzer
• Performance monitoring servlet

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Understanding Tivoli Performance Viewer

• Tivoli Performance Viewer is a Java application
  that records and reports data captured by PMI
• This used to be called the Resource Analyzer in
  V4
• Tivoli Performance Viewer is the most useful
  tool for analyzing WebSphere performance
• It helps you determine what resources are being
  used up and how best to tune
• It can record and play back performance issues
  to end users and developers

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Tivoli Performance Viewer Pros and Cons

• Pros of Tivoli Performance Viewer
• Provides a full graphical user interface
• Generates charts that make the data easier to
  understand and analyze
• Contains the best analytical capabilities
• Cons of Tivoli Performance Viewer
• Uses the IIOP protocol, which may be blocked if
  the administration server is behind a firewall
• Requires a client-side install

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Performance Monitoring Servlet

• The Performance Monitoring servlet is a Web-based
  alternative to Tivoli Performance Viewer
• Returns performance data in XML format
• Distributed with WebSphere, but you have to
  install it
• See Chapter 15 of WebSphere V5.0 Performance,
  Scalability and High Availability SG24-6198-00
• Start the servlet with the URL
• http//host/wasPerfTool/servlet/perfservlet

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Performance Monitoring Servlet Pros and Cons

• Pros of the Servlet are
• Can be used to view performance data from
  anywhere with a Web browser
• Cons of the Servlet are
• Does not provide a graphical interface for
  navigating data items or creating charts
• Cannot store information in a log file for later
  analysis or playback

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Live QA with Tony Higham

• You may submit
• your questions at any time.

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Thank you

• Thank you for your participation! Did you like
  this webcast?
• Send us your feedback on this eventand ideas
  for other event topicsat webcast_at_SearchDomino.co
  m.