WebSphere Extended Deployment, Version 6.0.x
             Operating Systems: AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, z/OS


Validating an edition

Use application validation to install and test an edition under realistic conditions in parallel with the production application edition. For example, edition 1.0 of an application is installed, active, and running on a dynamic cluster. Edition 2.0 is the candidate validation edition and is installed on the same deployment target in the inactive state. Validating edition 2.0 clones the edition 2.0 deployment target. For example, the validation might create a new dynamic cluster, such as the DC-Validation dynamic cluster, and map edition 2.0 to this new cluster. The cloned cluster uses the existing cluster members as the server template for the creation of the cloned servers.

Before you begin

You must define unique routing rules for edition 2.0. Routing rules enable editions to run concurrently and hypertext transfer protocol requests for the validation edition to correctly route to the validation target without interfering with edition 1.0. For this scenario, use the my_application application. Install both application editions, 1.0 and 2.0, on the dynamic_cluster_1 dynamic cluster.

If you want to maintain the cloned validation cluster after you roll out the new edition, set the dynamic cluster custom property, saveClonedCluster=true. Otherwise, the validation target is deleted after edition rollout.

Restriction: Only two cluster members can be used or created in validation mode. You can map routing and service policies to the validation mode enterprise application, but no more than two cluster members are started to maintain the work. You can overwrite this setting after the validation cluster is created by changing the minimum and maximum number of dynamic cluster instances.

If you are a user with either a monitor or an operator role, you can only view the application edition manager information. If you have the role of configurator or administrator, you have all the configuration privileges for the application edition manager.

About this task

After the validation clone target is created, edition 2.0 is activated, and the routing rules are defined, you can start, stop, and reconfigure the edition.

Procedure

  1. Click Applications > Edition control center to verify that the application has two installed editions, with only one active edition.
  2. Click the my_application application.
  3. Select edition 2.0 and click Validate. The validation status page shows each step of validating the dynamic_cluster_1 dynamic cluster and deploying edition 2.0 to the cloned cluster. The edition control center shows that one of the editions is in validation mode, and the manage editions page shows that edition 2.0 target is now the dynamic_cluster_1-Validation dynamic cluster. The dynamic cluster page shows that the dynamic_cluster_1-Validation dynamic cluster is created, and the servers page shows the cloned servers.
  4. Verify that the validation occurred correctly. Click Applications > Enterprise applications. Edit the my_application-edition2.0 application.
    • Select Map modules to servers. Verify that edition 2.0 is mapped to the validation cluster. From the Map Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) references to beans detail view, verify that the Java Naming and Directory Interface name is adjusted for the new cloned target name.

      For an application edition, with fully-qualified bindings based on the original deployment target name, to operate correctly on a validation deployment target, you must change its binding names to reflect the fully-qualified binding names based on the validation deployment target name. For example, an application with a resource reference bound to /clusters/clusterb1/jdbc/CustomerData must have the binding changed to /clusters/cluster1-validation/jdbc/CustomerData as the application is prepared to run on the deployment target clone.

  5. Test the new edition. Start the validation cluster, and with your routing rules in place, drive a test load to edition 2.0 to test it with your production edition 1.0.
  6. When you complete edition 2.0 testing, replace edition 1.0 with 2.0.
    1. Stop the validation target, for example, dynamic_cluster_1-Validation.
    2. Delete the routing rules specific to edition 2.0 to route all requests for the my_application application to a single edition. Save your changes and synchronize the nodes.
    3. Roll out the new edition. Click Applications > Edition control center >application_name. Select edition 2.0 and click Rollout.
    Clicking Rollout launches an interruption-free replacement of edition 1.0 with edition 2.0. During the rollout, edition 2.0 is retargeted to its original deployment target, for example, dynamic_cluster_1, and its state transitions from validation to active.

Results

You validated a new application edition on a duplicate dynamic cluster, and then rolled out the new edition to the original production dynamic cluster.



Related concepts
Edition manager concepts
Troubleshooting application edition management
Related tasks
Installing an edition
Rolling out an edition
Backing out an edition
Creating dynamic clusters
Related reference
Routing and service policies work classes
Administrative roles and privileges
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Last updated: Nov 30, 2007 4:01:31 PM EST
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wxdinfo/v6r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.websphere.xd.doc/info/appedition/tappedval.html