This topic describes the components of the administrative console.
This figure illustrates the Integrated Solutions Console platform.

The following components and features support console modules running in
Integrated Solutions Console.
- A common console
Provides a common appearance and
navigation behavior for console modules. For example, each portlet is rendered
using a common skin, rendering the same title bar icons for actions such as
editing preferences, maximizing, or requesting help for the portlet.
- Built-in administration console modules
Provide security, log and
trace, and other functions that apply to the entire the Integrated Solutions
Console installation.
- A portlet container
Supports portlets developed using the Java Portlet
Specification. The current specification as of this writing is JSR 168.
- PAA deployment
XML descriptors are provided for the developer to specify
pages, navigation nodes, and access control for the console module, which
are created at deployment. The descriptor can also register the following
information about the console module.
- Custom roles for the application in addition to the roles provided by
the application server
- An about page with links to useful information and resources for a product
- A pointer to another console module that is the lead application for the
product
- Prerequisite applications and console modules that should be already deployed
- Portlets that are already deployed on the server that should be reused
for the console module
- Multiple entities of a single portlet definition that can be used on different
pages
- External URLs that can be launched from the console navigation
- Row and column layout of a page
- Windows that contain portlets on the page
- Empty windows on a page that are filled at runtime depending on the user's
navigation selection
- The order and nesting of navigation nodes used by the console module
- Parent navigation nodes under which the navigation tree for the current
console module are placed
- Navigation nodes from other products that should be included under the
current console module's navigation
- An application server
Provides a complete J2EE runtime environment
for console modules.
- APIs for console modules
Supports the following actions:
- Passing properties between portlets
- Launching a page from a portlet
- Invoking Eclipse-based help
- Eclipse Help
Eclipse Help is provided as a Web application running
on the same server as Integrated Solutions Console. Eclipse Help serves help
documents for a single module as well as for the entire console.