Adding an EBA asset to a composition unit using the administrative console

Use the administrative console to add a composition unit that consists of a previously-imported EBA asset plus configuration information. The configuration information can include HTTP session management, context roots, virtual hosts, security roles, run-as roles, and web application or Blueprint resource reference bindings for your OSGi application.

Before you begin

You can add an EBA asset to a business-level application by using the administrative console as described in this topic, or by using the addCompUnit command as described in Adding an EBA asset to a composition unit using wsadmin commands.

An EBA asset can be added to only one business-level application. A business-level application is scoped to cell scope, therefore only one instance of a given OSGi application can be deployed in a cell.

This task makes the following assumptions:
  • You have already imported the EBA file as an asset (as described in Deploying an OSGi application as a business-level application), then saved your changes to the master configuration (which causes any bundle dependencies to be downloaded from configured bundle repositories).
  • You have already defined the target virtual hosts. To check existing virtual hosts by using the administrative console, click Environment > Virtual hosts.
  • You have already created the JCA authentication alias that you want to associate with each Blueprint resource reference. To check existing JCA authentication aliases using the administrative console, click Security > Global security > [Authentication] Java Authentication and Authorization Service > J2C authentication data.

About this task

An OSGi composition unit consists of an EBA asset, (optionally) one or more composite bundle extensions, and some or all of the following configuration information:
  • Mappings from the composition unit to a target application server, web server or cluster.
  • Configuration of the application's session manager, context roots or virtual hosts.
  • Bindings to any associated web applications or blueprint resource references.
  • Mappings from security roles to particular users or groups.

You use the Set options settings wizard to add a new composition unit to a business-level application. The contents of the asset determine the specific steps in the wizard. This topic describes the main elements that you configure when adding an EBA asset. For a general description of all the elements that the wizard might prompt you to configure, see Creating business-level applications with the console.

As well as specifying the configuration information for the EBA asset through the following procedure, you can also change it later as described in Modifying the configuration of an OSGi composition unit. For example, if you update a bundle in an EBA asset, or replace a composite bundle extension, you might introduce a resource that requires additional configuration, such as a new or changed Blueprint resource reference, or security role mapping.

Procedure

  1. Start the administrative console.
  2. Add the previously-imported asset (the .eba file) as a deployed asset.
    1. If you have just created a new business-level application, the general properties for the business-level application are already displayed, including the option [Deployed assets] Add > Add Asset. Otherwise, navigate to Applications > Application Types > Business-level applications > application_name > [Deployed assets] Add > Add Asset. A list of available assets is displayed.
    2. Select the asset to add, then click Continue. The Set options settings wizard is displayed.
  3. Wizard step: Set options.

    Change the composition unit settings as needed, then click Next. For more information, see Set options settings.

  4. Wizard step: Map composition unit to a target.

    Select the deployment target application server or web server. For more information, see Map target settings.

  5. Wizard step: Map context roots.

    Select a web application bundle (WAB) from the list, then enter the context root for the WAB. For example, /sample. For more information, see Context root for web application bundles [Settings].

  6. Wizard step: Map modules to virtual hosts.

    The list of available WABs in this asset is displayed. For each WAB, you can change the associated virtual host by selecting a different one from the list. If you specify an existing virtual host in the ibm-web-bnd.xml or .xmi file for a given WAB, the specified virtual host is set by default. Otherwise, the default virtual host setting is default_host. For more information, see Virtual hosts for web application bundles [Settings].

  7. Wizard step: Security role to user/group mapping.

    Change the security mapping as needed. For more information, see Security role to user or group mapping [Settings].

  8. Wizard step: Map RunAs roles to users

    You can map a specified user identity and password to a RunAs role. This enables you to specify application-specific privileges for individual users, so that they can run specific tasks using another user identity. For more information, see Map RunAs roles to users [Collection].

  9. Wizard step: Bind Blueprint resource references.

    The list of available Blueprint resource references in this asset is displayed. For each reference, you can optionally select an authentication alias from the list. Default authentication aliases (from ibm-eba-bnd.xml files) are offered only if they exist on every target server or cluster. For more information, see Blueprint resource reference bindings [Settings].

  10. Wizard step: Web module message destination and resource environment reference bindings.

    The list of available web application message destination and resource environment references in this asset is displayed. That is, resources of type message-destination-ref (message destination reference) or resource-env-ref (resource environment reference), as defined in the Java specification JSR-250: Common Annotations for the Java Platform. For each reference, specify the JNDI name under which the resource is known in the runtime environment. For more information, see Web module message destination and resource environment reference bindings [Settings].

  11. Wizard step: Web module resource reference bindings.

    The list of available web application resource references in this asset is displayed. That is, resources of type resource-ref (resource reference), as defined in the Java specification JSR-250: Common Annotations for the Java Platform. For each reference, specify the JNDI name under which the resource is known in the runtime environment. Optionally, set authentication properties and extended data source custom properties, which affect how the resource is accessed at run time. To specify the JNDI name mapping, either type the JNDI name into the box, or click Browse... then select the resource reference from the list of available resources. To modify the authentication method or set extended data source custom properties, select a single reference then click Modify Resource Authentication Method... or Extended Properties.... For more information, see Web module resource reference bindings [Settings].

  12. Wizard step: Summary

    A summary of your selections is displayed. To complete the creation of the composition unit, click Finish. If there are settings that you want to change, click Previous to review the settings.

  13. Save your changes to the master configuration.

Results

The product creates composition units for the application, module, or shared library relationships. The unit names are shown in lists of deployed assets on the settings page of your business-level application. To view the settings page, click Applications > Application Types > Business-level applications > application_name.

What to do next

Note: After you import the enterprise bundle archive (EBA) file for your OSGi application as an asset, you can update versions of existing bundles but you cannot add extra bundles to the asset. However, after you have added the asset as a composition unit to a business-level application, you can extend the business-level application by adding one or more composite bundles to the composition unit. See Adding or removing extensions for an OSGi composition unit.

You are now ready to start your business-level application


Task topic

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Timestamp icon Last updated: Tuesday, 20 September 2011
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