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Best Practices for Deploying New Models in Verastream Host Integrator 6.0 or Higher
Technical Note 10237
Last Reviewed 07-Sep-2006
Applies To
Verastream Host Integrator version 6.0 or higher
Summary
Technical Note 10237
Last Reviewed 07-Sep-2006
Applies To
Verastream Host Integrator version 6.0 or higher
Summary
This technical note provides the best practice recommendations for deploying Verastream models and session configurations to your Host Integrator version 6.0 or higher server(s) by using the Design Tool and command line utilities. Follow the steps for the scenario that best fits your environment.
Recommended Deployment Method in Version 6.0 or Higher
In Host Integrator, models and session configurations can be deployed by using the Design Tool or command line utilities. The complexity of your deployment determines whether you should use the Design Tool or the command line utilities. Follow the steps for the scenario that best fits your environment.
Simple Deployment Using Design Tool
The scenario:
- Model being deployed to a Host Integrator Session Server running on a local or test server
- No session pools or...
- One session pool with no model variable lists or...
- One session pool with only one model variable list
For this environment, use the Design Tool to set deployment options and deploy to the Host Integrator server. Follow these steps:
- In the Design Tool, click File > Deployment Options.
- On the Host tab, enter the information for the host with which the model will communicate.
Note: The default host name and port number are copied from the default values stored in the model file. To use other host settings, select Sessions connect to specified host and enter the host name and host port number.
- On the Sessions tab, select either:
- Deploy as a single session (to deploy the model without using a session pool). Then, skip to step 5.
- Deploy as a session pool, and enter the session pool settings.
- On the Variables tab, follow these steps.
Note: If no session pool was created, skip to step 5.
- If the default variable values stored in the model are suitable for all pooled sessions, clear the Provide variable values for pool check box and proceed to step 4c.
Otherwise, check the Provide variable values for pool check box.
- The names of the variables defined in the model appear in the Variable column of the Variable names table, and select the appropriate settings for each variable:
- Select the Include check box for each variable which must have a non-default value.
- Select the Unique check box for each variable which must have a different value for every session in the pool. (At least one variable must be marked unique.)
- Select the Hidden check box for variable values that must be encrypted in the deployment and server configuration files. This check box is checked by default for variables marked as "hidden" in the model.
- Use the Variable values table to assign values to your variables.
The table contains a row for each session. The number of rows is equal to the maximum session pool size. The Session (left-most) column assigns a number to each session in the pool. Additional columns are labeled with the "Included" variable names.
Enter a value for each variable name in each session.
Note: Your file system should be appropriately secured, since the generated mvl_desc.xml file may contain sensitive host login password information.
- On the Recording tab, select your preference for recording model debug messages. For information on these recording options, see Technical Note 10066.
- When finished configuring your deployment options, click OK.
- Deploy the model to either the local server or to a test server.
Click File > Deploy to Local Server. A message appears to confirm that the model has been successfully deployed to the local Host Integrator server.
Click File > Deploy to Test Server and enter the network name or IP address of another Host Integrator server for your test deployment.
Note: The Test Server option is limited to the same basic settings as the local server deployment; it does not include all the options available with a Complex Deployment Using Command Line Utilities.
View the Deployed Model in the Administrative WebStation
You can verify the model successfully deployed by using the server's Administrative WebStation:
- Open the Administrative WebStation console.
Local Windows server: Use the Administrative WebStation shortcut installed in the Start programs folder: click Start > Programs > AttachmateWRQ Verastream > Host Integrator > Administrative WebStation.
Local UNIX server: Use a web browser to open <vhi>/bin/VHI_Administrative_WebStation_Login.html where <vhi> represents your Verastream Host Integrator installation directory.
Remote server: In a web browser, open http://<hostname>:9642/apptrieve where <hostname> represents the system running the Verastream Host Integrator Administrative WebStation service.
- Log in using an Administrator or Developer security profile.
- In the navigation tree, click Servers and the name of the host to which you deployed the model.
- Click Server Configuration > Model Configuration > Models.
The model you just deployed is listed.
Note: It is strongly recommended that you do not change any model or session pool configuration in Administrative WebStation. Any such changes will be overwritten by subsequent deployment from Design Tool or by the activatemodel command.
Complex Deployment Using Command Line Utilities
The scenario:
- Model being deployed to a Host Integrator Session Server running on a local or remote server
- Multiple session pools, model variable lists, and/or model variable overrides.
For this environment, edit the template descriptor files, and use the command line utilities to create and deploy a package. Follow these steps:
- Copy the sample deployment descriptor file to your model deploy subdirectory:
- Copy the template file, deploy-ex3.xml,
from <VHI>\doc\help\server
to <VHI>\models\<model name>\deploy.
to <VHI>\models\<model name>\deploy.
- Rename this file deploy_desc.xml.
- If you plan to create at least one model variable list:
- Copy the template file, mvl-example.xml,
from <VHI>\doc\help\server
into <VHI>\models\<model name>\deploy.
into <VHI>\models\<model name>\deploy.
- Rename this file mvl_desc.xml.
Note: Your file system should be appropriately secured, since the mvl_desc.xml file you create may contain sensitive host login password information.
- Edit the descriptor file(s) using a text editor or XML editor. For more information, see http://docs.attachmate.com/verastream/vhi/6.5/help/server/deploy_descriptor.html.
For information on setting the debug messages recording mode in deploy_desc.xml, see Technical Note 10066.
- Open the command prompt with Verastream deployment command line utilities in the search path:
Windows: Click Start > Program Files > AttachmateWRQ Verastream > Host Integrator > Deploy Models. (This opens the command prompt with <VHI>\bin in the PATH environment variable, and <VHI>\models as the current directory.)
UNIX: Make sure <VHI>/bin is in your PATH environment variable, and cd to the <VHI>/models subdirectory.
- Change to the subdirectory for the model to be deployed: <path to VHI>/models/<model name>
Example: If the model name is CCSDemo, you would enter:
cd ccsdemo- Create the model package by entering
packagemodel -m <model name> -p <packagename>Example: For a model named CCSDemo and a package file named CCSDemo.zip, the command line entry would be:
packagemodel -m CCSDemo.model -p CCSDemo.zipNote: For enhanced security, you can add the –e "<passphrase>" option on the packagemodel command. Your phrase will be used to generate a 3DES encryption key to encrypt model variable list "hidden" values (such as host passwords) in the package file. It is recommended the phrase be at least eight random characters or at least five space-delimited words. The same passphrase will also be required to deploy in the next step.
- Deploy the model package with the activatemodel command by entering
activatemodel -p <packagename> -s <Host Integrator server name>Example: To deploy the CCSDemo.zip model package (created above) to a Host Integrator server named vhiserver.MyDomain.com, the command line entry would be:
activatemodel -p CCSDemo.zip -s vhiserver.MyDomain.comNote the following:
- In a multi-server environment, repeat this step for each server. Always use specific server names (do not use the AADS common name from an AADS failover configuration).
- If security has been enabled in the Administrative WebStation console, you must also add -u <username> -w <password> on the command line. The credentials must be associated with a member of the Administrator security profile group.
- If a passphrase was used when the model package was created (in the previous step), you must also add -e "<passphrase>" on the command line to decrypt the sensitive data.
- To confirm the deployment, see the previous steps to View the Deployed Model in the Administrative WebStation.
Alternate Method to Using Deployment Descriptors
It is strongly recommended that you use the Design Tool Deployment Options or edited deployment descriptor files to configure your models and session pools, as described above. However, you can choose to make configuration changes (after deployment) using the Administrative WebStation instead.
- Before deploying your model from Design Tool, delete the descriptor files (deploy_desc.xml and mvl_desc.xml) from the <VHI>\models\<model name>\deploy\design_tool folder.
- Before running the packagemodel command, make sure there are no descriptor files (deploy_desc.xml and mvl_desc.xml) in the <VHI>/models/<model name>/deploy folder.
Note: If the descriptor XML files are present, deployment will overwrite any changes that were made using the Administrative WebStation.
