Configuring a Standalone Container

Learn how to configure a Standalone Container using GUI or Silent methods.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Configure Container Instance Wizard is used to define an OSGi container. This container type can support multiple features. GUI and Silent installation methods are provided.

Step 1: Prerequisites

  • Installation of one of the supported platform versions.

Step 2a: Configure Container (GUI Option)

  1. Launch the Configure Container Instance Wizard. Navigate to the Platform release directory c:\{release directory}\bin and enter one of the following:

    For Windows:

    startup.bat configurator

    For Unix:

    startup.sh configurator
  2. The Welcome to Configure Container Instance wizard opens. On the Instance Name page, specify the container name (for example, ND1).
  3. On the Default Admin User page, define the username and password for the administrator.
  4. On the Default HTTP Listener page, set the default HTTP Port and Host IP Address for this instance. The listener configuration will be used as the Administration Console address.
    • Port—Represents the default HTTP Port.
    • Bind to all interfaces—The listener binds to the 0.0.0.0 address. localhost or any other valid IP for the machine can be used to connect to the client/browser.
    • Bind to a specific interface—The selected host name is used to connect to the client/browser.

    The Default HTTP Listener information is used to compose the Administration Console URL as follows:

    http://{hostname}:{port}/admin/

    Note: The trailing forward slash is required in the Akana Administration Console URL (admin/).

  5. On the Instance Startup page, select the option that best meets your deployment requirements. Options:
    • Start Standalone Process: Runs the startup {instance} command-line script located in the {install}\bin folder.
    • Install as Windows Service: Installs the instance as a Windows Service. The Instance can be managed via the Services dialog in the Windows Program Group (Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services).
    • Do Not Start Instance: Configures the instance but does not start it. Instance can be started manually after the configuration is complete by executing the startup {instance} command line script in the {install}\bin directory.

    Note: The Instance Startup screen does not display on UNIX systems because a manual startup is required.

  6. After the container has successfully started, launch the Akana Administration Console using the default URL format. For example: 
    http://localhost:9900/admin/login.html

    Note: The above Administration Console URL does not reflect a custom context path, which you can set later in the Administration Console configuration properties (com.soa.config > context.path). With a custom context path, an example URL would be: 

    http://localhost:9900/nd1/admin/login.html
  7. After the Administration Console launches, navigate to the Available Features tab to install desired features, plug-ins, or tools.

    For more information, see Using the Administration Console.

Step 2b: Configure Container (Silent Option)

The Configure Container Instance Wizard can be set up to run in an automated mode (silent mode). This is done by defining a properties file and pre-defining a set of property values to be used by the wizard to automatically configure a container instance.

A standalone deployment uses the following base properties:

  • container.instance.name: Name of the container.
  • credential.username: Username for logging into the Akana Administration Console.
  • credential.password: Password for logging into the Akana Administration Console.
  • default.host: Host for the container instance.
  • default.port: Port for the container instance.

To configure the container using the silent option

  1. Define a properties file (for example, myprops.properties)
  2. Add the following default content: 
    container.instance.name=instancename
credential.username = administrator
credential.password = password
default.host=localhost
default.port=9900

    For more information on the base properties, see Base Properties below.

  3. Run the silent configuration. The silent configuration file accepts three system properties which together are used to perform a silent configuration:
    • silent—If True, silent configuration will be performed
    • deploymentName—Standalone
    • properties—location on filesystem of property file to be used for configuration
  4. Windows and UNIX script examples:

    Windows:

    \{release_directory}\bin>startup.bat configurator "-Dsilent=true" "-Dproperties=C:\akana\aap\properties\myprops.properties"

    UNIX:

    \{release_directory}\bin>startup.sh configurator -Dsilent=true -Dproperties=/home/akana/aap/properties/myprops.properties

Base Properties

The following properties are used for Standalone deployments:

  • container.instance.name—Name of the Container.
  • credential.username—Username for logging into the Administration Console.
  • credential.password—Password for logging into the Administration Console.
  • default.host—Host for the Container Instance.
  • default.port—Port for the Container Instance.

Step 3: Install Features

  1. After the container has successfully started, launch the Administration Console using the following URL format: 
    http://{computer name}:{port}/admin/

    Example:

    http://localhost:9900/admin/login.html
  2. After the Administration Console launches, navigate to the Available Features tab to install desired features, plug-ins, or tools.

    For more information, see Using the Administration Console.