Chapter 1 Introducing EAServer

Administration and development tools

Sybase Central is a common management framework for Sybase application and database servers. EAServer provides two Sybase Central plug-ins for use by developers and administrators:

EAServer Manager provides graphical administration facilities for EAServer, including support for development, deployment, runtime monitoring of applications, and management of the server's SSL digital certificate database.
Standalone Security Manager can be installed on client machines where a full EAServer installation is not required and provides a graphical user interface for managing SSL digital certificates, which can be used by end users to manage the certificates used in client applications.

For detailed instructions on running EAServer Manager and the standalone Security Manager, see the EAServer System Administration Guide and the EAServer Security Administration and Programming Guide.

Development support

Sybase PowerBuilder has been integrated with EAServer. Using this tool, you can develop, deploy, and debug EAServer components entirely within the development environment. You can also generate the proxies required for client application development. For more information, see the Application Techniques manual included in the PowerBuilder documentation.

Application developers using other tools can use EAServer Manager to view the method definitions for any installed component in EAServer Manager. You can view and edit method definitions graphically, or you can directly edit the IDL datatype and interface definitions with EAServer Manager's IDL editor. Interface definitions can be imported from existing Java classes, ActiveX component type library files, or from standard CORBA IDL files. See "Defining Component Interfaces" in the EAServer Programmer's Guide for more information.

EAServer Manager also generates stub classes for use in Java and C++ client applications and ActiveX type libraries for use in ActiveX client applications.

Deployment support

To simplify application deployment, EAServer Manager defines the following basic, middle-tier application units:

Clusters A cluster represents a set of servers that share configuration information and run the same set of components. For applications with thousands of clients, clusters provide support for load balancing and high availability. EAServer Manager includes a synchronization feature, which replicates component files and configuration information from a primary server to other servers in a cluster.
Servers A server represents one EAServer runtime process. Each server has its own network addresses for client session connections and for HTTP (HTML) connections. All servers on one host machine share the same configuration repository. For administration purposes, you can connect to any server on the host machine to configure other servers on the same host.
Applications Applications allow you to group packages (groups of related components) and Web applications (bundled static Web content, servlets, and JSPs) into a single unit for easy deployment between servers.
Packages A package organizes components into cohesive, secure units that can be easily deployed on another EAServer installation. Packages can be exported, or saved, as a Java archive (JAR) file. The package archive includes the definition of all components in a package, plus any supporting files (such as source code and client files) that you specify. Package archives exported from one server can easily be imported for redeployment on another server.

Roles attached to packages control access to components in a package. For more information about roles and package security, see the EAServer Security Administration and Programming Guide.
Components A component definition consists of the component's method signatures and other properties, such as component type, transaction support, threading model, and the name of the Java class or executable library that implements the component.
Web applications Web applications allow you to group static Web content, servlets, and JSPs into a single unit for easy deployment and configuration.
Web components You can install servlets and JSPs in a Web application as Web components. This allows you to configure request path mappings and other useful settings within the Web application properties.

Before a client application can execute a component, the component must be installed in an EAServer package, and that package must be installed in the server to which the client connects.

Hot refresh support

EAServer Manager includes an option that allows you to refresh components, packages, and servers, enabling you to test and debug component implementation changes without restarting the server.

Runtime monitoring support

The EAServer Manager plug-in for Sybase Central provides allows you to remotely view server log files and to monitor statistics for component execution and network activity.

Use the EAServer Manager File Viewer to connect to EAServer and view the contents of these server log files:

The EAServer log file, where the server records errors related to component execution.
The HTTP protocol request and error log files, where EAServer's built-in Web server records successful and unsuccessful file requests.

Runtime Monitoring allows you to view statistics on component and network activity. You can view counts of active client sessions, components, and transactions.

See the EAServer System Administration Guide for more information on these features.

Certificate management support

EAServer Manager | Certificates folder (server) or the standalone Security Manager (client) allows you to manage the server and user certificates that are required for SSL-protocol support. This allows you to:

Install server certificates Server certificates are required to establish secure IIOP and HTTP ports. The certificate is presented to the client application as proof that the application has connected to the server that the user intends to interact with.
Install Certificate Administrator (CA) certificates CA certificates, also called signing certificates, are attached to client and server certificates to validate the origin of the certificate. For example, if you obtain a certificate from VeriSign, your certificate will include a copy of the VeriSign CA certificate. Using the Certificates folder you can install CA certificates into EAServer and indicate which CAs are trusted. When client applications present certificates to EAServer, the signing certificate must be present in the list of trusted CAs in the Certificates folder | Trusted CAs folder or the connection fails.
Issue certificates for testing purposes EAServer Manager | Certificates folder allows you to create new client and server certificates for use in testing your applications. To deploy Internet applications, you must obtain server certificates from a well-known Certificate Authority (CA) such as VeriSign or Thawte. Certificates signed by the internal Sybase Jaguar User Test CA will not be recognized by client browsers unless the end user has installed the Sybase Test CA in their browser's database of trusted CAs.

See the EAServer Security Administration and Programming Guide for more information on SSL certificates.

jagtool and jagant

jagtool is a command-line interface that allows you to automate some of EAServer's development and deployment tasks. jagant lets you run jagtool commands from Jakarta Ant build files.

Ant is similar to make, but is platform-independent, and allows you to incorporate jagtool commands into build files. This powerful feature allows you to write build files that automate many development and deployment tasks. For more information, see Chapter 12, "Using jagtool and jagant," in the EAServer System Administration Guide.

Repository versioning support

The EAServer configuration repository stores configuration and implementation files for installed application entities such as components, Web applications, JSPs, and Java servlets. Repository versioning allows you to save numbered versions of an entity. Each version archive contains configuration properties and implementation files associated with the entity. For example, before undertaking a new development phase, you might save a new major version of your J2EE application.