Deploy a Java EE client application

Deploy a Java EE client application onto the client machines where it is to run includes distributing the EAR file for the client application and configuring resource references for use by the client application.

To run a deployed Java EE client application, the application needs access to a Application Client installation or a WAS installation.

For information about installing the Application Client on a client machine, see Install Application Client for WAS.

Application Client for WAS ships only with the 32-bit WAS.

Use this topic only if we later want to use the want to launchClient command to run the Java client application on an Application Client installation or in a WAS node.

To download and run a Java EE client application remotely, we can use the Java Web Start to deploy the application onto the remote client machine with a single click from a Web browser on the client machine. For information about using Java Web Start to deploy Java EE client applications, see "Downloading and running a Java EE client application using Java Web Start".

 

1. Distribute the EAR file.

   The client machines configured to run a client application must have access to the EAR file.

   • If all the machines in the environment share the same image and platform, run the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT) on one machine to configure the external resources, then distribute the configured EAR file to the other machines.

   • If the environment is set up with a variety of client installations and platforms, run the ACRCT for each unique configuration.

   • We can either distribute an EAR file to the correct client machines, or make it available on a network drive.

   • Distributing EAR files is the responsibility of the system and network administrator.

2. Set the resources for the application client.

   This generally involves using the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT) to configure references for the resources that the application is to use, including resource adapters, resource providers, data sources, and Java Message Service resources. These configurations are stored in the client JAR file within the application EAR file. The client runtime uses these configurations to resolve and create an instance of the resources for the client application.

   For some types of resources, other actions are needed; for example, to install a resource adapter and define environment variable needed to start the client application. More information about the actions for different types of resources is given in other configuring resources topics.

   If we plan to deploy the client application on z/OS, run the ACRCT on Windows. We can also run the ACRCT for distributed platforms locally.

   If the client application defines the local resources, but the resources are installed in a different location, run the ACRCT (clientConfig command) on the local machine to change the configuration in the EAR file. For example, the EAR file can contain a DB2 resource, configured as C:\DB2. If, however, you installed DB2 in the D:\Program Files\DB2 directory, use the ACRCT to create a local version of the EAR file.

 

Next steps

After deploying the Java EE client application, use the launchClient command torun the client application.

Starting the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool and opening an EAR file
Deploy a resource adapter for a Java EE client application
Set mail providers and sessions for application clients
Set new mail sessions for application clients
Set new URL providers for application clients
Set new URLs with the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool
Set Java messaging client resources
Set new JMS connection factories for application clients
Set new JMS destinations for application clients
Set new resource environment providers for application clients
Set new resource environment entries for application clients

 

Related tasks

Running a Java EE client application with launchClient