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 WebSphere Application Server installation.

For information about installing the Application Client on a client machine, refer to the Installing Application Client for WAS topic.

Prerequisites

Developing a Java EE client application

Use this topic only if you 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".

Tasks

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. Configure 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. ore 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, we installed DB2 in the D:\Program Files\DB2 directory, use the ACRCT to create a local version of the EAR file.

3. Use the WebSphere Administrative console to install the client application on z/OS.

What to do next

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

Subtopics

• (iSeries) (ZOS) (Dist) Starting the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool and opening an EAR file
  We can perform many tasks by starting the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT). Many of these tasks also involve then opening an EAR file.
• Deploy a resource adapter for a Java EE client application
  A Java EE client application can use a resource adapter to connect to an enterprise information system (EIS). To use a resource adapter, we need to install it, configure it, and configure related resources.
• Enable client use of data sources
  If a Java EE client application accesses a database directly, provide the database drivers on the client machine, and configure the data source provider (JDBC provider) and data sources. Instead of accessing the database directly, IBM recommends that the client application access the database through an enterprise bean.
• Configure mail providers and sessions for application clients
  We can edit the configurations of mail sessions and providers for the application clients using the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT).

• (iSeries) (ZOS) (Dist) Configure new mail sessions for application clients
  Use the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT) to configure new mail sessions for the application client.
• Configure new URL providers for application clients
  Create URL providers and URLs for our client application using the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT).
• Configure new URLs with the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool
  Use URLs for our client application using the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT).
• Configure Java messaging client resources
  To configure Java messaging client resources, we create new JMS provider configurations for our application client. The application client can use a messaging service through the Java Message Service APIs. A JMS provider provides two kinds of J2EE factories. One is a JMS connection factory, and the other is a JMS destination factory.
• Configure new JMS connection factories for application clients
  Create a new Java Message Service (JMS) connection factory configuration for the application client.

• (iSeries) (ZOS) (Dist) Configure new JMS destinations for application clients
  Create a new Java Message Service (JMS) destination configuration for the application client.

• (iSeries) (ZOS) (Dist) Configure new resource environment providers for application clients
  Create new resource environment provider configurations for the application client using the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT).
• Configure new resource environment entries for application clients
  Create new resource environment entries for our client application using the Application Client Resource Configuration Tool (ACRCT).

Running a Java EE client application with launchClient

Install the application serving environment

Application Client installation information