Use the XML configuration command line client
You access the XML configuration interface using a command line tool. This command line client is a separate program that connects to the server. Connecting to a remote server makes it possible to configure the portal remotely. You use the command line syntax of the XML configuration interface.
The remote connection can be either an HTTP connection, which is not secure, or a secure HTTPS connection. Apply care and use the appropriate type of connection required for the environment. Use an HTTP connection to connect to the XML configuration interface only from inside a protected intranet where we can be sure that the HTTP connection is not compromised. In all other networks use a secure HTTPS connection to connect to the XML configuration interface. For details about how to use an HTTPS connection refer to XML Syntax for using a secure connection with SSL. You invoke the command line client using the following shell scripts in the directory wp_profile_root/PortalServer/bin:
- UNIX Linux : ./xmlaccess.sh
- IBM i: xmlaccess.sh
- Windows : xmlaccess.bat
- z/OS : ./xmlaccess.sh
We can also use the XML configuration interface remotely from a machine that does not have portal installed. In this case copy the required files to the remote machine and configure the portal from there. All we need is a Java run time. However, we have to adapt the path settings in the shell scripts accordingly. These are the required files:
- PortalServer_root/base/wp.xml.client/bin/wp.xml.client.jar
- PortalServer_root/base/wp.base/shared/app/wp.base.jar
- PortalServer_root/base/wp.base/shared/app/wp.engine.impl.jar
- PortalServer_root/base/wp.base/shared/app/wp.utilities.streams.jar
- AppServer_root/lib/j2ee.jar
- AppServer_root/lib/bootstrap.jar
- AppServer_root/lib/com.ibm.ws.runtime.jar
- AppServer_root/plugins/j2ee.jar
- AppServer_root/plugins/com.ibm.wps.emf.jar
- AppServer_root/plugins/org.eclipse.emf.ecore.jar
- AppServer_root/plugins/org.eclipse.emf.common.jar
- PortalServer_root/bin/xmlaccess.sh or PortalServer_root\bin\xmlaccess.bat, depending on your operating system.
- wp_profile_root/PortalServer/bin/xmlaccess.sh
Note: When you update the portal by installing fix packs, these files might be updated. In such cases make sure that you always use the most recent versions of these files.
- Command line syntax of the XML configuration interface The command line syntax for working XML configuration interface can vary, depending on the portal installation environment and configuration.
- Transfer portal configuration data using the XML configuration interface When using the XML configuration interface to transfer HCL WebSphere Portal configuration data, you export or import an XML script file. In most cases, we can use the result file from an XML export for an XML import. Sometimes we can use the export result file directly, sometimes we must modify it.
- Create and modify resources In addition to copying and restoring configurations of existing portal resources, we can use the XML configuration interface to install new resources in the portal. We can also use the XML configuration interface as an alternative to the portal administrative user interface for running some administration tasks.
- Activate and deactivate portlets, portlet applications, and web applications We can change the states of portlets, portlet applications, and web applications between active and inactive using the portal XML configuration interface.
- Scheduling the delayed cleanup of portal pages We can use the example XML script Task.xml to schedule the cleanup of pages that have been marked for deletion.
- Register predeployed portlets We can manually predeploy portlet application WAR files using the WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console. We can later register and configure the predeployed portlet applications into HCL WebSphere Portal, together with other J2EE resources and artifacts, using the XML configuration interface.
- Remove users and groups Depending on circumstances, we might want to remove users or groups from the HCL WebSphere Portal that are no longer used or required. We can use the XML configuration interface (XML Access) to list such users and groups. We can also remove only some selected users and groups, and keep others for further use.
- Prepare the deletion of orphaned resources We can use the XML configuration interface to delete orphaned data from the HCL WebSphere Portal.
References: