Configuring multiple Application Servers on different hosts

This topic describes how to set up a multiple Application Server environment, with the Application Servers residing on different hosts.

Note

As an alternative to the procedure described on this page for configuring Application Servers on different hosts, you can use an option from the Configuration menu in the TrueSight Server Automation Console, the Add TSSA Application Server Machine menu option. For more information about this method, see Adding additional Application Servers.

For the Post-Install Configuration wizard to work properly on an Application Server of type NSH_Proxy, ensure that communication is not based on the ssoproxy (single sign-on) authentication protocol. In the secure file, check whether the following option appears. If it does, remove this option until after you finish using the Configuration wizard:appserver_protocol=ssoproxy

To configure the Application Servers on different hosts

To configure multiple Application Servers on different physical hosts, follow these steps:

  1. If you have not done so already, install and configure an Application Server on one host machine and point it to a database.
    Note the keystore password given for the above installation of the Application Server. You will need to provide the same password for the Application Server installations on the other physical hosts.
  2. Install additional Application Servers on other physical machines, providing the same keystore password used by the first Application Server.

  3. For each additional Application Server that you installed (see step 2), run the Post-Install Configuration wizard, and provide database connection specifications. Enter specifications for the same database that is used by the first Application Server (which you installed in step 1), so that all Application Servers communicate with the same database.

    Use the following steps:
    1. To start the Post-Install Configuration wizard, do one of the following:
      • From the Windows Start menu, select Programs > BMC Software > BladeLogic Server Automation Suite > Utilities > Application Server Configuration Wizard.
      • Start the wizard manually by running one of the following commands in the directory where TrueSight Server Automation is installed. Enter the following:

        • (Windows)

          bin\blappconf.exe

        • (UNIX)

          ./br/blappconf
    2. In the configuration wizard, read the introductory page and click Next.
    3. On the Database page, choose a Database Type (either Oracle or SQL Server).
    4. If you are not using a custom connection string, provide the following database configuration information (and do not select the Advanced option):
      • Database Server — Host name or IP address (IPv4 or IPv6) of the server running the database.

      • Database Port— Port the database listens on. By default a TrueSight Server Automation installation uses the following database ports:

      • Database Name — Microsoft SQL server database name. By default, the database name is bladelogic . (This option is only available for SQL server databases.)
      • SID — System ID of the Oracle database. (This option is only available for Oracle databases.)
      • User ID — User name that the database needs to authenticate your connection.
      • Password — Password assigned to the user ID.
        or...
        If you are using a custom connection string, provide the following database configuration information:
      • User ID — User name that the database needs to authenticate your connection.
      • Password — Password assigned to the user ID.
      • Advanced — Select this option to indicate that you are providing a custom connection string.
      • Connection String — Type the custom connection string in the field below the Advanced check box.
    5. Click Finish to apply the configuration that you specified while skipping any further wizard panels.
  4. Copy the bladelogic.keystore and rscd.cabundle.pem (if it exists) files from the <installationDirectory>/NSH/br/deployments directory on the first Application Server host to the same location on each new Application Server.
  5. Ensure that the time on all Application Server hosts are synchronized. BMC recommends that you configure the Network Time Protocol (NTP) service to point to the same NTP server.
  6. If you have more than one Application Server running on each host in a multiple host environment, ensure that you synchronize the keystore files and the corresponding password for all deployments. See Synchronizing keystore files of multiple Application Servers.

  7. After you have configured the new Application Server(s), perform the following step if you have configured the file server agent ACLs. In this case you need to allow access to the file server by adding the newly created Application Server(s) to the exports file of the file server.
    Use the following sample code:<application server 1>,<application server 2>,<application server n...> ro,user=blfsro

    The exports file is located in the /etc/rsc folder in Unix and C:\Windows\rsc folder in Windows. 

  8. Start the Application Servers, in any order.

Additional folders to synchronize

If you are using local folders on the Application Server for Extended Object scripts, NSH Scripts, or custom CLI commands, then you must also synchronize those folders across all hosts in a multiple Application Server environment.

The following table contains some examples of folders that you may need to synchronize across hosts.

Folder

Description

NSH/share/sensors

You will need to synchronize this folder if:

  • You have installed any TrueSight Server Automation compliance content, as this folder contains NSH scripts used by the compliance rules.
  • The folder contains any Extended Object scripts. 
    Recommendation: Create Extended Object scripts on the file server, specifying a complete path to the fileserver host. 

    Tip: BMC recommends that you create an alias to the file server host, so that even if the physical file server is moved, you would not need to change the Extended Objects or synchronize the folder.

NSH/Scripts

If this folder contains any Extended Object scripts, synchronize this folder on the new Application Server.

Other folders

If you have any other folders that contain Extended Object scripts, custom grammar files, NSH scripts, or BLCLI commands, you also need to synchronize those folders on the new Application Server. The NSH/br/xml/cli folder is an example of a folder that might need to be synchronized, if you had created custom BLCLI xml file command definitions.


 

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