Netscape Application Server-- Installing Netscape Application Server on Windows NT

Administration Guide
Overview Guide
Installation Guide

Before you install Netscape Application Server, think about the following issues and carefully plan how you want to configure your Netscape Application Server system. Knowing this information in advance helps you to properly complete the installation.

An Installation Planning Worksheet is provided at the end of this guide to help you track the information you need to install Netscape Application Server. We recommend that you make a copy of this worksheet and jot down information on it as you read through this section.

Note: Keep in mind that after you have installed Netscape Application Server, you can change many of the configuration settings, which you initially specify during the installation. For information about how to perform post-installation configuration tasks, see the Administration Guide.

Basic Configuration Issues

Determine what you are installing on your machine. Then determine if you have previously installed one of the following on this machine:

Netscape Application Server

Netscape Application Server Administrator

Web Connector plug-in

If one of these already exists on your machine, but what you wish to install is different, uninstall the previously installed product. Otherwise, the installation program detects the earlier installation and assumes that you are upgrading it. In this case, it only allows you to install an upgrade.

For example, if you want to install Netscape Application Server Administrator only, but you previously installed Netscape Application Server, you will be unable to do so. The installation program detects the earlier installation of Netscape Application Server and only lets you install an upgrade of that. You must first uninstall Netscape Application Server before successfully installing only Netscape Application Server Administrator.

Decide how many Netscape Application Server instances you want to run. An instance of Netscape Application Server is defined as one installation of Netscape Application Server with one Executive Server (KXS).

Only one instance of Netscape Application Server should run per machine. You should not install multiple Netscape Application Servers on the same machine.

When you install Netscape Application Server, you must specify a product key. The product key is available on the Welcome letter you received with the Netscape Application Server that you purchased.

Know the number of Java Servers (KJS) you want to run for each instance of a Netscape Application Server. For information about Java Servers, see Chapter 1, "About Netscape Application Server Architecture," in the Administration Guide.

Know the number of C++ Servers (KCS) you want to run for each instance of a Netscape Application Server. For information about C++ Servers, see Chapter 1, "About Netscape Application Server Architecture," in the Administration Guide.

Know the available port numbers on your machine so that you can assign ports to the Administrative, Executive, Java, and C++ Servers. All ports you specify are listener ports. Valid port numbers must be within the acceptable range (1025 to 65535) and must be unique (not used by any other applications on your system). The default port numbers are as follows:

10817 for the Administrative Server (KAS)

10818 for the Executive Server (KXS)

10819 for the Java Server (KJS). You can configure multiple Java Servers.

10820 for the C++ Server (KCS). You can configure multiple C++ Servers.

In most cases, the default port numbers suggested by the installation program are adequate, unless you are configuring multiple Java and C++ Servers.

Upgrading Issues

The installation program detects if an earlier release of Netscape Application Server exists on the machine. If it does, the installation program automatically installs to that version's directory. Make sure the web server and Netscape Application Server are not running.

Netscape Application Server and Netscape Application Builder Coexistence Issues
The following issues apply if you install Netscape Application Server and Netscape Application Builder on the same machine. Note that you are not required to install the two applications on the same machine.

You must install Netscape Application Builder first, before installing Netscape Application Server. The default directory for Netscape Application Builder is c:\nab and the default program folder is Netscape Application Builder 3.0.

You must install Netscape Application Server and Netscape Application Builder in the same directory and program folder. When you install Netscape Application Server, after installing Netscape Application Builder, the installation program detects the location of Netscape Application Builder (c:\nab) and automatically installs Netscape Application Server to that directory. Make sure, at the end of the Netscape Application Server installation, to place Netscape Application Server in the Netscape Application Builder program folder (Netscape Application Builder 3.0).

When installing Netscape Application Builder and Netscape Application Server on the same machine, always log on as an administrative user for both installations.

The Netscape Application Builder and Netscape Application Server product keys must be different. The product key is provided in the Welcome letter you received with each product.

Netscape Application Server and Netscape Application Builder always connect to the same web server. Note that Netscape Application Builder connects only to a web server on the same machine. When you install Netscape Application Server on the same machine as Netscape Application Builder, the installation program allows you to connect only to the same web server that Netscape Application Builder connects to.

When you run the Netscape Application Server uninstall program on a machine where Netscape Application Server and Netscape Application Builder are installed, both applications will be uninstalled, since they reside in the same directory. See "Uninstalling Netscape Application Server" on page 29 for information about uninstalling.

Web Server Configuration Issues

Know whether your web server runs on the machine where you are about to install Netscape Application Server or whether it resides on another machine. If it is on another machine, you perform what is referred to as a "webless" installation of Netscape Application Server.

The following diagram illustrates a webless installation, where the web server and Netscape Application Server reside on separate machines.

The following diagram illustrates a non-webless installation, where Netscape Application Server and the web server reside on the same machine.

If you are performing a webless installation of Netscape Application Server, know the type of web server you have and remember to install the Web Connector plug-in on the web server after you finish installing Netscape Application Server. See "Checking Hardware and Software Requirements" on page 6 for information about supported web server versions and types.

Consider security issues related to your firewall setup. In a webless install of Netscape Application Server, if a firewall will exist between the Netscape Application Server machine and the web server machine, before installing Netscape Application Server, consult with your security administrator to ensure that the necessary ports on the firewall are open so that the Executive Server (KXS) and the Web Connector plug-in can communicate. For information about the Executive Server, see Chapter 1, "About Netscape Application Server Architecture" in the Administration Guide.

Install and configure the web server and Web browser before installing Netscape Application Server.

If you use one of the supported web servers on the same machine as the Netscape Application Server, the connector plug-in configuration is automatic. For installations of Netscape Application Server, understand the difference between the following two directories and know their locations:

The web server document directory is the directory where the web server gets the files it serves to a Web browser, such as HTML, GIF, and JPEG. The installation program will detect the HTML directory for all supported web servers.

The web server CGI-BIN directory is the directory from where the web server executes programs and scripts attached to HTML files. The installation program cannot detect the location of the CGI directory, especially if it does not have the standard default name or location. Since you must specify it manually during installation, make a note of your web server's CGI-BIN directory path name before installing Netscape Application Server.

Database Configuration Issues

Determine the database connectivity configuration for this installation of Netscape Application Server. Your Netscape Application Server machine should have one or more database clients installed before installing Netscape Application Server. During installation of Netscape Application Server, you are asked to rank the previously installed client databases in priority order. The database you select as having the top priority is the one that sample applications installed with Netscape Application Server will be configured to connect to.

In addition, when you create your own applications, you can elect not to specify the particular database you want the application to use. In this case, the application attempts connecting to the configured databases in the priority order you specify during installation. For more information about prioritizing and configuring database connections, see Chapter 12, "Working with Databases," in the Administration Guide.

Note that Netscape Application Server supports a variety of database client versions, with each one interfacing with a variety of database servers. The following table lists Netscape Application Server database compatibility information:

DB Client
DB Server

Oracle 7.3.4
Oracle 7.3.4

Oracle 7.3.4
Oracle 8.0

Sybase 11
Sybase 11

Informix CLI 2.8
Informix OWS 7.22

DB2 V5.0
DB2 V2.1.2

ODBC
MS SQL Server 6.5

Install all the client-side database software before installing Netscape Application Server.

Install and configure all database servers before installing Netscape Application Server.

Know the names of all the native database client libraries you plan to use.

You can configure Netscape Application Server to connect to multiple supported databases. However, if for a given database, you have different versions of a database client library, Netscape Application Server can connect to only one version of that database client library at a time. When the installation program asks which database client library you will use, your answer is usually the default that is offered. However, if you have two different versions of a database client library installed, you can choose either.

For information about databases, see Chapter 12, "Working with Databases," in the Administration Guide.

Clustering and Data Synchronization Issues

Decide if this Netscape Application Server will participate in distributed data synchronization, also referred to as clustering. Distributed data synchronization maintains the integrity of shared information across multiple Netscape Application Servers. This is crucial for partitioned and distributed applications that are hosted on multiple Netscape Application Servers.

For more information about distributed data synchronization, Chapter 13, "Managing Distributed Data Synchronization," in the Administration Guide.

If this or any other Netscape Application Server you install will participate in distributed data synchronization, carefully plan your clusters and the role of each server in the cluster before installation.

A cluster is a group of Netscape Application Servers, installed on separate machines, that can participate as a group in synchronization of state and session data. Each server within a cluster can assume one of several roles. Most important for this installation discussion is the category of Sync Server, which includes the Sync Primary, Sync Backup, and Sync Alternate servers.

The Sync Primary is the primary data store, to which all other servers in a cluster communicate for the latest distributed data information.

A Sync Backup mirrors the information on the Sync Primary and takes over the role of the Sync Primary if the original Sync Primary fails.

A Sync Alternate is eligible to become a Sync Backup. If the number of Sync Backups falls below the set maximum (always 0 or 1), the Sync Alternate with the highest priority relative to other Sync Alternates is promoted to Sync Backup.

Note: If your configuration consists of only one instance of Netscape Application Server, then cluster planning is not necessary.

Decide how many Sync Servers are in the cluster, in other words how many servers have the potential to become the Sync Primary. At most, this can be equal to the number of Netscape Application Servers installed on your network.

Know the IP address of the machine that each Sync Server in the cluster resides on and the Executive Server (KXS) port number of each Netscape Application Server.

Decide in advance the priority order, or rating, of the Sync Servers. Note that the Sync Primary is not determined by which machine has the highest priority assignment, but rather by which machine you start up first after all servers are installed.

We recommend that you assign the highest priority to the Netscape Application Server you prefer to be the Sync Primary, and that you start that machine up first; assign the next highest priority to the Sync Backup, and to the remaining Sync Alternates in the desired order of promotion.

Make sure to note the priority rating you assign to the Netscape Application Servers in the cluster. For each installation of a Netscape Application Server in the cluster, you must re-enter the same set of IP addresses and KXS port numbers and assign to them the same priorities. Otherwise the cluster will not function properly.

You do not have to install the servers in the same order as the priority you assign, as long as the priority ratings and Application Server identification information is consistent across each installation.

Note that the maximum number of allowed Sync Backups is one (1).