16 Setting Up the MWaaS Self Service Portal

Setting Up the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal

The EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR can configure and set up the middleware self service portal by creating middleware pools, quotas, request settings, and service templates. To set up the MWaaS Self Service Portal, follow these steps:

1. Follow the steps in Getting Started with MWaaS for Physical Hosts to enable MWaaS.

2. Set up one or more PaaS Infrastructure zones. See Creating a PaaS Infrastructure Zone for details.

3. Create a Middleware Pool. See Creating a Middleware Pool.

4. Optionally, you can configure an external load balancer. See Creating a Load Balancer Configuration.

5. Configure request settings. See Configuring Request Settings.

6. Define quotas for each self service user role. See Setting Up Quotas.

7. Create service templates. See Creating a Middleware Service Template.

8. Optionally, you can configure the Chargeback Service. See Configuring Chargeback.

Setting Up the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal for Physical Hosts

After you have set up MWaaS, you must configure and set up the MWaaS Cloud Self Service Portal by creating middleware pools, setting up quotas, defining request settings, configuring the load balancer, creating service templates, and configuring chargeback. Figure 16-1 diagram shows the initial setup and the relationship between the various entities involved in setting up the Cloud Middleware Self Service Portal.

Figure 16-1 Setting Up MWaaS (Physical Hosts)

Setting Up the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal for Virtual Hosts

After you have set up MWaaS, you must configure and set up the MWaaS Cloud Self Service Portal by creating middleware pools, setting up quotas, defining request settings, configuring the load balancer, creating service templates, and configuring chargeback. Figure 16-3 diagram shows the initial setup and the relationship between the various entities involved in setting up the Cloud Middleware Self Service Portal.

Figure 16-2 Setting Up MWaaS (Virtual Hosts)

Creating a Middleware Pool

A Middleware Pool contains a set of resources that can be used to provision a service instance within a PaaS Infrastructure Zone. To create a Middleware Pool, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Enterprise Manager as a user with the EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR role.

2. From the Setup menu, select Cloud, then select Middleware. The Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup page appears.

3. Click Middleware Pools. The existing middleware pools are listed on the Middleware Pools page.

   Figure 16-3 Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup: Middleware Pools

   
   

4. Click Create. The Create Middleware Pool: General page appears. Enter a name and description for the Middleware Pool.

5. Specify the Placement Policy Constraints. These constraints are used to set maximum limits on resource utilization for each host. In the Maximum Number of Java Servers (per host) field, enter the maximum number of Java Server instances that can be running on each host in the pool.

   Figure 16-4 Create Middleware Pool: General

   
   

6. Click Next. The Create Middleware Pool: Targets page appears. In this page, you can add one or more Oracle homes to the Middleware Pool being created.

   1. In the Zone Name drop box, select the PaaS Infrastructure Zone in which the Middleware Pool is to be created. See Creating a PaaS Infrastructure Zone for details.

   2. Specify the Version of the Oracle Home being added to the Middleware Pool.

      Note:

      The hosts on the service instance is to be provisioned must contain a Middleware Home. This Middleware Home must be of the same version as the Middleware Home of the WebLogic Domain from which the provisioning profile was created.

   3. Click Add and select the Oracle Home to be added to the Middleware Pool. Click Submit to create a software pool.

      Note:

      You must select only one Oracle Home from a host being added to the Middleware Pool. The Oracle Home must be of the same platform and version you have selected earlier.

      The newly created pool will appear in the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup: Middleware Pools page. This Middleware Pool can now be used as a target while creating the Service Template.

Creating a Load Balancer Configuration

Load Balancer Configurations are used to configure and route web traffic to middleware service instances. You can configure external pre-configured load balancers such as Oracle HTTP Server (OHS), Oracle Traffic Director (OTD) or a third party load balancer. If you want to configure a third party load balancer, you must use a custom script to update the load balancer configuration. For more details on this script, see Creating a Custom Script. A Middleware Pool or a Deployment Plan can be associated with only one of the load balancer configurations.

Prerequisites

• The external load balancer being configured must be installed on an Enterprise Manager monitored host and is used to route Web traffic to one or more MWaaS service instances. When a MWaaS service instance is created, updated (scaled up or scaled down), or deleted, the load balancer configuration is automatically updated.

• To route HTTPS Web traffic, you must do the following:

  • Create an OTD configuration (This is required only if you are configuring an Oracle Traffic Director type of load balancer).

  • Create or install a certificate.

  For more details configuring SSL authentication, refer to the Oracle Traffic Director Administrator's Guide and the Oracle HTTP Server Administrator's Guide.

To configure a load balancer, follow the steps below:

1. Log into Enterprise Manager as an user with the EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR role.

2. From the Setup menu, select Cloud, then select Middleware. The Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup page appears. Click Load Balancer Configurations. The following page appears.

   Figure 16-5 Load Balancer Configurations

   
   

3. Click Create to create a new load balancer configuration.

   Figure 16-6 Load Balancer Configuration: General

   
   

4. Enter the following details:

   • Name of the load balancer configuration.

   • Select the type of load balancer being configured. This can be Oracle HTTP Server (OHS), Oracle Traffic Director (OTD), or a Third Party Load Balancer.

   • Select the host on which the load balancer is installed. This must be an Enterprise Manager monitored host.

   • Specify the Routing Protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, or both) and the Routing Port number.

     Note:

     If you are configuring the Oracle HTTP Server, the Routing Port is required only for the http Routing Protocol. In this case, the port you specify must be the default port of the default virtual host.

   • Select the Monitoring Agent (Management Agent) and specify the Named Credentials.

5. Click Next. The Create Load Balancer Configuration: Properties page appears.

   Figure 16-7 Create Load Balancer Configuration: Properties

   
   

   If you have selected the Load Balancer Type as:

   • Oracle HTTP Server: Enter the following details:

     • Instance Home: The directory in which the configuration data and binary files pertaining to Oracle HTTP Server instance is stored.

     • Component Name: The component in the specific instance that is to be configured.

   • Oracle Traffic Director: Enter the following details:

     • Oracle Home: The directory in which the Oracle Traffic Director binaries are installed.

     • Admin Protocol: Specify the protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) to be used by the Oracle Traffic Director Administration Server to forward requests. By default, this is HTTPS.

     • Admin Listen Port: Specify the Administration Server listen port number.

     • SNMP Port: The SNMP port configured for Oracle Traffic Director. The default port number is 11161.

     • Instance Node: Specify the Oracle Traffic Director Instance node name.

     • Configuration Name: This field is optional and is required only if you have selected the HTTPS or HTTP and HTTPS Admin Protocol. If you select the HTTP Admin Protocol, and do not specify a value in this field, the OTD Configuration Name is created as config1 by default.

     • Certificate Name: This field is optional. If you selected the HTTPS or HTTP and HTTPS Admin Protocol, enter the name of the self signed certificate.

     • Virtual Server Name: The name of the virtual server. If the virtual server does not exist, a virtual server with the name specified here will be created. In this release, host patterns are not defined for each virtual server in the configuration.

     • Privileged Named Credentials: Specify the Named Credentials for the Administration Server.

   • Third Party Load Balancer: Select a script to configure the load balancer.

6. Click Next. The Create Load Balancer Configuration: Targets page appears.

   Figure 16-8 Create Load Balancer Configuration: Targets

   
   

7. Click Add to add one or more middleware pools (See Creating a Middleware Pool) or deployment plans (See Deploying an Assembly) with which the load balancer will be associated.

   Note:

   A Middleware Pool or a Deployment Plan can be associated with only one load balancer configuration.

8. Click Next. Review the configuration and click Submit to create the Load Balancer Configuration. The newly created load balancer configuration appears in the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup: Load Balancer Configurations table. Click the Load Balancer Name link in the table to view the load balancer configuration details. This shows the targets associated with the load balancer configuration and middleware service instances that are using the configuration.

Configuring Request Settings

You can configure the request settings by specifying when a request can be made, its duration, and so on. To configure the request settings, follow these steps:

1. Log into Enterprise Manager as a user with the EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR role.

2. From the Setup menu, select Cloud, then select Middleware. The Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup page appears.

3. Click the Request Settings tab. Specify the following:

   • Future Reservation Length: How far in advance a request can be scheduled. You can select:

     • No Restriction: A new service request can be scheduled on any date later than the current date.

     • Restricted Reservation: A new service request can be scheduled in the future within the period specified here. Any future requests scheduled beyond the Restricted Reservation date will be denied.

       For example, if the Restricted Reservation is 1 year, and the current date is June 20, 2013, you can schedule a future request on or before June 20, 2014.

   • Request Archive Retention: Period after which the requests are automatically archived. You can select:

     • No Restriction: If this option is selected, requests are not archived.

     • Restricted Retention: Requests that older than the specified duration will be archived. The date on which a request is archived is based on the last modified date of the request.

       For example, if a request has been created on June 10, 2013 and the Restricted Retention period specified is 10 days. Suppose there are some associated child requests as follows:

       - Reschedule Request: Submitted on June 12

       - Start Instance: Submitted on June 14

       - Stop Instance: Submitted on June 17

       - Start Instance: Submitted on June 18

       - Delete Instance: Submitted on June 20

       Since the date on which the request was last modified is June 20, the request will be purged on June 30th (Restricted Retention = 10 days).

   • Default Retirement Period: The maximum period for which the service instance can be retained. You can select:

     • No Restriction: Requests do not have a end date and can be extended as required.

     • Restricted Duration: The period after which the service instance is to be released.

       For example, if the Restricted Duration is 15 days, and the request begin date is June 5, 2013, the service instance will be retired or released on June 25, 2013.

4. Click Apply.

Setting Up Quotas

Quota is the aggregate amount of resources that can be granted to each self service user belonging to a certain role. This quota applies only to the service instances provisioned through the Middleware Self Service Portal. To define a quota, follow these steps:

1. Log into Enterprise Manager as a user with the EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR role.

2. From the Setup menu, select Cloud, then select Middleware. The Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup page appears.

3. Click Quotas. Quota is the aggregate amount of resources that can be granted to each self service user belonging to a certain role. This quota applies only to the service instances provisioned through the Middleware Self Service Portal.

   Figure 16-9 Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup: Quotas

   
   

4. Click Create. In the Create New Quota window, select the Role Name for which the quota is to be granted. Specify the quota limits for the role as follows:

   • Memory: The maximum memory that can assigned to the instances owned by a specific user.

   • Application Servers: The number of Application Servers that can be owned by a user at any point in time.

   Note:

   Only roles that have the EM_SSA_USER privileges are displayed in the Select Roles dialog box.

Creating a Middleware Service Template

A service template is a standardized service definition that can be used by self service users to provision a service instance into one or more PaaS Infrastructure zones. You can create the following types of service templates. See:

• Creating a Middleware Physical Service Template

• Creating a Middleware Virtual Service Template

Creating a Middleware Physical Service Template

A service template can be used to provision an instance of a service into a set of selected PaaS Infrastructure zones.

Prerequisites

• Set up and enable MWaaS as described in Getting Started with MWaaS for Physical Hosts.

• A Middleware Pool must have been created.

• A PaaS Infrastructure Zone must have been created.

• A copy of a configured Middleware Provisioning deployment procedure with appropriate values must be present in the Software Library.

• The Oracle Home version in the deployment procedure and the Middleware Pool must be the same.

• If Named Credentials are used, the user creating the service template must be the owner of the Named Credentials.

To create a Middleware Physical Service Template, follow these steps:

1. Log into Enterprise Manager as a user with the EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR role.

2. From the Setup menu, select Cloud, then select Middleware. The Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup page appears.

3. Click the Service Templates tab. You can create service templates that can be used to provision an instance of a service in a set of selected zones.

4. Click Create. In the Select Service Template window, choose Middleware Service Template for Physical option and click Select to launch the Create New Service Template wizard. The Create Service Template: Name page appears.

   Figure 16-10 Create Service Template: General

   
   

5. Enter a name and description for the service template. The description must be unique and provide information on the type of service template being created.

6. Click the Search icon next to the Deployment Procedure field and select a Configured Middleware Provisioning deployment procedure that specifies the configuration of the WebLogic Domain. The configured deployment procedure can contain only one cluster with one WebLogic Server. You can scaleup or scale down by adding or deleting WebLogic servers to this cluster. Click Next.

   Note:

   Before you create a service template, you must have saved a copy of the Configured Middleware Provisioning Deployment Procedure with appropriate values.

7. The Create New Service Template: Configuration page appears. Enter the following details:

   • WebLogic Username: Enter a value of minimum 8 characters as the name of the user logging into the WebLogic server. This is a mandatory field.

   • WebLogic Password: Enter a value of minimum 8 characters as the password for the WebLogic server user. This is a mandatory field.

   • Port Range Start - End: Enter the port range for the WebLogic Server.

   • Expected Memory Consumption: Specify the memory required for each additional WebLogic Server instance.

     This parameter must be specified (cannot be left blank) and the value must match the -Xmx value specified in the profile. For example, if the profile specifies -Xmx512m, the memory required value must be set to 0.5. Similarly, a profile value of -Xmx1024m would need a memory required value of 1, and so on. Refer to the Note in Creating Provisioning Profiles for more details.

   • Expected CPU Consumption: Specify the CPU required for each additional WebLogic Server instance.

   • Prescript and Postscript for Service Instance Creation: Select the script that is to be executed before and after a service instance has been created.

   • Prescript and Postscript for Service Instance Deletion: Select the script that is to be executed before and after a service instance has been deleted.

     The scripts must meet the following guidelines:

     • Directive that is created should be a PERL directive.

     • An input parameter named INPUT_FILE_LOCATION must be defined.

     • The path to the location of a property file is specified in the INPUT_FILE_LOCATION.

     • The property file contains information about the service instance and the domain.

   • Hosts for Executing Scripts: Specify one or more target hosts on which the scripts will be executed.

   • Named Credential for execution of scripts: Specify the named credentials for the hosts.

   • Execution of Scripts on Admin Server Host: Enter 1 if the scripts are to be executed on the Administration Server.

   • Expose WebLogic and FMW Console URLs to SSA User: Enter 1 to expose the URLs to the EM_SSA_USER.

     Note:

     This field must be set to 1 only if the EM_SSA_USER needs to have complete control over the WebLogic and Fusion Middleware console. The EM_SSA_USER will then be able to perform all configuration changes and life cycle management operations from the console.

   • Enable Load Balancer: Enter 1 to enable the load balancer configuration for all services instances that are created with this service template.

8. Click Next. The Create New Service Template: PaaS Infrastructure Zones page appears.

   Figure 16-11 Create Service Template: PaaS Infrastructure Zones

   
   

9. Click Add to select the zones into which that the service instances can be provisioned.

10. Click the Search icon in the Software Pool field and select a Middleware Pool from the list.

    Note:

    The Middleware Pool that you select must contain Oracle homes with the same WebLogic Server version as specified in the Configure Deployment Procedure you have selected in the Create Service Template: Name page.

11. Click Next. In the Create Service Template: Roles page, click Add to select the self service user roles to which this service template will be available. All users belonging to the selected role can use this service template.

    If you need to add more PaaS Infrastructure zones, repeat steps 10 and 11.

12. Click Submit. The newly created service template will appear in the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup: Service Templates page. You can click on the Service Template Name link to view additional details.

    To edit an existing MWaaS service template, follow these steps:

    1. Click Edit in the Service templates page to launch to the Edit Service Template wizard.

    2. In this mode, you can modify the description, user name, password, and port range of the WebLogic Server instance being provisioned, add or remove PaaS Infrastructure Zones, Software Pools into which the template is being deployed, and add or remove users who can use this template.

Creating a Middleware Virtual Service Template

Prerequisites

• Set up and enable MWaaS as described in Getting Started with MWaaS for Virtual Hosts.

• A deployment plan must be present in the Software Library. To create a deployment plan, you must launch the assembly deployment wizard and save the assembly as a deployment plan on an Oracle VM Zone. See Provisioning Guest Virtual Machines Using Oracle Virtual Assemblies (OVA) for details. To launch assembly deployment, from Oracle VM Zone target menu, select Deploy, then select Assembly.

• The deployment plan (assembly) must contain a WebLogic Domain, Managed Server, and an Administration Server.

• The WebLogic Domain must be configured on a single host, with a single cluster and one Managed Server.

• The WebLogic Server version must be 10.3.5.0 or 10.3.6.0.

• A PaaS Infrastructure Zone must have been created.

• A Middleware Pool must have been created.

To create a Middleware Virtual Service Template, follow these steps:

1. Log into Enterprise Manager Grid Control as a user with the EM_SSA_ADMINISTRATOR role.

2. From the Setup menu, select Cloud, then select Middleware. The Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup page appears.

3. Click the Service Templates tab. You can create service templates that can be used to provision an instance of a service in a set of selected zones.

4. Click Create. In the Select Service Template window, choose Middleware Service Template for Physical option and click Select to launch the Create New Service Template wizard. The Create Service Template: Name page appears.

   Figure 16-12 Create Middleware Service Template for Virtual: General

   
   

5. Enter a name and description for the service template. The description must be unique and provide information on the type of service template being created. Click Next.

6. Figure 16-13 Create Middleware Service Template for Virtual: Configuration

   
   

   The Create New Service Template: Configuration page appears.

   Enter the following details:

   • WebLogic Username: Enter a value of minimum 8 characters as the name of the user logging into the WebLogic server. This is a mandatory field.

   • WebLogic Password: Enter a value of minimum 8 characters as the password for the WebLogic server user. This is a mandatory field.

     Note:

     The WebLogic Username and Password specified here must be the same as what has been specified in the Deployment Plan. If an incorrect password is entered, the deployment procedure will fail.

   • Root Password: The root user password for the virtual hosts that will be provisioned.

   • Agent Install User Password: The password required to deploy the agent on the virtual hosts that will be provisioned.

   • Host credential name for virtual flow: The name of host credentials to be used for provisioning operations on these virtual hosts.

   • Port Range Start - End: Enter the port range for the WebLogic Server.

   • Expected Memory Consumption: Specify the memory required for each additional WebLogic Server instance.

     This parameter must be specified (cannot be left blank) and the value must match the -Xmx value specified in the profile. For example, if the profile specifies -Xmx512m, the memory required value must be set to 0.5. Similarly, a profile value of -Xmx1024m would need a memory required value of 1, and so on. Refer to the Note in Creating Provisioning Profiles for more details.

   • Expected CPU Consumption: Specify the CPU required for each additional WebLogic Server instance.

   • Prescript and Postscript for Service Instance Creation: Select the script that is to be executed before and after a service instance has been created.

   • Prescript and Postscript for Service Instance Deletion: Select the script that is to be executed before and after a service instance has been deleted.

     The scripts must meet the following guidelines:

     • Directive that is created should be a PERL directive.

     • An input parameter named INPUT_FILE_LOCATION must be defined.

     • The path to the location of a property file is specified in the INPUT_FILE_LOCATION.

     • The property file contains information about the service instance and the domain.

   • Hosts for Executing Scripts: Specify one or more target hosts on which the scripts will be executed.

   • Named Credential for execution of scripts: Specify the named credentials for the hosts.

   • Execution of Scripts on Admin Server Host: Enter 1 if the scripts are to be executed on the Administration Server.

   • Expose WebLogic and FMW Console URLs to SSA User: Enter 1 to expose the URLs to the EM_SSA_USER.

     Note:

     This field must be set to 1 only if the EM_SSA_USER needs to have complete control over the WebLogic and Fusion Middleware console. The EM_SSA_USER will then be able to perform all configuration changes and life cycle management operations from the console.

   • Enable Load Balancer: Enter 1 to enable the load balancer configuration for all services instances that are created with this service template.

7. Click Next. In the Create New Service Template: Zones page, click Add. Select the PaaS Infrastructure Zone into which that the service instances can be provisioned. The PaaS Infrastructure Zone you select must contain an Oracle VM Zone. See Creating a PaaS Infrastructure Zone. The Deployment Plan associated with the Oracle VM Zone is displayed. Click Add to return to the previous page. The table lists the following details:

   • PaaS Zone: Name of the PaaS Infrastructure Zone.

   • Oracle VM Zone: The Oracle VM Zone present in the PaaS Infrastructure Zone.

   • Is Exalogic: Indicates if this zone has been deployed on an Exalogic rack.

   • Deployment Plan: The deployment plan associated with the OVM Zone.

     You must have created a deployment plan by launching the assembly deployment wizard and saving the assembly as a deployment plan on an Oracle VM Zone. See Provisioning Guest Virtual Machines Using Oracle Virtual Assemblies (OVA) for details

   Note:

   When you request a service with the virtual service template, the service instance is dependent on the deployment plan configuration selected here. For example, if the assembly is created from a source domain with 20 managed servers, the EM_SSA_USER can scale up the service instance by a maximum of 20 servers.

8. Click Next. In the Create Service Template: Roles page, click Add to select the SSA user roles to which this service template will be available. All users belonging to the selected role can use this service template.

9. Click Submit. The newly created service template will appear in the Middleware Cloud Self Service Portal Setup: Service Templates page. You can click on the Service Template Name link to view additional details.

Configuring Chargeback

Click the Chargeback tab to add the middleware pools to the Chargeback Application. On this page, you can determine chargeback zones, services, items, and prices. After Chargeback is set up, you can view charges and plan details. For more details on setting up the Chargeback Service, see Chapter 22, "Chargeback Administration".