Review these topics for additional configuration of the Tivoli Enterprise Portal client environment.
Browser client
Users start the browser client by entering the URL for the integral HTTP server on the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server.
The advantages of the browser client are:
v Easy deployment. The browser client is installed the first time users log on to the URL for the Tivoli Enterprise Portal integral HTTP server.
v Software upgrades are automatic. When users log on, the browser client is checked against the one at the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server and downloads a newer version from the server if one is detected.
v Global parameter settings are set for all users connected to the same Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server.
v Workspaces have identifying URLs that can be referenced in Web pages and when launching from another Web-enabled application.
v Includes a banner that can be customized with your company logo and URL.
Java runtime environment (JRE) versions
The Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server and client run Java-based software. When you install the portal server, a check is done for IBM Java 1.5 on your system and, if not found, is installed automatically. This check also takes place when you install the desktop client, Java WebStart client, or log on from a browser with this difference: Sun Java 1.5.0_xx through 1.6.0_xx is also recognized as a valid JRE for the client (but not 1.6.0_xx for Firefox on Linux).
If you have different versions of the Java Runtime Environment installed locally, they can coexist. Tivoli Enterprise Portal V6.2.1 and V6.2.2 require IBM Java V1.5 or Sun Java V1.5. The desktop client must be at the same version as the portal server it connects to. This is also true for the browser client, but Java versioning is controlled at the portal server and upgraded automatically when you connect to a newer portal server.
Running IBM Tivoli Monitoring V6.1 agents and IBM Tivoli Monitoring V6.2 agents on the same computer requires Java 1.4.2 and 1.5 on that computer.
Allocating additional memory for the applet
When the browser client connects to the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server, it downloads a Java applet. Before starting the browser client, allocate enough memory for the applet to avoid out-of-memory problems.
Before you begin
Specify the runtime parameters for the Java applet using the control panel for the appropriate JRE. Use the same user ID from where the browser client will be
launched to open the control panel and specify these parameters. Otherwise, the user-level deployment.properties file for the correct user ID will not be updated.
About this task
Take these steps to increase the memory allocated for the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Java applet.
1. Open the Java control panel:
v Launch the IBM Control Panel for Java or the Java Control Panel.
v Find the Java ControlPanel executable under your jre_install_dir and launch it. Example: /opt/IBM/ibm-java2-i386-50/jre/bin/ControlPanel.
2. Click the Java tab.
3. In the Java Applet Runtime Settings area, click View.
4. If you have multiple Java versions, verify that you have the correct control panel open by reading the Location column to confirm the Java Runtime and that the JRE is in the correct path. For example, C:\Program
Files\IBM\Java50\jre\binfor IBM Java on Windows.
5. Click in the Java Runtime Parameters field and set the parameters:
-Xms128m -Xmx256m -Xverify:none
The -Xms128m specifies the starting size of the Java heap (128 MB) and -Xmx256m specifies the maximum size. The -Xverify:none parameter disables Java class verification, which can increase startup time.
If you are using the IBM JRE on Linux, add the –Djava.protocol.handler.pkgs option:
-Xms128m -Xmx256m -Xverify:none
-Djava.protocol.handler.pkgs=sun.plugin.net.protocol
This option is required for the IBM JRE on Linux due to a problem with the plug-in not caching jar files. If the parameter is left off, the Tivoli Enterprise Portal applet jar files will not be cached, making subsequent start ups of the applet slow.
6. Confirm that the Temporary Files settings are set to Unlimited:
a. Click the General tab.
b. Click Settings.
c. Select the maximum amount of disk space for storing temporary files: 1000 MB.
7. Clear the browser cache:
a. In the General tab, click Delete Files.
b. In the window that opens, select Downloaded Applets .
What to do next
You can now start the browser client and connect to the portal server.
Note: The Sun JRE does not always support the same maximum heap values as the IBM JRE. The true maximum is calculated based on the resources available on the particular computer being configured, and the algorithm that is involved is different between the two JREs. The symptom of a memory problem is that the applet fails to load in the browser and you receive an error message. To resolve this problem, reduce the value of the maximum heap setting in the Java Control panel in 32m or 64m increments until the error goes away. For example, if you
start with the recommended value of -Xmx256m try reducing it to -Xmx224m or -Xmx192m. Eventually you will reach a value that is appropriate for your computer.
First time logon
The first time the URL for Tivoli Enterprise Portal is entered from a system, the Java Plug-in transfers the necessary files from the portal server (on Windows, the files reside in the <itm_install_dir>\cnb branch; on operating systems such as UNIX, they are in the <itm_install_dir>/cw branch).
From then on the browser client software does not need to be downloaded again until a new version has been installed. The Java plug-in maintains the version levels of the files on users’ computers and compares them with the version levels on the integral HTTP server. If it detects files that are older than the ones on the HTTP server, it downloads the latest files.
Be sure you have sufficient free space for the downloaded files. If the disk runs out of space during the download, you are not warned.
Internet Explorer security settings
About this task
If you have the Internet Explorer security level set to high, you must adjust the settings to run Tivoli Enterprise Portal. Otherwise, Tivoli Enterprise Portal browser client cannot run.
Check the security settings
The following procedure should be used to check your current security settings.
1. In Internet Explorer, select Tools → Internet Options 2. Select the Security tab.
3. Click Internet if you are running Tivoli Enterprise Portal through the Internet;
or Intranet if you are running Tivoli Enterprise Portal through your intranet.
4. Change your security settings to Default Level 5. Click OK to save.
Keep current security settings
The following procedure can be used to integrate the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Web site with Internet Explorer without changing your security settings.
About this task
If you wish to keep your current security settings, you can add the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Web site to your Trusted Sites zone.
1. In Internet Explorer, select Tools → Internet Options 2. Select the Security tab.
3. Click Trusted Sites → Sites, and enter the URL for Tivoli Enterprise Portal.
4. Clear the check box that checks for (https:) for all sites at this zone, click Add Choose the medium security level or lower for all sites in the Trusted Sites zone.
5. Click OK to save.
Windows write and delete privileges
Starting with Windows 2000, write and delete privileges for certain folders and registry keys were removed from the Users group. These privileges are required for anyone intending to use the Java Web Start client or the browser client.
Otherwise, Java exception errors are encountered during attempts to start the product.
Before users can download the Web Start client or start the browser client, the Windows administrator must assign the required permissions to individual user IDs or the Users group, or create a new group with the necessary permissions and assign users to this group in addition to the Users group. The required permissions are:
v Write and Delete permissions on the directory where Windows is installed, such as C:\WINDOWS.
v Set Value, Create Subkey, and Delete permissions on registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE.
Note: The Windows permissions scheme affects the Tivoli Enterprise Portal browser mode and other third-party software installed through Internet Explorer.
Adding your company logo and URL
The Tivoli Enterprise Portal browser application looks much as it does in desktop mode, except that it also has a banner with a link to ibm.com. You can customize the Tivoli Enterprise Portal browser client by replacing the logo and URL with your organization’s.
About this task
Take these steps to customize the portal client banner:
1. On the computer where you installed the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server, open the following file in an HTML editor or text editor:
Install_dir\cnb\bannerimage.html
2. Edit the HREF and IMG SRC tags for your organization’s URL and logo graphic file:
a. Replace the href ' + URL + ' placeholder with your organization’s URL.
b. Replace the img src ' + URL + ' placeholder with the name of your organization’s logo GIF or JPG file.
c. Replace the alt ' + URL + ' placeholder with the text that should display when the mouse pointer is over the image, such as the URL.
3. Save the file and exit the editor.
4. Copy the logo graphic to the Install_dir\cnb\ directory.
Results
Users now see your logo on the right-hand side of the banner the next time they start browser mode.
Starting the Tivoli Enterprise Portal client
Log on to the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server to start a Tivoli Enterprise Portal work session.
Before you begin
The Hub Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Server and the portal server must be running for the portal client to start successfully. You also need to have a valid user ID.
About this task
After you have successfully installed and configured all the components of your IBM Tivoli Monitoring environment, you can verify the installation and
configuration by launching the Tivoli Enterprise Portal to view monitoring data.
You can access the portal using either the desktop client or the browser client. The default user ID is sysadmin.
v Start the desktop client:
– Click Start → Programs → IBM Tivoli Monitoring → Tivoli Enterprise Portal. When the logon window is displayed, enter your user ID and
password and click OK.
– Enter ./itmcmd agent start cj at the command line.
v Start the browser client:
1. Start the browser.
2. Type the URL for the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server into the Address field of the browser, where the systemname is the host name of the computer where the portal server is installed and 1920 is the port number for the browser client: http://systemname:1920///cnp/client
3. Click Yes on the Warning - Security window.
4. When the logon window is displayed, enter your user ID and password and click OK.
Using Web Start to download and run the desktop client
A desktop client obtained from the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server through IBM Web Start for Java benefits from centralized administration from the server. Like the browser client, it is automatically configured with the latest updates each time you start the client, and there is no need to configure application support.
This section is reproduced from the IBM Tivoli Monitoring Installation and Setup Guide for your convenience.
Before you use IBM Web Start for Java to download the desktop client from the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server:
v The Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server must be installed. (See the IBM Tivoli Monitoring Installation and Setup Guide.)
v IBM 32-bit Runtime Environment for Windows, Java 2, version 5.0 must be installed on the computer to which you want to download the desktop client.
You can download the IBM JRE installer from the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server.
The IBM JRE must be installed as the system JVM.
If you want to run the desktop client on a system that already has a Tivoli Management Services base component installed (such as a monitoring server or the portal server), there is no need to install the IBM JRE. The correct version of the IBM JRE is installed with the Tivoli Management Services component.
If you run the desktop client using Web Start instead of installing it from the installation media, you must configure the JRE to enable tracing for the desktop client.
Installing the IBM JRE
About this task
If you intend to download and run the desktop client using Web Start on a computer where no IBM Tivoli Monitoring base component is installed, you must first install IBM Java 1.5. You download an installer from the computer where the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server is installed:
Windows: Installing the IBM JRE
Install the IBM Java Runtime Environment on the computer where you plan to start the desktop client using Java Web Start.
About this task
Take these steps to download the IBM JRE installer from the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server and install the JRE on a Windows computer:
1. Start the browser on the computer to which you want to download the installer.
2. Enter the following URL in the Address field of the browser, where
<TEPS_host_name> is the fully qualified host name of the computer where the portal server is installed (for example, myteps.itmlab.company.com):
http://<TEPS_host_name>:1920///cnp/kdh/lib/java/ibm-java2.exe
3. When prompted, save the java/ibm-java2.exe file to a directory on your hard drive.
4. Change to the directory where you saved the java/ibm-java2.exe file and double-click the file to launch the JRE installer to start the installation program.
5. On the pop-up window, select the language from the drop-down list and click OK.
6. Click Next on the Welcome page.
7. Click Yes to accept the license agreement.
8. Accept the default location for installing the JRE or browse to a different directory. Click Next.
9. Click NO on the message asking if you want to install this JRE as the system JVM. Make Java 1.5 the system JVM only if there are no other JREs installed on the computer.
10. If another JRE is currently installed as the system JVM and you are prompted to overwrite the current system JVM, click NO. Overwriting the current system JVM might cause applications depending on the current JVM to fail.
11. Click Next on the Start Copying Files window to start installing the JRE.
12. On the Browser Registration window, select the browsers that you want the IBM JRE to be associated with. These would normally be the browsers that you want to use with the browser client.
13. Click Next.
14. Click Finish to complete the installation.
Linux: Installing the IBM JRE
Install the IBM Java Runtime Environment on the computer where you plan to start the desktop client using Java Web Start.
About this task
Complete the following steps to download the IBM JRE installer from the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server and install the JRE on a Linux computer.
1. Start the browser on the computer to which you want to download the installer.
2. Enter the following URL in the Address field of the browser:
http://teps_hostname:1920///cnp/kdh/lib/java /ibm-java2-i386-jre-5.0-7.0.i386.rpm
where teps_hostname is the fully qualified host name of the computer where the portal server is installed (for example, myteps.itmlab.company.com).
3. When prompted, save the installer to disk.
4. Change to the directory where you saved the
ibm-java2-i386-jre-5.0-7.0.i386.rpmfile and launch the installer to start the installation program using the following command:
rpm -ivh ibm-java2-i386-jre-5.0-7.0.i386.rpm
You can also install the JRE without downloading the installer by supplying the URL to the rpm in the command:
rpm -ivh http://teps_hostname:1920///cnp/kdh/lib/java /ibm-java2-i386-jre-5.0-7.0.i386.rpm
Enabling tracing for the JRE
Log files are not created for the desktop client launched through Web Start unless you enable tracing for the JRE.
Before you begin
The logs for the Web Start client are located in a different place than logs for the browser client and for the desktop client installed from the media. On Windows computers, the logs for the Web Start client are located in the C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\IBM\Java\Deployment\log directory. On Linux and UNIX computers, the logs are located in the .java/deployment directory of the home directory of the user ID under which the Java JRE was installed. Java Web Start will create a uniquely named trace file for every independent launch of the application. The files are named javaws.nnnnn.trace, where nnnnn is an arbitrary five-digit identifier.
About this task
Complete the following steps to enable tracing:
1. Launch the IBM Control Panel for Java.
v On Windows, select Start > Control Panel, then double-click IBM Control Panel for Java. You must switch to the Classic view to see and select the Control Panel. Alternatively, you can launch the Control Panel by selecting Start > Run >″C:\Program Files\IBM\Java50\jre\bin\javacpl.exe″.
v On Linux, change to <install_dir>/jre/<platform>/bin and run Control Panel: ./Control Panel
2. Select the Advanced tab.
3. Expand the Debugging node in the Settings tree and check Enable Tracing.
4. Click OK to save the setting and close the Java Control Panel.
Downloading and running the desktop client
The Tivoli Enterprise Portal can be launched as a desktop application or as a web application. You have three ways to install the desktop application: from a browser by entering the URL of the Java Web Start client on the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server, launching the desktop client from the IBM Java Control Panel, or launching the desktop client using Java Web Start from the command line.
Before you begin
These are the basic instructions for downloading and running the desktop client using Java Web Start. The complete instructions, with configuration notes are given in the Installation and Setup Guide.
About this task
Complete one of these steps to install and launch the desktop client using Java Web Start:
v Enter the URL of the portal server in a browser:
1. Start the browser on the computer where you want to use the desktop client.
2. Enter the following URL in the Address field of the browser, where
<TEPS_host_name> is the fully qualified host name of the computer where the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server is installed.
http://TEPS_host_name:1920///cnp/kdh/lib/tep.jnlp 3. Click Run on the security message.
4. If you want to create a shortcut on your desktop for the Tivoli Enterprise Portal, click Yes when prompted. The desktop client starts and displays the
4. If you want to create a shortcut on your desktop for the Tivoli Enterprise Portal, click Yes when prompted. The desktop client starts and displays the