3.1.

1 WebSphere Network Deployment setup IBM Business Process Manager uses the structures,
functions, and services that are provided by WebSphere Application Server. Each Process Center
environment and each Process Server environment are built on an IBM WebSphere Application
Server cell. This section introduces the concepts that are provided in a WebSphere Network
Deployment setup that are applicable to IBM BPM. Application servers The application server is the
platform on which Java language-based applications run. It provides services that can be used by
business applications, such as, database connectivity, threading, and workload management. In a
Network Deployment configuration, you can build a distributed server configuration to enable
central administration, workload management, and failover. In this environment, you integrate one
or more application servers into a cell that is managed by a central administration instance, which is
called a deployment manager. Profiles WebSphere Application Server runtime environments are
built by creating a set of configuration files, called profiles, that represent a WebSphere Application
Server configuration. The following categories of WebSphere Application Server files are available:
Product files are a set of read-only static files or product binary files that are shared by any instances
of WebSphere Application Server. Configuration files (profiles) are a set of user-customizable data
files. This file set includes WebSphere configuration, installed applications, resource adapters,
properties, and log files. Chapter 3. Components, topologies, and deployment environment patterns
types 37 Nodes and node agents A WebSphere node is a logical concept. A node is an administrative
grouping of application servers for configuration and operational management within one operating
system instance. You can create multiple nodes inside one operating system instance, but a node
cannot leave the operating system boundaries. With Network Deployment, you can configure a
distributed server environment that consists of multiple nodes that are managed from one central
administration server. A node consists of a node agent, by which the node is controlled, and the
application servers that are created as members of that node. In distributed server configurations,
each node has a node agent that works with the deployment manager to manage administration
processes. A node agent is created automatically when you add (federate) a stand-alone application
server node to a cell. The WebSphere node agent is a server that enables the deployment manager
to remotely manage the node, its application servers, and their applications. A node agent is
implemented as a Java virtual machine (JVM). Cells A cell is a grouping of nodes into a single
administrative domain. A cell encompasses the entire management domain. In a Network
Deployment environment, a cell can consist of multiple nodes (and node groups). These nodes and
groups are all administered from a single point, the deployment manager. Deployment manager The
deployment manager is the central administration point of a cell that consists of multiple nodes and
node groups in a distributed server configuration. It is similar to the configuration that is shown in
Figure 3-1 on page 38. The deployment manager communicates with the node agents of the cell that
it is administering to manage the applications servers within the node. The deployment manager
provides management capability for multiple federated nodes and can manage nodes that span
multiple systems and platforms. A node can be managed by a single deployment manager, and the
node must be federated to the cell of that deployment manager.