Configuring WebFOCUS Portlets for the Vignette Application Portal Server

Installation Requirements

Before you install JSR 168 WebFOCUS Portlets, ensure the following components are installed and available:

Windows 2000 Server or Windows NT 4.0 Server.
Vignette Application Portal Server Version 7.2.
Internet Explorer Version 5.0 or higher.
WebFOCUS Business Intelligence Dashboard Version 7 Release 7.02. For more information, see the WebFOCUS and ReportCaster Installation and Configuration for Windows manual.

WebFOCUS Open Portal Services provides the following optional parameters when configuring your portal:

RESTRICT_WOAS_TO_IP
PORTAL_SIGNON_TRIM_WINDOWS_DOMAIN

For more information on how to configure these parameters, see Using WebFOCUS Portal Components.

USE_GATEWAY Parameter

The USE_GATEWAY parameter is enabled internally by default.

If you are not using a gateway in your environment, you must log in to the WebFOCUS Administration Console and change the value of the USE_GATEWAY parameter to NO, as shown in the following image.

For more information, see Using the WebFOCUS Administration Console to Specify Parameter Values.

For more information on how to install and deploy the WebFOCUS Open Portal Services Gateway, see How to Install and Deploy the WebFOCUS Open Portal Services Gateway.

Deployment Overview

Under Vignette Application Portal (VAP), portlets are deployed as Web applications that are separate from the VAP Web application. VAP uses the application standard server WAR deployment procedure. Before the first deployment of a portlet application, its web.xml file must be modified to enable VAP to access and manage the portlet or portlets that the application contains. VAP includes a tool that performs this modification.

The sequence of events required to develop and deploy a portlet into VAP is as follows:

The developer runs the VAP Portlet Packaging Tool, which prepares the portlet application for use with VAP. If the portlet application was archived, the packaging tool rearchives it after applying the modifications.
The developer or deployment manager deploys the portlet application to the application server, supplying the context application root. This step uses the normal deployment feature of the application server.

When the portlet application is started, the portlet appears in the VAP administration consoles. The VAP Portlet Packaging Tool needs to be run only once; if the portlet application is modified and redeployed, the tool does not need to be re-run.

Using the VAP Portlet Packaging Tool

How to:

Use the VAP Script

The VAP Portlet Packaging Tool works with portlet applications in any format-one or more WAR files, one or more EAR files, or loose files in exploded WAR format. If you do not run the packaging tool on a portlet application before deploying it for the first time, the application server will complete its deployment process but VAP will not find the application.

However, you need to run the tool only once on any portlet application. Thereafter, you can redeploy the application as well as make changes to it without rerunning the tool (as long as the application continues to contain the modifications applied by the tool). The packaging tool is an Ant task that adds the information required by VAP to a application web.xml file portlet. For the simplest case-deploying one portlet application-you can use a script that ships with VAP; for access to all features of the tool, you can create your own Ant build file. The Ant task can be incorporated into your existing build processes so that running the packaging tool is a seamless part of development.

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Procedure: How to Use the VAP Script

VAP ships with a preconfigured build file containing an Ant task to prepare a single WAR file for deployment. You can run this build file by using a command-line executable script for convenience.

Locate the ops.war file in the following location:
```
\ibi\WebFOCUS77\worp\components\ops\jsr168
```
Copy the ops.war file to the following directory:
```
<VAPInstallDir>\ant\examples\portletpackagetool\myportlet
```
where

<VAPInstallDir>

Is the location where the Vignette Application Portal Server is installed.
Run one of the following scripts depending on which platform you are using and supply the portlet application's context root as a command-line argument:
- Windows
```
<VAPInstallDir>\ant\bin\generic_portletpackagetool.bat
```
- UNIX
```
<VAPInstallDir>/ant/bin/generic_portletpackagetool.sh
```
When prompted, type ops.war for the WAR file name.
At the prompt for the context root, type ops in the context root of the portlet application.
Deploy the opsgw.war file to the application server.
Locate the opsgw.war file in the following directory:
```
\ibi\WebFOCUS77\worp\components\ops\gateway
```
Copy the opsgw.war file to the following directory:
```
VAPInstallDir>\ant\examples\portletpackagetool\myportlet
```
Deploy the opsgw.war file to the application server.
Edit the cgivars.wfs file located in the following directory:
```
\ibi\WebFOCUS77\client\wfc\etc
```
Search for IBIMR_TRUSTED_KEY and note the value, for example, 1139420640245.

Configuring the WebFOCUS Portlets

How to:

Configure the WebFOCUS Portlets

The following section describes how to configure the WebFOCUS Portlets using the Vignette Portal Server Console.

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Procedure: How to Configure the WebFOCUS Portlets

You must configure the WebFOCUS portlets once they have been deployed to the Vignette Application Portal.

Login to Vignette Portal Server Console as an administrator.
In the left pane, expand Components, Portlets, and Portlet Applications to verify that the JSR168 application is deployed and available.
Click Portlet List, and then click Create Portlet.
Click the checkbox next to the Portlet that you want to create.
Click the Add Selected button.
Click Portlet List.
Click on a Portlet to modify its settings.
Click Details in the top frame of the right pane.

Specify values for the following parameters that correspond to the Portlet you are configuring.

Parameter

Description

Title

The name of the WebFOCUS Portlet, for example, Domain.

Protocol

The communication protocol, which is used by the portlet. Select http or https from the drop-down list.

Server Name

The machine name where WebFOCUS is installed.

Port Number

The port number used by the WebFOCUS Web Server.

Context Path

Specify the following context path:

/ibi_apps

Cache Expiration

The amount of time that a portlet's content is retained in cache before it is cleared. By default, cache expiration is not enabled.

Use Gateway

Select yes or no from the drop-down list to enable or disable the use of a gateway.

Gateway Context

Specify the following gateway context path:

/opsgw

Height (px)

The height of the portlet in pixels.

Trusted Key

The value of the IBIMR_TRUSTED_KEY variable, which is located in the cgivars.wfs file.

Parameter	Description
Title	The name of the WebFOCUS Portlet, for example, Domain.
Protocol	The communication protocol, which is used by the portlet. Select http or https from the drop-down list.
Server Name	The machine name where WebFOCUS is installed.
Port Number	The port number used by the WebFOCUS Web Server.
Context Path	Specify the following context path: /ibi_apps
Cache Expiration	The amount of time that a portlet's content is retained in cache before it is cleared. By default, cache expiration is not enabled.
Use Gateway	Select yes or no from the drop-down list to enable or disable the use of a gateway.
Gateway Context	Specify the following gateway context path: /opsgw
Height (px)	The height of the portlet in pixels.
Trusted Key	The value of the IBIMR_TRUSTED_KEY variable, which is located in the cgivars.wfs file.

Click Update.

Click Preview to verify the Portlet deployment.

Repeat steps 3-11 for each Portlet that you want to create.

Once you have created a Portlet, you can add it to a Portal page. For more information on configuring Portal pages, see your Vignette Application Portal Server documentation.