CAST Engineering Dashboard/CAST Discovery Portal

The CAST Engineering Dashboard and CAST Discovery Portal are two distinct dashboards with their own specific features; however, they are also intrinsically linked:

• They are shipped in one distinct WAR/EAR file and are thus run from one unique application server (such as Apache Tomcat)
• Access to the portals is governed on a user login and role basis - users can be granted access to both portals or one and not the other
• A user with "Administrative" rights can access either portal and manage users and roles
• Some aspects of the CAST Discovery Portal are included in the CAST Engineering Dashboard
• Both portals can run and be accessed at the same time

A CAST Engineering Dashboard/Discovery Portal installation includes the installation of the following items:

• 1 CAST Dashboard Service (already completed - see Install CAST AIP schemas)
• 1 or more CAST Analysis Services (already completed, see Install CAST AIP schemas)
• Java Development Kit
• an application server (such as Apache Tomcat)

Requirements

The following basic requirements must be met before starting the installation process. Please see the Release Notes for more up-to-date information about these requirements.

	Application Server	Please see the Release Notes about Application Server support. The application server can run on either the Linux or Windows operating systems (this document describes an installation in a Windows environment).
	Java JDK	Must be installed on the machine hosting the Application Server. Please see Supported Platforms about JDK support.
	Web browser	Required for accessing the portals. Please see the Release Notes about Web Browser compatibility.
	CAST Analysis/Dashboard Services	To ensure compatibility you must only use a CAST Analysis or Dashboard Service installed with a version of CAST AIP that exactly matches the major, minor or Service Pack release number of the CAST CED WAR that you are installing.
	WAR file	The CAST dashboards are provided as one .WAR file (CAST-CED.war) - it can be retrieved from the WARS folder located in the CAST installation folder: Note that the WAR file must originate from the current release of CAST AIP.
	Miscellaneous	Check that anti-virus or firewall software installed on your workstation is not set to block scripts, ActiveX controls or Java applets. For Internet Explorer ActiveX controls are turned off when working at High security level (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308260/en-us). If you use this level of security for the zone in which the CAST Engineering Dashboard is deployed (normally this is Local Intranet) change the security level, or add the URL of the CAST Engineering Dashboard to your list of Trusted Sites where security levels are lower.

Installation procedure

The installation process for the CAST Engineering Dashboard and the CAST Discovery Portal can be carried out on the:

• CAST Administration workstation
• Or a dedicated workstation for the dashboard components - recommended if you have a large deployment

Step 1 - Java JDK installation

Please see Appendix - web application server configuration.

Step 2 - Application Server installation

Please see Appendix - web application server configuration.

Step 3 - .WAR/.EAR file deployment

The CAST Engineering Dashboard and CAST Discovery Portal are shipped in the form of a .WAR file (CAST also provides an .EAR file for Websphere servers prior to version 6.1).

.WAR file deployment on Apache Tomcat

To deploy the .WAR file on Apache Tomcat:

• Locate the .WAR file and move it to the web application installation location. By default on Apache Tomcat this is set to:

%CATALINA_HOME%\webapps

• If the Apache Tomcat server is running, the file will be automatically unpacked and deployed
• You can now access the CAST Engineering Dashboard / CAST Discovery Portal using the URL:

http://<server_name>:<port_number>/CAST-CED

You now need to configure the web.xml file - see Step 4 - web.xml configuration below.

.EAR file deployment on IBM Websphere 6.1

To deploy the .EAR file on IBM Websphere 6.1:

• Launch the Websphere Administration Console from the Start menu or the First Steps console:
  • Start > All Programs > IBM Websphere > Application Server V6.1 > Profiles > AppSrv01 > Administration Console
  • Start > All Programs > IBM Websphere > Application Server V6.1 > Profiles > AppSrv01 > First Steps and then click the Administration Console option
• Enter the username and password that you created in the installation process (see Websphere 6.1 installation: Appendix - web application server configuration) to gain access to the Administration Console
• Once logged in, expand the left hand menu option Applications and choose the Install a new applicationoption:
  • Step 1: In the displayed screen (the first in a series of wizards), enter the location of your CAST-CED.EAR file in the Local File System option. You also need to enter the name of the Web application in the Root Context section - CAST recommends entering CAST-CED. Then click Next.
  • Step 2: In the next screen select the module that is to be installed (in most circumstances there will only be one item listed in this screen) to map it to the server. Click Next.
  • Step 3: In the next screen, select the web module that is to be installed (in most circumstances there will only be one item listed in this screen) to map it to the correct host (select default_host). Click Next.
  • A summary screen will then be displayed listing the options you have chosen. If you are happy, click Finish to proceed with the application installation.
  • The application will then be installed. When complete, click Save to save the master configuration.
• When the process is complete, you will return to the screen displayed in Step 1.
• Expand the left hand menu option Applications and choose the Enterprise Applications option.
• A list of applications installed on the server will then be displayed. The application called CAST-CED (or whatever name you chose for the Root Context in Step 1) will be displayed and you will see that under the column Application State, a red cross will be displayed indicating that the application has not been started. Tick the box corresponding to CAST-CED and then click the Start button.
• If all processes are working correctly, a successful start-up message will be displayed.
• You can now access the CAST Engineering Dashboard/Discovery Portal using the URL:

http://<server_name>:9080/CAST-CED

You now need to configure the web.xml file - see Step 4 - web.xml configuration below.

Step 4 - web.xml configuration

Before you can use the CAST Engineering Dashboard or CAST Discovery Portal, you need to configure the web.xml file. The web.xml file contains a variety of configuration settings, however, when first installing the portals, only some of them require changing. Those that require modification are listed below:

To do any of the above, open the following file with a text editor (this is the location on Apache Tomcat):

%CATALINA_HOME%\webapps\CAST-CED\WEB-INF\web.xml

Connection settings for CAST Dashboard Service

By default, the web.xml file supplied by CAST will contain an uncommented connection settings template for the CAST Storage Service:

<!-- Template for CAST Storage Services -->
    <context-param>
         <param-name>jdbc.driver</param-name>
         <param-value>org.postgresql.Driver</param-value>
         <description>JDBC driver</description>
     </context-param>
     <context-param>
         <param-name>jdbc.subprotocol</param-name>
         <param-value>postgresql</param-value>
         <description>JDBC sub protocol</description>
     </context-param>
     <context-param>
         <param-name>jdbc.database</param-name>
         <param-value>//localhost:2280/postgres</param-value>
         <description>JDBC database</description>
     </context-param>
     <context-param>
         <param-name>jdbc.user</param-name>
         <param-value>operator</param-value>
         <description>JDBC user</description>
     </context-param>
     <context-param>
         <param-name>jdbc.password</param-name>
         <param-value>CastAIP</param-value>
         <description>JDBC password</description>
     </context-param>
     <context-param>
         <param-name>jdbc.schema</param-name>
         <param-value>[Dashboard Service schema]</param-value>
         <description>JDBC Central database</description>
     </context-param>
<!-- Template for CAST Storage Services -->

This template is provided uncommented so that J2EE compliant application server GUIs (part of the web application administration tool set) can directly edit the connection information if required.

If you prefer to edit the settings yourself, you need to modify the last four <param-value> tags in the template above to match your own environment. In reality, values two and three will NOT need changing in a CAST Storage Service environment at this initial stage:

1. <param-value>//localhost:2280/postgres</param-value>
2. <param-value>operator</param-value>
3. <param-value>CastAIP</param-value>
4. <param-value>Dashboard Service schema</param-value>

If you are NOT working in a CAST Storage Service environment, you need to:

• Comment the entire CAST Storage Service connection settings template by adding <! and > around the template section
• Uncomment the connection settings you require by removing the <! and > from the specific template
• Edit the required information

In both cases, following any changes you make, save the web.xml file and then restart your application server so that the changes are taken into account.

<context-param>
<param-name>jdbc.database</param-name>
<param-value>//[IPAddress];instance=[InstanceName]</param-value>
<description>JDBC database</description>
</context-param>

CAST web application start-up settings

By default the web.xml file contains settings that will load the CAST web application when the first user attempts to access the CAST Engineering Dashboard / CAST Discovery Portal following an application server startup or restart. This load process can take some time and thus penalizes the first user to login (all subsequent logins are normal speed).

If you would prefer that the web application is loaded at the same time as the application server is started or restarted, then you need to edit the following line in the web.xml file:

<load-on-startup>-1</load-on-startup>

Change this to:

<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>

Following any changes you make, save the web.xml file and then restart your application server so that the changes are taken into account.

URL access configuration

By default, the web.xml file is configured to launch the CAST Engineering Dashboard when users go to the URL:

• http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:8080/CAST-CED - Apache Tomcat
• http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:9080/CAST-CED - IBM Websphere

If users want to access the CAST Discovery Portal, they need to use the following URL:

• http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:8080/CAST-CED/OpenAIP - Apache Tomcat
• http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:9080/CAST-CED/OpenAIP - IBM Websphere

If you prefer users to be able to access the CAST Discovery Portal using:

http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:<port_number>/CAST-CED

you need to re-configure the web.xml file. Open the web.xml file with a text editor (this is the location on Apache Tomcat):

%CATALINA_HOME%\webapps\CAST-CED\WEB-INF\web.xml

In this file, locate the following section:

<welcome-file-list>
	<welcome-file>OpenPortal</welcome-file>
	<welcome-file>index.html</welcome-file>
</welcome-file-list>

Change this section to:

<welcome-file-list>
	<welcome-file>OpenAIP</welcome-file>
	<welcome-file>index.html</welcome-file>
</welcome-file-list> 

Following any changes you make, save the web.xml file and then restart your application server so that the changes are taken into account. Users can now access the CAST Discovery Portal using the URL:

http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:<port_number>/CAST-CED

Note that if you do make this change to the web.xml file, users then requiring access to the CAST Engineering Dashboard will need to use the following dedicated URL instead:

http://YOUR_SERVER_NAME:<port_number>/CAST-CED/OpenPortal

Populate the CAST Dashboard Service

When all previous installation operations have been successfully completed, you are now ready to use the CAST Management Studio to populate the CAST Dashboard Service with Quality Rule information via snapshot generation. See Onboarding an Application in CAST AIP for more information.

Initial portal login

To access the CAST portals, point your browser to:

• Enter the login and password combination:

• Click the Connect button to begin the connection process.
• If the login is successful, you will be presented with a page similar to the following (depends on the user used to log in):

CAST Engineering Dashboard

If a warning is displayed as follows:

...you have not yet used the CAST Management Studio to generate any snapshots. See Onboarding an Application in CAST AIP for more information.

CAST Discovery Portal

Site List configuration (optional)

The Site List is used as follows:

In both instances, the following screen will be displayed. This screen lists the CAST Analysis Services that have ALREADY been defined in the CAST Management Studio:

The State column indicates the current status of the site and its configuration settings:

• will be displayed when the page is first loaded. This is because the status of the site is not known at this time.
• will be displayed after entering configuration settings and clicking either the or the icons to test or save the site and the test connection fails. In this case you need to amend the settings.
• will be displayed after entering configuration settings and clicking either the or the icons to test or save the site and the test connection succeeds.

Add a new Site

To add a new site, you need to enter appropriate connection information into each field. This is summarized below:

[IPAddress]:[PortNumber]/postgres

@[IPAddress]:[PortNumber]:[InstanceName]

//[IPAddress]:[Port]

//[IPAddress];instance=[InstanceName]

• Once the information is entered, use the button to test the connection. If the information is correct, a message "Valid Profile" will be displayed. If not, then a warning message will appear - check your settings and try again.
• Next click the button to save the site configuration. The "Site registered" message will be displayed.

Delete an existing site

To delete an existing site from the Connection List:

• Select Site Lists from the Administrator pages section in Quick Access to
• Click the button corresponding to the site you want to delete. The site will be removed from the Site List.

Deleting a Site only deletes the connection information, not the physical database that it refers to.

Updating an existing site

To update an existing site from the Connection List:

• Select Site Lists from the Administrator pages section in Quick Access to
• Make the necessary changes to the site information
• Click the button to test the connection.
• If the test is successful ("Valid Profile" message) click to save the settings.

Adding a site using a DataSource 

To add a site when using a DataSource to connect to your CAST Dashboard Service (see CAST-CED - Connecting using a DataSource), you need to do the following:

• In the Host field, enter the name of your DataSource
• In the Schema field, enter the name of the database/schema hosting your site (Analysis Service)
• In the Driver field, choose the "DataSource" option
• It is not necessary to fill in any other fields, however, please make sure you remove the text "Empty" from fields that are not used in this scenario - particularly the "User" field - otherwise the connection may fail.

Managing users and roles for the CAST portals

Once the above configuration settings and installation processes have been completed, you can then go on to manage users and roles for your CAST Engineering Dashboard and CAST Discovery Portal. Please see CAST-CED - Managing users and roles.

Additional information

You can find additional information about advanced configuration changes in Legacy CAST Engineering Dashboard and CAST Discovery Portal   such as:

• CAST-CED - Advanced web.xml configuration
  • CAST-CED - Active Directory LDAP and Kerberos integration
  • CAST-CED - Changing theme and style
  • CAST-CED - Configure the CSV delimiter for Export to CSV feature
  • CAST-CED - Configure the hard disk location for auto generated PDF reports
  • CAST-CED - Configure the log
  • CAST-CED - Connecting to a Microsoft SQL Server with a Windows Active Directory domain user
  • CAST-CED - Connecting using a DataSource
  • CAST-CED - Disabling Technical Context link to the CAST Discovery Portal
  • CAST-CED - Enabling and disabling the AppMarq link
  • CAST-CED - Setting the maximum number of cached JDBC connections
• CAST-CED - Managing users and roles
• CAST-CED - Date display formatting
• CAST-CED - Troubleshooting

There is also additional information about implementing an enhanced security configuration for your application server in Common security configuration options for web application deployment:

• Configuring the use of secure https protocol with Tomcat for the CAST web applications
• Setting up a Reverse Proxy on Apache web server
• Disabling insecure HTTP methods in Apache Tomcat - webdav
• Disabling weak SSL cipher suites to improve security