Wednesday, 28 October 2009

More portal laziness

Following on from my earlier post about improving portal startup performance, via lazy loading, one of our customers has located an almost identical mechanism to achieve a similar outcome, as documented here: -


The original script: -

./ConfigEngine.bat/sh enable-portal-light-startup-performance

affects 37 applications: -

  [wsadmin]   1 PA_Blurb                             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   2 PA_MPagesandFavorites                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   3 PA_Properties                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   4 PA_Eecontentandlayout                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   5 PA_appearance                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   6 PA_Set_Permissions                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   7 PA_portletWiring                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   8 PA_ThemesAndSkinsMgr                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   9 PA_Resource_Manager                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  10 PA_TCustomizerPortApp                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  11 PA_Portlet_Manager                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  12 PA_Manage_Webservices                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  13 PA_Web                               OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  14 PA_Principals_Manager                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  15 PA_ResourceView                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  16 PA_Credential_Admin                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  17 PA_PolicyExplorer                    OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  18 PA_PolicyEditor                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  19 PA_PolicyEditorCA                    OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  20 PA_Settings                          OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  21 PA_URL_mapping                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  22 PA_UniqueNames                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  23 PA_Markups_Manager                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  24 PA_Clients_Manager                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  25 PA_Import_XML                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  26 PA_WCM_Admin                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  27 PA_WebScanner                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  28 PA_FrequentUsers                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  29 PA_Tracing                           OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  30 PA_WPS_Welcome                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  31 PA_MageVirtualPortals                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  32 PA_TateCatalogPortApp                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  33 PA_PropertiesPortApp                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  34 PA_ParamConfig                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  35 PA_Roles                             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  36 PA_ApplicationCatalog                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  37 PA_Policy_Status                     OK    is set to    false


whereas this new script: -

./ConfigEngine.bat/sh enable-develop-mode-startup-performance

affects 96 applications: -

  [wsadmin] Check 107 application(s)
  [wsadmin] -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [wsadmin]   1 AJAX Proxy Configuration             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   2 CatalogHandler                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   3                  DefaultApplication  Not mapped to WebSphere_Portal
  [wsadmin]   4 Feed_Servlet                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   5 IEHS_war                             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   6 LWP_Mail_Servlets                    OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   7 LWP_People                           OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   8 Live_Object_Framework                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]   9 PA_ApplicationCatalog                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  10 PA_Banner_Ad                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  11 PA_BksFinalJSRProject                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  12 PA_Blurb                             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  13 PA_Bookmarks                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  14 PA_Clients_Manager                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  15 PA_Community_Port_App                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  16 PA_Credential_Admin                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  17 PA_DoWebAccessServlet                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  18 PA_Document_Viewer                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  19 PA_DynamicUIApp                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  20 PA_Eecontentandlayout                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  21 PA_FS_Disambiguation                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  22 PA_FeedReader                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  23 PA_FrequentUsers                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  24 PA_IBMCommonPIMPort                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  25 PA_Import_XML                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  26                PA_Login_Portlet_App skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin]  27 PA_LotusNotes                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  28 PA_LtusDocumentViewer                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  29 PA_LusWebConferencing                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  30 PA_MPagesandFavorites                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  31 PA_MageVirtualPortals                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  32 PA_Manage_Webservices                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  33 PA_Markups_Manager                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  34 PA_MosoftExchange2003                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  35 PA_MyTeamspaces                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  36 PA_PTransformationApp                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  37 PA_Palette_Port_App                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  38 PA_ParamConfig                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  39 PA_PolicyEditor                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  40 PA_PolicyEditorCA                    OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  41 PA_PolicyExplorer                    OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  42 PA_Policy_Status                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  43 PA_PortalWSRPProxy                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  44 PA_Portlet_Manager                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  45 PA_Principals_Manager                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  46 PA_Properties                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  47 PA_PropertiesPortApp                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  48 PA_RSS                               OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  49 PA_Reminder                          OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  50 PA_ResourceView                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  51 PA_Resource_Manager                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  52 PA_Roles                             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  53 PA_SIAPI                             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  54 PA_SQL_Query                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  55 PA_SametimeWhoIsHere                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  56 PA_SearchSitemapPort                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  57 PA_Search_Center                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  58 PA_Selfcare_Port_App                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  59 PA_Set_Permissions                   OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  60 PA_Settings                          OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  61 PA_SmetimeContactList                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  62 PA_TCustomizerPortApp                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  63 PA_TateCatalogPortApp                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  64 PA_ThemesAndSkinsMgr                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  65 PA_TplApp                            OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  66 PA_Tracing                           OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  67 PA_URL_mapping                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  68 PA_UniqueNames                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  69 PA_WCMLRingPortJSR286                OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  70 PA_WCMLocalRendering                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  71 PA_WCM_Admin                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  72 PA_WCM_Authoring_UI                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  73 PA_WPS_Welcome                       OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  74 PA_Web                               OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  75 PA_WebAppIntegrator                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  76 PA_WebScanner                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  77 PA_appearance                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  78 PA_portletWiring                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  79 PA_spa                               OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  80 PA_wp.feedspace                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  81 PSESearchAdapter                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  82 PZN_Utilities                        OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  83             Personalization_Lists_6 skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin]  84         Personalization_Workspace_6 skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin]  85 Seedlist_Servlet                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  86 SpellCheckService                    OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  87            TemplateLibrary_Servlets skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin]  88 UserProfileRESTServlet               OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  89 WSPolicyManager                      OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  90 WebResourceServlet.ear               OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  91                        content_j2ee skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin]  92 ibm_personTagServlet_war             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  93 ilwwcm-wcmimport                     OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  94 ilwwcm-wcmsearchseed                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  95                              ivtApp  Not mapped to WebSphere_Portal
  [wsadmin]  96                              jcrear skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin]  97 lwp.addtosametimelist_war            OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  98 lwp_dynamicPersontag_war             OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin]  99 lwp_groupsViewer_war                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin] 100 lwp_peoplePicker_war                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin] 101 lwp_peoplefinder_war                 OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin] 102 odc                                  OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin] 103 pznpublish                           OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin] 104 pznscheduler                         OK    is set to    false
  [wsadmin] 105                               query  Not mapped to WebSphere_Portal
  [wsadmin] 106                                 wcm skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin] 107                                 wps skip   is in exclude list
  [wsadmin] -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [wsadmin] Done.
  [wsadmin] Worked on 107 Applications. Modified: 96. Warning(s): 0

You pays your money, you takes your choice ...


Tuesday, 27 October 2009

"CPU Over Temperture (sp) Error" when building up Orac

Whilst reviewing my notes from my recent PC build, I found a scrawled error message that I was seeing not long after I first powered up the new box: -

CPU Over Temperture (sic) Error

This message popped up at the BIOS stage, and caused the machine to power down after a couple of minutes. When the machine was actually running, the CPU was running at 95 degrees C whereas it should've been running at a much lower temperature.

After much faffing about, it turned out that I had not properly seated the stock fan/cooler that came with the Intel Q9550 CPU. This is, in fact, much harder than it looks - whilst the cooler has four little "feet" that plug into the motherboard, this is actually very difficult to do, whilst the motherboard is in the case.

In the end, I pulled the machine apart again, and seated the CPU *and* cooler on the mobo with the board on the desk ( actually sitting on a pad of paper ). Despite this, I still found that I needed to flex the mobo somewhat, which felt a bit strange. However, everything fitted together and the machine has been running consistently, at 30-35 degrees C, since then.

The moral of the story ? Check the fitting between the cooler and CPU.

PS It's worth noting that the Intel CPU comes with some pre-applied thermal paste - I didn't need to replace this, despite having fitted/removed the cooler many times - if I'd continued to experience problems, I'd have been down the PC store to get more paste ( Shippams will NOT do ).

Sunday, 25 October 2009

Persistent Sessions and the Web Clipping portlet - not such good friends ...

A salutory lesson from a friend and customer of ours, Andrew Frayling, that might you avoid the recent performance challenges that he's been seeing with his implementation of WebSphere Portal: -

Retiring the Portal Wibble Dance

Friday, 23 October 2009

When your VPN doesn't want to play ball on OSX ... flush your roots ( routes actually )

For some reason, my VPN connection doesn't always want to work when I wake up my Macbook, even if I wasn't  actually using it. As an example, I was working in the office today on a fixed Ethernet connection, with no need to run the VPN and the AirPort wireless adapter turned off.

When I got home and woke up the Macbook, I turned on the AirPort, connected to my home wireless, and started my VPN client ( Lotus Mobile Connect ). Whilst the VPN connected without problems, I was still unable to connect to any intranet sites, either via browser or Notes client.

I've seen this problem before on OSX and on Linux, but couldn't ( for 20 minutes or so ) remember the solution ....

Finally, during an episode of the Simpsons in which Homer shows American sports stars how to celebrate when they win something ( endzone run ? ), I remembered the solution.

a) Open the Terminal application
b) Enter sudo route flush
c) Enter your password
d) Wait for the command to complete
e) Disable / enable Airport
f) Restart the VPN client

There's probably a better way but .....

Remember "Nerds Do It ... Rarely" 

Thursday, 22 October 2009

Learning to VMRUN

I was also seeing the exception: -

Error: The virtual machine cannot be found

when using the VMRUN command ( I'm running VMware Server 2.0 on Ubuntu 9.0.4 64-bit ) as follows: -

vmrun -t server -h https://hostname.domainname.com:8333/sdk -u root -p passw0rd register "/vmwares/domino/Virtual\ Machine.vmx"

Having validated the path to the .VMX file ( /vmwares is a mount point for a 1 TB drive formatted as EXT4 ), I was also baffled.

The syntax of the VMRUN command does imply a logical/physical path to the VM: -

"[storage1] vm/myVM.vmx"

and I was missing the obvious - the phrase [storage1].

I followed the advice given here to start a VM from the Web UI and then issue the command: -

vmrun -t server -h https://hostname.domainname.com:8333/sdk -u root -p passw0rd list

which showed the running VM as: -

[VMwares on Samsung] domino/Virtual\ Machine.vmx

Once I had this ( slightly strange ) "path", I was good to go.

I can now start my VM as follows: -

vmrun -t server -h https://hostname.domainname.com:8333/sdk -u root -p passw0rd start "[VMwares on Samsung] domino/Virtual\ Machine.vmx"

and, if I want to be mean, stop it as follows: -

vmrun -t server -h https://hostname.domainname.com:8333/sdk -u root -p passw0rd stop "[VMwares on Samsung] domino/Virtual\ Machine.vmx"

Simple :-)

Thanks to the VMware Communities folks here

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

How to enable lazy load of portlet applications during Portal startup

Had missed this Technote from earlier in the year, but it came into a client conversation about reducing the amount of portal applications being loaded when WebSphere Portal first starts up.

Abstract

This technote describes how to enable and disable the startup of administrative and sample portlets during Portal startup to speed up the server start and reduce the Portal memory footprint. 
 
Content

WebSphere Portal 6.1.0.2 introduces a new configuration task to enable and disable the lazy load of administrative and sample Portlet Applications. When enabled the applications are not loaded during startup of the server but when accessed for the first time.

Open Mic call: "Lotus Domino ID Vault" on October 22, 2009

Abstract

The IBM Lotus Domino team will host an Open Mic Question and Answer session regarding the "Lotus Domino ID Vault" on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 10 AM Eastern Time (2:00 GMT).
 
Content

The IBM Lotus Domino team will host an Open Mic Question and Answer session regarding the "Lotus Domino ID Vault" on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 10 AM Eastern Time (2:00 GMT). The call will last 60 minutes. Please dial into the call 5 minutes before the scheduled start. The Open Mic call will be recorded for future use. This document will be updated with a link to the recording when available.

You can submit your question in advance by posting a response document at the following link: http://www.lotus.com/ldd/nd8forum.nsf/DateAllThreadedWeb/55ab70f247ebb97985257650005a4530?OpenDocument

We will also answer live questions on the call without pre-submission. You must have a touchtone phone to be able to ask a question.

Sunday, 11 October 2009

PC - Personal Computer rather than Politically Correct

Following on from the experiences of Mr Scoot here, I have decided to build my first PC from scratch ( well, I'm not actually going to start soldering pins and joining up NAND gates but you get my point ).

I haven't yet placed the order, but this is what I'm considering component-wise: -










This is going to be a server rather than a gamer's rig, hence why I'm going for 8 GB RAM and 1 TB storage.

I recently found an old invoice from the mid-90s for the first full-size PC that I ever bought ( thanks, Vee Patel ) which came in at over 1.5 grand. Pentium Pro and 32 MB RAM iirc.

The new baby ? Less than five hundred notes - is that a result or what ?

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Lotus Web Content Management 6.1: The enhanced security model simplified

Summary: Using IBM WebSphere® Portal and Lotus Web Content Management, you can restrict access to selected users and groups to the views within an authoring portlet, the items managed by the authoring portlet, and to elements and pages displayed within a Web site.
 
This article describes how to simplify the use of the enhanced Web Content Management security model introduced in WebSphere Portal and Web Content Management 6.1.

Note to self - use kubectl to query images in a pod or deployment

In both cases, we use JSON ... For a deployment, we can do this: - kubectl get deployment foobar --namespace snafu --output jsonpath="{...