Getting started with IBM Application Server on Cloud

Introduction

IBM Application Server on Cloud is a service that facilitates quick setup on a pre-configured WebSphere Application Server Liberty Web Profile Server or a Traditional Full Profile in a hosted cloud environment on Bluemim.

Overview of IBM Application Server on Cloud

IBM Application Server on Cloud provides Bluemix consumers with pre-configured Full Profile WebSphere and Liberty Profile servers. It is hosted on virtual machine guests with root access to the guest operating system. When you are creating your service, choose between Liberty and Full Profile WebSphere.

You are given a familiar WebSphere administration experience and have full access to the underlying operating system. You can reuse your existing scripts and make the little system tweaks that you need to make to work with your own, or third party, frameworks. The Admin Center and Admin Consoles are provided to administer your Liberty Service or Full Profile, just like your on-premises WebSphere configurations.

Operational Environment

IBM Application Server on Cloud is a service that returns guests (virtual machines) in a shared environment for consumers to deploy applications. A VPN protects the public service from generic port scans and other unsolicited network-based attacks. However, it is important to note that the service VPN you use to access your service instance might be shared between multiple Bluemix organizations and users. The virtual machines provide compute, memory, and I/O resources, which come from a shared pool of IaaS resources. If you want to run your applications in a private environment, contact your IBM Sales representative who can speak to our dedicated IBM Application Server on Cloud offering.

As specific compute, memory, and I/O resources are run by virtual machines in a shared environment, service configurations might vary. Configurations for each specific service instance can be viewed through the IBM Application Server on Cloud Bluemix service dashboards and portals.

Maintenance Strategy

IBM Application Server on Cloud is updated on a regular cadence, ensuring that new service instances are created with current fix packs and patches. The cloud brings easy and rapid provisioning of new service instances to middleware management. Many consumers are expected to upgrade to a new service instance when they want to apply maintenance. For those consumers who want to retain long lived service instances, maintenance repositories are available for the middleware and underlying operating guest. These repositories allow users to maintain their environment just like they would on-premises.

Service Dashboard

After you create your service instance, you will be taken to the service dashboard. You can always get back to the service dashboard by clicking the service icon from your organization dashboard.

From the service dashboard you can access:

v A link to this documentation

v A link to download the required OpenVPN configuration files.

v The ability to start and stop the virtual machine. The VM is initially started.

v The Hostname.

v The admin user and admin password.

v A private SSH key.

v The WebSphere® admin user and admin password.

v The Admin Center and Admin Console URLS.

Conclusion

This article covered IBM® Application Server on Cloud is a service that facilitates quick setup on a pre-configured WebSphere Application Server Liberty Web Profile Server or a Traditional Full Profile in a hosted cloud environment on Bluemix.

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