Chapter 6. Installing and running the standalone Decision Server Controller

You can configure Decision Server to run in managed or unmanaged mode. If Decision Server is unmanaged, you must manually create and maintain containers. If Decision Server is managed, the standalone Decision Server Controller manages the Decision Server configuration and you interact with the Controller to create and maintain containers.

The standalone Decision Server Controller is integrated with Decision Central. If you install Decision Central, use the Exection Server page to create and maintain containers. However, if you do not install Decision Central, you can install the standalone Decision Server Controller and use the REST API or the Decision Server Java Client API to interact with it.

6.1. Downloading and extracting the Controller

You must download and extract the standalone Decision Server Controller before installing it on IBM WebSphere.

  1. Log in to the Red Hat Customer Portal.
  2. Click DOWNLOADS at the top of the page.
  3. On the Product Downloads page that opens, navigate to the JBOSS INTEGRATION AND AUTOMATION section, and click Red Hat Decision Manager.
  4. On the Software Downloads page, if necessary select Decision Manager from the Product menu and 7.0 from the Version menu.
  5. Click Download next to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.0.0 Add Ons.
  6. Unzip the rhdm-7.0.0.GA-add-ons.zip file. The rhdm-7.0-controller-ee7.zip file is in the unzipped directory.
  7. Extract the rhdm-7.0-controller-ee7.zip file to a temporary directory, for example, TEMP_DIR.

  8. Navigate to the TEMP_DIR/controller.war folder and run the following command: 

    zip -r controller.war ./*

6.2. Setting environment variables for the Controller

Set the environment variables listed in this section.

Prerequisites

  • Decision Server installed on an IBM WebSphere instance

  • The Controller installed on an IBM WebSphere instance

    Note

    Red Hat recommends that you install Decision Server and the standalone Decision Server Controller on different servers in production environments. However, if you install Decision Server and the standalone Decision Server Controller on the same server, for example in a development environment, make these changes on the same IBM WebSphere instance.

  • On Decision Server nodes, a user with the kie-server role
  • On the Controller server nodes, a user with the kie-server role

Procedure

  1. Specify the following JVM property values on the IBM WebSphere instance where the Controller is installed:

    • org.kie.server.user: A user with the kie-server role.
    • org.kie.server.pwd: The password for the user specified in the org.kie.server.user property.

  2. Specify the following JVM property values on the IBM WebSphere instance where Decision Server is installed:

    • org.kie.server.controller.user: A user with the kie-server role
    • org.kie.server.controller.pwd: The password for the user specified for the org.kie.server.controller.user property
    • org.kie.server.id: The ID or name of the Decision Server installation, for example, rhdm700-decision-server-1
    • org.kie.server.location: http://<HOST>:<PORT>/kie-server/services/rest/server

    • org.kie.server.controller: The URL of the standalone Decision Server Controller, for example http://<HOST>:<PORT>/controller/rest/controller

      In the preceding examples:

    • <HOST> is the ID or name of the Decision Server host, for example, localhost or 192.7.8.9.
    • <PORT> is the port of the Decision Server host, for example, 8080.

6.3. Installing the Controller

This section describes how to install the Controller on IBM WebSphere Application Server.

You can install the Controller and use the REST API or the Decision Server Java Client API to interact with it.

Prerequisites

  • An IBM WebSphere instance configured as described in this document
  • Sufficient user permissions to complete the installation
  • The rhdm-7.0-controller-ee7.zip file, extracted and repacked to the controller.war file

Procedure

  1. Click Applications → Application Types → WebSphere Enterprise Applications.

    This shows you all of the existing applications in the system and enables you to install a new one.

  2. Click Install.
  3. Upload the Controller WAR file (controller.war) from the local file system.

  4. Select Fast Path and click Next.

    The Install New Application wizard opens.

  5. In the Map Virtual Hosts for Web Modules section, keep the default values and click Next.
  6. Set the context root to controller.
  7. In the Metadata for Modules section, keep the default values and click Next.
  8. Click Finish to install the controller.
  9. Click Save to save the changes to the master configuration.

6.3.1. Mapping Groups to Roles

Map the controller role to a user or a group.

Procedure

  1. Go back to the main configuration page for the newly installed kie-server application (Applications → Application Types → WebSphere Enterprise Applications).
  2. Click Security Role to User/Group Mapping under Detail Properties.
  3. Select the kie-server role and click Map Groups to search for the kie-server group.
  4. Move the controller group from the Available list to the Selected list and click OK. This mapping gives the previously created administrator user access to the Decision Server.
  5. Click Save and start the kie-server application.

6.3.2. Verifying the installation

After you install and start the controller, verify that it works correct.

Procedure

  1. To verify that the Controller is working on IBM WebSphere, enter the following command: 

    curl -X GET "http://<HOST>:<PORT>/controller/rest/controller/management/servers" -H  "accept: application/xml" -u '<CONTROLLER>:<CONTROLLER_PWD>'

    In this command, replace <CONTROLLER> and <CONTROLLER_PWD> with the user credentials that you created in this section.

    The output of this command provides information about the Decision Server instance.

  2. Check whether the Controller REST API works by sending a GET request at http://TARGET_SERVER:PORT/kie-server/services/rest/server.