IBM BS029ML - WebSphere Portal Server Self Help Manual page 181

For more information about some common problems and solutions with the XML access tool,
refer to the WebSphere Portal Server InfoCenter at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.wp.en
t.doc/wps/adxmltrb.html
WebSphere Portal ReleaseBuilder
During the staging of follow-on releases of IBM WebSphere Portal, portals, configurations,
and artifacts need to be moved between systems. ReleaseBuilder enables the management
of release configurations independent of user configurations. Release configuration data can
be exported into an XML configuration interface configuration file. During the staging of
follow-on releases, it is now possible to stage release configurations between two releases
using the XML configuration interface. This allows you to track which configuration entities
were removed, added, or changed compared to the previous release, and apply differential
updates. Differential updates are created by detecting the differences between one
configuration and another. A third configuration can then be generated to represent the
difference and used to apply not only additional and update modifications, but also deletions
to the production server. This allows the staging and production servers to remain in sync and
eliminates the problem of configuration bloat on the production server.
ReleaseBuilder is a configuration management tool. It should not be used for migration
purposes.
Refer to the WebSphere Portal Server V6 InfoCenter for more information about
ReleaseBuilder at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.wp.en
t.doc/wpf/dep_rbabout.html
Portal Scripting Interface
IBM WebSphere Portal provides a scripting interface that enhances the possibilities for
automated solution deployment and administration of the portal. The Portal Scripting
Interface allows you to create scripts that portal administrators can use to perform
administrative tasks from a command line.
The Portal Scripting Interface allows portal solution development teams to write scripts that
are later executed by operation teams for solution deployment. These scripts have the same
functionality as the portal administration user interface. However, the scripting interface does
not facilitate all operations that can be done using the Portal UI. This allows you to implement
automated configuration management for various kinds of configuration changes.
Scripts support the work split between solution development and solution operation teams.
Even if the solution development teams cannot work interactively with the production system,
they can apply the same administrative actions through the use of scripts. At the same time,
the use of scripts enhances availability and quality of the solution, as developers can write
and test the scripts without interfering with the production system. Scripts provide
repeatability and avoid user errors that are likely in manual administration procedures.
Refer to the WebSphere Portal Server V6 InfoCenter for more information about the scripting
interface at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.wp.en
t.doc/wps/ad_psi.html
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Chapter 5. WebSphere Portal runtime and services