Getting Started with the Update Center

The Update Center is an open source project currently released with GlassFish v3. It provides a simple download and installation experience of additional applications.

Using the Update Center

Before you can use the Update Center, you must have GlassFish v3 installed. Download GlassFish v3 at the GlassFish Website.

To launch the Updatetool:

• From the GlassFish installation directory, navigate to the top level bin directory (<GlassFish_v3_Install_Dir>/bin).
• Launch the Update Tool by typing: updatetool.
  • For first time users, the script will download and install the necessary runtime. User will need to run the script again after the bootstrap. The bootstrap may take a while to download and initialize the packages.
• The Update Center Interface displays.

Setting Up Proxy Configuration

If there are no components listed on the screen of Available Add-ons, you may be behind a proxy server. To connect the Update Center to the proxy server:

• Select the Preferences button.
• Select the "Manual proxy configuration" option.
• Provide the proxy server name and port number.
• If the proxy server requires authentication, select the "Proxies require authentication" checkbox and provide the username and password.
• Select Apply and then OK button.

Select the Available Add-ons node once again to display the components that are available for an update. If you select a package and install it, the installed package is no longer displayed in Available Add-ons screen. You can view these newly installed components in the Installed Components screen.

Available Add-ons

The Available Add-ons screen shows all the software components available for installation through the Update Center. Notice that the modules are categorized in associated groupings. The Image Details section of the window shows more information about the software package.

Available Updates

The Available Updates screen shows when updates are available for installation. It shows the basic details about each software updates. You can select the desired package(s) from the table and click Update button. The Image Details section of the window shows more information for the component selected in the table.

Installed Components

The Installed Components screen shows the software components currently installed. The Image Details section of the window shows more information for the installed software including technical specifications, documentation, and other useful resources.

Preferences

When you click on the Preferences button, the Preferences dialogue will appear. It lets you configure the Update Center settings and specify a schedule for the updates.

Image Properties

When you select File -> Image Properties menu, the image properties dialogue will appear. From this dialogue, you can add or edit update center repository urls.

Upgrading to Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server v3 Prelude

Using the Update Center, user now will be able to upgrade their community installation to Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server v3 Prelude. Here are the steps..

1. Start Update Tool

• Start update tool by going to top level "bin" directory and running "updatetool" script. The GUI should appear.

2. Add "release.glassfish.sun.com" Repo URL to Image Properties

• On Update Tool menu, select File -> Image Properties...
  • This should bring up a dialogue.
  • Click on Add... button
  • Enter "release.glassfish.sun.com" in Repository Name field.
  • Enter "http://pkg.sun.com/glassfish/v3prelude/release/" in Repository URL field.
  • Click OK button.

3. Set "release.glassfish.sun.com" as Preferred Repo

• Select "release.glassfish.sun.com" row and click on "Set Preferred" button.

4. Install Sun Distribution Artifacts

• Go to "Available Add-Ons" screen and install these two packages:
  • glassfish-branding
  • glassfish-branding-gui

This will download the necessary artifacts and will upgrade your install. After the installation, you should see the two packages under "Installed Components" screen (see GlassFish management console example ).

5. Verifying the upgrade

• Congratulations! You are now using Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server v3 Prelude.
  • You may run "asadmin version" command to verify the upgrade (see asadmin example ).
  • Alternatively, you may also log on to the management console and verify the version of the product on the masthead (see screenshot example).

6. Downgrade to Community Distribution

• To undo the changes, simply remove the two packages by going to "Installed Components" screen.
  • glassfish-branding
  • glassfish-branding-gui

After server re-start, you should see the community distribution (see asadmin example).

Setting Up Automatic Update Checks

To Schedule an update check:

• Select the Preferences button.
• In the Updates section, select a frequency to check for updates.
• Click Apply and then OK button.

The Update Center notifier automatically checks for updates based on the schedule you defined in the Update Preferences. However, you can also check for an update at anytime using the Refresh List button. If any updates are available, they are displayed in the Available Updates screen.

More components are being added every day, so check the Update Center frequently.

This page (revision-8) was last changed on 23-Oct-08 14:55 PM, -0700 by UCWiki.
This page was created on 23-Oct-08 11:24 AM, -0700 by UCWiki.

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