In this section: |
The minimum number of WebFOCUS environments set up to manage an application should be three (Development, Test, and Production). However, the architecture can include a full set of environments, as follows:
Typically used to test Service Packs or Hotfixes, it is also used for testing new features and configuration changes.
The development environment is used strictly by developers using the standard WebFOCUS development tools.
QA/Test is used to test new reports and applications from development. In the development cycle, if there are failures in QA/Test, changes or new applications will be rejected and returned to development to be corrected. This cycle is repeated until the corrections are made and accepted by QA/Test. After that, it moves to Production.
This environment is considered pristine and should never undergo any changes without the necessary change management and change approval process. The only dynamic aspect of a production environment should be for ad hoc development using InfoAssist and for users who are allowed to create My Reports.
Companies have unique policies so it is possible that other environments, such as Business Continuity Plan (BCP)/Disaster Recovery (DR) and Preproduction, may be set up.
Separate WebFOCUS environments are recommended, since they serve different purposes and are invaluable in minimizing downtime and disruptions to production systems.
Ideally, all WebFOCUS environments should be configured identically, especially QA/Test and Production. Sometimes, and mostly due to limited resources, customers consolidate environments or scale back on the number of machines for a specific environment, such as Development.
The following are benefits of separate WebFOCUS environments, which are also integrated into the image shown below:
The following image illustrates the benefits of using separate WebFOCUS environments for testing WebFOCUS Hotfixes, Service Packs, and new releases.
Information Builders |