Server configuration options

Lawson supports several configuration options, all of which require the WebSphere J2EE application server. The main configuration options are:

  • Single machine with the Lawson system running within a single WebSphere J2EE application server instance, and with one or more web servers

  • Single machine, multiple WebSphere J2EE application server instances (vertical scaling option)

Single-Machine Configurations

Single-machine configurations are where you install and run the Lawson system on one server or machine. The application server is the WebSphere J2EE application server. The web server can be on the same machine or on a different machine than the application server. However, the servlet container must be on the same machine as the application server. Also, by using endpoints, you can have multiple web servers, for example, one for external access and one for internal access to the application server.

Illustration: Single machine option, WebSphere J2EE application server

Vertical Scaling Configurations

Vertical scaling configurations involve setting up multiple WebSphere J2EE application server instances on a single machine. The web server can be on the same machine or a different machine than the application server. However, the servlet containers must be on the same machine as the application server.

A vertically scaled configuration can have one or more endpoints for HTTP requests. These endpoints can be multiple web servers, for example, one for external access and one for internal access to the vertically scaled system. An endpoint can also be a a load balancer (which is in effect the web server) that distributes the requests to multiple web servers.

Vertical scaling provides a more efficient use of the processing power of a single machine. In addition, by having multiple servlet containers (one in each application server instance), you have multiple JVMs (Java Virtual Machines), and therefore overcome scalability issues with a single JVM.

Illustration: Vertical scaling, web server and application server on same machine

Unsupported Configurations

The following configurations are not supported:

  • Any configuration using multiple servlet containers or application servers on a single machine with only the Lawson Application Server (latm)

  • A configuration with application servers for a Lawson system on multiple machines (horizontal scaling).