About the Exercises

Objects created in these exercises use a prefix if II_ for object names, where II is replaced by the student's initials. If a unique set of initials are used both for new component names and for deployment Company and Application Name, then many students could use the same copy of Visual LANSA.

Build Machine

It is essential that your own deployments use a build machine. A build machine is a PC with a Visual LANSA installation which is dedicated to assembling and deploying applications. As well as ensuring that all the latest and required components have been moved to this machine, the build machine approach also ensures that Product Version and File Version and GUID (Global Unique Identifier) are all preserved and used for the next version or patch which needs to be deployed. See other sections of this guide for more information on the reasons for using a Windows build machine.

Deploying Your Own Client Server to an IBM i Server Application would Involve:

We have simplified things here by referring only to a production partition as the target for deployment. In practice, you would first deploy to a test partition, before deploying to the production partition.

• Check in all client application objects to the LANSA Master on the IBM i (development partition)
• Move all client objects to the production partition using LANSA export and import
• Check out all client object to the build PC. Compile and then build a client deployment package
• Deploy the server parts of the applications to production partition on the IBM i server via LANSA export and import.
• Deploy the Windows client application to a file server or terminal server.
• Setup a shortcut on user desktop linking to the application top level form on the file server
• Or setting up the user desktop by running the Network Client install file provided by the file server deployment.
• Alternatively, setup a Just in Time Server installation and deploy all application client software to the file server linked to the JIT Server. Subsequent patches and new versions can be deployed by simply updating the JIT Server only.

Your Own Deployment to a Windows Server would Involve:

• Use the Deployment Tool to deploy the Data/Application server applications and files to a Windows server.
• Create and install the client application to a file server or terminal server.
• Setup a shortcut on the user desktops linking to the client application top level form on the file server
• Or setup the user desktop by running the Network Client install file provided by the file server deployment
• Alternatively, create Data/Application server deployment which includes all server and client applications
• Set up user desktop shortcut to the top-level form on the Data/Application server.
• Or setup the desktop using the Network Client install file from the Data/Application server deployment.
• Optionally set up a Just in Time Server.
• Deploy both the Data/Application server applications and the client application with automatic updates via the JIT Server.