Standard deployment topologies overview

Many customers implement an Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) solution for building software. In past releases we talked about using the Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) or Systems and Software Engineering (SSE) solutions depending on whether the primary use case was a software development shop or a more integrated hardware and software product engineering use case. The common goal is to provide a complete tool infrastructure for their software or systems development organizations. With the 6.0 release, we have combined the installation package into a single ALM Core package of tools to simplify the installation and deployment of the solution to both audiences. To simplify our discussion, we will present a single set of ALM topologies that can be deployed in part or as a whole depending on what capabilities the customer needs to purchase and supply to their software or product development teams.

One of the most frequently asked questions is how to deploy the full ALM solution so that it performs well, runs robustly, and evolves without restriction. Customers ask about possible deployment strategies because they must balance two sometimes opposing forces: the desire to build what's right for their organizations and the desire to stay within the mainstream of the ALM product evolution so they can easily and quickly reap the benefits of the new technology.

The ALM system requirements permit a wide range of supported middleware platforms and topologies upon which to host the solution. The ALM products run on several commercial databases and two of the most popular web application servers. It is also possible and recommended to introduce reverse proxy servers in front of either a centralized or a distributed set of web application servers.

To simplify the wide range of choices, this article outlines several standard topologies which are the expected and most frequently chosen deployment patterns over the past several years. Keeping in mind the continual evolution of the ALM solution, these topologies can be used with the ALM 3.X or later product versions.

Publishing these standard topologies represents tried and true examples of how customers have successfully deployed the ALM solution. Additionally, the ALM solution system testing organization uses these topologies to perform deep “customer simulation” testing, which includes installation, upgrade, functional, performance, and robustness testing. By adhering closely to one of these standard topologies, customers will have an easier time characterizing their deployment in the event of an interaction with IBM software support. These topologies become a “short hand” that can be used whenever an ALM deployment is discussed. For example, when system performance testing results or a high availability configuration is discussed, the appropriate standard topology can be referenced.

Several different teams came together to define and document these standard topologies. These teams design and execute system, performance and reliability testing, develop and support the ALM products, and work directly with customers to design and implement the ALM solution at customer locations worldwide.

Key topology variants

The ALM applications, and Jazz Team Server can be installed on shared application servers, or distributed across multiple application servers for improved scalability. Although this flexibility allows you to design a topology to best fit your needs, that flexibility also adds complexity to the planning process. As a result, it is important to plan your deployment topology carefully, as changing your topology later can be very complex and require substantial application downtime. Potential deployment topologies are divided into four key topology variants: Evaluation, Department, Enterprise and Federated.

Evaluation topologies

An evaluation topology is useful for demonstration or training deployments only. In this type of installation, all the application and database software is installed on the same server. You should not start with this topology and then attempt to expand it into a Departmental or Enterprise topology. If you have any intent to create production level artifacts, you should consider either a Departmental or Enterprise topology. The following diagram is a generic example of an evaluation topology for the ALM v6.x solution. Note that the VVC application is only present in release 6.0 and has been incorporated in other applications in later releases.

• Generic Evaluation Topology for ALM 6.x:
  

Departmental topologies

Departmental topologies are useful for small team and single-server deployments. Use a stable, company-approved host name and register it with the domain name server (DNS) to keep the URLs of the data stable. In this type of installation, databases are installed on a dedicated database server, and one or more other applications are installed on an application server. A key advantage of the departmental topologies is that they require less hardware and are easier to deploy initially. These topologies are best for smaller projects and smaller-sized teams. Crucially, if you are fairly certain that your deployment will likely expand, you should consider starting with an Enterprise topology. The following diagram is a generic example of a departmental topology for the ALM v6.x solution. Note that the VVC application is only present in release 6.0 and has been incorporated in other applications in later releases.

• Generic Departmental Topology for ALM 6.x:
  

Enterprise topologies

Enterprise topologies are useful for production or medium-sized to large-sized teams and multiple server (or distributed) deployments. Use a stable, company-approved host name and register it with the domain name server (DNS) to keep the URLs of the data stable. Enterprise topologies distribute the ALM applications, Jazz Team Server, the database software, etc, and are more flexible. These topologies enable you to incrementally adopt applications into your deployment and configure them to use the same Jazz Team Server. In this type of installation, databases are installed on a single database server and each application is usually installed on its own dedicated application server. In addition, to connect multiple application instances to a shared Jazz Team Server, the instances must all be authenticated from the same authentication realm and thus share the same set of users. The following diagram is a generic example of an enterprise topology for the ALM v6.x solution. Note that the VVC application is only present in release 6.0 and has been incorporated in other applications in later releases.

• Generic Enterprise Topology for ALM 6.x:
  

Federated topologies

Federated topologies are useful to very large enterprises who tend to deploy an ALM solution per product line or organizational division but would still like to be able to pull together an enterprise-wide view of their current status and report on a rolled up view of their entire portfolio of software or product set. Often versions of products or subsystems in one division are used as a part of a larger solution. By coordinating the planning and monitoring the status across divisional boundaries, the customer can manage these larger and more complex solutions. The following diagram is a generic example of a federated topology for the ALM v6.x solution. Note that the VVC application is only present in release 6.0 and has been incorporated in other applications in later releases.

• Generic Federated Topology for ALM 6.x:
  

Metadata variables

The following variables describe the key characteristics that provide variation in the typical ALM deployment topologies. These, along with the previously mentioned key topology variants are used to distinguish the standard topologies.

1. Operating system (Windows, AIX, Linux, z/OS, etc.)
2. Database management system (DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Apache Derby)
3. Application server (Apache Tomcat, WebSphere Application Server)
4. License management systems (Evaluation, Floating, Token)
5. User management system (Apache Tomcat, Active Directory, Tivoli Directory Server)
6. Other technologies such as proxy servers, virtual host names, WAN accelerators

Although integrations are an important dimension, they are not addressed in this article or included in the recommended or alternative deployment topologies. Additionally, specific hardware architectures and virtualization technologies are not included among these variables. Hardware architecture and virtualization technologies are very important considerations when defining a deployment architecture, however, more from a performance and sizing perspective. Recommended hardware architectures against these standard topologies will be discussed in a follow-on article.

Datasheets and sizing guidelines

Find ALM-specific performance datasheets, sizing guidelines and performance-related case studies on the Performance datasheets and sizing guidelines page.

Related topics:

• Deployment planning
• Deployment planning and design

Additional contributors: JoePesot