Rebuilding and deploying Web applications

[Nigel_Pain]

SAS 9.4M5 on Windows 2012 R2, four servers: metadata, compute, middle-tier and LASR

I wonder if someone can clarify something for me. I regularly (monthly) apply hotfixes on my servers. This includes rebuilding and deploying any web applications which have been updated. The instructions for deploying web applications specifies to restart all SAS sessions, spawners and servers, which I do. Then when I start the redeployment process, the first thing it does is to try and stop the web application servers. Although it states that it's done this successfully, that's not the case, and I have to stop them manually or it is unable to replace files. Finally, at the end it attempts to restart the web application servers. I've generally given up waiting for it to do this, stopped the procedure and restarted them manually, because it doesn't seem to get anywhere doing this.

That's all apart from it replacing the web server's sas.conf file with a standard one (not supporting https), but I'm aware that this is a known issue and I just put back our own version.

So what is the necessary way to go about this? Should I not be restarting the web application servers after all?

Any insights would be very welcome. Thanks.

[Anand_V]

SDW should be able to do the restart while redeploying the web applications. I don't see this issue anytime I apply hot-fix on my Linux servers. I think you should see what's causing this to fail from SDW or even engage SAS TS if required.

In general for rebuilding SAS web applications you can leave the server to be running or stopped it doesn't matter as it is building the EAR/WAR file in the staging folder.

To rebuild one or more web applications, follow these steps:
The web application server can be running or stopped.

Source: Rebuild Web Applications 

During the deploying part web app server has to be stopped, SDW validates if it's stopped or not. If not, it tries to stop it before it can deploy the web application.

To redeploy one or more web applications, follow these steps:
Stop the web application server, if it is running.

The manager provides a warning that SAS Web Application Server will be stopped. Be aware that the web applications are not available while the server is stopped. Select the Allow the application server to stop check box and click Next.

Source: Redeploy the SAS Web Applications 

IMHO, For the question on restarting all SAS spawners and services is more applicable only to hot-fix application activity. Usually after change in the binaries all the hot-fix documentation asks you to restart everything even if it doesn't require any rebuild and redeploy of web applications.

[Nigel_Pain · Accepted solution]

Thanks @Anand_V 

There does seem to be some ambiguity here. In the Middle-Tier Administration documentation, as you've quoted, it does say to stop the web application server. But in the installation instructions for hotfix B7N008, after the rebuild step it says:

Restart all SAS sessions, daemons, spawners and servers.

I think in future I'm just going to have the web app servers stopped when I redeploy. It definitely didn't seem to be managing to do this itself. Maybe that's a difference between Windows and *nix. We're due to upgrade sometime soon so I can ask the SAS tech. guy then.

Appeal to others: please don't start banging on about "get yourself a decent OS". That's not my choice to make, I live with what I have!

[kdebruhl]

Hi @Nigel_Pain ,

I applied hotfixes this weekend.  I'm running on Linux, three-tier setup distribution, which might affect some of what you're seeing.

The procedure that I follow, based on instructions, are:

- stop all SAS processes (metadata/compute and mid-tier)
- apply hotfixes on server tier

- start metadata server only

- apply hotfixes on mid-tier (prompts for connection to metadata, IIRC)

- (re)apply security updates both tiers

- on mid-tier, rebuild web apps

- on mid-tier, redeploy web apps (if web app servers are running for some reason, they have to be stopped.. there's actually a dialog to "allow Web Servers to stop" or something like that)

- restart all servers on all tiers

[angian]

This may help as well

https://communities.sas.com/t5/Administration-and-Deployment/Applying-hotfixes/m-p/583784/highlight/...