The message is clear
by Volker Weber
Requirements for Workplace Designer pre-release:
- The Workplace Collaboration Services server computer must have one of the supported Microsoft Windows operating systems ...
- The Workplace Managed Client computer must have one of the supported Microsoft Windows operating systems ...
- Workplace Designer applications must be opened with an Internet Explorer browser.
It appears IBM has more difficulties with their software if you are not on Windows. Trying to log into the forum I get either a "Error 500: org/apache/soap/util/xml/XMLParserUtils" or I get thrown back into the forum as Guest. DoesNotWorkplace on both Safari and Firefox.
Get your copy here. It is 10 separate downloads totalling 2287 MB. You need to deploy a full Workplace Collaboration Services machine (dual Xeon, 4 gig of memory).
Comments
Not nice, indeed. If that's part of the heritage that Workplace receives from Domino/Notes then it certainly didn't get the best.
Another question:
Has anyone downloaded the Pre-Release? I am just a little bit confused by the download options available on the page. First there is Workplace Designer, ok, I expected that. Then there is "IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 Server Install & Migration Tools 2.5 Windows 2000 Windows", which I assume to be the full install of the Workplace server. Ok, I might want that, maybe not. Then there is a series of "IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 Server Archive Install 1 of 6 Windows 2000 Windows Server" through "[...] 6 of 6 Windows 2000 Windows Server" and finally two more: "IBM Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 Server Archive Install 1 of 2 Windows 2000 Windows Server" and "[...] 2 of 2 [...]".
My question now is: What the heck is the difference between the Archive Install in 6 parts and and the Archive Install in 2 parts? Just that the latter has parts three times as large as the prior?
Any hints welcome...
Ragnar, you need the WCS Server to deploy applications you have developed with Workplace Designer. The Designer has no preview function or something like that.
I suppose you need all of the download archives. The 6 archive files are the WCS 2.5 Server and the 2 archives probably contain the Provisioning Server for the Managed Client which you need to install the Designer plugin to.
I just don't understand the compulsion IBM have -- given their commitment to Linux if nothing else -- to make all their products work on IE first. OK, the Windows thing I can understand (even if I don't like it) but to have IE as the sole browser for web offerings like the earlier Workplace / Domino Web Access stuff is crazy.
I have downloaded and installed this preview. As i already have a WCS server installed I only needed to download the first selection. The other files are ALL needed if you want to install a WCS server. the first 6 parts are the tarballs that suite both windows and linux and the last two parts are the specific windows installer files.
There is no provisioning server installed as part of this download so you can't use the WorkPlace Rich Client as a standalone client for WCS.
The Designer install was pretty easy. Install the base WCS components into the server, install the base Rich Client components on your local pc and away you go. I've only been playing with it for the past 15 minutes and it looks pretty nice.
Thanks, Declan, that is good to hear.
I assume the Workplace Designer runs inside the Workplace Client. Given the packages that IBM provides for download, how do you get the Client up and running if there is no deployment server?
Apart from the difficulty of figuring out what to download and where to install what - has anyone tried to install Workplace Server on a machine with less than 4GB of RAM per processor?
Is it possible on.. say 2GB - or will setup fail? (Might save me some time to know beforehand that it's futile)
2 gig should do.
No matter how much lipstick you put on, it is still a pig.
2Gig can do for Server and client... really. Here's how:
1. Perform WCS install until complete and environment works, then stop (stopworkplaceservices.bat)
2. Find portalserver/rootscripts/subtasks/startnetworkserver.bat
3. Modify that from 512mb JVM to 12mb initial size (just much smaller)
4. Start Database (startnetworkserver.bat)
5. Start Workplace (startportalserver.bat)
6. Enjoy. Install Client, WP Designer etc.
This is a smaller footprint for the database (given that you don't need that to perform perfectly) and leaves out the mail server (you may want to focus on WP Designer). Still the Mail server is needeed to route mail (for instance when you write an WP Designer app that sends mail).
Thanks for the info. So this basically means I can trade memory for functionality - instead of memory for performance. I wonder how this workplace stuff is supposed to appeal to developers if they have to contact big blue's hardware division first? At least I can take my Domino wherever my notebook can go.
Still, I think the concept is interesting and I'll give it a try as soon as the downloads are through.
Yes and no... this is referring to someone who has a 2G machine, and wants to try WP Designer. The Memory setting of the database is only the initial memory setting. It will grow if you use the database. For a test system, the 512mb is way too much, and you get so much memory saved that you can run the WMC Client/WP Designer also on the same machine and stay away from 2GB.
It works fine for me.
You wrote that a machine with 2GB will (have to) have no mail server functionality. While this is not so much of a problem on a test system on a notebook, it's a different game back home. But I'll cross that bridge when I find it :-)
No.... as Volker (W) is correctly saying, 2GB (and one Processor :) is ok to run everything... it's just slow. My idea is to turn off the e-mail router/server -> get 512MB freed up. You can also start/stop the mail server at any time later.
Boy, am I happy that I moved to a 400 MHz Celeron machine. It runs mail, web proxy, firewall, web server, PHP and MySQL, virus scanner, ftp and web server and a bunch of other tasks. All of that in less than half the memory you gain by unloading the Workplace mail router.
Volker, Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 supports Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris and AIX on the server. The Workplace Managed Client supports both Windows and Linux and the same is going to be true for the final version of Workplace Designer. In terms of browser support for components built with Workplace Designer, both IE and Firefox will be supported in the final release.
I know. That is why I write here:
Die Vorabversion hat zahlreiche Einschränkungen gegenüber dem endgültigen Produkt. So müssen derzeit alle Komponenten der Workplace Umgebung auf Windows-Systemen ablaufen; mit dem Workplace Designer entwickelte Anwendungen lassen sich nur mit dem Internet Explorer nutzen.
See Chris Reckling's response (#31) on my blog about the requirement for Windows today vs. final shipping code.
http://www.edbrill.com/ebrill/edbrill.nsf/dx/ibm-workplace-designer-pre-release-now-available
