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Installing
An HCL Launch installation consists of the HCL Launch server, a database, and at least one agent.
Installing the server
The server provides services such as the user interface used to configure application deployments, the workflow engine, the security service, and the artifact repository, among others. Installing the server involves specifying configuration information for the server, such as the ports that the server uses.
Installing the distributed front-end server
Starting in HCL Launch 7.0.3, you can install a distributed front-end server. The front-end server supports high availability and fault tolerance to ensure success of your application delivery process.

Installing
An HCL Launch installation consists of the HCL Launch server, a database, and at least one agent.
- System requirements and performance considerations
  The HCL Launch server runs on Windows™ and UNIX™ systems. Following some guidelines can improve the performance of the server and agents.
- Firewall and communication configuration
  Before you install the server, you must ensure that servers, agents, and other systems can connect to each other through your networks and firewalls.
- Installing the server database
  HCL Launch requires a database. You can use the following database types for an evaluation or production server.
- Installing the server
  The server provides services such as the user interface used to configure application deployments, the workflow engine, the security service, and the artifact repository, among others. Installing the server involves specifying configuration information for the server, such as the ports that the server uses.
  - Installing the server in interactive mode
    In interactive mode, you install the server by typing configuration information on the command line.
  - Installing the server in silent mode
    In silent mode, you specify the installation properties in a text file and then run the server installation without command-line prompts.
  - Installing the server in evaluation mode
    To explore the features of HCL Launch, install the server in evaluation mode.
  - Server installation properties
    The server properties in the installed.properties file control details about the server, such as what ports it uses.
  - Installing the distributed front-end server
    Starting in HCL Launch 7.0.3, you can install a distributed front-end server. The front-end server supports high availability and fault tolerance to ensure success of your application delivery process.
  - Converting a server to run as a Windows service
    If you did not install the HCL Launch server to run as a Windows service, you can convert the server.
- Installing with Kubernetes
  The HCL Launch server can be installed in a cloud-based environment, as a containerized server cluster, managed by Kubernetes. HCL Launch works with Kubernetes to simplify application deployment and manage versions in the containers.
- Installing agents
  You can install agents from the server or from the command line on the agent system. To configure a failover server for an agent, you must install the agent from the command line.
- Installing agent relays
  An agent relay is a communication proxy for agents that are located behind a firewall or in another network location. You can install agent relays in interactive mode or in silent mode.
- Installing plug-ins
  Plug-ins can be installed at any time. You do not need to restart the server after you install a plug-in.
- Starting HCL Launch
  Both UNIX™ and Windows™ installations require the HCL Launch server and at least one agent. If you are using a database other than Derby, make sure that the appropriate driver is installed and configured.
- Backing up and recovering
  You can back up and recover the contents of your HCL Launch installation.
- Installing and uninstalling test fixes (patches) from the server
  Test fixes are provided by IBM® support to correct specific issues. They are applied to the server as patches.

Installing the distributed front-end server

Starting in HCL Launch 7.0.3, you can install a distributed front-end server. The front-end server supports high availability and fault tolerance to ensure success of your application delivery process.

Before you begin

You must have a standard HCL Launch server installed.

About this task

The below image is a recommended approach for managing large volumes of traffic coming through your instances. End-user HTTP traffic can be routed through a load balancer, that can then be handed out to the Distributed Front-End Servers. If the front-end server cannot directly service the request, it makes a request to the backend load balancer to handle. The front-end server proxy URL is based on Agent External URL configured on the System Settings page.

You can configure the HCL Launch to allow an authorization token IP restriction when passing through the load balancer by supplying the load balancer's IP as a member of the Trusted Proxy List system settings. Make sure that the load balancer supports passing the X-Forwarded-For headers with requests.

Distributed front-end server communication

A front-end server does not participate in agent communication, workflows, emails, notification services, or cleanup. When connected to a front-end server, you can still do everything that you would be able to do on a normal HCL Launch server. Requests for services that are not available on a front-end server will proxy a request to the backend.

The following property must be enabled on the backend servers in installed.properties.

server.userIdAuthScheme.enabled=true

Add back end servers to Network>JMS Cluster in either one of the back end servers or in load balancer.

Specify the -frontend flag when running the installer. Add the flag to the installation file with the command install-server.bat-frontend on Windows or ./install-server.sh-frontend on Linux.

Note: The front-end server must have the same shared filesystem as the High-Availability setup. For more information, see Setting up clusters of servers.