... h1. Enterprise Messaging Reference Architecture Toolkit
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h2. What Is the EMRA Toolkit?
The EMRA Toolkit provides a powerful yet flexible framework to automate the deployment of the Communications Suite components in a reliable and repeatable manner. By leveraging Solaris silent install, and using a few shell scripts, you need to only obtain copies of the Communications Suite software (for the Communications components), the Java Enterprise System software (for the other non-Communications components, such as Directory Server), and Solaris OS to get started with a hands- and worry-free Communications Suite deployment.
h2. How Is the EMRA Toolkit Designed?
The EMRA Toolkit is designed as a standalone package, or to be integrated into [Solaris Jumpstart|http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/jumpstart_x86_x64.jsp] or Linux Kickstart. The EMRA Toolkit fully supports the following automated scenarios:
* Via JET Jumpstart
* Standalone deployments
* Distributed deployments
* Across Zones on Solaris OS 10
* Across multiple hosts
A distributed deployment may use an architecture that places each of those services on a single host, or places a combination of services on multiple hosts.
For Communications Suite 6, the EMRA Toolkit is highly integrated with the new Communications Suite installer, {{commpkg}}.
h2. What Problems Does the EMRA Toolkit Address?
In the past, creating a Communications Suite deployment has involved many manual steps, integrating Java Enterprise System components as well as Communications components. Because there are so many components involved in the Communications Suite installation and configuration, it is unfortunately easy to make mistakes, even with a well thoughtout plan.
Sun has developed the EMRA Toolkit as solution to these problems. The EMRA Toolkit leverages the silent install method, in which utilize a set of saveState files, making it possible to assemble a todo list of tasks that follows a set sequence for delivering the planned deployment. The combination of silent install and saveState files can be integrated into a system that takes the todo list and executes each step.
You customize your copy of the toolkit place it onto each host in the deployment. Your customization will include the parameters of the deployment as wall as the location of the software product binaries which you have downloaded separately.
The EMRA Toolkit can be integrated with Solaris Jumpstart such that, on first boot, a host will be fully installed with the Java ES components that are specific to the role they serve in a deployment.
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