When to install Java WAR file project vs Java Hosting Packag

[Hoobajoob Profile]

I am new to Helicon Zoo and am trying to get my first IIS hosting environment working with a build of our WAR-based Java web app.

After reading through the documentation and this forum, it's not clear to me which of the Zoo items to install for my circumstance. Some instructions describe using the Java WAR file project, others say it is required to install the Java Host Package.

I *think* the Java Host Package is supposed to be used when a ready-to-use WAR-based java web app is to be deployed on a Windows Server machine for 'production' use. Is this correct?

If so, do I first have to create the web site and its virtual directory configuration in IIS prior to installing and/or configuring the Java Host Package, or can I do them in any order?

I will eventually need to be able to run a silent install of the Java Host Package during Web Role startup on a Windows Azure VM, but I have seen comments in the documentation that currently the only way to install the Java Host Package is to do so interactively with the Web Platform Installer due to some restriction regarding Oracle's support for downloading JDK 7.

Is this actually true? I thought that WPI supported a command line interface (CLI) so that I should be able to silently install WPI and then would like to use the WPI CLI to silently install the Zoo Java Host Package. Is this usage supported?

Should I be looking at the Java WAR file project template instead? What is the difference between the two?

Thanks for any help you can provide...

[Hoobajoob Profile]

Found this article, which covers the IIS & Web.config setup:

http://www.helicontech.com/articles/dep ... -with-iis/

[Yaroslav]

Hello!

You are right about project and Hosting Package differences. Project is used on your workstation when you wish to configure application in the test or dev environment. While it is possible to install project on the server, it is more convenient to install hosting package instead. After appropriate hosting package is installed you can just copy your application from workstation to production as you normally do with other sites. Order of installation is not important.

As for Azure environment I am preparing an article explaining it in detail and now I suggest you to read this documentation chapter for offline and silent installation instructions: http://www.helicontech.com/zoo/docs/offline.htm
Installation of Java is possible with only difference you need to install Oracle JDK 7 before running installation of Java Hosting Package. You can do both silently.

[Hoobajoob Profile]

Thank you so much for the quick reply. I'll review your documentation and hopefully get a chance to test this out as soon as I get past the issues I'm having with the manual deployment on my local 2008 R2 system.