1) What is a cluster ?

Cluster is a logical name assigned to group of servers (JVMs).

2) In a clustered environment how can a request passess to only one jVM?

Change the cluster member weight to “0” in plugin-cfg.xml

3) What are the different types of clusters?

Horizontal and Vertical cluster

4) What is the advantage of Clustering?

Clustering is mainly to provide Fail-over capability.. i e if one server is goes down automatically the other server which is having the same configuration ie replica of failed server have to serve the application request. This is achieved through the clustering..

In horizontally clustered environment, cluster-enabled application is deployed on multiple physical machines. Each machine is available for requests. Horizontal clusters offers protection over hardware failure, increases efficiency, provides load balancing and process failover. However, since there are many number of physical machines involved the installation and maintenance cost increases proportionally. In vertical clustering, multiple application server instances are hosted on the same physical machine. This type of clustering provides increased efficiency, load balancing and process failover. However, if hardware fails then there may not be ready alternative.

5) What is Horizontal and Vertical cluster?

A vertical cluster has cluster members on the same node, or a physical machine. A horizontal cluster has cluster members on multiple nodes across many machines in a cell.

6) How do you verify that you are using Horizontal clusters not a vertical cluster?

A) if u have all the servers in same machine(Host) ,than its vertical ,if cluster servers are installed in different machine than its horizontal.

-OR-

Go to WAS console => select Nodes in left side => in the right side of the console you can see how many nodes make's your CELL, and also the hostname of the boxes in which the node exists.
if you see all the nodes from different hostnames then its Horizontal clustering if you see same hostname here then its Vertical clustering

7) How to assign weights to cluster members in WebSphere?

While creating the cluster members we can assign waits...we can give different waits among each cluster...the highest wait of a cluster member will serves more requests..the default wait value is 2 and the range of wait is 0-20.

Click Servers > Clusters > WebSphere application server clusters, and then click a cluster.

In the Additional Properties section, click Cluster members.
Change the configured weight of the cluster member that you created in Adding a cluster member to zero so that the cluster member no longer receives requests. Click Update.

8) VerboseGC?

VerboseGC is the logging mechanism implemented by the JVM to diagnose memory/storage problems. Here Garbage collection identifies and frees previously allocated storage that is no longer in use.

9) How do set it up VerboseGC In Admin Console ?

goto Servers > Application Servers > Java and Process Management > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine > Check Verbose Garbage Colletion option.

10) What files have verbosegc information?

That particular server's (<profile_home>/logs/servername/) native_stderr.log

11) What tool did you use to analyse verbosegc logs ?

GCAnalyzer

12) What is Garbage Collection?

Garbage collection is a process of automatically freeing objects that are no longer referenced by the program.

13) What will happen if garbage collection is enabled?

When verbose garbage collection is enabled, the Java™ virtual machine (JVM) records information about each garbage collection in a log file. For example, in the log file, you can see the amount of free bytes and used bytes in the heap, the interval between garbage collections, and the pause time. Verbose garbage collection has minimal effect on system performance.

14) Where would you enable Verbose Garbage Collection?

From the Admin Console: Application Server -> ServerName -> Process Definition -> Java Virtual Machine – Select verbose garbage collection radio button.

15) What log file would the verbose garbage collection output appear in?

native_stdout.log

16) Ho to check GC is active or not, if you don't have?

We can check in logs

17) How do you set up traces?

In Admin console Troublshooting > logs and trace > servername > choose Diagnostic trace

18) What is the plugin configuration file and where is it located?

The plug-in configuration file (plugin-cfg.xml) contains routing information for all applications mapped from the web server to the application server.

19) How do u regenerate the plugin config file ?

The GenPluginCfg command is used to regenerate the plug-in configuration file. Depending on the operating platform, the command is: Linux and Unix: GenPluginCfg.sh Windows: GenPluginCfg.bat

20) When do you regenerate the plug-in config file?

The plug-in configuration file needs to be regenerated and propagated to the Web servers when there are changes to your WebSphere configuration that affect how requests are routed from the Web server to the application server. These changes include:

· Installing an application

· Creating or changing a virtual host

· Creating a new server

· Modifying HTTP transport settings (i.e HTTP ports)

· Creating or altering a cluster

21) When do you manually edit the plug-in config file?

When enabling SSL (specifying the key file name), LoadBalanceWeight, and minimum number of connections.

22) What is the information in a plugin config file?

Plugin config file contains routing information along with information on virtual hosts , clusters (cluster members), and URIs.

23) What are the use of PluginKey.kdb & PluginKey.sth ?

PluginKey.kdb Holds the Plugin Certificate and the Server Key to Enable the Web Server to trust the WebSphere JVM.

PluginKey.sth Holds the Access password for the PluginKey.kdb

24) How the web server knows plugin cfg.xml file is available in a particular location ?

We are mentioned in the httpd.conf file

25) When the request comes to a webserver how does the webserver know the JVM that is capable of handling that request.

The webserver first takes the request and if it can't serve, it forwards the request to the plugin config file . The plugin config file routes the request to the appropriate application server (or cluster member or jvm) according to the mapping information it has.

26) What is the refresh interval of plugin. ?

60 seconds

27) If a change is made to the plugin config should the webserver be restarted?

Not required because the plugin's automatic refresh interval is 60 seconds.

28) If changes are made to the config file should the webserver be restarted?

Yes. The webserver must to restarted so the changes made to the config file become effective

29) What is Deployment descriptor?

Deployment descriptor is an XML file that describes how to deploy a module or application by specifying configuration and container options. For example, an EJB deployment descriptor passes information to an EJB container about how to manage and control an enterprise bean.

30) What are deployment steps?

Step 0: click on install button and browse the ear/war file

Step 1: Select installation options

Step 2: Map modules to servers

Step 3: Map virtual hosts for Web modules

Step 4: Map context roots for Web modules

31) When an application is deployed, where can the application binaries be found ?

We can see Application binaries unser profile_root/installedApps/cell_name/ directory

32) What is the difference between EAR, JAR and WAR file?

: In J2EE application modules are packaged as EAR, JAR and WAR based on their functionality JAR:

ü EJB modules which contains enterprise java beans class files and EJB deployment descriptor are packed as JAR files with .jar extension

ü WAR Web modules which contains Servlet class files,JSP FIles,supporting files, GIF and HTML files are packaged as JAR file with .war( web achive) extension

ü EAR All above files(.jar and .war) are packaged as JAR file with .ear ( enterprise archive) extension and deployed into Application Server.

33) In a cluster of 4 members deploying an application it is showing partial start after starting the application what might be the problem?

Synchronization is one of the problems for the partial start, we do it both from console and command line synchronization.

Bin> ./syncNode.sh dgmr host 8879 (soap port)

34) How do you know all the running java process?

Ps-ef|grep java

35) Installation was successful and when I am trying to start server it is giving “Invocation Target Exception” why you will get this issue and how you are trouble shooting this issue.

May be the problem with hostnames, hostnames are mismatched. Add the host name in etc/hosts file which you had given at the time of installation.

36) How to install an application in one cluster member out of multiple members?

One cannot deploy application in one cluster member alone in the clustered environment since application which is deployed in one cluster member will be shared across to the other cluster members automatically. So logically it is equivalent, installing application in cluster level

37) What is the difference in installation of war and ear?

Only difference in this application installation is optional context root for JAR and EAR and for WAR it is mandatory. If EAR file is having multiple modules like JAR, WAR then we can target these files to different application servers.

38) What is context root?

The context root identifies the web application. By context root only your configuration file (Plugin-cnf.xml) route the request to the particular application.

39) How many ways one can deploy applications in WebSphere?

There are 3 ways to deploy an application in WebSphere environment.

Ø Directly copy files to deployed application folder in WebSphere-hot deployment.

Ø Use Web Sphere specific ant tasks and building automated scripts for deploying application.

Ø Through administration console.

40) If application is giving very slow response then how will improve?

Ø Check Connection pooling settings, change accordingly if required

Ø Check JVM memory settings, change accordingly if required

Ø Check the data base if its giving slow response Check any connection are waiting and not closing

Ø Check the CPU utilization and JVM utilization

41) How to hit application without hitting the web server?

Using webcontainer port on application server

42) Application installed but not working. What are troubleshooting steps?

ü Check the server is up or not

ü Check the application is up or not.

ü Check whether modules are mapped properly to the servers

ü Check whether virtual hosts are mapped properly for Web modules

ü Check whether context roots is mapped properly for Web modules

ü Check whether you are hitting the correct url

ü Check the logs for any issues

43) We have different types of logs in WAS?

JVM logs: SystemOut.log, SystemErr.log

Process or Native logs : native_stdout.log, native_stderr.log

IBM service log : activity.log

Diagnostic log : trace.log

44) What are the different types of log levels you have ?

We have 12 different types of log levels. those are

1.off
2.fatal
3.severe
4.warning
5.Audit
6.Info
7.config
8.Detail
9.fine
10.finer
11.finest
12. All

45) What is Pass By Reference in WAS and how we enable it?

The pass by reference option available at ApplicationServers --> Server1 --> Container Services --> ORB Services --> Pass by reference. It is related to Call By Reference as in JAVA, here it may gather reference of RMI/CORBA API(Application Programming Interface), used this for the reference communication.

46) SLA’s in your company?

Sev1=15mins

Sev2=30mins

Sev3=60mins

47) What is the use of shared libraries? How to configure them?

Shared libraries are files used by multiple applications. Each shared library consists of a symbolic name, a Java class path, and a native path for loading Java Native Interface (JNI) libraries. You can use shared libraries to reduce the number of duplicate library files on your system.

48) In which file hostname is available in UNIX ?

/etc/hosts

49) If an administrator, after installing websphere/weblogic gui and working on it for a while has completely forgotten his password and would like to log in to the admin console only using his user id. Please explain how to go about it and what & where should the changes be done?

He can go to security.xml file and disable the security. He can save the file and log in to admin console without user ID and password

In this scenario, we can user 2 methods.

1. In cell level security.xml file change the 2nd line and "enable=true" change the trueparameter as "enabled=false" the restart your Dmgr and login. It will no ask for password.

2. Through WSadmin , we are having an option SECURITY OFF

50) What is the Default heap size for WAS ?

The default initial heap size for WAS is 50MB and default maximum size is 256MB

51) How do you take back ups in WAS & What is the out put file?

backupConfig.sh [filename] -nostop

WebSphereConfig_yyyy-mm-dd.zip

52) How do you restore backups?

restoreConfig.sh <filename.zip> -nostop

53) What is the Default SOAP port number?

8879

54) How will you verify the version of was in websphere?

1. Executing ./versioninfo.sh script

2. Viewing cat /opt/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/com/ibm/websphere/product.xml config file

53) What does CPU Starvation mean? How you will resolve?

CPU Starvation means that the JVM had to wait for processing time! Some other process took 100% of the CPU and the JVM did not work.

Check the application on the server that is taking all the CPU time by using top command, investigate and stop the process.

55) How you will check CPU utilization?

TOPAS

56) What are the differences between server.xml & serverindex.xml?

Serever.xml file contains all the information about the server configurations. Serverindex.xml contains all the servers’ ports information.

Some of the examples of server configurations would be:

1. Container Settings: Session management, SIP Container Settings, Web Container Settings, Portlet Container Settings

2. Java and Process Management: Class loader, Process definition, Process execution

57) What is the use of soap.client.props& sas.client.props properties files in web sphere?

If the global security is enabled WebSphere Application Server cell, you need to manually enter the username and password every time you run the wsadmin tool. By editing the sas.client.props and the soap.client.props files, you can specify the username and password you have configured for global security so you are not prompted to enter the username and password every time you run administrative scripts.

58) What is difference between soap.client.props and sas.client.props?

The soap.client.properties are how the Node Agents, Dmgrs, Job Managers, App Servers talk with each other over the SOAP port defined.
The sas.client.properties are how SSL Client Authentication is completed

59) What is the difference between connection Poll and Data Source?

Connection pooling is a place where a set of connections are kept and are used by the different programmers without creating connections to the database.

DataSource is an interface in javax.sql package.

60) Difference between XADatasource and Non-XADatasource

An XA transaction, in the most general terms, is a “global transaction” that may span multiple resources. A non-XA transaction always involves just one resource.

An XA transaction involves a coordinating transaction manager, with one or more databases (or other resources, like JMS) all involved in a single global transaction. Non-XA transactions have no transaction coordinator, and a single resource is doing all its transaction work itself (this is sometimes called local transactions).

XA transactions come from the X/Open group specification on distributed, global transactions. JTA includes the X/Open XA spec, in modified form.

Most stuff in the world is non-XA – a Servlet or EJB or plain old JDBC in a Java application talking to a single database. XA gets involved when you want to work with multiple resources – 2 or more databases, a database and a JMS connection, all of those plus maybe a JCA resource – all in a single transaction. In this scenario, you’ll have an app server like Websphere or Weblogic or JBoss acting as the Transaction Manager, and your various resources (Oracle, Sybase, IBM MQ JMS, SAP, whatever) acting as transaction resources. Your code can then update/delete/publish/whatever across the many resources. When you say “commit”, the results are commited across all of the resources. When you say “rollback”, _everything_ is rolled back across all resources.

The Transaction Manager coordinates all of this through a protocol called Two Phase Commit (2PC). This protocol also has to be supported by the individual resources.

In terms of datasources, an XA datasource is a data source that can participate in an XA global transaction. A non-XA datasource generally can’t participate in a global transaction (sort of – some people implement what’s called a “last participant” optimization that can let you do this for exactly one non-XA item).

61) What is the first signal you find when memory leakage is there in the application?

If you have memory leakage in your application code then you get frequently “ OUT OF MEMORY EXCEPTION” error.

62) How you will find how much heap is used by each JVM?

Using PMI we can see the percentage of the memory used by JVM

63) Session timeout ?

Specifies how long a session can go unused before it is no longer valid.

64) During WAS ND installation, one default server "server1" creates right?can we change its name

During installation?
If we are installing, in silent we can change the default server name we can change, in GUI its not possible.

65) How do you find memory leaks? At what situation memory leaks occur –Give any 3

examples? Is there any tool to find memory leaks?
Memory leaks in hapen if objects not closing in java program.

66) Write the complete command to create an App.Serv profile through command line.

C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\bin>manageprofile.sh -create -profileName AppSrv04 - profilePath“C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles\AppSrv04″ -template Path“C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profileTemplates\default” -nodeName app_node04 -cellNamecell04 -hostName krishamurthy

67) What are the different templates available to create a profile?

                      WAS V7 profile templates
                      cell
                      Default
                      Managed
                      dmgr
                      management
                      secureproxy

68) If you get a problem before creating a log’s directory at the time of installation, at that time where you can check the status of installation

tmp/log.txt

69) Write a complete command to delete a profile.

C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles\AppSrv01\bin>manageProfile.sh -delete -profileName AppSrv01

70) How to know how many profiles are available.

/AppServer/bin>./manageProfile.sh –listProfiles

71) What is the defualt key store location for WAS?

<profile_home>/etc

72) How do you change the port number for admin console ?

We can change the ports in console or serverindex.xml file

To change a port value in the console:

a. Start the WebSphere Application Server administrative console.

b. For WebSphere Application Server, Version 7.0, click Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers.

For WebSphere Application Server, Version 6.1, click Servers > Application servers.

c. Select the server for the port that you want to change.

d. Click Ports.

e. Change the value of the port that you want to change.

73) How do you disable security for Deployment manager without logging into the console?

Go to <wsas profile root>/config/cells/cellname/security.xml

In the security.xml , change enable=false .

74) What are the two virtual hosts that come with WAS installation?

admin_host, default_host

75) If you have to change the ports of a jvm manually without logging into the admin console which file would you edit. ?

serverindex.xml

76) What version of Web sphere software is required to install Web Sphere clustering?

Web Sphere Application Server Network Deployment is the software required to install a Web Sphere cluster.

77) What is the recommended free disk space in /tmp to install WAS.

1 GB

78) What is the default installation location of WAS in Linux.?

Opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

79) What is the default installation location of WAS in Sun Solaris. ?

Opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

80) What is the default installation location of WAS in AIX?

Usr/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

81) Which registry file will get updated after installation of WAS?

vpd.properties

82) What is the use of SOAP Connector port and what is the default soap port number for DMGR profile.

Client Applications like wsadmin uses Simple Object Access Protocol and that is listening to the port 8879. If we want federate a profile by using SOAP protocol and SOAP connector port number, we can federate a profile.

83) What is the default Http transport port number for Application Server profile and what is the use. ?

9080, (if ssl was enabled 9443) If we want to invoke applications running on AppServer we are using HTTP transport port

84) What is the difference between managed node and unmanaged node in ibm websphere ?

Manged Node contains node agent, we can administer federated profiles servers and applications from dmgr admin console. For unmanaged the will be no nodeagent

85) What is the port number for LDAP server with SSL and without SSL?

389 and 636

86) What is a connection pool?

Connection pooling is a place where a set of connections are kept and are used by the different programmers without creating connections to the database(it means there is a readymade connection available for the programmers where he can use).

87) What is meant by Federation?

Federation means add a node to the Deployment manager profile, by default nodeagent will be created. The command is: /bin>addnode.bat -includeapps Example:(windows) /bin>addnode.bat localhost 8879 -includeapps Example:(Linux) /bin>addnode.sh localhost 8879 -includeapps

88) Can you federate a profile using manageprofiles command facility?

No, you can’t but you can delete a profile by manageprofiles command facility

89) How many ways we can federate the Node?

Before federating any Node we must make sure Application server should be started on the Node to be added and we need to find the SOAP connector for DMGR

We can federate the node in 2 ways

1) Through Console 2) Using the AddNode Command:

v From the Admin Console: Select System Administration --> Nodes --> AddNode

Select Managed Node and click next then specify the HostName of the Node to be added to the cell. Then select the connector type (SOAP or RMI) and connector port. If security is enabled provide user id and password and include application (if required).....

v To use AddNode command do the following 1) go to <ApplicationRoot> /bin then run below command

Addnode.sh <dmgr_host_name> <soap_port> -includeapps

The -includeapps parameter is optional. This parameter should only be used if there are enterprise applications already installed on this node that need to be added to the deployment manager's master configuration

If security is enabled use the below command

addNode.sh <deployment_manager_host> < deployment_manager_soap_port> < -username > < admin_user_id> -password admin_password.

90) What are diff between webserver and application Server?

1) Web Server handles only Http Protocols, whereas application server can handle any type of protocols.

2) Web server just provides the infrastructure for executing servlets, it is not provide any third party features like transaction, connection pooling, clustering where as application server can provide all these features.

3) In web server we can't run the EJB, whereas in application server we can run the Ejbs.

4) Web server does not support Multithreading where as application server supports.

91) What is dump Namespace?

To diagnose a problem, you might need to collect WAS JNDI information. WebSphere Application Server provides a utility that dumps the JNDI namespace.

The dumpNamespace.sh script dumps information about the WAS namespace and is very useful when debugging applications when JNDI errors are seen in WAS logs. You can use this utility to dump the namespace to see the JNDI tree that the WAS name server (WAS JNDI lookup service provider) is providing for applications.

This tool is very useful in JNDI problem determination, for example, when debugging incorrect JNDI resource mappings in the case where an application resource is not mapped correctly to a WAS-configured resource or the application is using direct JNDI lookups when really it should be using indirect lookups

92) How to configure heap size for Web Sphere application server?

Method 1: Using the administrative console

Open the administrative console.

Navigate to Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers > <servername>

Navigate to Server Infrastructure > Java and Process Management > Process Definition

Navigate to Additional Properties > Java Virtual Machine > General Properties

Define the values (in MB) for ‘Maximum heap size’ and/or ‘Initial heap size’.

Restart the server.

Note: If the heap size is already low, the administrative console might not open. In such cases, use some other method to configure the heap size.

Method 2: By editing the configuration files

This method should be used with caution.

Search for a file named server.xml in your WebSphere installation.

Generally, the location of this file is as follows:

<Profilehome>/config/cells/<cellname>/nodes/<nodename>/servers/<servername>

Select the server.xml specific to your server and edit it to add/modify/delete the attributes @initialHeapSize and @maximumHeapSize of the element <jvmEntries> The value of these attributes is the heap size in MB.

For example:

...

</jvmEntries>

93) What is the of Web Sphere variables?

· Configuring WebSphere Application Server path names, such as JAVA_HOME, and APP_INSTALL_ROOT.

· Configuring certain cell-wide or cluster-wide customization values

94) How to find out free diskspace from command prompt?

du -sk (kb) du -sm (mb)

95) What is CellDiscoveryAddress

Node uses this port to talk to DMGR

96) What is NodeDiscoveryAddress

DMGR uses this port to talk to node

97) How do you specify a jar file to be used by the application, consider that you have many jar files in your system?

Classloader

98) How to check port at operating system level????

Using netstat –an | grep port no

Lsof is list of open files command from we can know the pid of process which is using the particular port.

Lsof –i tcp|grep portnumber

99) What is the effect of changing max heap and min heap size of a jvm same?

Using the same values is not usually a good idea, because it delays the start of garbage collection until the heap is full.

100) What is a heap dump? In what scenarios is a heap dump useful?

A heap dump is a snapshot of all the objects in the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) heap at a certain point in time .

It is useful in situations, most notable for memory leak problems or memory allocation problems for example OutOfMemoryExceptions.

101) What tools did you use to analyze heap dumps?

IBM HeapAnalyzer

102) What are the respective extensions (jdk 1.3 and 1.4) jdk 1.4 heap dump format generates?

phd format

103) What is activity log and how do you view it.?

These are IBM Service logs which are in binary format, which logs activity of various WebSphere Application Server components. Log Analyzer is used to view the activity.log files.

104) What all parameters did you tune in WAS (other than JDBC connection pool and heap sizes) ?

We can tune some of these other aspects such as 1. Application server (parameter : ) 2. JVM tunings (parameter : ) 3. Applications (parameter : ) 4. Database (parameter : ) 5. JMS (parameter : ) 6. Security 7. Hardware capacity and settings (parameter : ) 8. Operating System (parameter : ) 9. Web Servers (parameter : )

105) WHEN THE SERVER HUNG HOW WILL IDENTIFY IN SYSOUT.LOG?

Its very simple in systemout.log we will find a particular thread is hung from this many milli seconds will be found. The thread name will be WSVR****

106) What is the error HTTP 404 indicates and how to solve these issues?

The 404 or Not Found error message is an HTTP standard response code indicating that the client was able to communicate with the server but the server could not find what was requested..

107) What is the difference between page not found and HTTP 404? How to solve these issues?

The “Page not found” error is, the request is not reaching the server. HTTP 404 errors is request is reaching to server but whatever it is expecting it’s not found at expected location

108) How many levels we can enable the trace file?

LEVEL = all | entryExit | debug | event

109) If memory leakage is there in then where (in which file) we get this inform- ation?

Memory leakage information can get in the process logs ( Native_stdout and Nat- ive_stderrer logs)

110) How to determine Max Heap Size is too large or too small for your application.?

If GC takes a so long time to clean up objects with large heap, you can reduce the maximum heap size.

If GC frequency is too high, the heap may be too small for the application and GC needs to run frequently, so you may increase the maximum heap size.

111) Different Types of Session TimeOut can be set ?

1) Application level

2) Web Module level

3) Server level

112) What is the importamt config file located in ihs http server and where it is located ?

Important file is: httpd.conf

Path:-/opt/IBM/HTTPServer/conf

113) How to find out which version of ihs server you are using ?

Go to the installation directory of the Web server.

Find the subdirectory that contains the executable,

Execute the command

windows: apache.exe -V

Linux : ./httpd -v

Aix/solaris : ./apachectl –v

114) How can you check if your httpserver(or)web server is running or not?

Netstat -antp| grep httpd

115) How To disable HTTPS request ?

To disable HTTPS transport

<Transport Hostname=“myhost.com" Port="9445" Protocol="https">

Servers-> Application Servers -> <ServerName> -> Web Container settings -> Web Container Transport Chains

Click “WCInboundDefaultSecure” for HTTPS transport

Uncheck Checkbox “ “Enabled”

Save and Generate Plugin-cfg.xml

116) what is Sticky and Non-Sticky requests ?

Sticky request

•Session Affinity is established and request needs to be route to affinity Server

Non-Sticky Request

•Session Affinity is NOT established

•New request

117) What is the default location of a thread dump and what is the format?

Location of thread dump is profile_root/logs/server_name

118) How to change SERVER_LOG_ROOT path ?

The default path for filename is the value of the variable SERVER_LOG_ROOT. To see the value of the SERVER_LOG_ROOT variable:

1. On the administrative console, select Environment > WebSphere® Variables

2. Click on the Server radio button, and then click Apply. The value of the SERVER_LOG_ROOT variable appears in the resulting list.

To change the value of SERVER_LOG_ROOT:

1. Select SERVER_LOG_ROOT

2. Enter a new path in the Value field

3. Click Apply

4. Save the configuration. You will have to restart the server for the change to take effect.

You can also change the location and name of the ${SERVER_LOG_ROOT}/SystemOut.log and ${SERVER_LOG_ROOT}/SystemErr.log files to any other absolute path and filename (for example, /tmp/myLogfile.log).

119) What is the default log file size?

1MB

120) What is the log rotation available?

Logs can rotate by size or time

121)

122) What is session affinity?

Most servers use the term “Session Affinity” to indicate that with in a cluster of servers, requests from the same client always get routed back to same server. This eliminates the need to replicate session data like HTTP session or Stateful session Beans.

Default name for the Application Server session cookie is JSESSIONID

Application Server Session JSESSIONID cookie is enabled and set through WebSphere Administration console

Application servers -> <Application ServerName> -> Session management -> Cookies

JSESSIONID cookie contains

CacheID

SessionID

CloneID

Only CloneID is used by WebSphere Plug-in for Session Affinity

For Session Affinity to work a few things must be setup

1.Cluster environment is created

2.JSESSIONID Cookie is enabled by the Application Server

3.CloneID is generate to the Plugin-cfg.xml , after Cookie has been setup and Enabled in the Application Server

CloneID is set on the response from Application Server

Once CloneID (15d2hi3ic) is set in JSESSIONID Cookie then affinity to this particular server will be observed by the plug-in routing.

CLONEID is parsed from JSESSIONID cookie and compared to the CLONEID in the Plugin-cfg.xml

Plug-in “Trace” level log entries compare request CloneID to the Application Server CloneId in Plugin-cfg.xml

Match CloneID in JSESSIONID cookie to plugin-cfg.xml CLONEID and Application Server is selected

Server is selected based on CloneID match

123) Tivoli Performance Viewer ?

The Performance Viewer allows monitoring for CPU usage, Java heap size usage, thread pool sizes, JDBC connection pool sizes, among many other indicators. The Performance Viewer is accessible from the administration console at: Monitoring and tuning > Performance Viewer > Current activity > server_name. You can then expand the different sections of interest and check on the indicators to be monitored

124) FFDC( first failure data capture)?

The first failure data capture (FFDC) feature preserves the information that is generated from a processing failure and returns control to the affected engines. The captured data is saved in a log file for analyzing the problem. FFDC is intended primarily for use by IBM Service. FFDC instantly collects events and errors that occur during the WebSphere Application Server runtime. The information is captured as it occurs and is written to a log file that can be analyzed by an IBM Service representative.

125) What is collector tool? And how to run?

The collector tool gathers information about your WebSphere Application Server installation and packages it in a Java archive (JAR) file that you can send to IBM Customer Support to assist in determining and analyzing your problem. Information in the JAR file includes logs, property files, configuration files, operating system and Java data, and the presence and level of each software prerequisite

Go to à app_server_root/bin/collector.sh

126) What is web container ?

A Web container is a runtime environment for Web applications. It processes servlets, JSP files, and other types of server-side components. Each application server runtime has one logical Web container, which can be modified but not created or removed. The runtime environment for Web components is called the Web container. If one receive unexpected results in a Web browser (such as errors or incorrect information), they might have a problem with the Web container. This paper published by IBM takes reader through the steps of diagnosing Web container problems for IBM WebSphere Application Server V6.1 on distributed and IBM i5/OS platforms.

127) What is PMI?

In WebSphere application server, the core of the monitoring infrastructure is ‘Performance Monitoring Infrastructure’ known as PMI. The performance data provided by WebSphere PMI helps to monitor and tune the application server performance. PMI provides a comprehensive set of data that explains the runtime and application resource behavior. For example, PMI provides database connection pool size, servlet response time, EJB method response time, JVM garbage collection time, CPU usage, and so on. This data can be used to understand the runtime resource utilization patterns of the thread pool, connection pool, and so on, and the performance characteristics of the application components like servlets, JSP, and enterprise beans.

PMI data can be monitored and analyzed by Tivoli Performance Viewer (TPV), other Tivoli tools, your own applications, or third party tools. TPV is a graphical viewer for PMI data that ships with Web Sphere Application Server.

128) What is class loader?

A class loader is an object that is responsible for loading classes.

By default in IBM Websphere Application server the PARENT_FIRST option is selected for

class loading.

if delegation model is set to PARENT_FIRST it will try to load from the application jars which are present in WEB-INF/lib or WEB-INF/classes or included in shared library references.

If the class expected is not present in the application loader it will look up to it parent until Bootstrap.

So in PARENT_FIRST the look up for classes is always upwards .If a class referenced by Ext loader is present in application level then that class will not be visible and throw exception.

PARENT_LAST is just opposite to PARENT_FIRST it look for classes downwards from root classloader.

Classloader Policy : 2 types of Classloader Policies

1) Single 2) Multiple

Single: Applications are not isolated from each other. Uses a single application class loader to load all of the EJB modules, shared libraries, and JAR files which are contained in all applications installed into the JVM.

Multiple: Applications are isolated from each other. Gives each application its own class loader to load the EJB modules, shared libraries, and JAR files

Classloader modes: There are two possible values for a classloader mode. 1) PARENT_FIRST

2) PARENT_LAST

These values can be changed using the WebSphere administrative console.

PARENT_FIRST

The PARENT_FIRST classloader mode causes the classloader to first delegate the loading of classes to its parent classloader (the classloader up one level in the classloader hierarchy) before attempting to load the class from its local classpath. This is the default classloader policy for all classloaders. This default can be changed for the classloaders supplied by the WebSphere run time. It cannot be changed for the Java Virtual Machine classloaders.

PARENT_LAST

The PARENT_LAST classloader mode causes the classloader (the classloader up one level in the classloader hierarchy) to first attempt to load classes from its local classpath before delegating the classloading to its parent. This policy allows an application classloader to override and provide its own version of a class that exists in the parent classloader.

There are three Class loader mode settings:

on an application server

on an application

on a web module

129) What is Virtual hosts?

A virtual host is a configuration entity that allows WebSphere Application Server to treat multiple host machines or port numbers as a single logical host for configuration purposes. Each virtual host can be associated with multiple aliases. Each alias is a particular host name and port number. By combining multiple host machines into a single virtual host or by assigning host machines to different virtual hosts, you can separate and control which Web Sphere Application Server resources are available for client requests.

When you configure WebSphere Application Server, you can associate a virtual host to one or more Web Modules. Each Web Module can be associated with one and only one virtual host. Each virtual host represents a virtual configuration that can have one or more Domain Name System (DNS) aliases. A DNS alias consists of a TCP/IP host name and port number used to request the servlet (for example, yourhost:8000). A virtual host can be associated with any number of DNS aliases.

A client request for a servlet, JavaServer Pages (JSP) file, or related resource contains a DNS alias and a Uniform Resource Indicator (URI) that is unique to that resource. When a client request for a servlet, JSP file, or related resource is received, the DNS alias is compared to the list of all known virtual host groups to locate the correct virtual host, and the URI is compared to the list of all known URI groups to locate the correct URI group.

If a matching virtual host group or URI group is not found, an error is returned to the browser. If the virtual host group and URI group are found, the request is sent to the corresponding server group for processing and a response is returned to browser.

130) What is the WebSphere Application Server Console and what is it’s role? What is the default URL and port for accessing it?

The administrative console is a browser-based interface that allows you to configure application server settings, deploy and manage applications, and perform additional tasks that are not included in the HTTP Server Administration interface. It used to be a Java application, however to be firewall safe it was made into a web-based application.

It runs on the default install port 9060 e.g http:\\hostname:9060\ibm\console, however this can be changed by editing virtual_hosts names. also when during installation ie GUI or response-file install you can set the ports that will be used.

117) what are the regular issues you get in production support and how you resolve them?

· Usually we get tickets from the operational team. Some of the call which we faced are

· Out of Memory: If we get this error we need to check for the standards configured in the application server. I mean heap settings in the server and if not we need to resent according to the standards. If you are getting this error frequently then we need to ask application team to check for the memory leakage. We can get this statics from the Natice_stdout and Native_stderr files.

· No of connections reached Check for the recommended connection pool size in the JDBC driver. Check the unused connections. Temporarily increase the connection pool size. After analyzing the logs and situation if required then recycle the ap plication server to resolve the issue.

· File System issue: Check the file system by using DU Forward to the System admin team and coordinate for the resolution.

· Thread Dump: Create the thread dump by issuing kill-3 command and forward to the application team for analysis.

· 100% CPU utilisation: Check for the CPU utilisation bye using TOPAS command. If required then kill some of the non important process which are tak- ing more cpu %

· HTTP errors like (HTTP 400,401,403,404,500,502 etc.)

ü HTTP 400 (Bad Request): This error comes with because of syntax errors in the URL which was typed by client. Need to provide the correct (updated) URL to the users.

ü HTP 401(UN authorised): This error comes after providing the credentials .that means the provided credentials are not having the privileged access to the requested content or page. We need to access for the requirement of the access to the credentials if re- quire we need to add this user to the group to which the privileged access is there for the particular page or content.

ü HTTP 403 Forbidden: Edge component is not configured properly SSO configuration might be not configured yet. WCP (WebSphere Catching component) there was separate team for proxy configuration so no idea on this issue.

ü HTTP 404 (Page not found or file not found): Need to check the system out file for the logs and verify the ear file

ü HTTP 500 internal errors: It is server-side error (Web server or application server). Might be application server or web server or down. Need to recycle by verifying the system out logs for analysis. HTTP 502 Bad Gateways: This might be because of Network issue. To resolve this issue we need to engage the Network team and coordinate for the solution.

131) How does LDAP works ?

whenever we are going for LDAP user registry we have to specify user id & password & type of directory server, port number (default is 389), if SSL is enabled we have to specify port number as 636 and we have to specify Base distinguished name which indicates authentication for users and we have to specify Bind distinguished name and Bind password which specify authorization for user and we have to select “Advanced Light Weight Directory Access Protocol user registry settings” there we have to specify user filter classes and group filter classes (automatically it will be there) and finally we have to restart the server.

132) What is the command to start and stop the httpserver?

for start the server " ./apchectl -k start "
for stopping the server " ./apchectl -k stop "
for restart the server " ./apchectl -k restart "

133) How to determine Max Heap Size is too large or too small for your application.?

A) ----> If GC takes a so long time to clean up objects with large heap, you can reduce the maximum heap size.

-----> If GC frequency is too high, the heap may be too small for the application and GC needs to run frequently, so you may increase the maximum heap size.

134) What is the difference between base distinguished name and bind distinguished name ?

base distinguished name is mainly for authorization and bind distinguished name is to bind objects.

135) How and where to find the specific class?

Application classes will be available at installed app path. If WAS classes, find out in WAS class path.

136) What is the pre requisite for syncnode command?

The node agent on the node must be in a stopped state when this command is executed.

137) What is Synchronization? Types of Synchronization?

Synchronization is a process of updating the nodes with master configuration repository changes. The network deployment scenario of Web Sphere application server contains multiple nodes managed by a Dmgr and Dmgr holds the master repository of configurations. Any updates or changes through Dmr will be saved in the master configuration and the nodes will be aware of these changes only after the synchronization.

The synchronization is always from Dmgr to Nodes and it never happens vice versa. If you made any changes from the node side it will be cleared during next synchronization process.

Types of Synchronization

There are two types of Synchronization

1.) Partial Synchronization: Here only the configuration file(s) which has changed at the Dmgr level will be synchronized with nodes.

2.) Full Synchronization: This will synchronize the entire master repository with the nodes.

138) What are the default connection pool values and How to view or set ?

Default connection pools is min=1 max=10

To set the JDBC connection pool size:

Log in to the WebSphere® Application Server administrative console.
Click Resources > JDBC > Data sources.
Select the data source name for the object store.
In Data source panel, click Connection pool properties.
Edit the value for Maximum connections to add 50 additional connections. For example, if the current maximum is 100, enter 150.

Tip: You might need to increase this value again if you experience "SQLCODE [0] SQLSTATE [null]" errors after you InfoSphere Master Content is configured and running.

Click Apply. Then, click Save.

139) What are the default threads pools value and How to view or set?

How to view or set:

Start the administrative console.
In the topology tree, expand Servers and click Application Servers.
Click the name of the application server that you want to configure.
Click Web Container.
On the Web Container page, click Thread Pool.
Specify a value for the Maximum size field.
Click Apply or OK.
Save the configuration.
Stop and restart the application server.

Default value: min=50 and max=50

140) what are the Web Sphere Application Server Important configuration Files?

WebSphere stores its configuration to set of XML files. When we use the Admin console to configure WebSphere, certain XML files are updated internally.

CELL-scope

1) admin-authz.xml

Contains the roles set for administration of the Admin console.

<profile_root>/appsrv01/config/cells/<cell_name>/

2) profileRegistry.xml

Contains a list of profiles and profile configuration data

3) resources.xml

Defines operating cell scope environmental resources, including JDBC, JMS, JavaMail, URL end point configuration, and so on.

4) security.xml

Contains security data , including all user ID and password information.

5) virtualhosts.xml

Contains virtual host and Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)-type configurations.

6) variables.xml

Contains cell level WebSphere variables

7) wimconfig.xml

Contains the federated repository configurations for global security

<profile_root>/config/cells/<cell_name>/wim/config/

NODE-scope

1) namestore.xml

Provides persistent JNDI namespace binding data

2) resources.xml

Defines node scope environmental resources, including JDBC, JMS, JavaMail, URL end point configuration, and so on

3) serverindex.xml

Specifies all the ports used by servers on this node

4) variables.xml

Contains node level WebSphere variables

SERVER-scope

1) resources.xml

Contains the configuration of resources, such as, JDBC, JMS, JavaMail, and URL end points at server scope.

2) server.xml

Contains application server configuration data

3) variables.xml

Contains server level variables

141) Location of Security.xml xml file ?

${PROFILE_HOME}/config/cells/${CELL_NAME}/

It Contains
configuration data for the security service

Ex:/wsste/wasapps/profiles/jdwsdvgCell/jdwsdvg/config/cells/jdwsdvgCell

142) Location of server.xml file?

${PROFILE_HOME}/config/cells/${CELL_NAME}/nodes/nodename/servers/servername.

Ex: wsste/wasapps/profiles/jdwsdvgCell/jdwsdvg/config/cells/jdwsdvgCell/nodes/jdwsdvgNodeccgfwsm30d/servers/jdwsdvgServer1.

143) Location of serverindex.xml?

${PROFILE_HOME}/config/cells/${CELL_NAME}/nodes/nodename

Ex: wsste/wasapps/profiles/jdwsdvgCell/jdwsdvg/config/cells/jdwsdvgCell/nodes/jdwsdvgNodeccgfwsm30d/

144) What is the use of variables.xml?

Contains configuration variables used to specify directory paths. The variables can then be substituted for the actual path when specifying locations for log files, JDBC implementation classes, and application install paths.

145) What is the use of virtualhosts.xml

Contains configuration data for virtual hosts and their MIME types.

146) How do you generate heap dump?

You can generate using was admin script and by adding values in JVM custom properties

By using was admin script

a) Start the wsadmin scripting client. You have several options to run scripting commands, ranging from running them interactively to running them in a profile.

b) Invoke the generateHeapDump operation on a JVM MBean, for example,

a. Finding JVM objectName:

b. <wsadmin> set objectName [$AdminControl queryNames

WebSphere:type=JVM,process=<servername>,node=<nodename>,*]

c. Invoking the generateHeapDump operation on JVM MBean:

<wsadmin> $AdminControl invoke $objectName generateHeapDump

2) by adding values in JVM custom properties

Go to Application Servers> server1> process Definition > java Virtual Machine > custom properties

Add below name and values

IBM_HEAPDUMPDIR=<appServer_log>

IBM_HEAPDUMPDIR_OUTOFMEMORY=true

IBM_HEAP_DUMP=true

147) When will get the out of memory error?

In many cases, like in the case of a memory leak, the second option is the only sound choice. A memory leak happens when the application keeps more and more references to objects and never releases them. The garbage collector will therefore never collect those objects and less and less free memory will be available until we reach the point where not enough free memory is available for the application to function normally. At this point, the JVM will throw an OOM.

148) How and where you can set generic JVM arguments for the WebSphere Application Server

The generic JVM arguments are used to configure and adjust how the JVM executes

Any changes to JVM arguments needs restart of that JVM

WebSphere Application Server 7.x/8.x

ü In the Administration Console select Servers

ü Expand Server Type and select WebSphere application servers

ü Click on the name of your server

ü Expand Java and Process Management and select Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine

ü Scroll down and locate the textbox for Generic JVM arguments

149) Differences between WebSphere Application Server 5.1,6.1and 7.0?

The following differences between WAS 5.1, 6.1 and 7.0

WAS5.1: There is no concept of profile in this version. There are 4 types’ installations

Those are Express, Base, Network, Deployment and Enterprise.

WAS6.1: Cell, Deployment Manager, Application Server, Custom profiles.

WAS7.0: Cell, Application Server, Management, Custom Secure Proxy profiles.

Under Management profile there are three types of profiles available

1. Administrative Agent

2. Deployment Manager

3. Job Manager

The main use of job manager is to queue jobs to application server in flexible management environment.

Managing Profiles:

WAS5.1: We can install the websphere installation instances using the wsinstance script.

WAS6.1: There are two types tools available in 6.1 version.

Those are 1. Profile Management Tool (GUI)

2. manageprofiles.bat (Command Interface).

WAS7.0: Same as WAS6.1.

Security Roles:

WAS5.1: Administrator, Operator, Configurator.

WAS6.1: Administrator, Operator, Configurator, Monitor, Admin Security Manager, ISC Admin.

WAS7.0: Administrator, Operator, Configurator, Deployer, Admin Security Manager, ISC Admin,Auditor.

Supporting WebServers:

WAS5.1: Apache, HIS, IIS, Domino Server.

WAS6.1: Apache, IHS, IIS, Domino Server, SunOne.

WAS7.0: Same as 6.1 versions.

User Registries/Repositries:

WAS5.1: Local Operating System, Standalone LDAP registry, Standalone Custom registry.

WAS6.1: Federated Repositories, Local Operating System, Standalone LDAP registry, Standalone Custom registry or file based registry

WAS7.0: Same as 6.1

Logging and Tracing:

WAS5.1: Diagnostic trace log, JVM logs, Process logs, IBM Service logs.

WAS6.1: Apart from the logs available in 5.1 there is a change log detail levels which will enable the message level and trace level of the JVM.

WAS7.0: Same as 6.1.

Managing WebServers:

WAS5.1: Webservers cannot be managed from WebSphere Admin Console.

WAS6.1: WebServers can be administered using the WebSphere Admin Console. WebServers can be created in Managed node or in Unmanaged node.

WAS7.0: Same as 6.1.

JMS:

WAS5.1: JMS Fail Over Support and scalability is not available

WAS6.1: JMS Fail over support and scalability is available.SIB(Service Integration Bus is added)

WAS7.0: Same as V 6.1

Monitoring

WAS5.1: There is no monitoring tool available in this version.

WAS6.1: TPV(Tivoli Performance Viewer) is embedded in the WebSphere Admin Console for monitoring WebSphere Objects.

WAS7.0: same as V 6.1

wsadmin scripts

WAS5.1: JACL is the scripting language which is used

WAS6.1: JACL will be deprecated from 6.1 and Jython scripting will be used.

WAS7.0: Same as V 6.1

150) What are the different types of users available in GLobal security ?

By default, WebSphere provides few roles, those are listed below

Monitor	The monitor role can do the following: • View the WebSphere Application Server configuration • View the current state of the Application Server
Configurator	A configurator role can do the following: • Create a resource • Map an application server • Install and uninstall an application • Deploy an application • Assign users and groups-to-role mapping for applications • Set up Java 2 security permissions for applications
Operator	monitor privileges and can stop and start the server and monitor the server status in the administrative console.
Administrator	An individual or group which can be assigned this role will have the operator and configurator privileges, plus additional privileges that are granted for administration.
Iscadmins	Available to administrative console users. Users who are granted this role have administrator privileges for managing users and groups in the federated repositories.
Deployer	Assigned users will have the ability to completely deploy an application and configure application runtime settings.
Admin Security Manager	By using the Admin Security Manager role, you can assign users and groups to the administrative user roles and administrative group roles.

Only for WebSphere v7

Auditor

This role allows users to modify the configuration settings for security auditing and the role includes the monitor role.

151) What are the regular commands is UNIX in use?

In our day to day activity we use the following commands in unix:

§ To find out the running processes the command is :Ps – ef| grep java

§ To find out the disk space the command is :du

§ To find out the file system the command is :df

§ To find out the network performance/port info command is :netstat

§ To find out the CPU utilisation the command is : topas/osstat

§ To kill the running process the command is : kill -9 <PID>

§ To generate heap/thresd dump the command is :kill -3 <PID>

§ To change the privileges of the file/folder the command is : chmod

§ To change the owner of the file/folder the command is :chown

§ To list the file the command is : ls

§ To create DIR(folder) the command is :mkdir

§ To TAR the files ,folders we use the following command Tar –xvf <file name with path> -- Tar – uvf --adding one or two files two folder Tar – cvf -- total folder

§ To schedule the job in cron command is as follwos Crontab –l ( to list all the scheduled jobs) Crontab –e ( to edit the scheduled job) Whithin the crontab the syntax for the schedule the script as follows Ex: 30 6 * * 1,3,5 /usr/bin/calender 30(minutes) 6 (hours) *(day of the month) * (month of the year) 1,3,5 (day no of the week)/usr/bin/calender In the above example we scheduled the script called calender which is located in the location “/usr/bin” to run every Monday,Wednesday and friday

§ To find fully qualified domain name (FQDN) if you know IP $ Nslookup <IP_ADDRESS> --(vice versa)

152) What is the basic command in UNIX to find network performance?

Netstat

153) How to search a file/Directory ?

find . -type f -name <filename>

find . -type d -name <DirectoryName>

154)

155) Commands to check CPU utilization?

Topas used in AIX, Top is used in Linux

156) What is use of nmon?

The nmon command displays and records local system information. The command can run either in interactive or recording mode. If we specify any of the -F, -f, -X, -x, and -Z flags, the nmon command is in recording mode. Otherwise, the nmon command is in interactive mode.

157) How to check a particular port is working or not in Unix?

netstat -a | grep 80

158) In ls -lrt, what t stands for and r stands for l stands for?

-l shows you huge amounts of information (permissions, owners, size, and when last modified.)

-r reverses the order of how the files are displayed.

-t shows you the files in modification time

159) What are the commands to check memory usage on Linux?

a) Free command: The free command is the most simple and easy to use command to check memory usage on linux

b) The next way to check memory usage is to read the /proc/meminfo file

Ex: cat /proc/meminfo

c) Vmstat: The vmstat command with the s option, lays out the memory usage statistics much like the proc command. Here is an example

Ex: Vmstat –s

160) How do I determine CPU and Memory utilization, based on running processes.

Use the TOP command in linux.

161) What are the Vi editor modes?

Following two modes:

Command mode: This mode enables you to perform administrative tasks such as saving files, executing commands, moving the cursor, cutting (yanking) and pasting lines or words, and finding and replacing. In this mode, whatever you type is interpreted as a command.
Insert mode: This mode enables you to insert text into the file. Everything that's typed in this mode is interpreted as input and finally it is put in the file .

Replacing Text:

The substitution command (:s/) enables you to quickly replace words or groups of words within your files. Here is the simple syntax:

:s/search/replace/g

The g stands for globally. The result of this command is that all occurrences on the cursor's line are changed.

Searching for Text

  From Command Mode

  /text   Search forward (down) for text (text can include spaces

                      and characters with special meanings.)

  ?text   Search backward (up) for text

  n       Repeat last search in the same direction

  N       Repeat last search in the opposite direction

  fchar   Search forward for a charcter on current line

  Fchar   Search backward for a character on current line

  ;       Repeat last character search in the same direction

  %       Find matching ( ), { }, or [ ]

Substitutions

The simplest way to do substitutions over a range of lines, or throughout the file, is to use the s colon command. The basic form of this command is the following:

       :n1,n2s/old/new/gc

       n1 is the beginning line

       n2 is the ending line number

       s means to substitute text matching the pattern (old)

                with text specified by (new)

       g (global) is optional.  It indicates you want to substitute

                all occurrences on the indicated lines.  If you use

                g, the editor substitutes only the first occurrence

                on the indicated lines.

       c (confirm) is optional.  It indicates you want to confirm

                each substitution before vi completes it.

  From Command Mode

  :%s/old/new/g     Substitutes old with new throughout the file

  :.,$s/old/new/g   Substitutes old with new from the current

                           cursor position to the end of the file

  :^,.s/old/new/g   Substitutes old with new from the beginning

                           of the file to the current cursor position

  :&                 Repeats the last substitute (:s) command

162) What is the use of Chmod?

Chmod is a Unix command to change the permissions of files/directories

Sync: Chmod [options] mode [,mode] file1 [files2..]

Ex: chmod –R 777 file/folder

The r, w, and x specify the read, write, and execute access, respectively.

Numeric values for the read, write and execute permissions:

Ø read 4

Ø write 2

Ø execute 1

#	Permission	Rwx
7	full	111
6	read and write	110
5	read and execute	101
4	read only	100
3	write and execute	011
2	write only	010
1	execute only	001
0

Reference	Class	Description
U	User	the owner of the file
G	group	users who are members of the file's group
O	others	users who are neither the owner of the file nor members of the file's group
A	All	all three of the above, same as ugo

163) How do you know whether it is file or directory ?

If it is a dash - then that means it is a normal file. If it is a d that that means it is a directory (folder).

164) How do you check your file permissions.

After connecting to your UNIX account, type the ls -l command to view information on files in your current directory, including the file permissions

Permissions are listed as a set of 10 (sometimes 9) flags:

Position 1: Specifies the type of file. This position will have the character ‘d’ if the file is a directory or a ‘-‘ if it is not. In some programs, the first position isn’t displayed at all if there is a ‘-‘ in the field.

Position 2-4: Specifies the permissions for the user.

Position 5-7: Specifies the permissions for groups.

Positions 8-10: Specifies permissions for the world.

165) What is the use of tail command?

The tail command displays the last ten lines of the file.

The syntax for the tail command is:

tail [options] [file]

Options

Option	Description
-f	Follow the file as it grows.
-r	Displays the lines in the reverse order.
-n[k]	Displays the file at the nth item from the end of the file.
+n[k]	Displays the file at the nth item from the beginning of the file.
File	Name of the file you wish to display

Examples

tail myfile.txt

The above example would list the last 10 (default) lines of the file myfile.txt.

tail myfile.txt -n 100

The above example would list the last 100 lines in the file myfile.txt.

tail -f myfile.txt

This next example displays the last 10 lines and then updates the file as new lines are being added. This is a great command to use to watch log files or logs in real-time.

tail -f access.log | grep 24.10.160.10

Finally, if you're trying to view a file such as the Apache access log file that is updated frequently you can pipe its output through the grep command to filter out only the content you want. In this above example, we're watching the access.log for any IP address of 24.10.160.10

166) What is crontab ?

The crontab (cron derives from chronos, Greek for time; tab stands for table) command, found in Unix and Unix-like operating systems, is used to schedule commands to be executed periodically. To see what crontabs are currently running on your system, you can open a terminal and run:

$ sudo crontab -l

To edit the list of cronjobs you can run:

$ sudo crontab -e

This wil open a the default editor (could be vi or pico, if you want you can change the default editor) to let us manipulate the crontab. If you save and exit the editor, all your cronjobs are saved into crontab. Cronjobs are written in the following format:

* * * * * /bin/execute/this/script.sh

Scheduling explained

As you can see there are 5 stars. The stars represent different date parts in the following order:

· minute (from 0 to 59)

· hour (from 0 to 23)

· day of month (from 1 to 31)

· month (from 1 to 12)

· day of week (from 0 to 6) (0=Sunday)

167) How can I get number of CPU’s & processors?

$ grep -c processor /proc/cpuinfo

$ grep CPU /proc/cpuinfo

model name : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU L7555 @ 1.87GHz

$ grep cpu /proc/cpuinfo

cpu family : 6

cpu MHz : 1861.991

cpuid level : 11

cpu family : 6

cpu MHz : 1861.991

cpuid level : 11

cpu family : 6

cpu MHz : 1861.991

cpuid level : 11

cpu family : 6

cpu MHz : 1861.991

cpuid level : 11

168) Coregroup:

Core group is a physical grouping of JVMs in a cell that are candidates to host singleton services. It can contain stand-alone servers, cluster members, Node Agents or the Deployment Manager, each of these run in a JVM.

Each JVM process can only be a member of one core group. Naturally, cluster members must belong to the same core group. At runtime, the core group and policy configurations are matched together to form high availability groups.

Nodegroup: grouping A node group is a new concept in was 6.which is grouping of nodes within a cell that have a similar capabilities.A node group is collection of managed nodes.

169) HA Manager:

The high availability manager (commonly called the HA manager) is a

component of WebSphere Application Server that enhances the availability of

WebSphere Application Server singleton services such as transaction or

messaging services. It provides a peer recovery mechanism for in-flight

transactions or messages among clustered application servers. It also supports

memory-to-memory session replication

170)

171) What is Workload Management?

Workload Management (WLM) is a WebSphere facility that provides load balancing and affinity between application servers in a WebSphere clustered environment. WLM is an important fact of performance. Web Sphere uses workload management to send requests to alternate members of the cluster

172) What is Load Balancer?

Load Balancer is a software solution for distributing incoming client requests across servers. It boosts the performance of servers by directing TCP/IP session requests to different servers within a group of servers; in this way, it balances the requests among all the servers

173) What are the advantages of using Load Balancer?

Scalability As the number of client requests increases; you can add servers dynamically, providing support for tens of millions of requests per day, on tens or even hundreds of servers.

Efficient use of equipment Load balancing ensures that each group of servers makes optimum use of its hardware by minimizing the hot-spots that frequently occur with a standard round-robin method.

Easy integration Load Balancer uses standard TCP/IP or UDP/IP protocols. You can add it to your existing network without making any physical changes to the network. It is simple to install and configure.

Low overhead using simple mac level forwarding method, the Dispatcher component only looks at the inbound client-to-server flows. It does not need to see the outbound server-to-client flows. This significantly reduces its impact on the application compared with other approaches and can result in improved network performance.

High availability The Dispatcher, Cisco CSS Controller, and Nortel Alteon Controller components offer built-in high availability, utilizing a backup machine that remains ready at all times to take over load balancing should the primary server machine fail. When one of the servers fails, requests continue to be serviced by the other server. This eliminates any server as a single point of failure and makes the site highly available

174) What are the components of Load Balancer?

The five components of Load Balancer are: Dispatcher, Content Based Routing (CBR), Site Selector, Cisco CSS Controller, and Nortel Alteon Controller

175) /Diff b/n IBM JDK and sun JDK.

.The IBM and Sun JVMs have drastically different memory models, which can significantly affect garbage collection performance. The Sun JVM uses a generational garbage collector, which performs better for short-lived objects and reasonably well if you allocate a lot of memory to your JVM (using the -Xms and-Xmx flags). It's typical when using the Sun JVM to use the same values for the minimum and maximum heap sizes (e.g.

-Xms1536m
-Xmx1536m

). This works well for the generational GC model because the Sun JVM will do minor garbage collections periodically, sweeping only a small portion of the whole heap.

The IBM JVM, by default, does not use a generational garbage collector. You can instruct the IBM JVM to use one as a command line switch (-Xgcpolicy:gencon) but this is not the default. Keeping the default non-generational garbage collector can improve performance for some applications, but YMMV. With the IBM JVM, it's important to set -Xms as low as possible and allow the JVM to grow the heap up to -Xmx as needed. If you set both to the same value, as you might for the Sun JVM, you'll have very high application performance up to the very first "Stop the world" garbage collection. Then your application will hang for potentially minutes while it scavenges the heap.

176) Configuring SSL at IHS Level?

Using ikeyman utility or gsk7 command we wil create keydatabase(.kdb) file first then based on requirement we will create certificates either selfsigned or CA signed. For CA Signed we will create a CSR(Certificate Signing Request), for self signed we will make use ikeyman utility or gsk7 cmd

Add Virtual Host definition for HTTPS. This allows for the Definition of HTTPS on a separate virtual host from HTTP.

a) Edit the httpd.conf in <ihs_root>\conf.

We have to give the ssl module name

LoadModule ibm_ssl_module modules/mod_ibm_ssl.soo a filend also other details like ssl port no,ipadress,.kdb file path and etc.

17.Threadpool

A thread pool enables components of the server to reuse threads, which eliminates the need to create new threads at run time. Creating new threads expends time and resources.

We have different values like min size , max size, thread inactivity timeout

Connection pool:

Connection pool is the set of connections to the database we have different properties like max connections min connections aged timeout reap timeout purge policy etc.

Thread pool vs connection pool

The dependency between these two pool setting is in maximum attribute. Let us assume that your database can support maximum of 50 connections then it is straight forward to configure the connection pool maximum attribute as 50. But how this setting going to impact threads pool setting? Configure application server thread pool as maximum of 100. In this scenario application server will allow 100 request to be processed simultaneously however database have only 50 connections. So only 50 thread will get connection another 50 thread will fight to get database connection hence connections will be switched between threads frequently that will slow down overall application performance.

1) Websphere Application Server configuration with LDAP Server

Security is a critical aspect of any distributed application model. Most of the firms have a centralized repository of the users in LDAP servers like Active Directory, Novell LDAP.

This post illustrates how you can configure authentication to the WebSphere Application server using an Open DS LDAP commonly reffered as WebSphere LDAP configuration.

Open DS is a freeware and can be downloaded from the below site.

http://opends.java.net/

Steps to configure:

1. Setting up the global security.

Global security configuration applies to the security policy for all administrative functions and is used as a default security policy for user applications. Security domains can be defined to override and customize the security policies for user applications.

Login to WebSphere 7 admin console, navigate to Security –> Global Security.

Global security settings

2. Enable administrative security option.

3. Configure user account repository.

Select “Standalone LDAP Registry” from the drop down of “User Account Repository” à configure

4. Define the LDAP configuration details in the next page.

Specify the below properties.

Primary administrative user name: Specifies the name of a user with administrative privileges that is defined in your custom user registry

Type of LDAP Server: Since we are using Open DS for the illustration, select ‘Custom’ from the drop down.

http://weblogic-wonders.com/weblogic/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/4.png

Click on “Test Connection” button to check the ldap configuration settings. Save the changes

5. Modify the Advanced LDAP User Registry Settings.

Define the User Filter to use (objectclass=inetOrgPerson), since it resonates to the LDAP user registry objectclass settings.

http://weblogic-wonders.com/weblogic/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/5.png

6. Set the LDAP registry as Current realm definition.

7. Restart the WebSphere Application server.

8. Login into the admin console using the operator from the LDAP Server.

2) How do you create a profiles?

The following commands can be useful for managing profiles:

Table 1. Profile commands
Task	Command
Delete a profile	`WAS_HOME`/bin/manageprofiles.[sh\|bat] -delete -profileName `profile name`
Refresh the profile registry (for example, after deleting a profile)	`WAS_HOME`/bin/manageprofiles.[sh\|bat] -validateAndUpdateRegistry
List existing profiles	`WAS_HOME`/bin/manageprofiles.[sh\|bat] -listProfiles

WAS_HOME is equal to where WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment is installed, for example, /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/ or C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\

To create WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment profiles, follow these steps:

Procedure

Source the setupCmdLine.[sh|bat] script in the bin directory of the WAS_HOME folder to set the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment environment to the configuration instance. WAS_HOME is typically in /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer or C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\.
Create a profile ports file for the ctgDmgr01 profile. This file is used with the manageprofiles command to set the ports used by this profile.

Note: It is important that you ensure no spaces appear after any value in this file. This circumstance can sometimes occur when cutting and pasting an example. If there is an extra space trailing any of the values WebSphere uses that space as the last character of that value. For example, you specify the value WC_adminhost=9060, but an extra space is typed after 9060. The value is interpreted as WC_adminhost=9060&ltsp> (where <sp> represents a space character).

Open a new text file named _portdef_DMgr.props and enter the following text:

CSIV2_SSL_SERVERAUTH_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9403

WC_adminhost=9060

DCS_UNICAST_ADDRESS=9352

BOOTSTRAP_ADDRESS=9809

SAS_SSL_SERVERAUTH_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9401

CELL_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=7277

SOAP_CONNECTOR_ADDRESS=8879

ORB_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9100

CSIV2_SSL_MUTUALAUTH_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9402

WC_adminhost_secure=9043

Place the file in the WAS_HOME directory.

Create the ctgDmgr01 profile using the manageprofiles command. Type the following command, all on one line, with a space between each entry:

WAS_HOME/bin/manageprofiles.[sh|bat]

  -create

  -templatePath  WAS_HOME/profileTemplates/dmgr

  -hostName  yourfullyqualifiedhost

  -profileName  ctgDmgr01

  -profilePath  WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgDmgr01

  -portsFile  WAS_HOME/_portdef_DMgr.props

  -cellName  ctgCell01

  -nodeName  ctgCellManager01

  -enableAdminSecurity  "false"

Start the ctgDmgr01 server:

WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgDmgr01/bin/startManager.[sh|bat]

Create a profile ports file for the ctgAppSrv01 profile. This file is used by the manageprofiles command to set the ports that are used by this profile.

Open a new text file named _portdef_AppSvr.props and enter the following text:

CSIV2_SSL_SERVERAUTH_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9201

DCS_UNICAST_ADDRESS=9353

NODE_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=7272

NODE_IPV6_MULTICAST_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=5001

BOOTSTRAP_ADDRESS=2809

SAS_SSL_SERVERAUTH_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9901

SOAP_CONNECTOR_ADDRESS=8878

NODE_MULTICAST_DISCOVERY_ADDRESS=5000

ORB_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9101

CSIV2_SSL_MUTUALAUTH_LISTENER_ADDRESS=9202

Place the file in the WAS_HOMEdirectory.

Create the ctgAppSrv01 profile using the manageprofiles command:

WAS_HOME/bin/manageprofiles.[sh|bat]

-create

  -templatePath   WAS_HOME/profileTemplates/managed

  -hostName  yourfullyqualifiedhost

  -profileName ctgAppSrv01

  -profilePath WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgAppSrv01

  -cellName  ctgNodeCell01

  -nodeName ctgNode01

  -portsFile WAS_HOME/_portdef_AppSvr.props

  -dmgrHost yourfullyqualifiedhost

  -dmgrPort 8879

  -isDefault

Start the ctgAppSrv01 node.

WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgAppSrv01/bin/startNode.[sh|bat]

Augment the ctgDmgr01 profile:

WAS_HOME/bin/manageprofiles.[sh|bat]

  -augment

  -templatePath WAS_HOME/profileTemplates/iscae71

  -profileName ctgDmgr01

  -serverName dmgr

Restart servers.

WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgDmgr01/bin/stopManager.[sh|bat]

WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgDmgr01/bin/startManager.[sh|bat]

WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgAppSrv01/bin/stopNode.[sh|bat]

       WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgAppSrv01/bin/startNode.[sh|bat]

Start firststeps.[sh|bat] and select the Installation Verification option to confirm that your server has been properly installed and started.

WAS_HOME/profiles/ctgDmgr01/firststeps/firststeps.[sh|bat]

3) How do you install web sphere?

· Installation Steps:
1) Untar the IBM Websphere Application Server 7 archive.

· # tar -xzvf was.7000.wasdev.nocharge.linux.amd64.tar.gz

· 2) Create a responce file for silent installation

· # cat > responce.text << EOF

· -OPT silentInstallLicenseAcceptance="true"

· -OPT disableOSPrereqChecking="true"

· -OPT installType="installNew"

· -OPT profileType="standAlone"

· -OPT feature="noFeature"

· -OPT PROF_enableAdminSecurity="true"

· -OPT PROF_adminUserName="wasadmin"

· -OPT PROF_adminPassword="password"

· -OPT PROF_profileName="appsvr01"

· -OPT PROF_defaultPorts="true"

· -OPT installLocation="/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer"

· -OPT traceLevel="INFO"

· EOF

·
It is also worth noting that in the WAS directory in the expanded installation archive, there is a sample response file named "responsefile.base.txt". Have a look at this file, it should give you a good idea of what options are supported without needing to read through thousands of pages of documents.

3) cd to WAS directory and execute the install.sh with the following arguments

· # ./install -is:javaconsole -options responce.text -silent

· Or

· # install -options responce.text -silent -log # !/root/was_install_log.txt @ALL

· to log all installation messages.

The "-is:javaconsole" argument tells the installer to print the output to stdout. Unfortunately, on my server, this doesn't work as it gives this warning message and terminates the installation process :-(

· WARNING: could not write using log service: java.lang.IllegalStateException: proxy has been closed

·
I had to remove the argument, clean the installation directory and re-run the installation for a successful outcome.

4) During the installation process, you could watch the progress by tail-ing the log file located in ~/waslogs directory. (In the first-time installation, a temporary log file directory is always created in the home directory of the current user)

· # tail -f ~/waslogs/log.txt

· (Jun 18, 2012 11:47:17 AM), Process,

· complete: 90%

·
5) Take note of the the last line of the installation log, you should see an exitcode = 0.

· (Jun 18, 2012 12:18:02 PM), Process, com.ibm.ws.install.ni.ismp.actions.SetExitCodeAction, msg1, CWUPI0000I: EXITCODE=0

·
The installation takes about 5 minutes to complete on my i5-3550 machine.

By now, the installation has been completed successfully. Lets examine the installation. First, start the default server 'server1' of our profile appsvr01.

To start the server:
1) cd to the [was_install_dir]/profile/appsvr01/bin
2) execute the startServer.sh script with "server1" as the argument. "server1" is the default server of a profile.

· root@ubuntu12svr01:/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/appsvr01/bin# ./startServer.sh server1

· ADMU0116I: Tool information is being logged in file

· /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/appsvr01/logs/server1/startServer.log

· ADMU0128I: Starting tool with the appsvr01 profile

· ADMU3100I: Reading configuration for server: server1

· ADMU3200I: Server launched. Waiting for initialization status.

· ADMU3000I: Server server1 open for e-business; process id is 29695

·
The application server instance server1 is now started. The default secured listener port of this instance is 9043, try hitting https://server-ip:9043/admin yields the following.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_PSBxRakRX95DiKRALDVij5WG__lwlo6y0WJwZNF5wVWxLnPrmDn4-I741-OwNudkkV2O1p9jp1iJbd1GSfZrdVIEBl2ZViJM5txVkmQrsSDY1pIqFLdGG9OyGxhtVxn4gvCNY4i9j0/s400/wasins1.png

·
Just add the exception and tell the browser to connect to the server, the following log-in screen will be displayed.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucNnWZMtb31WMY2Gc8_LIswp4a8N2IkVjtj0A_3yX0cy-MKBnMyH3Q2kWzaC2TOvlOd5qfVyFHk1pqzwlIG5aqkT4ci7sYPhyphenhyphenjeHcYTlH0ZT0CegXZ2o0QpQuiwJRgi_6kFE3O3Qr3fM/s400/wasins2.png

·

Enter the username and password you specified earlier in the responce.text file and login. Voila you are in!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhHDDKwV0mhuTI1WeKwxvgc9AG4kXQtYwuIAf0JXnPsRt0wev6TjRtxNxQOQLJr4u-uE_jPrz7wKJV__gAANpDnKbxB2OZCT1g5-Tf4GytlvDCYZWda80DhtkzI-JnpxcLfYumx1nDKo/s400/wasins3.png

As far as the installation goes, it has been successful.

If you want to repeat the exercise, just follow the following steps to uninstall the entire installation, in silent mode.

Steps to uninstall:
1) Stop all servers
2) cd to [was_install_dir]/uninstall/
3) execute the uninstall script with the '-silent' argument

root@ubuntu12svr01:/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/uninstall# ./uninstall -silent

4) After the script exits, delete the entire IBM directory as well as a hidden directory ".ibm" in the /opt.
5) Delete the ~/waslogs directory, too.

1) How to revert fixpack?

In this example we have a WebSphere 7.0.0.19 Cell on AIX where we have a need to downgrade to 7.0.0.17

The diagram below shows that we have the Deployment Manager Profile and Node 01 profile on the same LPAR. Node 02 is installed on a second LPAR.

http://blog.webspheretools.com/wp-content/uploads/120511_1724_1.png

This means that we need to perform two fix pack removals. One uninstall for DMGR and Node 01 and another for the second LAPR to deal with Node 02.

When I look at the AIX file system, I found that the UpdateInstaller was installed in /opt/IBM/WebSphere/UpdateInstaller,. However the fixpack 19 PAK file had been removed due to space conservation. I had to download Fixpack 19 from IBM.

Download FP 19 from FixCentral

Copied the 7.0.0-WS-WAS-AixPPC64-FP0000019.pak to /home/<my_hme_directory>

I then chmod attributes as 777, then as wasadmin I copied to /opt/IBM/Websphere/UpdateInstaller/maintenance

Optional: I then asked Unix team to mount the <installation_repository) which required root access so I could copy the downloaded FP for safe keeping and accountability purposes.

Verify the current version of WAS using versionInfo.sh for example:

Result of versionIfo.sh

Node01:/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin>versionInfo.sh

Version 7.0.0.19

Edit the responsefile called uninstall.txt which is located in the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/UpdateInstaller/responsefile folder

-W product.location=”/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer”

-W backup.package=”7.0.0-WS-WAS-AixPPC64-FP0000019.pak”

Run the installer which is located in /opt/IBM/WebSphere/UpdateInstaller/

./update.sh -options responsefiles/uninstall.txt –silent

Logs

Logs will be located in a folder with the same name as the fixpack that is being uninstalled for example:

/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/logs/update/7.0.0-WS-WAS-AixPPC64-FP0000019.uninstall

Result you a re looking for in the log file. Note the log file doesn’t exist until the fixpack uninstall is complete.

Rest of output has been removed for simplicity…

(05-Dec-2011 08:18:13), Install, com.ibm.ws.install.ni.ismp.actions.SetExitCodeAction, msg1, CWUPI0000I: EXITCODE=0

(05-Dec-2011 08:18:13), Install, com.ibm.ws.install.ni.ismp.actions.ISMPLogSuccessMessageAction, msg1, INSTCONFSUCCESS

Result

Node01:/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin>versionInfo.sh

Version 7.0.0.17

2) How to install update installer?

Download and unzip the Update installer

edit the responsefile.updiinstaller.txt file as follows (I have used /var/apps/was7 as my Websphere Install root)

-OPT silentInstallLicenseAcceptance="true"

-OPT disableOSPrereqChecking="true"

-OPT installLocation="/var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller"

-OPT traceFormat=ALL

-OPT traceLevel=INFO

./install -options "/var/apps/was_7_fixpack/UpdateInstaller/responsefile.updiinstaller.txt" -silent

While it is installing you can tail the log

tail -f /root/updilogs/log.txt

Install, com.ibm.ws.install.ni.ismp.actions.ISMPLogSuccessMessageAction, msg1, INSTCONFSUCCESS

Now that we have installed the required update installer, we need to copy the the downloaded fix pack to

/var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/maintenance

When we run the update installer silently we will refer to the above path

We are now going to update the response file for a silent install of the Fix Pack

vi /var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/responsefiles/install.txt

Edit these lines:

-W maintenance.package="/var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/maintenance/7.0.0-WS-WAS-LinuxX64-FP0000013.pak"

-OPT disableNonBlockingPrereqChecking="true"

-W product.location="/var/apps/was7"

Run the installer

cd /var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/

./update.sh -options responsefiles/install.txt -silent

/var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/java/jre/bin/java -cp /var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/update.jar -Xms48m -Xmx384m run -options /var/apps/was7/UpdateInstaller/responsefiles/install.txt -silent

1) How do you apply fix packs?

Procedure

Download the required fix pack from the official IBM support Web site into< WAS-ROOT>/maintenance directory.

Ensure that all running processes have been stopped.

Edit a response file . The one located at the bottom of the pane can be used as an example. There are also sample response files found in the <WAS-ROOT>/responsefiles directory.

Specify the location of the product to the response file.

Specify the choice of install maintenance in the response file. For example: -W update.type="install"

Add the maintenance location where packages can be found to the response file.

Run the Update Installer.

For example:

Windows

update.bat -silent -options "responsefiles\file_name"

Vista

update.exe -silent -options "responsefiles\file_name"

AIX, Linux,Solaris

./update.sh -silent -options "responsefiles/file_name"

Review the log file to verify maintenance has been installed successfully. The log can be found atapp_server_root/logs/update/maintenance_package.install. If for some reason the maintenance package is not applicable to install, a log file found in <WAS-ROOT>/logs/tempX will list the reason for the failure. The most recent log file, tmpX, where X refers to the first available empty directory, will be created to reflect the status for this attempted install. You might not receive an error message for a failed installation in some cases. If you silently install a maintenance package and you do not receive a response after a short period of time, view the logs. If logs are not generated, then an invalid or missing argument might be causing the installation to fail. Verify the Update Installer syntax for the command line with the response files install.txt and uninstall.txt, located in <WAS-ROOT>/responsefiles

Results

One of the following results will appear in the log.

INSTCONFSUCCESS :The operation was a success.

INSTCONFPARTIALSUCCESS :The operation was partially successful, refer to the log for more details.

INSTCONFFAILED :The operation failed, refer to the log for more details.

Example

The following is an sample response file used by the Update Installer to install a fix pack using the silent installer.

################################################################################

# This is the silent install response file for installing maintenance packages

# using the update installer.

# A common use of an options file is to run the wizard in silent mode. This lets

# the options file author specify wizard settings without having to run the

# wizard in graphical or console mode. To use this options file for silent mode

# execution, *uncomment* and modify the parameters defined within.

# Use the following command line when running the wizard from the update

# installer directory:

# update -options responsefiles/install.txt -silent

# Please enclose all values within a single pair of double quotes.

################################################################################

# This section describes how to apply a maintenance package using the full

# filename specifications to be installed.

# There are three ways you can specify installing a maintenance package.

# They are the following:

# (Use the examples below and edit where appropriate.)

# 1. Specify a single maintenance package full filename to be installed.

# For example:

# -W maintenance.package="C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\UpdateInstaller\maintenance\PQ20029.pak"

# 2. Specify a multiple maintenance package full filename to be installed.

# - Use a semicolon to separate the full filename specifications.

# - Update Installer will install the latest applicable maintenance in the order ## listed.

# For example:

# -W maintenance.package="C:\maintenance\PQ20029.pak;C:\maintenance\PK31008.pak;D:\6.1.0-WS-WAS-WinX32-FP0000001.pak"

# 3. Specify a full folder name that contains the maintenance packages.

# Update Installer will install the latest applicable maintenance in the order

# listed in the folder.

# For example:

# -W maintenance.package="D:\UpdateInstaller\maintenance"

# Notes: If no package is specified, maintenance packages from the default folder

# (such as, UpdateInstaller_HOME/maintenance )

# will be installed.

-W maintenance.package="D:\UpdateInstaller\maintenance\6.1.0-WS-WAS-WinX32-FP0000001.pak"

################################################################################

# Prerequisite Checking

# The update installer checks the system for prerequisites by default.

# Uncomment the following option to notify the installer to continue with

# the update and log the warnings even though prerequisite checking

# failed.

#-OPT disableNonBlockingPrereqChecking="true"

################################################################################

# Used to input the product install location that will be updated.

# such as, -W product.location="C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer"

# Note: The product install location should always been specified, and it should

# always be the full path.

-W product.location="D:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer"

################################################################################

# Do not edit these values.

-W update.type="install"

2) How do you apply SSL?

Click SSL certificate and key management > Key stores and certificates.

Click NodeDefaultTrustStore.

Click Signer certificates.

Click Add.

Specify the alias name for the new root signer certificate, the certificate file name, certificate data type, and click OK.

· Select Security > SSL certificate and key management. In the Related Items list, click Key stores and certificates.

· Click NodeDefaultKeyStore. In the Additional Properties list, click Personal certificates.

· If the new SSL certificate was generated using the current WebSphere Application Server profile key store, enter the Key store password (the default password is WebAS) and click Get key store aliases. If the new SSL certificate was generated externally and a key store file is available, select Key store file, specify the key store file name, select the type (for example PKCS12), enter the key store password and click Get Key File Aliases.

· Select the certificate alias to import.

· (Optional) Assign a new alias name to the imported certificate.

· Click OK.

· Click Save to save the changes to the WebSphere Application Server master configuration

· Click SSL certificate and key management > Key stores and certificates.

· Click NodeDefaultTrustStore.

· Click Personal certificates.

· Select the check box associated with the old SSL certificate and click Replace.

· Verify that the new root signer certificate alias name is displayed in the Replace with drop-down list.

· Select both the Delete old certificate after replacement and Delete old signers check boxes.

· Click OK.

· Click Save to save the changes to the WebSphere Application Server master configuration.

5) How does plugin works?

6) How do you configure data source?

Configuring the Web Sphere Application Server data source

Installed applications use data sources as resources to obtain connection to relational databases. To create these connections between an application and a relational database, WebSphere^® Application Server uses the driver implementation classes that are encapsulated by the JDBC provider, which is an object that represents vendor-specific JDBC driver classes to WebSphere Application Server. For access to a relational databases, applications use the JDBC drivers and data sources that you configure for WebSphere Application Server.

Procedure

Start the WebSphere Application Server administrative console.
Click Security -> Global security.
On the Configuration panel, under Authentication, expand Java Authentication and Authorization Service and click J2C authentication data.
Click New and enter the Alias, User ID and Password.
Click Ok.
On the WebSphere Application Server administrative console, expand Resources. Expand JDBC then click JDBC Providers.
In the Scope section, choose the Node level from the drop-down list.
Click New to create a new JDBC driver.
Select, in this order, the Database type, Provider type, Implementation type and Name. The Name automatically fills based on the implementation type you choose.
Click Next and configure the database class path. Click Next.
On the Summary page, click Finish.
Click Save to save your selections. The JDBC providers page then appears.
On the WebSphere Application Server administrative console, click Data sources.
Click New to create a new data source. Enter the Data source name and the JNDI name, and choose the authentication alias from the drop-down list in Component-managed authentication alias. The JNDI name should match the datasourceName value set in wimconfig.xml. By default, it is jdbc/wimDS.

Note: For Apache Derby v10.2 embedded databases, leave the Component-managed authentication alias field set to NONE.

Click Next.
Enter the Database name and deselect the checkbox, Use this data source in container managed persistence (CMP). Click Next.
On the Summary page, click Finish.
The Data sources page displays. Click Save, and then select the check box for the authentication alias previously created. Click Test Connection. The message should indicate that the connection is successful. Ignore any warnings, and then click Next.
Click Environment > WebSphere Variables.
In the Scope section, select Cell from the drop-down list.
Click New to create a variable.
In the Name field, enter VMM_JDBC_CLASSPATH.
In the Value field, enter the complete path to the JDBC driver library files separated by a colon (:) for UNIX or Linux or a semicolon (;) for Windows. For example, the path to Linux or UNIX is as follows: /opt/IBM/SQLLIB/java/db2jcc.jar:/opt/IBM/SQLLIB/java/db2jcc_license_cu.jar.
Click OK. Additionally, copy the specified JDBC driver library files in the ${WAS_HOME}/lib directory of each installed Web Sphere Application Server node.
Save the configurations, and restart Web Sphere Application Server.

How to raise PMR?

Click on open a new service request

Enter your keywords

Type web sphere application server network deployment in the enter your keywords box then it will display the web sphere product list , select the product as per your requirement

Fill all the mandatory filed then click on continue to proceed next page

Select either email me or call my daytime number to support contact you about this service request then click on create request.

Memory Analyzer > Getting Started

Basic Tutorial

This tutorial provides a "jumping-off place" to get familiar with Memory Analyzer.

Step 1 - Getting a Heap Dump

The Memory Analyzer works with heap dumps . Such a heap dump contains information about all Java objects alive at a given point in time. All current Java Virtual Machines can write heap dumps, but the exact steps depend on vendor, version and operation system. Find out more in the section Acquiring Heap Dumps .

Open

a sample heap dump if you view this page inside the Eclipse help center.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we use Java 6 and JConsole on Windows. Start your application with Java 6, then start <jre6>/bin/jconsole.exe and select the running application (in this case Eclipse):

JConsole dialog to open a connection to a Virtual Machine.

Then, select the operation dumpHeap from the com.sun.management.HotSpotDiagnostic MBean. The first parameter p0 is the full path to the heap dump file. Make sure you give it the file extension .hprof. The second parameter p1 should be left at true as we are only interested in live objects.

Select the dumpHeap method of the HotspotDiagnostics mbean.

Step 2 - The Overview

Open the heap dump via File > Open Heap Dump... to see the overview page.

Memory Analyzer's overview page for a heap dump

On the right, you'll find the size of the dump and the number of classes, objects and class loaders.

Right below, the pie chart gives an impression on the biggest objects in the dump. Move your mouse over a slice to see the details of the objects in the object inspector on the left. Click on any slice to drill down and follow for example the outgoing references.

Step 3 - The Histogram

Select the histogram from the tool bar to list the number of instances per class, the shallow size and the retained size .

The Memory Analyzer displays by default the retained size of individual objects. However, the retained size of a set of objects - in this case all instances of a particular class - needs to be calculated.

To approximate the retained sizes for all rows, pick

icon from the tool bar. Alternatively, select a couple rows and use the context menu.

Select calculate retained sizes from the tool bar

Using the context menu , you can drill-down into the set of objects which the selected row represents. For example, you can list the objects with outgoing or incoming references. Or group the objects by the value of an attribute. Or group the collections by their size. Or or or...

One thing that makes the Memory Analyzer so powerful is the fact that one can run any action on any set of objects. Just drill down and slice your objects the way you need them.

Another important feature is the facility to group any histogram by class loader, packages or superclass .

Group the histogram by class loader or package via the tool bar

Any decent application loads different components by different class loaders. The Memory Analyzer attaches a meaningful label to the class loader - in the case of OSGi bundles it is the bundle id. Therefore it becomes a lot easier to divide the heap dump into smaller parts.

More: Analyze Class Loader

Grouping the histogram by packages allows to drill-down along the Java package hierarchy.

Grouping the histogram by superclass provides an easy way to find for example all the subclasses of java.util.AbstractMap, etc...

Step 4 - The Dominator Tree

The dominator tree displays the biggest objects in the heap dump. The next level of the tree lists those objects that would be garbage collected if all incoming references to the parent node were removed.

The dominator tree is a powerful tool to investigate which objects keep which other objects alive. Again, the tree can be grouped by class loader (e.g. components) and packages to ease the analysis.

Step 5 - Path to GC Roots

Garbage Collections Roots (GC roots) are objects that are kept alive by the Virtual Machines itself. These include for example the thread objects of the threads currently running, objects currently on the call stack and classes loaded by the system class loader.

The (reverse) reference chain from an object to a GC root - the so called path to GC roots - explains why the object cannot be garbage collected. The path helps solving the classical memory leak in Java: those leaks exist because an object is still referenced even though the program logic will not access the object anymore.

Select path to GC roots from the context menu

Initially, the GC root reached by the shortest path is selected.

Step 6 - The Leak Report

The Memory Analyzer can inspect the heap dump for leak suspects, e.g. objects or set of objects which are suspiciously big.

Learn more in this blog posting: Automated Heap Dump Analysis: Finding Memory Leaks with One Click .

Related concepts

Dominator Tree

Garbage Collection Roots

177) When you will get connection time out exception?

The connection wait timeout exception indicates that the application has waited for the number of seconds specified by the connection timeout setting and has not received a connection. This situation can occur when the pool is at maximum size and all of the connections are in use by other applications for the duration of the wait. In addition, there are no connections currently in use that the application can share because either the connection properties do not match, or the connection is in a different transaction.

For a Version 4.0 data source, the ConnectionWaitTimeout object creates an exception that is instantiated from the com.ibm.ejs.cm.pool.ConnectionWaitTimeoutException class.

For J2C connection factories, the ConnectionWaitTimeout object generates a resource exception of the com.ibm.websphere.ce.j2c.ConnectionWaitTimeoutException class.

When the error detection model is configured to exception mapping, later versions of data sources issue an SQL exception of the com.ibm.websphere.ce.cm.ConnectionWaitTimeoutException subclass. When the error detection model is configured to exception checking, later versions of data sources issue an SQL exception of the java.sql.SQLTransientConnectionException class with a chained exception of the com.ibm.websphere.ce.cm.ConnectionWaitTimeoutException class.

When the error detection model is configured to exception mapping, the stale connection exception indicates that the connection is no longer valid. When the error detection model is configured to exception checking, the JDBC driver raises a JDBC 4.0 exception, such as java.sql.SQLRecoverableException or java.sql.SQLNonTransientConnectionException, or the JDBC driver specifies an appropriate SQLState to indicate that the connection is no longer valid. Read the topic Stale connections for more information on this type of exception.

New feature: Version 7.0 includes a new custom property for your data sources called userDefinedErrorMap. This property overlays existing entries in the error map by invoking the DataStoreHelper.setUserDefinedMap method. The userDefinedErrorMap can be used to add, change, or remove entries from the error map.

Entries are delimited by a ; (semicolon).
Each entry consists of a key and value, where the key is an error code (numeric value) or SQLState, which is text enclosed in double quotes.
Keys and values are are separated by = (equals sign).

For example, to remove the mapping of SQLState S1000, add a mapping of error code 1062 to duplicate key, and add a mapping of SQLState 08004 to stale connection, you can specify the following value for userDefinedErrorMap:

"S1000"=;1062=com.ibm.websphere.ce.cm.DuplicateKeyException;"08004"=

com.ibm.websphere.ce.cm.StaleConnectionException

userDefinedErrorMap can be located in the administrative console by selecting the data source and configuring the custom properties.newfeat

178) What would you do when you will get stale connection exception ?

The product provides a special subclass of the java.sql.SQLException class for using connection pooling to access a relational database. This com.ibm.websphere.ce.cm.StaleConnectionException subclass exists in both a WebSphere^® 4.0 data source and in the most recent version data source that use the relational resource adapter. This class serves to indicate that the connection currently held is no longer valid.

This situation can occur for many reasons, including the following:

The application tries to get a connection and fails, as when the database is not started.
A connection is no longer usable because of a database failure. When an application tries to use a previously obtained connection, the connection is no longer valid. In this case, all connections currently in use by the application can get this error when they try to use the connection.
The connection is orphaned (because the application had not used it in at most two times the value of the unused timeout setting) and the application tries to use the orphaned connection. This case applies only to Version 4.0 data sources.
The application tries to use a JDBC resource, such as a statement, obtained on a stale connection.
A connection is closed by the Version 4.0 data source auto connection cleanup feature and is no longer usable. Auto connection cleanup is the standard mode in which connection management operates. This mode indicates that at the end of a transaction, the transaction manager closes all connections enlisted in that transaction. This enables the transaction manager to ensure that connections are not held for excessive periods of time and that the pool does not reach its maximum number of connections prematurely.

A negative ramification does ensue, however, when the transaction manager closes the connections and returns the connection to the free pool after a transaction ends. An application cannot obtain a connection in one transaction and try to use it in another transaction. If the application tries this, a stale connection exception occurs because the connection is already closed.

In the case of trying to use an orphaned connection or a connection that is made unavailable by auto connection cleanup, a stale connection exception indicates that the application has attempted to use a connection already returned to the connection pool. It does not indicate an actual problem with the connection. However, other cases of a stale connection exception indicate that the connection to the database has gone bad, or stale. Once a connection has gone stale, you cannot recover it, and you must completely close the connection rather than returning it to the pool.

Detecting stale connections.

When a connection to the database becomes stale, operations on that connection result in an SQL exception from the JDBC driver. Because an SQL exception is a rather generic exception, it contains state and error code values that you can use to determine the meaning of the exception. However, the meanings of these states and error codes vary depending on the database vendor. The connection pooling run time maintains a mapping of which SQL state and error codes indicate a stale connection exception for each database vendor supported. When the connection pooling run time catches an SQL exception, it checks to see if this SQL exception is considered a stale connection exception for the database server in use.

Recovering from stale connections.

An application can catch a stale connection exception, depending on the type of error detection model that is configured on the data source:

When the error detection model is configured to exception mapping, the application server replaces the exception that is raised by the JDBC driver with StaleConnectionException. In this case, the application might trap for a stale connection exception.
When the error detection model is configured to exception checking, the application server still consults the error map in order to manage the connection pool, but it does not replace the exception. In this case, the application should not trap for a stale connection exception.

Because of the differences between error detection models, the application server provides an API that applications can use with either case to identify stale connections. The API is com.ibm.websphere.rsadapter.WSCallHelper.getDataStoreHelper(datasource).isConnectionError(sqlexception).
Applications are not required to explicitly identify a stale connection exception. Applications are already required to catch the java.sql.SQLException, and the stale connection exception or the exception that is raised by the JDBC driver, always inherits data from the java.sql.SQLException. The stale connection exception, which can result from any method that is declared to raise SQLException, is caught automatically in the general catch-block. However, explicitly identifying a stale connection exception makes it possible for an application to recover from bad connections. When application code identifies a stale connection exception, it should take explicit steps to recover, such as retrying the operation under a new transaction and new connection.

Example: Handling data access exception - stale connection.

These code samples demonstrate how to programmatically address stale connection exceptions for different types of data access clients in different transaction scenarios.
When an application receives a stale connection exception on a database operation, it indicates that the connection currently held is no longer valid. Although it is possible to get an exception for a stale connection on any database operation, the most common time to see a stale connection exception issued is after the first time the connection is retrieved. Because connections are pooled, a database failure is not detected until the operation immediately following its retrieval from the pool, which is the first time communication to the database is attempted. It is only when a failure is detected that the connection is marked stale. The stale connection exception occurs less often if each method that accesses the database gets a new connection from the pool.

Many stale connection exceptions are caused by intermittent problems with the network of the database server. Obtaining a new connection and retrying the operation can result in successful completion without exceptions to the end user. In some cases it is advantageous to add a small wait time between the retries to give the database server more time to recover. However, applications should not retry operations indefinitely, in case the database is down for an extended period of time.

Avoid trouble: If you are developing applications for the Application Server with an integrated development environment (IDE) like Eclipse, you might need to import the app_server_root/plugins/com.ibm.ws.runtime.jar file into the development environment to take advantage of code that is provided.gotcha

Before the application can obtain a new connection for a retry of the operation, roll back the transaction in which the original connection was involved and begin a new transaction. You can break down details on this action into two categories:

Objects operating in a bean-managed global transaction context begun in the same method as the database access.

A servlet or session bean with bean-managed transactions (BMT) can start a global transaction explicitly by calling begin() on a javax.transaction.UserTransaction object, which you can retrieve from naming or from the bean EJBContext object. To commit a bean-managed transaction, the application calls commit() on the UserTransaction object. To roll back the transaction, the application calls rollback(). Entity beans and non-BMT session beans cannot explicitly begin global transactions.

If an object that explicitly started a bean-managed transaction receives a stale connection exception on a database operation, close the connection and roll back the transaction. At this point, the application developer can decide to begin a new transaction, get a new connection, and retry the operation.

179) Connection pool settings in websphere?

For example, click Resources > JDBC Providers > JDBC_provider > Data Sources > data_source > Connection Pool. The path for JMS queue connection factories is: Resources > JMS Providers > Default Messaging > JMS Queue Connection Factory > JMS_queue_connection_factory > Connection Pool Properties.

Configuration tab

Connection Timeout

Specifies the interval, in seconds, after which a connection request times out and a ConnectionWaitTimeoutException is thrown.
This value indicates the number of seconds a request for a connection waits when there are no connections available in the free pool and no new connections can be created, usually because the maximum value of connections in the particular connection pool has been reached. For example, if Connection Timeout is set to 300, and the maximum number of connections are all in use, the pool manager waits for 300 seconds for a physical connection to become available. If a physical connection is not available within this time, the pool manager initiates a ConnectionWaitTimeout exception. It usually does not make sense to retry the getConnection() method; if a longer wait time is required you should increase the Connection Timeout setting value. If a ConnectionWaitTimeout exception is caught by the application, the administrator should review the expected connection pool usage of the application and tune the connection pool and database accordingly.
If the Connection Timeout is set to 0, the pool manager waits as long as necessary until a connection becomes available. This happens when the application completes a transaction and returns a connection to the pool, or when the number of connections falls below the value of Maximum Connections, allowing a new physical connection to be created.
If Maximum Connections is set to 0, which enables an infinite number of physical connections, then the Connection Timeout value is ignored.

Data type	Integer
Units	Seconds
Default	180
Range	0 to max int

Maximum Connections

Specifies the maximum number of physical connections that you can create in this pool.
These are the physical connections to the backend resource. Once this number is reached, no new physical connections are created and the requester waits until a physical connection that is currently in use returns to the pool, or a ConnectionWaitTimeoutException is thrown. For example: If the Max Connections value is set to 5, and there are five physical connections in use, the pool manager waits for the amount of time specified in Connection Timeout for a physical connection to become free.
Knowing the number of connection pools that can potentially request connections from the backend (such as a DB2 database or a CICS server) helps you determine a value for the Maximum Connections property.
For multiple standalone application servers that use the same data source configuration, or J2C connection factory configuration, a separate physical connection pool exists for each server. If you clone these same application servers, WebSphere Application Server implements a separate connection pool for each clone.
All of these connection pools correspond to the same data source or connection factory configuration. Therefore all of these connection pools can potentially request connections from the same backend resource, at the same time. The single Maximum Connections value that you set on this console panel applies to every one of these connection pools. Consequently, setting a high Maximum Connections value can result in a load of connection requests that overwhelms your backend resource.

Data type	Integer
Default	10
Range	0 to maximum integer If Max Connections is set to 0, the Connection Timeout value is ignored.

Tip: For better performance, set the value for the connection pool lower than the value for the maximum thread pool connections of the Web Container. Configure this setting by navigating to Servers > Application servers > server > Thread Pools, and modify the WebContainer property. Lower settings, such as 10-30 connections, perform better than higher settings, such as 100.

You can use the Tivoli Performance Viewer to find the optimal number of connections in a pool. If the number of concurrent waiters is greater than 0, but the CPU load is not close to 100%, consider increasing the connection pool size. If the Percent Used value is consistently low under normal workload, consider decreasing the number of connections in the pool.

Minimum Connections

Specifies the minimum number of physical connections to maintain.
If the size of the connection pool is at or below the minimum connection pool size, the Unused Timeout thread does not discard physical connections. However, the pool does not create connections solely to ensure that the minimum connection pool size is maintained. Also, if you set a value for Aged Timeout, connections with an expired age are discarded, regardless of the minimum pool size setting.
For example, if the Minimum Connections value is set to 3, and one physical connection is created, the Unused Timeout thread does not discard that connection. By the same token, the thread does not automatically create two additional physical connections to reach the Minimum Connections setting.

Data type	Integer
Default	1
Range	0 to max int

Reap Time

Specifies the interval, in seconds, between runs of the pool maintenance thread.
For example, if Reap Time is set to 60, the pool maintenance thread runs every 60 seconds. The Reap Time interval affects the accuracy of the Unused Timeout and Aged Timeout settings. The smaller the interval, the greater the accuracy. If the pool maintenance thread is enabled, set the Reap Time value less than the values of Unused Timeout and Aged Timeout. When the pool maintenance thread runs, it discards any connections remaining unused for longer than the time value specified in Unused Timeout, until it reaches the number of connections specified in Minimum Connections. The pool maintenance thread also discards any connections that remain active longer than the time value specified in Aged Timeout.
The Reap Time interval also affects performance. Smaller intervals mean that the pool maintenance thread runs more often and degrades performance.
To disable the pool maintenance thread set Reap Time to 0, or set both Unused Timeout and Aged Timeout to 0. The recommended way to disable the pool maintenance thread is to set Reap Time to 0, in which case Unused Timeout and Aged Timeout are ignored. However, if Unused Timeout and Aged Timeout are set to 0, the pool maintenance thread runs, but only physical connections which timeout due to non-zero timeout values are discarded.

Data type	Integer
Units	Seconds
Default	180
Range	0 to max int

Unused Timeout

Specifies the interval in seconds after which an unused or idle connection is discarded.
Set the Unused Timeout value higher than the Reap Timeout value for optimal performance. Unused physical connections are only discarded if the current number of connections exceeds the Minimum Connections setting. For example, if the unused timeout value is set to 120, and the pool maintenance thread is enabled (Reap Time is not 0), any physical connection that remains unused for two minutes is discarded.
The accuracy and performance of this timeout are affected by the Reap Time value. See Reap Time for more information.

Data type	Integer
Units	Seconds
Default	1800
Range	0 to max int

Aged Timeout

Specifies the interval in seconds before a physical connection is discarded.
Setting Aged Timeout to 0 supports active physical connections remaining in the pool indefinitely. Set the Aged Timeout value higher than the Reap Timeout value for optimal performance.
For example, if the Aged Timeout value is set to 1200, and the Reap Time value is not 0, any physical connection that remains in existence for 1200 seconds (20 minutes) is discarded from the pool. The only exception is if the connection is involved in a transaction when the aged timeout is reached, the application server will not discard the connection until after the transaction is completed and the connection is closed.
The accuracy and performance of this timeout are affected by the Reap Time value. See Reap Time for more information.

Data type	Integer
Units	Seconds
Default	0
Range	0 to max int

Purge Policy

Specifies how to purge connections when a stale connection or fatal connection error is detected.
Valid values are EntirePool and FailingConnectionOnly.

Data type	String
Defaults	EntirePool for J2C connection factories and JMS-related connection factories EntirePool for WebSphere Version 4.0 data sources EntirePool for current version data sources that you create through the administrative console EntirePool for current version data sources that you script through wsadmin AdminConfig commands, invoking JDBC templates that are built into WebSphere Application Server (For information on the command createUsingTemplate, see the information center article "Commands for the AdminConfig object.") FailingConnectionOnly for data sources that you script in wsadmin without invoking JDBC templates :
Range	EntirePool All connections in the pool are marked stale. Any connection not in use is immediately closed. A connection in use is closed and issues a stale connection Exception during the next operation on that connection. Subsequent getConnection() requests from the application result in new connections to the database opening. When using this purge policy, there is a slight possibility that some connections in the pool are closed unnecessarily when they are not stale. However, this is a rare occurrence. In most cases, a purge policy of EntirePool is the best choice. FailingConnectionOnly Only the connection that caused the stale connection exception is closed. Although this setting eliminates the possibility that valid connections are closed unnecessarily, it makes recovery from an application perspective more complicated. Because only the currently failing connection is closed, there is a good possibility that the next getConnection() request from the application can return a connection from the pool that is also stale, resulting in more stale connection exceptions. The connection pretest function attempts to insulate an application from pooled connections that are not valid. When a backend resource, such as a database, goes down, pooled connections that are not valid might exist in the free pool. This is especially true when the purge policy is failingConnectionOnly; in this case, the failing connection is removed from the pool. Depending on the failure, the remaining connections in the pool might not be valid.

180) When does GC cycle starts?

In IBM* i5/OS* V5R4, a new Java* implementation called IBM Technology for Java was introduced. This new JVM*, based on the same technology used by IBM JVMs on other platforms, offers significant performance improvements and memory-footprint reductions for most applications. While many applications will perform well with IBM Technology for Java out of the box, some tuning will be necessary to get the best possible performance. Perhaps the most crucial tuning parameters for most Java applications are the garbage collection (GC) settings.

This article describes the most important GC settings and how to tune them with IBM Technology for Java. While the i5/OS Classic JVM (the only JVM implementation shipped in V5R3 and earlier) has similar parameters with similar names, the effect of these values in IBM Technology for Java is significantly different. As a result, the optimal tuning of GC parameters is much different for the two JVM implementations.

Understanding Garbage Collector

One of the key advantages of Java over some other programming languages is the JVM's automatic memory management. Java programmers don't have to free objects once they're no longer needed; instead, the JVM finds objects no longer referenced and cleans them up automatically through the GC process. When objects are created, they use memory allocated from the Java heap. Once the GC collects the objects, the memory they were using is marked as free, allowing the JVM to reuse it for new objects.

The GC runs in cycles. The JVM uses several criteria to determine when a GC cycle should begin, but in most cases it starts when there's not enough contiguous free space in the heap to allocate memory for a new object. Several tuning parameters that affect GC operation are available. The most important of these parameters change how much memory is available in the Java heap; this has a direct impact on how frequently the GC runs. Both the amount of memory used and the frequency of GC cycles can significantly affect application performance.

The two most important tuning parameters for GC are the initial heap size and the maximum heap size. The initial heap size is the amount of memory initially allocated for the Java heap when the JVM starts. The default initial heap size on i5/OS is 4 MB. In a new IBM WebSphere* Application Server (WAS) 6.1 instance, the default is 50 MB. The initial heap size can be changed with the - Xms parameter (when running "java" from qsh or qp2term), with GCHINL - when using the Run Java Program CL command (JAVA or RUNJVA) - or from the Servers >Application Servers >YourServerName >Java and Process Management > Process Definition >Java Virtual Machine page of the WAS administrative console.

The maximum heap size is the largest the Java heap is allowed to grow. The default maximum heap size on i5/OS is 2 GB. In WAS 6.1, the default is 256 MB. The maximum heap size can be changed using the - Xmx parameter, GCHMAX, or from the same page as the initial heap size in the WAS administrative console.

Because the IBM Technology for Java implementation shipped in V5R4 is a 32-bit Java implementation, it can address a maximum of 4 GB of memory. Some of this is reserved for use by the operating system and the JVM implementation. As a result, the upper limit to the maximum heap size is 3328 MB (3.25 GB). Applications that use native code, the shared class cache or memory-mapped files may have additional requirements for non-Java-heap memory, restricting the maximum Java-heap size further. The practical limit for most WAS applications is about 2500 MB.

Three key areas must be addressed when tuning GC:

· Ensure there's enough memory available to the JVM

· Tune the maximum heap size

· Tune the initial heap size

It's important to note that the first two must be done concurrently; as you adjust the maximum heap size, the memory requirements for the environment will change.

Run JVM With Enough Memory

The most important factor in looking at Java or WAS performance is to make sure there's enough memory available to the JVM - including enough for the maximum heap size plus additional memory for use by the JVM, Just In Time compiler and other native code. While the amount of this additional memory varies, 25 percent of the maximum heap size is a reasonable rule. For example, if the maximum heap size is set to 1 GB, the memory pool should have at least 1.25 GB of memory available.

The easiest way to ensure the JVM has enough memory is by running in a pool dedicated to the JVM with at least this amount of memory. If automatic performance adjust is turned on (QPFRADJ =='0' or '1'), the minimum pool size should be set using Work With Shared Storage Pool (WRKSHRPOOL) to ensure the memory in the pool doesn't fall below the required amount.

If there are multiple jobs (Java or non-Java) running in the same pool, ensure that the pool has enough memory for all of them. For example, if Job A requires 0.5 GB of memory and Job B requires 0.75 GB of memory, the pool should have at least 1.25 GB.

Tune Your Maximum Heap Size

When tuning the IBM Technology for Java environment, the most important tuning knob is the maximum heap size. If the maximum heap size is too small, the application could fail with an out-of-memory error when trying to allocate an object, or the JVM may perform GC too frequently, resulting in excess CPU consumption and increased response times. If the maximum heap size is too large, the JVM could use more memory than necessary.

To tune the maximum heap size, start by enabling verbose GC (see "Enabling Verbose Garbage Collection"). The verbose GC data can be viewed using the Extensible Verbose Toolkit (EVTK). "Installing the Extensible Verbose Toolkit" offers more information. Figure 1 shows a graph from EVTK with more highlights. The solid black line represents the maximum-heap-size setting. The gray area represents the JVM'S warm-up phase and is ignored.

The most important value to look at in EVTK is the "used heap (after collection)" - the blue line in Figure 1. This is the amount of memory that's still being used by Java objects immediately after each GC cycle. When GC is tuned properly, this value will typically be between 50 percent and 70 percent of the maximum heap size. This range is highlighted in green in Figure 1. The blue line falls within this region, indicating that the maximum heap size is tuned well in this case.

If the used heap after GC is less than 50 percent of the maximum heap size, the maximum heap size can probably be decreased, letting the application consume less memory. If the used heap after GC is frequently more than 70 percent of the maximum heap size, it may be possible to improve performance by increasing the maximum heap size. For example, in Figure 2, the maximum heap size is set to 600 MB and the used heap size is around 540 MB (about 90 percent of the maximum). This results in more frequent GC cycles, and the heap must frequently be compacted to make room for new objects. In this case, increasing the maximum heap size to between 768 MB and 1024 MB (and ensuring that the memory pool is large enough for this increased memory use) could reduce the frequency of GC cycles, lower CPU consumption and improve the maximum throughput of the application.

After changing the JVM configuration, make sure the new settings actually helped. It might also be useful to collect verbose GC data again with the new configuration and verify that the results match expectations.

Tune the Initial Heap Size

Tuning the initial heap size is somewhat less important than finding the right maximum heap size, but can still improve performance, especially during startup and first touch. The JVM will automatically adjust the heap size between the initial and maximum values based on several factors. If the initial heap size is too small, several GC cycles may run during startup, causing a delay. On the other hand, if the initial heap size is too large, the JVM may use more memory than it really needs.

A good place to start with the initial heap size is 25 percent of the value of the maximum heap size. Thus, if a JVM has a 1 GB maximum heap size, set the initial heap size to 256 MB. This general rule will work reasonably well for most applications.

Further tuning of the initial heap size requires more work but can improve the application's startup and first-touch times. To do this, we need to measure how large the heap grows with a normal startup and touching a few screens. First, set the initial heap size to a small value (such as the default 4 MB). Turn on verbose GC. Start the JVM (or WebSphere instance) and perform a few actions from a single user. Don't let other users access the JVM during this time. Look at the output from the verbose GC to see the heap size. Set the initial heap size to that value.

Keeping in Tune

Tuning GC with IBM Technology for Java is a simple way to improve the performance of Java applications. Keeping your CG in tune with your workloads may make your performance sing.

For additional information about the GC and more advanced tuning options, see the Java Diagnostics Guide 5.0 (www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/diagnosis/).

Different ways to find the Version of WAS

There are various ways to check the versions of the WebSphere Application Server Installation
1.Executing VersionInfo.sh
2.Executing genVersionReport.sh
3.Using Wsadmin scripting command
4.Using Admin console
5.Viewing SystemOut.logs

Method 1 : Executing VersionInfo.sh

VersionInfo.sh script within the bin directory will give following details
> Version of the WAS
> Bit type ie 32 bit or 64 bit
> Installation Path
> Architecture etc

a) Navigate to the bin directory of the WAS_HOME path
[root@mercury bin]#cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin

b) Execute ./versionInfo.sh from the bin folder

[root@mercury bin]#./versionInfo.sh

c) View the Output to find the Version Details of the WAS ..

d) Use “#./versionInfo.sh -long ” to get detailed output . It will include the fixes , ifixes etc

e) Use “#./versionInfo.sh -help” to get the other options for avaliable with versioninfo

Here in the below example the version is highlighted in Yellow .
I have installed Websphere ND v8.0.0.5 with 32 Bit

Method 2 : Executing genVersionReport.sh
The genVersionReport command uses the versionInfo command to generate the versionReport.html report file in the current working directory. The report includes a list of installed fix packs and interim fixes. VersionReport.html can be opened with any borwser

a) Navigate to the bin directory of the WAS_HOME/bin path
[root@mercury bin]#cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin

b) Execute genVersionReport.sh from the <WAS_HOME>/bin directory

[root@mercury bin]# ./genVersionReport.sh

c) It will create a file versionReport.html in the bin directory as shown below
genVersionInfo1

d) Open the versionReport.html using a browser

Highlighted in Yellow is the Version viz Websphere ND v8.0.0.5 with 32 Bit

Method 3 : Using Wsadmin scripting command
The version details of WAS Installation can be found using the wsadmin commands too..

a) Navigate to the <profile_home>/bin directory
[root@mercury bin]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/wp_profile/bin

b) Get the Cell Name, Node Name and Server Name of the JVM server
[root@mercury bin]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/wp_profile/config/cells/mercuryCell/nodes/
mercuryNode/servers/WebSphere_Portal

In My Example its as follows
Cell Name :mercuryCell
Node Name :mercuryNode
Server Name : WebSphere_Portal

c) Execute the wsadmin.sh and provide the necessary credentials
[root@mercury bin]# ./wsadmin.sh

d) Set the Server Variable using the Cell , Node and Server Name from above step
wsadmin>set server [$AdminControl completeObjectName cell=CellName,node=NodeName,name=ServerName,type=Server,*]

For Eg
wsadmin>set server [$AdminControl completeObjectName cell=mercuryCell,node=mercuryNode,name=WebSphere_Portal,type=Server,*]

Output of the command WebSphere:name=WebSphere_Portal,process=WebSphere_Portal,platform=proxy,node=mercuryNode,
j2eeType=J2EEServer,version=8.0.0.5,type=Server,mbeanIdentifier=cells/mercuryCell/nodes/
mercuryNode/servers/WebSphere_Portal/server.xml#Server_1358966625559,cell=mercuryCell
,spec=1.0,processType=UnManagedProcess

e) After the Server Variable is set , Execute the “$AdminControl getAttribute $server serverVersion“ to get the server Version.

wsadmin>$AdminControl getAttribute $server serverVersion

The Output is similar to VersionInfo.sh which is Websphere ND v8.0.0.5 and its 32 Bit

f) Some More commands to get the Platform Version and the Server Status
wsadmin>$AdminControl getAttribute $server platformVersion

wsadmin>$AdminControl getAttribute $server state

Method 4 : Using Admin console
a) Login to the WAS admin console
b) Click on the Welcome link on the left side

Here we can see the versions

c) Alternatively we could get the version from Product Information link
1) Navigate to Application servers > serverName .
Here my server name is “WebSphere_Portal”

2) Click on Runtime tab
WAS_VersionInfo2

c) On the Runtime tab there is a link on the right Side “Product Information ” Link

d) Click on Application servers > WebSphere_Portal > Product Information > Product Report

Here we will get the version Details of the WAS Version : Websphere ND v8.0.0.5

Method 5 : Viewing SystemOut.logs
The Version of the WAS is also visible in the SystemLogs
When Ever a systemOut.log is created it appends the few parameters in the starting of the file
>Websphere Version and Build
>Host Operating System
>Java version
>was.install.root etc

a) Navigate to the Logs folder of the Websphere JVM process <profile_root>/logs/<serverName>

[root@mercury]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/wp_profile/logs/Websphere_Portal

b) View the starting few lines of the systemOut.log using vi or head or more command

c) Here we can see the version details of the WAS ie
WebSphere Platform 8.0.0.5 [ND 8.0.0.5 cf051243.01]

Important IMCL Commands

Mar22

1) Check the version of IBM Installation Manager

Command: ./imcl version

[root@wasnode tools]# pwd
/opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse/tools
[root@wasnode tools]#
[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl version
Installation Manager (installed)
Version: 1.6.2
Internal Version: 1.6.2000.20130301_2248
[root@wasnode tools]#

=========================================================================

2) List Installed Packages

Command: ./imcl listInstalledPackages

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstalledPackages
com.ibm.cic.agent_1.6.2000.20130301_2248
com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249

====> com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103 JAVA SDK
====> com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249 WAS ND 8.5

=========================================================================

3) List Installed Directory

Command: ./imcl listInstallationDirectories

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstallationDirectories
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

The Installation of WAS ND and SDK is done at “/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer”

=========================================================================

4) Uninstalling packages by using imcl

Command: ./imcl uninstall
Uninstall packages from the tools directory by using Installation Manager command line (imcl) uninstall commands.
Before you begin
•To identify the package_id_version,feature_id, run the listAvailablePackages command.

Procedure
To uninstall a package by using imcl:
a) Navigate to the tool directory
b) Run the uninstall command: using imcl

imcl uninstall package_id_version,feature_id -installationDirectory installation_directory

NOTE : There are many options available with imcl, use that as per your requirement

c) List the Installed packages to verify the packages you want to uninstall
BE VERY CAREFUL BEFORE YOU SELECT THE PACKAGE IDs .. Bcoz there may be many Other Websphere Packages installed on different directories

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstalledPackages
com.ibm.cic.agent_1.6.2000.20130301_2248
com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249

d) List the directories where the Websphere Packages are installed
BE VERY CAREFUL BEFORE YOU SELECT THE PACKAGE IDs .. Bcoz There many be many Other Websphere Packages installed on different directories

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstallationDirectories
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
[root@wasnode tools]#

Here I have only one location where WAS is installed

e) Launch the uninstall option for imcl command line

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl uninstall com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249 com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103 -installationDirectory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
[root@wasnode tools]#

6) Validate it using “imcl listInstalledPackages” to ensure the WAS packages are removed

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstalledPackages
com.ibm.cic.agent_1.6.2000.20130301_2248
[root@wasnode tools]#

7) Delete the WAS Installed Folders post un-installation
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

Video

This is how we uninstall WAS ND
=========================================================================

4) List Available Packages in the Repositories

Command: ./imcl listAvailablePackages
You need to use “imcl listAvailablePackages” command . It will display the Offerings and packages within the Repositories.

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listAvailablePackages -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/WASND
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044[root@wasnode tools]#
[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listAvailablePackages -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/SDK
com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
com.ibm.websphere.liberty.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
[root@wasnode tools]#

=========================================================================

5) Install of Websphere ND 8.5 using imcl command line

Command: ./imcl install
To install the Product using imcl command you need to use “install” Option of imcl
a) Ensure all the prerequisites are satisfied like space , permission etc
b) Extract the WAS binaries in the server which you have downloaded
c) Execute the “imcl listAvailablePackages ” in the repository to validate the packages

[root@wasnode tools]# pwd
/opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse/tools
[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listAvailablePackages -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/WASND
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044
[root@wasnode tools]#

d) Execute “imcl install” to Install the WAS ND Packages “com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044″

[root@wasnode tools]#./imcl install com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044 -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/WASND -installationDirectory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer -acceptLicense -sP25% 50% 75% 100%
——————|——————|——————|——————|
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Installed com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044 to the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer directory.
[root@wasnode tools]#

Similarly you can install the SDK 7 Package too

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listAvailablePackages -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/SDK
com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
com.ibm.websphere.liberty.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
[root@wasnode tools]#[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl install com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103 -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/SDK -installationDirectory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer -acceptLicense -sP25% 50% 75% 100%
——————|——————|——————|——————|
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Installed com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103 to the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer directory.

e) List the Installed packages to verify the packages you have installed

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstalledPackages
com.ibm.cic.agent_1.6.2000.20130301_2248
com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249

f) List the directories where the Websphere Packages are installed

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstallationDirectories
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
[root@wasnode tools]#

This completes the installation of WAS ND and JAVA SDK 7

Find IBM Java version used by the WAS

May15

Below are the few methods to find out the Java version which is used by the Installed WAS Instance
1.From the System Out Logs
2.Using java -version
3.Using Wsadmin Script
4.Using VersionInfo.sh

Method 1: From the System Out Logs
a) Navigate to the Folder where the SystemOut.log is available .
Eg : /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/wp_profile/logs/WebSphere_Portal

b) Open the SystemOut.log file and see the First Few lines of the Logs

Highlighted in YELLOW is the JDK Version used by the Installed WAS instance .. ie IBM SDK 1.6

Method 2: Using java -version

a) Navigate to $WAS_HOME/java/bin/ ie /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/java/bin

b) Run “java -version” from /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/java/bin

[root@mercury bin]#cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/java/bin

[root@mercury bin]# ./java -version

Highlighted in yellow is the JDK version used by WAS Installation ie IBM SDK 1.6 and its 32 bit

Method 3: Using Wsadmin Script

a) Navigate to the $Profile/bin directory
for eg :

[root@mercury WebSphere_Portal]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/wp_profile/bin

b) Invoke wsadmin.sh with jython language type ( you can use both jacl or jython )

./wsadmin.sh -lang jython

c) Execute the getServerSDK for to get the SDK version of the Server

wsadmin>AdminTask.getServerSDK(‘[-serverName <Server Name> -nodeName <Node Name>]’)

My Server Name for my environment is : WebSphere_Portal
Node Name for my environment is : mercuryNode

wsadmin>AdminTask.getServerSDK(‘[-serverName WebSphere_Portal -nodeName mercuryNode]’)

Here the output is SDKNAME 1.6_32

d) Execute getAvaliableSDKsOnNode to get the avaliabe SDKs which are installed on the specific node.

wsadmin>AdminTask.getAvailableSDKsOnNode(‘[-nodeName mercuryNode]’)

As we have only one SDK installed on this node its displaying the SDK version ‘1.6_32′

Method 4: Using VersionInfo.sh

a) Navigate to “$WAS_HOME/bin” folder and execute the ./verisonInfo.sh Command
For eg

[root@mercury bin]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/

[root@mercury bin]# ./versionInfo.sh

b) Under the “Installed Features” we see the JAVA Version ie “IBM 32-bit SDK for Java, Version 6″

Websphere Application Server Fixpack Installation using IMCL

Mar22

Steps to Install a WAS FixPack

a) Check if the Fixpack which you are going to install will be compatible with the WAS, OS , Applications which runs on it etc
b) Download the Fixpack from the IBM Fix Central
c) Extract the Fixpack
d) Run “versionInfo.sh -long” to get the version before fixpack

NOTE : TAKE THE BACKUP OF THE IIM Installation PATH and DATA Path , TAKE THE BACKUP OF THE COMPLETE WAS INSTALLATION DIRECTORY

/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/versionInfo.sh -long > ~/versionInfo_beforeFixpack.txt

[root@wasnode tools]# /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/versionInfo.sh
WVER0010I: Copyright (c) IBM Corporation 2002, 2012; All rights reserved.
WVER0012I: VersionInfo reporter version 1.15.1.48, dated 2/8/12——————————————————————————–
IBM WebSphere Product Installation Status Report
——————————————————————————–Report at date and time March 12, 2015 9:27:36 PM ISTInstallation
——————————————————————————–
Product Directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
Version Directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version
DTD Directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version/dtd
Log Directory /var/ibm/InstallationManager/logsProduct List
——————————————————————————–
ND installedInstalled Product
——————————————————————————–
Name IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment
Version 8.5.5.0
ID ND
Build Level gm1319.01
Build Date 5/14/13
Package com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044
Architecture x86 (32 bit)
Installed Features IBM 32-bit WebSphere SDK for Java
WebSphere Application Server Full Profile

e) Stop All the JAVA Processes like dmgr , nodeagent or servers based on which server you are installing
f) For a distributed server , Apply Fixpack for the DMGR first and then the Nodes
g) Execute ./imcl listInstalledPackages to check the versions currently Installed

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstalledPackages
com.ibm.cic.agent_1.6.2000.20130301_2248
com.ibm.websphere.IBMJAVA.v70_7.0.4001.20130510_2103
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044
[root@wasnode tools]#

h) Execute ./imcl listInstalledPackages to check the directory where WAS currently Installed

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listInstallationDirectories
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

i) List the packages which are available in the Fixpack extracted Directory “/IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/FP/”

We need to update “com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85” Package as the Product which is installed is “com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044” ( From the versionInfo and listInstalledPackages )

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl listAvailablePackages -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/FP/
com.ibm.websphere.BASE.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.BASETRIAL.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.DEVELOPERS.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.DEVELOPERSILAN.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.EXPRESS.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.EXPRESSTRIAL.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.NDDMZ.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.NDDMZTRIAL.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249

j) Install the Fixpack by running “imcl install”

Command: imcl install packageID[_version][,featureID]
-repositories source_repository
-installationDirectory installation_directory
-acceptLicense
-sP — Show Progress

[root@wasnode tools]# ./imcl install com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249 -repositories /IBMSoftware/was8.5_IHS_8.5/was8.5.5/FP -installationDirectory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer -acceptLicense -sP
25% 50% 75% 100%
——————|——————|——————|——————|
……………………………………………………………………………………………Updated to com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249 in the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer directory.

k) Verify the Installation
We will see that the Websphter.ND is v85_8.5.5003.20140730

[root@wasnode tools]# /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/versionInfo.sh
WVER0010I: Copyright (c) IBM Corporation 2002, 2012; All rights reserved.
WVER0012I: VersionInfo reporter version 1.15.1.48, dated 2/8/12——————————————————————————–
IBM WebSphere Product Installation Status Report
——————————————————————————–Report at date and time March 12, 2015 10:41:14 PM ISTInstallation
——————————————————————————–
Product Directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
Version Directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version
DTD Directory /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version/dtd
Log Directory /var/ibm/InstallationManager/logsProduct List
——————————————————————————–
ND installed
IBMJAVA7 installedInstalled Product
——————————————————————————–
Name IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment
Version 8.5.5.3
ID ND
Build Level cf031430.01
Build Date 7/30/14
Package com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5003.20140730_1249
Architecture x86 (32 bit)
Installed Features IBM 32-bit WebSphere SDK for Java
WebSphere Application Server Full Profile
EJBDeploy tool for pre-EJB 3.0 modules
Embeddable EJB container
Stand-alone thin clients and resource adapters

l) Recheck the Ownership of the “/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer” change the ownership to the owner of the WAS Instance

[root@wasnode tools]# chown -R wasadmin:wasadmin /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

m) Start the JVM servers and veiw the System logs to check if there are any errors

Silent Installation of Websphere Application Server 8.5.5 on Linux

Dec18

Steps as follows

1) Download the necessary packages and the fixpacks from the Passport Advantage
2) Ensure the necessary access is available .. in our case its root ( Though we can install using a non-root user)
3) Create the necessary filesystems ( we will be installing in /apps )
4) Check for sufficient space in the filesystem to extract the zip files and the installation

Below are the files which we have downloaded and transferred in the server

Installation Manager 1.6
agent.installer.linux.gtk.x86_1.6.0.20120831_1216.zip

WAS ND Fixpack 8.5.5.3
8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000003-part1.zip
8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000003-part2.zip

WASND 8.5.5 SDK
WS_SDK_JAVA_TEV7.0_1OF3_WAS_8.5.5.zip
WS_SDK_JAVA_TEV7.0_2OF3_WAS_8.5.5.zip
WS_SDK_JAVA_TEV7.0_3OF3_WAS_8.5.5.zip

WASND 8.5.5
WASND_v8.5.5_1of3.zip
WASND_v8.5.5_2of3.zip
WASND_v8.5.5_3of3.zip

I have created few folders within /IbmSoftware/was8.5.5/ and saved the corresponding files in these folders

PATH
/IbmSoftware/was8.5.5/IM1.6
agent.installer.linux.gtk.x86_1.6.0.20120831_1216.zip
/IbmSoftware/was8.5.5/was8.5.5
WASND_v8.5.5_1of3.zip
WASND_v8.5.5_2of3.zip
WASND_v8.5.5_3of3.zip
/IbmSoftware/was8.5.5/sdk
WS_SDK_JAVA_TEV7.0_1OF3_WAS_8.5.5.zip
WS_SDK_JAVA_TEV7.0_2OF3_WAS_8.5.5.zip
WS_SDK_JAVA_TEV7.0_3OF3_WAS_8.5.5.zip
/IbmSoftware/was8.5.5/fixpack
8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000003-part1.zip
8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000003-part2.zip

For eg as below image

5)Installation of Installation Manager

a) Unzip the Installation Manager setup agent.installer.linux.gtk.x86_1.6.0.20120831_1216.zip

#unzip agent.installer.linux.gtk.x86_1.6.0.20120831_1216.zip

The extracted folder

Edit install.xml to define the location for IM installation
b) #vi install.xml

Add the below entries in the install.xml file

<profile kind=’self’ installLocation=’/apps/InstallationManager/eclipse’ id=’IBM Installation Manager’>
</profile>

Highlighted the entries in yellow where “/apps/InstallationManager/eclipse” is the location where I need to install the Installation Manager

c) Install IM1.6 silently
Execute #./installc –acceptLicense

This command reads the install.xml file and installed it in the location mentioned in it

Once the installation is completed the message “Installed <package> to the <location> directory is displayed

d) Verify the installation and the versions of Installation Manager

Navigate to /apps/InstallationManager/ folder

Execute ./imcl -version to check the version of IM fron /apps/InstallationManager/eclipese/tools/

THIS IS HOW WE INSTALL INSTALLATION MANAGER SILENTLY

6) CREATING THE Response xml files

a) Launching Xming to display the graphical interface of the commands
Note : you can use any other X11 utility for unix but I prefer Xming

============================================================================

CONFIGURING XMING

============================================================================

1)   Download Xming and install it on ur local machine from where you want to connect
2)   Execute the XLaunch icon
3)   Select Multiple Windows and “Next”

Select “Start no Client”

Select “No Access Control”

Click on Finish

Lauch Putty
And expand the Putty Settings > Connections >> SSH >> X11
Enable “X11 Forwarding” and mention localhost:0
Now put the ip and login

Once logged in enter “w” to determine the ip you are connecting to the WAS server with .. Here its 10.0.0.2

Export the display variable using
#export=DISPLAY=10.0.0.2:0.0

Run xclock to check if it works

This confirms that ths X11 forwarding works

7) Generating the response.xml files

a) Generating the response.xml files using the record funciton of IM

Execute #./IBMIM –record /apps/WAS8.8.8_Install.xml –skipInstall /tmp/was8.5.5

Where

-record : ensures we are using the record function
/apps/WAS8.8.8_Install.xml : is the response file which will be created ( any file name can be used)
-skipInstall : This is to skip the installation and only create the response
/tmp/was8.5.5 : is a temp location where the Installation Manager will extract the files ( this can be any location )

This will launch the Installation Manager in Skip Install Recording mode (Highlighted in Yellow)

b) Add the repositories needed for WAS 8.5.5 install
c) We will be installing the fixpack also together along with the base install

Select the repository.config for was8.5.5

Similarly do it for the repository.config for SDK folder and the fixpack 3

Click OK

c) Then Click Install to launch the installer function

This will display the packages for the installation ( We wil deselect the SDK for Liberty profile as its not needed for now)

e) Accept the License

f) Provide the path of the Shared Repository Directory ..

I gave it /apps/IMShared as I want all the installation binaries in /apps

g) Provide the path where you want the WAS8.5.5.3 to be installed

h) Select the options needed

Summary screen is displayed. Click Install
Here you can observe that the IBM WAS version is provided 8.5.5.3
IM has automatically detected the Fixpack also added in the repository

Click Finsh .

i) A file /apps/WAS8.8.8_Install.xml which is the response file for WAS8.5.5.3 Installation

Response file

Open the file /apps/WAS8.8.8_Install.xml
Some observation :
We can see the repository location for the packages
“/ibmSoftware…….”

j) Modify the installLocation as per your needs
Change the Profile id as required .. though not necessary unless you allready have an installation of was with the same profile id
Eg “ IBM WebSphere Application Server V8.5 MY SERVER”

Verify that the files once again for any typo error and save it

k) Execute the imcl to install the WAS

[root@mqnode was8.5.5]# /apps/InstallationManager/eclipse/tools/imcl input /apps/WAS8.5.5_Install.xml -acceptLicense -sP

After few minutes if all is well then it will give the output that WAS 8.5.5.3 is installed

l) Verify the Installation

m) Check the version using ./versionInfo.sh

Here we can see WAS ND 8.5.5.3 is installled at /apps/IBM location

NOTE:This response file can be used to install similar was8.5.5.3 on different machines

Also using the record function any Installation response file can be created ie for IHS , BPM8, Websphere Portal 8 etc .

Change the Background Image of Admin Console

Mar6

In this Post i will share how to change the Background Image of the Admin console and also one you login change the Banner

Why is it needed sometimes
a) Some customers there may be many Websphere Instances
b) Confusing between different Admin console
c) Prevent Mistake of sometimes working on a Production Admin console instead of the UAT or DEV or any other env
d) This helps to identify the environment which we intent to work with .

Scope
: Change the Login Image
: Change the Banner Image post Login

Step1 :
The Images which are used with the Admin Console are available in the Path <WAS_ROOT>/AppServer/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/images

In my case its /apps/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/images

List of the png Images

For the Login Image : login_image_175x175.png
Dimensions : 175X175 px
For the Banner Image : banner-swoosh.png
Dimensions : 577X45 px

IMP: Take the Backup of these files either in the same location as login_image_175x175.png.org & banner-swoosh.png.org or in your local machine

Step2: Once the Backup is done , download these two images in your local machine using Winscp from /apps/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/images

Step3: Change the Login Image
We need to resize these New Images using any Image editor.. I use http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/
This is Online based, very light weight and User friendly But you can use any editor tool like MS Paint etc

NOTE :If you are going to use any other Image Ensure that the dimensions of the new Image is same as the one your are replacing in this case 175X175 px

I will be replacing the below Image (Original Dimension is 175X175 px)

With the one below

The dimensions are 175X175 px

Step4: Using Winscp move the New Image to /apps/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/images and rename it as login_image_175x175.png

Step5: Clear the Browser Cookies and hit the admin console url . Now you can see the new Login Image instead of the old one

Step 6: You can Also modify the Image with pixlr / MS Paint to add the environment details

Similarly you can use any Image or the same login_image_175x175.png with the details of your environment details like PROD . Application server name etc

Modify the Banner Image
Step 1: Copy the banner-swoosh.png from /apps/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/images to your local machine

Step 2: Edit it using pixlr tool to mention the details of the Environment

In My case i have mentioned the “PROD MYAPP WAS-v8.5.5 ”
NOTE: You can use any image but enure the dimension of the Image is 577X45 px and can experiment with the Font , color

Save the image as banner-swoosh.png

Step 3: Upload the banner-swoosh.png to /apps/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/images
Overwrite the existing one

Step4: Clear the browser cookies and retry to login
Now we will see the details in the Banner once we login

NOTE : You could use different colors for each environment , for eg : Yellow — DEV , Green – UAT , RED – PROD

View jks certs in WebSphere

Feb11

There is a utility “keytool” to manage the certificates
With it you can create , view , delete, import the certs

Navigate to
[root@mqnode ~]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/java/bin/
[root@mqnode bin]# ./keytool -list -v -keystore /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Dmgr01/etc/DummyServerTrustFile.jks
Enter keystore password:WebAS

The Default password for certs in Websphere Application Server is WebAS

Deploy / Config Changes when the Websphere DMGR is Down

Jun6

There could be instances when your Websphere Deployment Manager server is crashed / down due any reasons .
It could be due to
a) Hardware issues
b) OS issues
c) Filesystem corruption
d) Configuration Issues etc ..
Consider a scenario wherein your DMGR is down, and at the same time there is an urgent configuration change / deployment / upgrade you need to do to your application .
In this case you may need to do the changes directly to the Application server node using wsadmin commands
NOTE : This is not a recommended way
NOTE : WHENEVER THE DMGR IS UP AND RUNNING THE CHANGES WILL BE LOST DURING THE NODE SYNC Process .
NOTE :Once the DMGR is started, you would need to make the changes which you made on Application Server again to the DMGR and do a complete Sync
NOTE :For a Clustered Environment ,, the below changes needs to be one on each of the Cluster Nodes
Following are the highlevel steps to deploy the application when the DMGR is down
Step 1 : To simulate that scenario of DMGR Crashed, I have stopped the DMGR using ./stopManager.sh

And the Application Servers is started

Step 2 : Login to the Application Server Node as the owner of the WAS installation .
Step 3 : Launch the wsadmin.sh from the APP_SRV_PROFILE/bin

[root@mercury bin]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/bin

Execute wsadmin.sh

[root@mercury bin]# ./wsadmin.sh

We will get an Error
“WASX7023E: Error creating “SOAP” connection to host “mercury.com”; exception information: com.ibm.websphere.management.exception.ConnectorNotAvailableException: [SOAPException: faultCode=SOAP-ENV:Protocol; msg=; targetException=java.net.MalformedURLException]”
The reason being that the wsadmin.properties file in the /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/properties folder still refers to the DMGR hostname and DMGR Soap Port
We need to modify the values of the com.ibm.ws.scripting.port and com.ibm.ws.scripting.host values to match the hostname of Application Server Node
Step 4 : Modify the wsadmin.properties file

[root@mercury bin]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/properties

Edit the wsadmin.properties

[root@mercury properties]# vi wsadmin.properties

Currently the port 8879 is the SOAP port of the DMGR ..
Change the com.ibm.ws.scripting.port and com.ibm.ws.scripting.host values to the values of the Application Server Node

Here 8884 is the Soap Port of My application Server “MyServer”
Save the Changes in the wsadmin.properties file
Step 5 : Now execute the wsadmin.sh from the Application Server Node

[root@mercury properties]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/bin/

[root@mercury properties]# ./wsadmin.sh -lang jython -conntype NONE

Step 6 : Deploy the application using wsadmin
In the wsadmin Prompt execute the below command . The DefaultApplication.ear is located in /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/installableApps/
NOTE : You can use wsadmin interactive Steps to deploy the application too

wsadmin>AdminApp.install(‘/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/installableApps/DefaultApplication.ear’, ‘[-server MyServer]’)

Save the configurations using AdminConfig.save

wsadmin>AdminConfig.save()

NOTE : You can use wsadmin commands to manipulate other configurations also of the Application Server
NOTE : These changes will get lost when the dmgr is started
Step 7 : Ensure the wc_default and wc_default_secure port of Application Server is available in the virtualhost.xml .
On the Application Server Node

[root@mercury properties]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/config/cell/Cell01

Search for wc_default port in virtualhost.xml

[root@mercury properties]# cat virtualhost.xml | grep 9082

Search for wc_default_secure port in virtualhost.xml

[root@mercury properties]# cat virtualhost.xml | grep 9445

Where 9082 & 9445 are wc_default and wc_default_secure port of the Applicatioin server “MyServer”
NOTE : If the wc_default and wc_default_secure port of your Application Server is not present in the virtualhost.xml you will get the error
“A WebGroup/Virtual Host to handle /snoop has not been defined
SRVE0255E: A WebGroup/Virtual Host to handle localhost:80 has not been defined.”

Step 8 : Start the applications using wsadmin or Restart the application server .. depending on the changes which you have done

[root@mercury properties]# cd /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/bin

[root@mercury bin]# ./stopServer.sh MyServer

[root@mercury bin]# ./startServer.sh MyServer

Step 9 : Validate if the application has been deployed only to the application node and not the DMGR .
Validation 1 : Check the Application Server SystemOut.log after the Application server / Application is started.
Check the systemOut.log to see if the Application DefaultApplication has started properly .
Also check if the web containers are mapped to the proper ports ..
Refer the screenshot of SystemOut.log

Validation 2 : Check the serverindex.xml of both Application Server Node and Dmgr Node
Application Node

[root@mercury mercuryNode01]# cat /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/config/cells/Cell01/nodes/mercuryNode01/serverindex.xml

Here we can see the Application which we deployed ie DefaultApplication.ear.ear in the serverindex.xml
Dmgr Node

[root@mercury mercuryNode01]# cat /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Dmgr01/config/cells/Cell01/nodes/mercuryNode01/serverindex.xml

Similarly in the Dmgr Node’s Serverindex.xml we can not see the deployed application :DefaultApplication.ear.ear
Validation 3 : Check the <Profile_Home>/config/cells/Cell01/applications folder for the deployed application
Application Server Node

[root@mercury mercuryNode01]# ls -l /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Custom01/config/cells/Cell01/applications

We can see the DefaultApplication.ear.ear in this folder
Dmgr Node

[root@mercury mercuryNode01]# ls -l /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/Dmgr01/config/cells/Cell01/applications

There is no DefaultApplication.ear.ear
Step 10 : Check the deployed application using the browser
url : http://IP of the Application Server:wc_default/snoop
As I have deployed the DefaultApplication I will be testing if the application snoop is accessible now on the applicaiton server when the DMGR is down

This shows we can deploy the application directly on the Application Server Node when the DMGR is down
NOTE : As mentioned above these changes will get overwritten when the Node sync happens when the DMGR is started
NOTE :Once the DMGR is started, you would need to make the changes which you made on Application Server again to the DMGR and do a complete Sync

Shiva Praveen Narra

Thursday, 1 October 2015

websphere admin more interview questions

Replacing Text:

Searching for Text

Substitutions

Examples

Scheduling explained

1) Websphere Application Server configuration with LDAP Server

1. Setting up the global security.

Global security configuration applies to the security policy for all administrative functions and is used as a default security policy for user applications. Security domains can be defined to override and customize the security policies for user applications.

Login to WebSphere 7 admin console, navigate to Security –> Global Security.

2. Enable administrative security option.

3. Configure user account repository.

Select “Standalone LDAP Registry” from the drop down of “User Account Repository” à configure

4. Define the LDAP configuration details in the next page.

Specify the below properties.

Type of LDAP Server: Since we are using Open DS for the illustration, select ‘Custom’ from the drop down.

Click on “Test Connection” button to check the ldap configuration settings. Save the changes

5. Modify the Advanced LDAP User Registry Settings.

Define the User Filter to use (objectclass=inetOrgPerson), since it resonates to the LDAP user registry objectclass settings.

6. Set the LDAP registry as Current realm definition.

7. Restart the WebSphere Application server.

8. Login into the admin console using the operator from the LDAP Server.

Procedure

Example: Handling data access exception - stale connection.

Configuration tab

Connection Timeout

Maximum Connections

Minimum Connections

Reap Time

Unused Timeout

Aged Timeout

Purge Policy

Change the Background Image of Admin Console

Deploy / Config Changes when the Websphere DMGR is Down

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