Using administrative programs (JMX)

You can use Java™ application programming interfaces (APIs) to administer WebSphere® Application Server and to manage your applications.

Before you begin

You can administer WebSphere Application Server and your applications through tools that come with the product or through programming with the Java APIs.

The wsadmin scripting tool, the administrative console, and the administrative command-line tools come with the product. These administrative tools provide most of the functions that you need to manage the product and the applications that run in WebSphere Application Server. You can use the command-line tools from automation scripts to control the servers. Scripts that are written for the wsadmin scripting tool offer a wide range of possible custom solutions that you can develop quickly.

Investigate these tools with the Java APIs to determine the best ways to administer WebSphere Application Server and your applications. For information on the Java APIs, view the application programming interfaces documentation.

No action required for WAS JMX APIs: Each Java virtual machine (JVM) in WebSphere Application Server includes an embedded implementation of Java Management Extensions (JMX). In Application Server, Version 5, the JVMs contain an implementation of the JMX 1.0 specification. In Application Server, Version 6.0 and later, the JVMs contain an implementation of the JMX 1.2 specification. The JMX 1.0 implementation used in Version 5 is the TMX4J package that IBM® Tivoli® products supply. The JMX 1.2 specification used in Version 6.0 and later is the open source mx4j package. The JMX implementation change across the releases does not affect the behavior of the JMX MBeans in the Application Server. No Application Server administrative application programming interfaces (APIs) are altered due to the change from the JMX V1.0 specification to the JMX V1.2 specification.
Action might be required for custom MBeans: The JMX V1.2 specification is compatible with the earlier JMX V1.0 specification. However, you might need to migrate custom MBeans that are supplied by products other than the Application Server from Version 5 to Version 6.0 and later. The primary concern for these custom MBeans is related to the values that are used in key properties of the JMX ObjectName class for the MBean. The open source mx4j implementation more stringently enforces property validation according to the JMX 1.2 specification. Test the custom MBeans that you deployed in Version 5 in Version 6.0 and later, to ensure compatibility. Full details of the JMX V1.2 specification changes from the JMX V1.0 specification are available in the JMX 1.2 specification.

About this task

WebSphere Application Server supports access to the administrative functions through a set of Java classes and methods. You can write a Java program that performs any of the administrative features of the WebSphere Application Server administrative tools. You can also extend the basic WebSphere Application Server administrative system to include your own managed resources.

You can prepare, install, uninstall, edit, and update applications through programming. Preparing an application for installation involves collecting various types of WebSphere Application Server-specific binding information to resolve references that are defined in the application deployment descriptors. This information can also be modified after installation by editing a deployed application. Updating consists of adding, removing or replacing a single file or a single module in an installed application, or supplying a partial application that manipulates an arbitrary set of files and modules in the deployed application. Updating the entire application uninstalls the old application and installs the new one. Uninstalling an application removes it entirely from the WebSphere Application Server configuration.

Perform any or all of the following tasks to manage WebSphere Application Server and your Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) applications through programming.

Procedure

Create a JMX remote client program by using the JMX remote API (JSR 160)..

This topic describes how to develop a JMX remote program that uses the JMX remote API (JSR 160) to access the WebSphere Application Server administrative system.
Create a custom Java administrative client program using the Java administrative APIs.

This topic describes how to develop a Java program that uses the WebSphere Application Server administrative APIs to access the administrative system of WebSphere Application Server.
Extend the WebSphere Application Server administrative system with custom MBeans.

This topic describes how to extend the WebSphere Application Server administration system by supplying and registering new JMX MBeans in one of the Application Server processes. In this case, you can use the administrative classes and methods to add newly managed objects to the administrative system.
Deploy and manage a custom Java administrative client program for use with multiple Java Platform, Enterprise Edition application servers.

This topic describes how to connect to a Java EE server, and how to manage multiple vendor servers.

Results

Depending on which tasks you complete, you have created your own administrative program, extended the WebSphere Application Server administrative console, connected and managed vendor servers, or managed your applications through programming.

What to do next

You can continue to administer WebSphere Application Server and your applications through programming or in combination with the tools that come with the WebSphere Application Server.