Configuring the data collector with the simple configuration utility

The WebSphere Applications agent starts automatically after installation, but you must manually configure the data collector, which is a component of the agent, to monitor application server instances.

Before you begin

Make sure that the user access requirements are met in your environment. For instructions, see Checking user access requirements.

About this task

For the WebSphere Applications agent, the dc_home variables refer to the home directory of the data collector. The location of the dc_home variable on each operating system is as follows:

• Windows: install_dir\dchome\7.3.0.14.09
• Linux and UNIX: install_dir/yndchome/7.3.0.14.09

Procedure

1. Log in to the system with the user ID that is used to install the application server.

2. Change to the bin directory within the data collector home directory.

   • Windows: install_dir\dchome\7.3.0.14.09\bin
   • Linux and UNIX: install_dir/yndchome/7.3.0.14.09/bin

3. Run the following simple configuration utility:

   • Windows: simpleconfig.bat
   • Linux and UNIX: ./simpleconfig.sh

   The simpleconfig utility automatically discovers the home directories of the application servers.

4. Follow the prompts to continue with the data collector configuration. You are required to do the following things, depending on the application server settings:

   • For traditional WebSphere Application Server:
     • Select the auto-discovered WebSphere installation directory or manually specify the installation directory.
     • Select the WebSphere Application Server profile to monitor.
     • Select the security properties profile to use or provide the user name and password of the WebSphere administrative console (if security is enabled for the application server).
   • For WebSphere Application Server Liberty:
     • Specify the full path of the Liberty home directory that contains the bin and servers directories (for example, /opt/ibm/wlp).
     • Specify the home directory of the JRE that is used by Liberty.

5. If possible, restart the application server instance after the data collector configuration completes.

   1. Go to the bin directory under the home directory for the application server profile. For example, opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/profile_name/bin.

   2. Stop the application server by entering the stopServer command in the command console.

      • Linux and UNIX: ./stopServer.sh server_name
      • Windows: stopServer.bat server_name

   3. When prompted, enter the user ID and password of WebSphere administrative console administrator.

   4. Start the application server again by entering the startServer command in the command console.
      • Linux and UNIX: ./startServer.sh server_name
      • Windows: startServer.bat server_name

Results

• The data collector is configured to monitor all instances in a profile, or, for WebSphere Application Server Liberty, a single instance or multiple instances in the same directory. To monitor more profiles or instances, repeat the configuration.
• The data collector is configured within the server instances, providing maximum monitoring.

Known limitation: When monitoring WebSphere Application Server Liberty, the data collector cannot generate Java™ Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) events.

What to do next

Log in to the IBM Cloud Pak console to view monitoring data.