Changing the front-end dispatcher location

If you change the front-end dispatcher location or configuration, you must complete a few additional steps. This post-configuration task involves updating two files that exist on all tiers.

About this task

During the installation process for a high availability installation, you enter the host name and port number of the front-end dispatcher. This information is used by the installation program to configure IBM® InfoSphere® Information Server. If you later modify the front-end dispatcher (for example, if you relocate the dispatcher to another machine, replace the Web server with a load balancer, and so on), you must update the following files with the new host name and port number: registered-servers.xml and Version.xml.

You must update these files on the services tier that hosts the deployment manager and every engine tier computer that is registered to that services tier.

In each of the paths indicated in this task, is_install_dir is the InfoSphere Information Server installation directory. The following location is the default for the installation directory:

Operating system File path
AIX® Linux /opt/IBM/InformationServer/
Windows C:\IBM\InformationServer\

Procedure

  1. On the services tier computer and every engine tier computer, update the registered-servers.xml file with the correct front-end dispatcher host name and port number. The file is in the following directory:
    Operating system Directory
    AIX Linux
    Engine tier:
    is_install_dir/ASBNode/eclipse/
    plugins/com.ibm.iis.client

    Services tier:
    is_install_dir/ASBServer/conf
    Windows
    Engine tier:
    is_install_dir\ASBNode\eclipse\
    plugins\com.ibm.iis.client

    Services tier:
    is_install_dir\ASBServer\conf
    In the registered-servers.xml file, update the following <asb-server> element, where dispatcher_hostname is the new host name of the front-end dispatcher, and dispatcher_port is the new HTTP port of the front-end dispatcher.
    <asb-server name="domain_name"
    	host-name="dispatcher_hostname"
    	port="dispatcher_port"
    	is-primary-server="true"/>
    Important: On engine tier systems that have clients installed, you might see multiple <asb-server> elements in the registered-servers.xml file. These instances represent the host name and port number of each services tier that has been successfully logged into from this client system. This is the source of the list of services tiers shown on client login pages. Update the host names and port numbers of only the services tiers that are affected by the front-end dispatcher changes.
    Note: In the file you are examining, if there is no <asb-server> element with is-primary-server="true" in the registered-servers.xml file, then you are not on the engine tier. Refer to the last step in this topic for information about configuring files on the client tier.
  2. On the services tier computer and every engine tier computer, update the Version.xml file with the correct front-end dispatcher host name and port number. The file is in the InfoSphere Information Server installation directory (is_install_dir).

    In the Version.xml file, update the following <PersistedVariable> elements, where dispatcher_hostname is the new host name of the front-end dispatcher, and dispatcher_port is the new HTTP port of the front-end dispatcher:

    <PersistedVariable encrypted="false" name="was.default.host.port" 
      persistent="true" readonly="true" value="dispatcher_port"/>
    <PersistedVariable encrypted="false" name="is.console.port" 
      persistent="true" readonly="true" value="dispatcher_port"/>
    <PersistedVariable encrypted="false" name="isf.server.host" 
      persistent="true" readonly="false" value="dispatcher_hostname"/>
    ...
    <PersistedVariable encrypted="false" name="isf.http.host" 
      persistent="true" readonly="true" value="dispatcher_hostname"/>
    <PersistedVariable encrypted="false" name="isf.http.port" 
      persistent="true" readonly="true" value="dispatcher_port"/>
    Note: The was.default.host.port parameter appears if you are using the embedded version of IBM WebSphere® Application Server. If you preinstalled WebSphere Application Server, this parameter is not listed in your Version.xml file.
  3. On the engine tier, recycle the agents and engine processes.
  4. Restart the cluster and cluster members. Refer to Restarting application server processes.
  5. Go to http://dispatcher_hostname:dispatcher_port to verify whether you can log in to the InfoSphere Information Server Web console.
  6. Optional: When logging into the client with a new host name and port number, the information will be added to the registered-servers.xml file on the client. However, you can optionally update the list of services tier host names and port numbers that appears on the client login page by using one of the following methods:
    • If you are comfortable with editing the XML file across the client tier, you can update the registered-servers.xml file on each client tier computer:
      Operating system File path
      AIX Linux
      is_install_dir/ASBNode/eclipse/plugins/
      com.ibm.iis.client/registered-servers.xml
      Windows
      is_install_dir\ASBNode\eclipse\plugin\
      com.ibm.iis.client\registered-servers.xml
      After editing, restart all clients on the client tier.
    • Alternatively, if you do not want to edit the XML file, or if you prefer to use a command, you can use the RegistrationCommand tool. To remove the host name and port numbers that are no longer in use, run the following commands:
      Note: The RegistrationCommand tool is in the following directory: is_install_dir\ASBNode\bin
      Operating system Command
      AIX Linux
      ./RegistrationCommand.sh -remove -hostname old_host_name
       -port old_port_number
      
      ./RegistrationCommand.sh -add -name new_host_name
       -hostname new_host_name -port new_port_number
      
      ./RegistrationCommand.sh -list
      Windows
      RegistrationCommand.bat -remove -hostname old_host_name
       -port old_port_number
      
      RegistrationCommand.bat -add -name new_host_name
       -hostname new_host_name -port new_port_number
      
      RegistrationCommand.bat -list
      -remove
      The remove command parameter removes the old host name and old port number so that they no longer appear in the list of services tiers shown during client login.
      -add
      The add command parameter adds the new host name and port number in advance. Alternatively, you can enter the new host name and port number at the next login.
      -list
      The list command parameter lists the servers that you currently have in your registered-servers.xml file, which reflects the list of servers that appear on the client login page.