Administrative console scope settings

Use this page to specify the level at which a resource is visible on the administrative console page. By changing the value for Scope, you see only the resources that are defined at that scope. The contents of the collection table might change. A resource can be visible in the administrative console collection table at the cell, node, or server scope.

For WebSphere® Application Server (base) and WebSphere Application Server Express®, the console displays a drop-down list of all the scopes available, which is three. To change the scope, select any item from the drop-down list.

All scopes is the default unless you enable the Use default scope setting on the Console preferences page to make the administrative console node the default. Whatever the default is the first time that you view a console page that has scope settings, that is the default for the page on subsequent visits that you make to the page. The default for the page does not change even if you modify the Use default scope setting.

You cannot select All scopes to create a new resource. You must select one of the available scopes from the drop-down list to create a new resource.

You always create resources at the current scope that is selected in the administrative console page, even though the resources might be visible at more than one scope.

Resources such as Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) providers, namespace bindings, or shared libraries can be defined at multiple scopes. Resources that are defined at more specific scopes override duplicate resources that are defined at more general scopes:

  • The application scope has precedence over all the scopes.
  • For WebSphere Application Server (base) and WebSphere Application Server Express, the server scope has precedence over the node and cell scopes.
  • The node scope has precedence over the cell scope.

Despite the scope of a defined resource, the resource properties apply at an individual server level only. For example, if you define the scope of a data source at the cell level, all the users in that cell can look up and use that data source, which is unique within that cell. However, resource property settings are local to each server in the cell. For example, if you define the maximum connections as 10, then each server in that cell can have 10 connections.

The cell scope is the most general scope and does not override any other scope. The recommendation is that you generally specify a more specific scope than the cell scope. When you define a resource at a more specific scope, you provide greater isolation for the resource. When you define a resource at a more general scope, you provide less isolation. Greater exposure to cross-application conflicts occur for a resource that you define at a more general scope.
Avoid trouble: Two applications cannot have the same application name data source at the scope level and operate independently with that resource. Specifically, having multiple applications use the same JNDI name with different resources can cause the overwriting of the resource's JNDI bindings.
Cell
Limits the visibility to all servers on the named cell. The resource factories within the cell scope are:
  • Defined for all servers within this cell
  • For WebSphere Application Server (base) and WebSphere Application Server Express, overridden by any resource factories that are defined within application, server, and node scopes that are in this cell and have the same Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) name
The resource providers that are required by the resource factories must be installed on every node within the cell before applications can bind or use them.
Node
Limits the visibility to all the servers on the named node. The node scope is the default scope for most resource types. The resource factories that are defined within the node scope:
  • Are available for servers on this node to use
  • Override any resource factories that have the same JNDI name defined within the cell scope
The resource factories that are defined within the cell scope are available for servers on this node to use, in addition to the resource factories that are defined within this node scope.
Server
Limits the visibility to the named server. The server scope is the most specific scope for defining resources. The resource factories that are defined within the server scope:
  • Are available for applications that are deployed on this server
  • Override any resource factories that have the same JNDI name defined within the node and cell scopes
The resource factories that are defined within the node and cell scopes are available for this server to use, in addition to the resource factories that are defined within this server scope.
Application
Limits the visibility to the named application. Application scope resources can be viewed and edited from the console, but not created. You can additionally use the Rational® Application Developer or the wsadmin tool to view or edit the application scope resource configuration. The resource factories that are defined within the application scope are available for this application to use only. The application scope overrides all other scopes.

You can view the application scope resources from the console by selecting Applications from the console navigation, and then navigating to the appropriate application. The application scope resources are unavailable from the Resources section of the console navigation.

You can configure namespace bindings and shared libraries under cell, node, and server scopes only. For WebSphere Application Server (base) and WebSphere Application Server Express, you can configure resources and the product variables under all four scopes.