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.
If other data collector exists in the application server that is to be monitored, take appropriate actions to avoid data collector conflicts. For instructions, see Handling other existing data collector in the application server.

About this task

Important:

If you want to configure the data collector only for resource monitoring or to set extra options, use the full configuration procedure. For instructions, see Configuring or reconfiguring the data collector with full configuration utilities.
If you want to change the name of the server in the monitoring user interface, reconfigure the data collector and specify a server alias. For instructions, see Configuring or reconfiguring the data collector with full configuration utilities.

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:

install_dir\dchome\7.3.0.14.08
install_dir/yndchome/7.3.0.14.08

Procedure

Log in to the system with the user ID that is used to install the application server.
Change to the bin directory within the data collector home directory.
- install_dir\dchome\7.3.0.14.08\bin
- install_dir/yndchome/7.3.0.14.08/bin
Run the following simple configuration utility:
- simpleconfig.bat
- ./simpleconfig.sh
The simpleconfig utility automatically discovers the home directories of the application servers.
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.
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.
  - ./stopServer.sh server_name
  - 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.
  - ./startServer.sh server_name
  - 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.
For Cloud APM, Base, resource monitoring is enabled.
For Cloud APM, Advanced, resource monitoring, transaction tracking, and diagnostic data is enabled.

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 Cloud APM console and use the Applications editor to add the monitored application server to the Application Performance Dashboard. For instructions on how to start the Cloud APM console, see Starting the Cloud APM console. For information about using the Applications editor, see Managing applications.
Remember: If the WebSphere Applications agent is configured to monitor WebSphere Portal Server, the agent is related to the WebSphere Portal Server application component on the Application Performance Dashboard, not WebSphere Application Server.
If the monitoring user interface on the Application Performance Dashboard shows no information for the application server instance, restart the monitoring agent component of the WebSphere Applications agent by completing the following steps:
- ```
cd install_dir\bin
was-agent.bat stop
was-agent.bat start
```
- ```
cd install_dir/bin
./was-agent.sh stop
./was-agent.sh start
```