Set up Admin Center

Admin Center is a web user interface that runs on Liberty profile V8.5.5.2 and later servers. After installing Liberty profile and creating a server, configure server.xml.

Install WebSphere Application Server Liberty profile with Liberty Administrative Center ("Admin Center"). The Install Liberty Repository assets topic lists the ways to install assets such as Admin Center. The quickest way to install Admin Center is to run the featureManager command:

1. If we have not done so already, WAS Liberty Profile V8.5.5.2 or later.

   Restriction: Ensure that we use a Java virtual machine (JVM) that supports Liberty profile products and SSL. Do not use an IBM JVM available with a WebSphere Application Server full profile product, such as Network Deployment, for the Liberty profile installation with Admin Center. The IBM JVM available with a full profile product points to security classes available only with a full profile product, and not to security classes needed by Admin Center, which requires SSL. Using an IBM JVM available with a full profile product can cause Admin Center to not display in a browser.

2. Open a command window at the main directory of the Liberty Profile installation. For example, open a command window at c:\wlp.

3. Run the featureManager command to install the adminCenter-1.0 feature:
   bin/featureManager install adminCenter-1.0 --when-file-exists=ignore

4. For the Liberty profile Developers edition, run the featureManager command to install the collectiveController-1.0 feature:

   bin/featureManager install collectiveController-1.0 --when-file-exists=ignore

   This step applies only to the Developers edition and not to the Network Deployment, z/OS or Core editions of Liberty profile. Optionally, we can install the collectiveController-1.0 feature before installing the adminCenter-1.0 feature.

For more information, go to the WASdev website, select the Downloads tab, and select the FEATURE button for the Admin Center asset.

To install Admin Center on hosts that cannot access the internet-based Liberty repository, first install the Liberty profile and the Admin Center feature on a host that can access the internet. Then transfer the installation to the target hosts. For information about packaging Liberty profile servers and runtimes for deployment to other hosts, see Packaging a Liberty profile server using developer tools and Packaging a Liberty profile server from the command prompt.

We can set up Admin Center on stand-alone servers and on collective controllers. This topic focuses on setting up a stand-alone Liberty profile server.

To enable Admin Center on a collective controller, see Configuring a Liberty collective and the example in Deploy resources with Admin Center. Ensure server.xml of the collective controller includes <feature>adminCenter-1.0</feature> in the feature manager configuration and sets a host value in the httpEndpoint element, such as host="*" so all hosts can access the collective controller.

1. If the Liberty profile installation does not have a server, create a Liberty profile server.

   For example, in a command window at the wlp/bin directory, create a server named myServer.

   server create myServer

   The example command adds server files to the wlp/usr/servers/myServer directory.

2. Open an editor on server.xml of the Liberty profile server, and configure the server for Admin Center.

   1. Add the adminCenter-1.0 feature to the feature manager.

      <featureManager>
         <feature>jsp-2.2</feature>
         <feature>adminCenter-1.0</feature>
      </featureManager>

   2. Add one or more users to configure a secure login. For example:
      <quickStartSecurity userName="admin" userPassword="adminpwd" />

      If user names or passwords include non-English characters, create the jvm.options file for the server and define the default client encoding as UTF-8:

      -Ddefault.client.encoding=UTF-8

      For information about the jvm.options file, see Customize the Liberty profile environment.

   3. To protect keystorefiles that have server authentication credentials, define a keystore and assign it a password.
      <keyStore id="defaultKeyStore" password="Liberty" />

      For an example server.xml file that defines an Administrator and a non-Administrator and that defines a keystore, see the Example in this topic. For information about defining multiple administrative users, see Set up BasicRegistry and role mapping .

   4. To access Admin Center from a cell phone, tablet, or remote computer, ensure that server.xml sets the host attribute of the httpEndpoint element to * (asterisk) or to a defined host name. By default, the host attribute is set to localhost.

      <httpEndpoint id="defaultHttpEndpoint"
                    host="*"
                    httpPort="9080"
                    httpsPort="9443" />

   5. Save the changes to server.xml.

      If we defined the default client encoding as UTF-8 for non-English characters in the jvm.options file and the user registry is in quickStartSecurity or basicRegistry elements, which store user names and passwords in server.xml, then save server.xml in UTF-8 encoding.

3. If the server is not running, start the server.

   For example, in a command window at the wlp/bin directory, enter a run or start command.

   server run myServer

   Look for server messages that show the adminCenter web application is running. After Admin Center is running, we can point a web browser at the application and log in. See Logging in to Admin Center.

   Watch: The Set up Admin Center video demonstrates the procedure. [Transcript]

Example: server.xml file that defines two authorized users

<server description="new server">

   <!-- Enable features -->
   <featureManager>
      <feature>adminCenter-1.0</feature>
   </featureManager>

   <!-- Define the host name for use by the collective.
        If the host name needs to be changed, the server should be         removed from the collective and re-joined. -->
   <variable name="defaultHostName" value="localhost" />

    <!-- Define an Administrator and non-Administrator -->
   <basicRegistry id="basic">
      <user name="admin" password="adminpwd" />
      <user name="nonadmin" password="nonadminpwd" />
   </basicRegistry>

   <!-- Assign 'admin' to Administrator -->
   <administrator-role>
      <user>admin</user>
   </administrator-role>

   <keyStore id="defaultKeyStore" password="Liberty" />

   <httpEndpoint id="defaultHttpEndpoint"
                 host="*"
                 httpPort="9080"
                 httpsPort="9443" />

</server>