Create a Liberty server using developer tools

We can use developer tools to create and start a Liberty server. If we have not yet installed Liberty, the developer tools can install it for us when we create a server for the first time.

First install the developer tool. We can create a server using the tool or manually. When creating a new server using the tool, specify the installation of the Liberty runtime to use...

Existing installation.
Previously downloaded archive file.
No-charge developer edition, download and install.

To use a proxy server to connect to the Liberty Repository, first configure the proxy settings. From the main menu in Eclipse select...

Window > Preferences > General > Network Connections

Create and start a Liberty server

In the workbench, open the Servers view by clicking the Servers tab.
If the Servers view is not visible, navigate to...
...and type Server in the filter text. Then, select Servers.
Right-click the Servers view and select New > Server.
Under the server type list, expand IBM and select the Liberty Server server type.
Click Next.
The Liberty Runtime Environment page is displayed.
If we already have a Liberty run time installed, we will go directly to the New Liberty Server page, skip to Step 6.
Select an installation, install from an archive file, or (for the no-charge developer edition) download and install, Liberty.
If we previously installed Liberty, complete the following steps:
1. Select Choose an existing installation.
2. In the Path field, type or browse for the directory where we installed the Liberty runtime environment.
3. On the Liberty Runtime Environment page, click Next.
  The application-serving environment is selected, and now we can skip to Step 6.
To install Liberty from an archive file that was previously downloaded, complete the following steps:
1. Select Install from an archive or repository, and click Next.
2. In the Destination field, type or browse for the directory where we want to install the Liberty runtime environment.
  If we type a path that does not exist, then a folder for that path is created automatically at the end of Step 10.
3. Select Install a new runtime environment from an archive.
4. In the Path field, either type or browse to the archive file on the local file system, and click Next.
5. In the Install Add-ons page, click Install or Install Pending to make a selection of add-on archive files we want to install on the Liberty runtime environment.
  We can install an add-on archive file from the local file system, download, or use a combination of both when we install multiple add-on archive files.
  This download site includes add-ons we can select from the Liberty Repository, such as runtime features, samples, or open source integration.
  To install add-on archive files from the local file system, click Add Archive. In the Add-on archive field, type or browse for the add-on archive file on the local file system, and then click OK. If we have more add-on archive files to install from the local file system, repeat this step until we are done.
  To install add-on files from a custom repository, first add the repository by clicking Configure Repositories. Click New... to add the repository. The files are then added to the list of add-on files.
6. In the License Acceptance page select I accept the terms of all the license agreements then click Next.
  Now we can skip to Step 6.
To download and install the no-charge developer edition of Liberty, complete the following steps:
1. Select Install from an archive or respository, and click Next.
2. In the Destination field, type or browse for the directory where we want to install the Liberty runtime environment.
  If we type a path that does not exist, then a folder for that path is created automatically at the end of Step 10.
3. Select Download and install a new runtime environment from ibm.com, choose a runtime environment version, and then click Next.
4. In the Install Add-ons page, click Install or Install Pending to make a selection of add-on archive files that we want to install on the Liberty runtime environment. We can install add-on archive files by one of the following methods:
  - From the local file system
  - By downloading files
  - By using a combination of both, when we install multiple add-on archive files
  To install add-on archive files from the local file system, complete the following steps:
  1. Click Add Archive.
  2. In the Add-on archive field, type or browse to the add-on archive file on the local file system.
  3. Click OK.
  If we have more add-on archive files to install from the local file system, repeat this procedure until we are done.
  To install add-on files from a custom repository, complete the following steps:
  1. To add the repository, click Configure Repositories.
  2. Click New....
  The files are then added to the list of add-on files.
  After completing your selection in the Install Add-ons page, click Next.
5. In the License Acceptance page, if you accept the license terms, select I accept the terms of all the license agreements then click Next.
  Now we can skip to Step 6.
If the tools display the Server type options, select Stand-alone server.
If the Liberty Server page displays, in the Liberty server field, use the drop-down list to select an existing server. Or click New to create a new server.
Note that this step is skipped and the New Liberty Server dialog is displayed directly if there are no defined Liberty Servers to choose from.
If we are creating a new server, in the Server name field of the New Liberty Server page, enter a server name of the choice or use the default server name, defaultServer. Then, click Next if available, otherwise click Finish.
In the Liberty Server, click Next.
Optional: Add the projects of the application to the server. On the Add and Remove page, under the Available list, select the projects we want to add to the server and click Add. The project appears in the Configured list.
Click Finish.
Click the Servers view to see the server that we created and its server configuration.
Click the Enterprise Explorers view to see the project, the server folder, and the server configuration files.

What to do next

Edit the server configuration.
Start or stop the server, add or remove applications on the server, and many other tasks. We can perform these tasks using the server context menu (right-click on the server to open the pop-up menu) or by selecting the tray buttons in the Servers view.
In the Servers view, we must select the server entry to perform these tasks. Do not select the server configuration, such as the Server Configuration [server.xml] entry for performing these tasks.
We can create and edit the server environment files in the product documentation.
Configure the server to do specific tasks such as configure Liberty to authenticate users with Tivoli Directory Server: Right-click Servers. Select Utilities> Add config snippets. After you select the snippets and accept any licenses, the selected configuration snippets are then downloaded and included in the server.xml file.