Creating a WAS

Creating a WAS

You can create a server to specify a WebSphere® Application Server runtime environment for testing or publishing your project resources. Example usages of a runtime environment are compiling an application, connecting to a server, and publishing applications on a server.

The following are examples of default installation directory for a WAS runtime environment:

A stand-alone server is available when you purchase the WAS and its installation is located at C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer

An integrated test environment is available when installing WAS using the Installation Manager that comes with the installation of the IBM® Rational® Software Delivery Platform and its installation is located at C:\Program Files\IBM\SDP\runtimes\base_vX

A stub directory is available when selecting the Tools for WAS, version X.X feature from the Installation Manager that comes with the installation of the of IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform and its installation is located at C:\Program Files\IBM\SDP\runtimes\base_vX_stub
Where X is the version-level of the WAS, such as V7.0, V6.1 or V6.0.
The task of creating a WAS involves creating a reference from the workbench to an existing installation of an application server and its profile. You can use this reference to handle your server requests from the workbench. An example of visualizing this reference, is the server entry that displays in the Servers view:
Prerequisite

An installation of WAS installed either on the same or on a remote computer from the development workbench

If the WAS is installed using the Installation Manager that comes with the installation of the IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform, this task is already completed for you. A WAS entry is created in the Servers view. This server entry contains a reference to the integrated WAS test environment and its default server profile. If you want to create another reference to a local installation of the WAS or you want to create a reference to a remote installation of the WAS, complete the following steps:

Select any of the following options:

In the Servers view (

Window | Show View | Servers), right-click and select

New | Server.

In the menu bar, click
File > New > Other. Expand the
Server folder, select
Server and click Next.

The New Server wizard opens. This wizard defines a new server, that contains information required to point to a specific runtime environment for local or remote testing, or for publishing to an application server.

In the
Server's host name field, you can provide the fully qualified domain name system (DNS) name or Internet protocol (IP) address of the host machine that where the server is running. By default, this field is completed with the default address: localhost. This localhost address is used for connecting to a local server. If you want to connect to a remote server, specify its DNS or IP address in this field.

In the
Select the server type list, under the IBM folder select one of the following servers you want to create:

WAS v7.0

WAS v6.1

WAS v6.0

(Optional) In the
Server name field, type a label to identify this server entry in the Servers view. By default, this field is completed with the following naming conventions: server type @ host name, for example WebSphere Application Server v7.0 at localhost.

If the workbench has a reference to a WAS runtime environment, a
Server runtime list is available to select a runtime environment. When selecting a runtime environment follow these guidelines:

If you want to perform actions on a local installation of the WAS, select the runtime environment that defines an installation directory to a local server, such as a stand-alone or the integrated test environment. When publishing the application on the server, the runtime environment publishes the application in the directories of the local server.

If you want to perform actions on a remote installation of the WAS, you need to select a runtime environment that defines either a local installation or a stub directory of the server. When publishing the application on the server, the application is not going to publish in the local installation of the server nor the stub directory, instead these runtime environments contain the libraries to connect and publish to the remote server.
In addition, you can add additional runtime environments by clicking the
Add link or you can modify the runtime environments defined in the workbench by clicking the
Configure runtimes link.

Click Next to configure additional settings.

If the workbench does not have a reference to the server runtime environment, the New Server wizard is going to prompt you for this information in the
WebSphere Runtime page. Otherwise, the
WebSphere Runtime page does not display in the New Server wizard.

(Optional) In the Name field, type a label to identify this server entry in the Server Runtime Environments preference page (

Window | Preferences | Server | Runtime Environments ).

In the
Installation directory field, type or browse to the path where the WAS is installed. This path is the same as the WAS_ROOT path mappings as defined by the WAS configuration. For example, if you have installed WAS in c:/WebSphere/AppServer directory, then specify this in the Installation directory field.

Click Next to configure WAS settings.

On the
WebSphere Server Settings page, specify one or more of the following settings:

Option Description
WebSphere profile name In the drop-down list, select the name of the profile of WAS. A profile is the set of files that define the runtime environment. For information on creating a profile, see Creating a profile.
This option is available only when running a local server and not available when running a remote server.
Server connection type and administrative port The administrative ports are used to communicate requests between the workbench and the server. The following ports are used for making Java™ Management Extensions (JMX) connections with the server:

The remote method invocation (RMI), also known as the ORB bootstrap, port is designed to improve performance and communication with the server. The default setting of the RMI port is 2809

The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) connector port is designed to be more firewall compatible. The default setting of the SOAP port is 8880

The InterProcess Connector (IPC) port is available only for a local WAS v7.0, It is designed to be a more stable and robust connection between the workbench and the local server. The default setting of the IPC port is 9633
Use one of the following radio button to select how you want the workbench to connect to the server:

The Automatically determine connection settings option is available only for local servers and by default is selected when working with a local server. It retrieves the port values directly from the configuration files of the server defined in its profile and attempts to connect to one of these available ports.

The Manually provide connection settings option allows you to select which connection types you want to use. It is available for both local and remote servers. In the case of a remote server, you are restricted to using this option and provide the correct port numbers for each connection type you choose.

Run server with resources within the workspace This check box enables you to run your application from within the workbench without publishing to the server. As a result, your application will not get copied to the server under the installedApp folder (x:/profiles/profile_name/installedApps, where x is the installation directory where WAS is installed). This option is available only when running a local server and not available when running a remote server. For local servers, this check box is enabled by default.
If this check box is clear, the workbench runs the server with resource on the server. This publishes your application on the targeted server. As a result, the enterprise application (EAR) file is automatically published to the server by expanding into the installedApps folder (x:/profiles/profile_name/installedApps, where x is the installation directory where WAS is installed).
Security is enabled on this server Enables the security feature that comes with WebSphere Application Server. When security is not enabled, all other security settings are ignored. For more details about this security option, see Specifying administrative settings to a secured WAS.
WebSphere Server name Specify the name of the server instance of WebSphere Application Server. The server name is the same as the server-level name in the server configuration. The server instance with the given instance name must already be created on the server.

(Optional) Click the
Test Connection link to verify if you have a successful connection between the workbench and the server. Before using the Test Connection link, the server requires to be started.

Tip: To ensure a successful connection, verify the following:

The actual server is started.

A profile to the server runtime environment is correctly specified under the WebSphere profile name field.

If you are manually providing the connection settings, verify the correct port values are specified.

(Optional) Click Next to add the projects of your application to the server. On the Add and Remove Projects page, under the Available projects list, select the project that you want to test and click
Add. The project appears in the configured projects list.

(Optional) A Next button might be available to click depending on what type of projects you are adding to the server. If the Next button is available and you select it, the
Select Task page opens. In the Select Task page, use the check boxes to select tasks to be performed on the server, such as create tables and data source.

Click Finish.

Related concepts

Servers view

Related tasks

Publishing settings for a WAS
Defining the installed server runtime environments preferences

Related reference

Unable to connect to a remote WAS hosted on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux machine

Option	Description
WebSphere profile name	In the drop-down list, select the name of the profile of WAS. A profile is the set of files that define the runtime environment. For information on creating a profile, see Creating a profile. This option is available only when running a local server and not available when running a remote server.
Server connection type and administrative port	The administrative ports are used to communicate requests between the workbench and the server. The following ports are used for making Java™ Management Extensions (JMX) connections with the server: The remote method invocation (RMI), also known as the ORB bootstrap, port is designed to improve performance and communication with the server. The default setting of the RMI port is 2809 The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) connector port is designed to be more firewall compatible. The default setting of the SOAP port is 8880 The InterProcess Connector (IPC) port is available only for a local WAS v7.0, It is designed to be a more stable and robust connection between the workbench and the local server. The default setting of the IPC port is 9633 Use one of the following radio button to select how you want the workbench to connect to the server: The Automatically determine connection settings option is available only for local servers and by default is selected when working with a local server. It retrieves the port values directly from the configuration files of the server defined in its profile and attempts to connect to one of these available ports. The Manually provide connection settings option allows you to select which connection types you want to use. It is available for both local and remote servers. In the case of a remote server, you are restricted to using this option and provide the correct port numbers for each connection type you choose.
Run server with resources within the workspace	This check box enables you to run your application from within the workbench without publishing to the server. As a result, your application will not get copied to the server under the installedApp folder (x:/profiles/profile_name/installedApps, where x is the installation directory where WAS is installed). This option is available only when running a local server and not available when running a remote server. For local servers, this check box is enabled by default. If this check box is clear, the workbench runs the server with resource on the server. This publishes your application on the targeted server. As a result, the enterprise application (EAR) file is automatically published to the server by expanding into the installedApps folder (x:/profiles/profile_name/installedApps, where x is the installation directory where WAS is installed).
Security is enabled on this server	Enables the security feature that comes with WebSphere Application Server. When security is not enabled, all other security settings are ignored. For more details about this security option, see Specifying administrative settings to a secured WAS.
WebSphere Server name	Specify the name of the server instance of WebSphere Application Server. The server name is the same as the server-level name in the server configuration. The server instance with the given instance name must already be created on the server.