Define application server processes

To enhance the operation of an application server, we can define command-line information for starting or initializing an application server process. Such settings define runtime properties such as the program to run, arguments to run the program, and the working directory.

A process definition can include characteristics such as JVM settings, standard in, error and output paths, and the user ID and password under which a server runs.

We can define application server processes using the administrative console or wsadmin.sh.

1. In the administrative console, click Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers, and then click on an application server name.

2. In the Server Infrastructure section, click Java and process management > Process definition.

3. (zos) Select either Control, Servant, or Adjunct.

4. On the settings page for a process definition, specify the name of the executable to run, any arguments to pass when the process starts running, and the working directory in which the process will run. Then click OK.

5. Specify process execution statements for starting or initializing a UNIX or IBM i process.

6. Specify monitoring policies to track the performance of a process.

7. Specify process logs to which standard out and standard error streams write. Complete this step if we do not want to use the default file names.

8. Specify name-value pairs for properties needed by the process definition.

   Avoid trouble: Each custom property name must be unique. If the same name is used for multiple properties, the process uses the value specified for the first property that has that name.gotcha

9. Optional: Prevent the application server from creating javacore dumps.

   A javacore dump, or a thread dump as it is also called, is one of the primary problem determination documents that an application server creates. Also, the performance impact of creating a javacore dump is usually ignorable. Therefore, in most product environments, you should not suppress the creation of a javacore dump.

   In certain circumstances, such as when there are security consideration, you might want to prevent the application server from creating javacore dumps. To disable the javacore dump function:

   1. In the administrative console, click Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers > server_name, and then in the Server Infrastructure section, click Java and process management > Process definition > JVM > Custom properties > New

   2. In the Name field enter DISABLE_JAVADUMP and in the Value field, enter true to prevent the application server from creating javacore dumps.

10. Stop the application server, and then have the executable, that the process definition specifies, restart the server. If the executable cannot restart the application server, the executable should use the generic server.

11. Check the server to verify that the process definition runs and operates as intended.

Subtopics

• Process definition settings
  Use this page to configure a process definition. A process definition includes the command line information necessary to start or initialize a process.

• (zos) Run multiple TCP/IP stacks
  We might want to run multiple TCP/IP stacks on the same system to provide network isolation for one or more of the applications. For instance, you may have multiple Open System Adapter (OSA) features, each one connecting the system to a different network. We can assign a TCP/IP stack to each feature.

• Automatically restarting server processes
  There are several server processes that the operating system can monitor and automatically restart when the server processes stop abnormally.

Related tasks

Manage profiles for nonroot users

Configure processes