WAS v8.5 > Set up the application serving environment > Manage profiles > Manage profiles using the graphical user interface

Create management profiles with administrative agents


Overview

We can create a management profile for the administrative agent to administer multiple application servers that run customer applications only. The administrative agent provides a single dmgr console to administer the application servers.

Before using the Profile Management Tool, install the product files.

The Profile Management Tool is the graphical user interface for the manageprofiles command.

Provide enough system temporary space to create a profile.

When you launch the Profile Management Tool, the tool could lock up in the following situation for a non-root user: Log into a machine as root, use the SetPermissions utility to change the user from x to y. Assume that you are user x and log back into the machine. Launch the Profile Management Tool, click Profile Management Tool, and click Create. The next click after the click on Create could lock up the tool.


Solaris

When we use the Profile Management Tool with the Motif graphical user interface on the Solaris operating system, the default size of the Profile Management Tool might be too small to view all the messages and buttons of the Profile Management Tool. To fix the problem, add the following lines to the app_server_root/.Xdefaults file:

After adding the lines, run the following command before launching the Profile Management Tool:


Create a Profile

After installing the core product files for the product, create a profile. This procedure describes creating a management profile with an administrative agent server using the graphical user interface provided by the Profile Management Tool. We can also use the manageprofiles command to create an administrative agent.

We can create profiles with the Profile Management Tool using the typical profile creation process or the advanced profile creation process. The typical profile creation process uses default settings and assigns unique port values. We can optionally set values as allowed. For the advanced profile creation process we can accept the default values, or specify our own values.

  1. Start the Profile Management Tool to create a new runtime environment.

    We can use one of the following ways to start the tool.

    • Issue the command to open the WebSphere Customization Toolbox directly from a command prompt; then, open the Profile Management Tool.

    • Select the WebSphere Customization Toolbox option from the First steps console; then, open the Profile Management Tool.

    • Use the Start menu to access the WebSphere Customization Toolbox; then, open the Profile Management Tool.

    • Use the Linux operating system menus used to start programs to start the WebSphere Customization Toolbox; then, open the Profile Management Tool.

  2. Click Create on the Profiles tab to create a new profile.

    The Profiles tab contains a list of profiles that have been created on your machine. No action can be done on a selected profile unless the profile can be augmented. The Augment button is greyed out unless a profile that you select can be augmented.

    The tool displays the Environment selection panel.

  3. Select Management, and click Next.

    The Server type selection panel is displayed.

    The Profile creation options panel is displayed.

  4. Select Administrative agent. Click Next.

    The Profile creation options panel is displayed.

  5. If we selected Typical profile creation, go to the step on administrative security.

  6. If we selected Advanced profile creation, optionally select to deploy the dmgr console and then click Next.

    If we chose not to deploy the dmgr console, then the dmgr console ports are disabled on the Ports panel.

    The tool displays the Profile name and location panel.

  7. Specify a name for the profile and the directory path for the profile directory, or accept the default values. Then, click Next.

    Profile naming guidelines: Double-byte characters are supported. The profile name can be any unique name with the following restrictions. Do not use any of the following characters when naming your profile:

    • Spaces
    • Special characters that are not supported within the name of a directory on your operating system, such as *&?
    • Slashes (/) or (\)

    The default profile

    The first profile that you create on a machine is the default profile. The default profile is the default target for commands issued from the bin directory in the product installation root. When only one profile exists on a machine, every command works on the single server process in the configuration. We can make another profile the default profile when we create that profile by checking Make this profile the default on the Profile name and location panel of the Advanced profile creation path. We can also make another profile the default profile using the manageprofiles command after you create the profile.

    Addressing a profile in a multiprofile environment

    When multiple profiles exist on a machine, certain commands require specified the profile to which the command applies if the profile is not the default profile. These commands use the -profileName parameter to identify which profile to address. You might find it easier to use the commands that are in the bin directory of each profile.

    Use these commands to query the command shell to determine the calling profile and to address these commands to the calling profile.

    Default profile information

    The default profile name is <profile_type><profile_number>:

    • <profile_type> is a value of AppSrv, Dmgr, Custom, AdminAgent, JobMgr, or SecureProxySrv.
    • <profile_number> is a sequential number used to create a unique profile name

    The default profile directory is app_server_root/profiles, where app_server_root is the installation root.

    The default profile directory is...

      app_server_root\profiles

  8. On the Node, host, and cell names panel, specify a unique node name, the actual host name of the machine, and a unique cell name. Click Next.

    Characteristics of the administrative agent node.

    This table shows the characteristics of the administrative agent node.

    Field name Default Constraints Description
    Node name

      shortHostName AANode NodeNumber

    where:

    • shortHostName is the short host name.
    • NodeNumber is a sequential number starting at 01.

    		Use a unique name for the administrative agent. The name is used for administration within the administrative agent cell.
    Host name The long form of the domain name server (DNS) name. The host name must be addressable through your network. Use the actual DNS name or IP address of your machine to enable communication with your machine.
    Cell name

      shortHostName Cell CellNumber

    where:

    • shortHostName is the short host name.
    • CellNumber is a sequential number starting at 01.

    		Use a unique name for the cell. If we plan to migrate a v7 or v8 cell to v8.5, use the same cell name as the v7 or v8 cell. A cell name must be unique in any circumstance in which the product is running on the same physical machine or cluster of machines, such as a sysplex. Additionally, a cell name must be unique in any circumstance in which network connectivity between entities is required either between the cells or from a client that must communicate with each of the cells. Cell names must also be unique if their namespaces are federated. Otherwise, you might encounter symptoms such as a javax.naming.NameNotFoundException error, in which case, create uniquely named cells. All federated nodes become members of the cell, which you name in this panel.

    Reserved names: Avoid using reserved folder names as field values. The use of reserved folder names can cause unpredictable results. The following terms are reserved folder names:

    • cells
    • nodes
    • servers
    • clusters
    • applications
    • deployments

    Directory path length:

    The number of characters in the profiles_directory_path\profile_name directory must be less than or equal to 80 characters.

    Host name considerations:

    The host name is the network name for the physical machine on which the node is installed. The host name must resolve to a physical network node on the server. When multiple network cards exist in the server, the host name or IP address must resolve to one of the network cards. Remote nodes use the host name to connect to and communicate with this node. Selecting a host name that other machines can reach within your network is important. Do not use the generic identifier, localhost, for this value. Also, do not attempt to install WebSphere Application Server products on a machine with a host name that uses characters from a double-byte character set (DBCS). DBCS characters are not supported when used in the host name.

    If we define coexisting nodes on the same computer with unique IP addresses, then define each IP address in a domain name server (DNS) look-up table. Configuration files for standalone application servers do not provide domain name resolution for multiple IP addresses on a machine with a single network address.

    The value specified for the host name is used as the value of the hostName property in configuration documents for the standalone application server. Specify the host name value in one of the following formats:

    • Fully qualified domain name server (DNS) host name string, such as xmachine.manhattan.ibm.com
    • The default short DNS host name string, such as xmachine
    • Numeric IP address, such as 127.1.255.3

    The fully qualified DNS host name has the advantages of being unambiguous and flexible. You have the flexibility of changing the actual IP address for the host system without having to change the application server configuration. This value for the host name is particularly useful if you plan to change the IP address frequently when using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign IP addresses. A disadvantage of this format is dependency on DNS. If DNS is not available, then connectivity is compromised.

    The short host name is also dynamically resolvable. A short name format has the added function of being redefined in the local hosts file so the system can run the application server, even when disconnected from the network. To run disconnected, define the short name as the loopback address, 127.0.0.1, in the hosts file to run disconnected. A disadvantage of this format is a dependency on DNS for remote access. If DNS is not available, then connectivity is compromised.

    A numeric IP address has the advantage of not requiring name resolution through DNS. A remote node can connect to the node that you name with a numeric IP address without DNS being available. A disadvantage of this format is the numeric IP address is fixed. You must change the setting of the hostName property in Express configuration documents whenever you change the machine IP address. Therefore, do not use a numeric IP address if we use DHCP, or if you change IP addresses regularly. Another disadvantage of this format is that we cannot use the node if the host is disconnected from the network.

    After displaying characteristics, the tool displays the Administrative security panel.

  9. Optionally enable administrative security, and click Next.

    We can enable administrative security now during profile creation, or later from the console. If we enable administrative security now, then enter a user name and password to log onto the dmgr console.

    After specifying security characteristics, the tool displays the Security certificate panel if you previously selected Advanced profile creation.

  10. If we selected Typical profile creation at the beginning of these steps, then go to the step that displays the Profile summary panel.

  11. Verify the ports within the administrative agent profile are unique, or intentionally conflicting, and click Next.

    If we chose not to deploy the dmgr console, then the dmgr console ports are disabled on the Ports panel.

    Port conflict resolution

    Ports are recognized as being in use if one of the following conditions exists:

    • The ports are assigned to a profile created from an installation that is performed by the current user.
    • The port is currently in use.

    Validation of ports occurs when we access the Port value assignment panel. Conflicts can still occur between the Port value assignment panel and the Profile creation complete panel because ports are not assigned until profile creation completes.

    If we suspect a port conflict, then we can investigate the port conflict after the profile is created. Determine the ports used during profile creation by examining the following files.

      profile_root/properties/portdef.props

    Included in this file are the keys and values used in setting the ports. If we discover ports conflicts, then we can reassign ports manually. To reassign ports, run the updatePorts.ant file using the ws_ant script.

    The tool displays the Windows service definition panel if you are installing on a Windows operating system and the installation ID has the administrative group privilege. The tool displays the Linux service definition panel if you are installing on a supported Linux operating system and the ID that runs the Profile Management Tool is the root user.

  12. Choose whether to run the administrative agent process as a Windows service on a Windows operating system or as a Linux service on a Linux operating system, and click Next.

    The Windows service definition panel is displayed for the Windows operating system only if the ID that installs the Windows service has the administrator group privilege. However, we can run the WASService.exe command to create the Windows service as long as the installer ID belongs to the administrator group. Read about automatically restarting server processes for more information.

    WAS v8.5 attempts to start Windows services for administrative agent processes that are started by a startServer command. For example, if you configure an administrative agent as a Windows service and issue the startServer command, then the wasservice command attempts to start the defined service.

    If we chose to install a local system service, then we do not have to specify the user ID or password. If we create a specified user type of service, then specify the user ID and the password for the user who runs the service. The user must have Log on as a service authority for the service to run correctly. If the user does not have Log on as a service authority, then the Profile Management tool automatically adds the authority.

    To perform this profile creation task, the user ID must not contain spaces. In addition to belonging to the administrator group, the ID must also have the advanced user right of Log on as a service. The Installation program grants the user ID the advanced user right if the user ID does not already have the advanced user right and if the user ID belongs to the administrator group.

    We can also create other Windows services after the installation is complete to start other server processes. Read about automatically restarting server processes for more information.

    We can remove the Windows service that is added during profile creation during profile deletion. We can also remove the Windows service with the wasservice command.

    IPv6 considerations

    Profiles created to run as a Windows service fail to start when using Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) if the service is configured to run as local system. Create a user-specific environment variable to enable IPv6. Since this environment variable is a user variable instead of a local system variable, only a Windows service that runs as that specific user can access this environment variable. By default, when a new profile is created and configured to run as a Windows service, the service is set to run as local system. When the Windows service for the administrative agent process attempts to run, the service is unable to access the user environment variable that specifies IPv6, and thus, attempts to start as IPv4. The server does not start correctly in this case. To resolve the problem, when creating the profile, specify the Windows service for the administrative agent process runs as the same user ID from which the environment variable that specifies IPv6 is defined, instead of as local system.

    The following default values for the Windows service definition panel exist:

    • The default is to run as a Windows service.
    • The service process is selected to run as a system account.
    • The user account is the current user name. User name requirements are the requirements the Windows operating system imposes for a user ID.
    • The startup type is automatic. The values for the startup type are those values the Windows operating system imposes. If we want a startup type other than automatic, we can either select another available option from the menu or change the startup type after you create the profile. We can also remove the created service after profile creation, and add it later with the desired startup type. Choose not to create a service at profile creation time and optionally create the service later with the desired startup type.

    The Linux service definition panel is displayed if the current operating system is a supported version of Linux operating systems, and the current user has the appropriate permissions.

    WAS v8.5 attempts to start Linux services for application server processes that are started by a startServer command. For example, if you configure an application server as a Linux service and issue the startServer command, then the wasservice command attempts to start the defined service.

    By default, the product is not selected to run as a Linux service.

    To create the service, the user that runs the Profile Management Tool must be the root user. If we run the Profile Management Tool with a non-root user ID, then the Linux service definition panel is not displayed, and no service is created.

    When creating a Linux service, specify a user name from which the service runs.

    To delete a Linux service, the user must be the root user or have appropriate privileges for deleting the service. Otherwise, a removal script is created the root user can run to delete the service for the user.

    The tool displays the Profile creation summary panel.

  13. Click Create to create the management profile for the administrative agent, or click Back to change the characteristics of the profile.

    The Profile creation progress panel, which shows the configuration commands that are running, is displayed.

    When the profile creation completes, the tool displays the Profile creation complete panel.

  14. Optionally, select Launch the First steps console. Click Finish to exit.

    With the First steps console, we can create additional profiles and start the application server.


Results

We created a management profile for the administrative agent.

Refer to the description of the manageprofiles command to learn about creating a profile using a command instead of the Profile Management Tool.

Register application servers with the administrative agent using the registerNode command. Then, access the administrative agent console to administer the application servers.


Related concepts:

Profile concepts


Reference:

Profiles: File-system requirements


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