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WASService command

The WASService command line tool enables creation of a service for a product Java process on Linux and Windows operating systems.

Create services for WebSphere Application Server Java processes. Potential services include the following server processes:

(Windows) Note: Do not add an application server that is part of a federated or managed node as a Windows service. Use the node agent to manage federated nodes.

As an alternative to the WASService command, we can use the WASServiceHelper utility, which complements the WASService command and reduces possible configuration errors. See documentation about using the WASServiceHelper to create Windows services.

(Windows) To set up and run this function on a Microsoft Windows operating system, the user must belong to the administrator group and have the following advanced user rights:


Location of the command file

(Linux) The wasservice.sh command file is located in the app_server_root\bin directory.

(Windows) The WASService.exe command file is located in the app_server_root\bin directory.


Command syntax

Command syntax for starting an existing service

The command syntax is as follows:

(Linux)

(Windows)


Command syntax for creating a service or updating an existing service

The command syntax is as follows:

(Linux)

(Linux) Note: For WAS v7.0 and later versions, do not use the "@" sign as a prefix in the userid when specifying wasservice.sh. The use of the "@" sign as a prefix in the userid for wasservice.sh only applies to WAS v6.1.

Specify wasservice.sh with -userid @myuser should not be used in v7.0 and later.

(Windows)

Although the -logroot parameter is optional, it is advisable to include this optional parameter. In some cases, when we do not specify this optional parameter, we might see an error in the event log that says that the application server is attempting to create a service with the -logroot parameter.


Command syntax for deleting a service

The command syntax is as follows:

(Linux)

(Windows)


Command syntax for stopping a running service

The command syntax is as follows:

(Linux)

(Windows)


Command syntax for retrieving service status

The command syntax is as follows:

(Linux)

(Windows)


Required parameters

The following parameters are required with this command:

-profilePath server_profile_directory

Directory path of the profile that defines the server process.

-serverName server

Identify the server that the service controls.


Optional parameters

The following parameters are optional with this command:

-add service_name

Use this option to create a service named service_name or update an existing service. The syntax is the same for both cases.

-configRoot configuration_repository_directory (Windows only)

Identify the configuration directory of the installation root directory of a WAS product.

-encodeParams service_name (Windows only)

Use this option to force the service to encode the -startArgs and -stopArgs so that the arguments cannot be determined by editing the registry. Use the parameter when creating a service with the -add parameter by adding -encodeParams to the command line with no arguments.

(Windows) Or encode the parameters of an existing service:

    WASService -encodeParams service_name

-logFile service_log_file (Windows only)

Identify a log file that the WASService command uses to record its activity.

Be sure to specify the service log file as a fully qualified name having a unique path. If the system has multiple instances, then without this qualification, the results will be unpredictable and WASService will not be able to determine when initialization is complete.

-logRoot server_log_directory (Windows only)

Identify the server log directory for the profile. The WASService command looks for a file named server.pid to determine if the server is running.

-remove service_name

Use this option to delete the specified service.

-restart true | false (Windows only)

Specify whether or not the existing service restarts automatically if the service fails. The existing service does not restart automatically if we set the value to false. By default, the restart behavior is set to true, which enables the existing service to restart automatically if it fails.

-start service_name [optional startServer.bat parameters]

Start the existing service.

-startArgs additional_start_arguments

Identify additional parameters.

-startType automatic | manual | disabled (Windows only)

Use this option to define the startup type of the new service. An automatic startup type starts automatically when the system starts or when the service is called for the first time. We must start a manual service before the operating system can load it and make it available. We cannot start a disabled service before changing the startup type. By default, the value for this parameter is set to manual.

-status service_name

Return the current status of the service, which includes whether the service is running or stopped.

-stop service_name [optional stopServer.bat parameters]

Stop the specified service.

-stopArgs additional_stop_arguments

Specify additional parameters.

-userid user_id -password password

Identify a privileged user ID and password that the Windows service will run as.

-wasHome app_server_root

Identify the installation root directory of the product.

The following parameters are "Windows only" parameters:

An alternative for logging and throwing errors in Linux is to use the system's standard sysvinit to run the normal startServer.sh script.

CAUTION:

Unrecognized parameters are ignored.


Default names for services created by the wizard

The names of the services that the Profile Management Tool can create are:

Deployment manager

IBM WAS V9.x - node_of_the_deployment_manager_node

Application server

IBM WAS V9.x - node_of_the_server1_node

Custom profile

After federating the node and creating an application server, a service can be created called IBM WAS V9.x - node_of_the_managed_node.

After creating a custom profile, we must federate the node to create a node agent server on the node. We can also use the administrative console of the deployment manager to create application server processes on the node. Create a Windows service for the node agent server process.

A node agent server is also created after adding an application server node to a deployment manager cell. Create a service for the node agent server process as described later.


View the services panel

To view services, open the Control panel and click Administrative Tools > Services. Select a service to view information about it. Right-click the service and click Properties. Four tabs provide information and functionality. For example, select the Setup type field on the General tab to change the setup type.

(Windows)

Examples


Create a deployment manager service

This example creates a service called IBM WAS V9.x - name_of_the_deployment_manager_service that starts the dmgr process:

    WASService -add name_of_the_deployment_manager_service
               -servername deployment_manager_server
               -profilePath profile_root
               -wasHome app_server_root
               -logFile WS_startManager.log
               -logRoot profile_root\logs\deployment_manager_server
               -restart true

where

After entering the command, messages that are similar to those in the following example display in the command window:

To work with the new service click...


Create a node agent service

This example creates a service called IBM WAS V9.x - name_of_the_node_agent_service that starts the node agent server process:

    WASService -add name_of_the_node_agent_service
               -servername node_agent_server
               -profilePath profile_root
               -wasHome app_server_root
               -logFile WS_startNode.log
               -logRoot profile_root\logs\node_agent_server
               -restart true
where

After entering the command, messages that are similar to those in the following example display in the command window:


Create an application server service

This example creates a service called IBM WAS V9.x - name_of_the_application_server_service that starts an application server process:

WASService -add name_of_the_application_server_service
           -servername application_server
           -profilePath profile_root
           -wasHome app_server_root
           -logFile WS_startServer.log
           -logRoot profile_root\logs\application_server
           -restart true
where

After entering the command, messages that are similar to those in the following example display in the command window:


Update an existing application server service

This example for the Windows operating system updates an existing service called IBM WAS V9.x - Server2 Service with additional stop arguments, the user name and password. The parameters are automatically passed into the script that the Windows service uses to shut down the system.

    WASService -add "Server2 Service"
               -servername server2
               -profilePath profile_root
               -logRoot profile_root\logs\server2
               -stopArgs "-username user_name  -password password"
               -encodeParams

(Windows)

Restart a server process after creating a Windows service

For this Windows operating system example, if we issue the startServer server1 command or the stopServer server1 after creating a Windows service for server1, a message that is similar to the following example displays:

Because server1 is registered to run as a Windows Service, the request to start this server will be completed by starting the associated Windows Service.

If we issue the startNode command or the stopNode command after creating a Windows service for the nodeagent process, a message that is similar to the following example displays:

If we issue the startManager command or the stopManager command after creating a Windows service for the deployment manager, a message that is similar to the following example displays:

Because dmgr is registered to run as a Windows Service, the request to start or stop this server will be completed by starting or stopping the associated Windows Service. Examine the log files to view messages related to this command.

Creating and removing a WebSphere service in Windows can be confusing and error prone. For help in any diagnosing errors, see the information on using WASServiceCmd to create Windows services for WASs.


  • Automatically restarting server processes
  • Use the WASServiceHelper utility to create Windows services for application servers
  • Access problems after enabling security