Administrative console scope settings

Use this page to specify the level at which a resource is visible on the administrative console panel. A resource can be visible in the administrative console collection table at the cell, node, cluster, or server scope. By changing the value for Scope you can see other variables that apply to a resource and might change the contents of the collection table.

Click Browse next to a field to see choices for limiting the scope of the field. If a field is read-only, you cannot change the scope. For example, if only one server exists, you cannot switch the scope to a different server.

You always create resources at the current scope that is selected in the administrative console panel, even though the resources might be visible at more than one scope.

Resources such as JDBC providers, namespace bindings, or shared libraries can be defined at multiple scopes. Resources that are defined at more specific scopes override duplicate resources that are defined at more general scopes.

• The application scope has precedence over all the scopes.

• The server scope has precedence over the node, cell, and cluster scopes.

• The cluster scope has precedence over the node and cell scopes.

• The node scope has precedence over the cell scope.

Despite the scope of a defined resource, the resource properties only apply at an individual server level. For example, if you define the scope of a data source at the cell level, all the users in that cell can look up and use that data source, which is unique within that cell. However, resource property settings are local to each server in the cell. For example, if you define the maximum connections as 10, then each server in that cell can have 10 connections.

The cell scope is the most general scope and does not override any other scope. The recommendation is that you generally specify a more specific scope than the cell scope. When you define a resource at a more specific scope, you provide greater isolation for the resource. When you define a resource at a more general scope, you provide less isolation. Greater exposure to cross-application conflicts occur for a resource that you define at a more general scope.

Cell

Limits the visibility to all servers on the named cell. The resource factories within the cell scope are:

• Defined for all servers within this cell

• Overridden by any resource factories that are defined within application, server, cluster and node scopes that are in this cell and have the same Java
  Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) name

The resource providers that are required by the resource factories must be installed on every node within the cell before applications can bind or use them.

Cluster

Limits the visibility to all the servers on the named cluster. All cluster members must at least be at Version 6 to use cluster scope for the cluster. The resource factories that are defined within the cluster scope:

• Are available for all the members of this cluster to use

• Override any resource factories that have the same JNDI name that is defined within the cell scope

The resource factories that are defined within the cell scope are available for this cluster to use, in addition to the resource factories, that are defined within this cluster scope.

Node

Limits the visibility to all the servers on the named node. The node scope is the default scope for most resource types. The resource factories that are defined within the node scope:

• Are available for servers on this node to use

• Override any resource factories that have the same JNDI name defined within the cell scope

The resource factories that are defined within the cell scope are available for servers on this node to use, in addition to the resource factories that are defined within this node scope.

Server

Limits the visibility to the named server. The server scope is the most specific scope for defining resources. The resource factories that are defined within the server scope:

• Are available for applications that are deployed on this server

• Override any resource factories that have the same JNDI name defined within the node and cell scopes

The resource factories that are defined within the node and cell scopes are available for this server to use, in addition to the resource factories that are defined within this server scope.

Application

Limits the visibility to the named application. Application scope resources cannot be configured from the console. Use the WebSphere Application Server Toolkit (AST) or the wsadmin tool to view or modify the application scope resource configuration. The resource factories that are defined within the application scope are available for this application to use only. The application scope overrides all other scopes.

You can configure resources and WebSphere Application Server variables under all five scopes. You can configure namespace bindings and shared libraries only under cell, node, and server scopes.