Extending the WebSphere Application Server administrative system with custom MBeans

You can extend the WebSphere Application Server administration system by supplying and registering new Java Management Extensions (JMX) MBeans (see JMX 1.0 Specification for details) in one of the WebSphere processes. JMX MBeans represent the management interface for a particular piece of logic. All of the managed resources within the standard WebSphere infrastructure are represented as JMX MBeans. There are a variety of ways in which you can create your own MBeans and register them with the JMX MBeanServer running in any WebSphere process. For more information, view the MBean API documentation.

1. Create custom JMX MBeans.

   You have some alternatives to select from, when creating MBeans to extend the WebSphere administrative system. You can use any existing JMX MBean from another application. You can register any MBean that you tested in a JMX MBean server outside of the WebSphere Application Server environment in a WebSphere Application Server process, including standard MBeans, dynamic MBeans, open MBeans, and model MBeans.

   In addition to any existing JMX MBeans, and ones that were written and tested outside of the WebSphere Application Server environment, you can use the special distributed extensions provided by WebSphere and create a WebSphere ExtensionMBean provider. This alternative provides better integration with all of the distributed functions of the WebSphere administrative system. An ExtensionMBean provider implies that you supply an XML file that contains an MBean Descriptor based on the DTD shipped with the WebSphere Application Server. This descriptor tells the WebSphere system all of the attributes, operations, and notifications that your MBean supports. With this information, the WebSphere system can route remote requests to your MBean and register remote Listeners to receive your MBean event notifications.

   All of the internal WebSphere MBeans follow the Model MBean pattern. Pure Java classes supply the real logic for management functions, and the WebSphere MBeanFactory class reads the description of these functions from the XML MBean Descriptor and creates an instance of a ModelMBean that matches the descriptor. This ModelMBean instance is bound to your Java classes and registered with the MBeanServer running in the same process as your classes. Your Java code now becomes callable from any WebSphere Application Server administrative client through the ModelMBean created and registered to represent it.

2. Optionally define an explicit MBean security policy.

   If you do not define an MBean security policy, WebSphere Application Server uses the default security policy.

3. Register the new MBeans. There are various ways to register your MBean.

   You can register your MBean with the WebSphere Application Server administrative service. You can register your MBean with the MBeanServer in a WebSphere Application Server process. The following list describes the available options in order of preference:

   • Go through the MBeanFactory class. If you want the greatest possible integration with the WebSphere Application Server system, then use the MBeanFactory class to manage the life cycle of your MBean through the activateMBean and deactivateMBean methods of the MBeanFactory class. Use these methods, by supplying a subclass of the RuntimeCollaborator abstract superclass and an XML MBean descriptor file. Using this approach, you supply a pure Java class that implements the management interface defined in the MBean descriptor. The MBeanFactory class creates the actual ModelMBean and registers it with the WebSphere Application Server administrative system on your behalf.

     This option is recommended for registering model MBeans.

   • Use the JMXManageable and CustomService interface. You can make the process of integrating with WebSphere administration even easier by implementing a CustomService interface that also implements the JMXManageable interface. Using this approach, you can avoid supplying the RuntimeCollaborator. When your CustomService interface is initialized, the WebSphere MBeanFactory class reads your XML MBean descriptor file and creates, binds, and registers an MBean to your CustomService interface automatically. After the shutdown method of your CustomService is called, the WebSphere Application Server system automatically deactivates your MBean.

   • Go through the AdminService interface. You can call the registerMBean() method on the AdminService interface and the invocation is delegated to the underlying MBeanServer for the process, after appropriate security checks. You can obtain a reference to the AdminService using the getAdminService() method of the AdminServiceFactory class.

     This option is recommended for registering standard, dynamic, and open MBeans. Implement the UserCollaborator class to use the MBeans and to provide a consistent level of support for them across distributed and z/OS platforms.

   • Get MBeanServer instances directly. You can get a direct reference to the JMX MBeanServer instance running in any WebSphere Application Server process, by calling the getMBeanServer() method of the MBeanFactory class. You get a reference to the MBeanFactory class by calling the getMBeanFactory() method of the AdminService interface. Registering the MBean directly with the MBeanServer instance can result in that MBean not participating fully in the distributed features of the WebSphere Application Server administrative system.

ResultRegardless of the approach used to create and register your MBean, set up proper Java 2 security permissions for your new MBean code. The WebSphere AdminService and MBeanServer are tightly protected using Java 2 security permissions and if you do not explicitly grant your code base permissions, security exceptions are thrown when you attempt to invoke methods of these classes. If you are supplying your MBean as part of your application, you can set the permissions in the was.policy file that you supply as part of your application metadata. If you are using a CustomService interface or other code that is not delivered as an application, you can edit the library.policy file in the node configuration, or even the server.policy file in the properties directory for a specific installation.