Configuration data is stored in several XML files. The server runtime reads these files when started and responds to the component settings stored there. The configuration data includes settings for the runtime itself, such as JVM options, thread pool sizes, container setting, and port numbers the server will use. Other configuration files define J2EE resources to which the server will connect to obtain data needed by the application logic. Security settings are stored in a separate document from the server and resource configuration. Applcation-specific configuration, such as deployment target lists, session configuration, and cache settings, are stored in files under the root directory of each application.
The configuration model for WebSphere Application Server is large and complex. When viewing the XML data in the various configuration files, you can discern relationship between the configuration objects. Understanding these relationships between configuration objects is essential when writing wsadmin scripts that perform configuration functions.
Full documentation of all of the WebSphere configuration objects is available in an html table that is installed in each copy of the WebSphere product.
Under the main install directory for the product, there is a directory named web. And under that directory is another directory called configDocs. In the configDocs directory are several subdirectories, one for each configuration package in the model. There is also an index.html file that ties all the individual configuration packages together in a top-level navigation tree. Each configuration package lists all the supported configuration classes. Each configuration class lists all the supported properties. Properties with names that end with the special @ character imply that property is actually a reference to some other configuration object within the configuration data. Properties with names that end with an * imply that property is actaully a list of other configuration objects.
Related concepts
Jacl
Jython
Scripting objects
Related tasks
Getting started with scripting
Starting the wsadmin scripting client