WebSphere activation specification optional binding properties

J2C authentication alias

If you provide values for user name and password as custom properties on an activation specification, you may not want to have those values exposed in clear text for security reasons. WebSphere security allows you to securely define an authentication alias for such cases. Configuration of activation specifications, both as an administrative object and during application deployment enable you to use the authentication alias instead of providing the user name and password.

If you set the authentication alias field, then you should not set the user name and password custom properties fields. Also, authentication alias properties set as part of application deployment take precedence over properties set on an activation specification administrative object.

Only the authentication alias is ever written to file in an unencrypted form, even for purposes of transaction recovery logging. The security service is used to protect the real user name and password.

During application startup, when the activation specification is being initialized as part of endpoint activation, the server uses the authentication alias to retrieve the real user name and password from security then set it on the activation specification instance.

Destination JNDI name

For resource adapters that support JMS you need to associate javax.jms.Destinations with an activation specification, such that the resource adapter can service messages from the JMS destination. In this case, the administrator configures a J2C Administered Object which implements the javax.jms.Destination interface and binds it into JNDI.

You can configure a J2C Administered Object to use an ActivationSpec class that implements a setDestination(javax.jms.Destination) method. In this case, you can specify the destination JNDI name (that is, the JNDI name for the J2C Administered object that implements the javax.jms.Destination).

A destination JNDI name set as part of application deployment take precedence over properties set on an activation specification administrative object.

During application startup, when the activation specification is being initialized as part of endpoint activation, the server uses the destination JNDI name to look up the destination administered object then set it on the activation specification instance.

Related concepts
J2C activation