Enabling the J2EE Request Profiler

The J2EE Request Profiler is used to collect execution data from distributed applications, which may span multiple processes and hosts. This collected data can be viewed as sequence diagrams. If you start WebSphere Application Server in the profiling mode, the J2EE Request Profiler is enabled automatically. If you start WebSphere Application Server using the run or debug modes, then you will have to manually enable the J2EE Request profiler.

To enable the J2EE Request Profiler in run or debug mode for WebSphere Application Server v6.0:

  1. Switch to the Server perspective by selecting Window > Open Perspective > Other.
  2. Select the Server perspective and click OK.
  3. Right-click on the server, and select Start.
  4. Once the server is started, right-click and select Admin console.
  5. In the Administrator console, expand the Servers node and select the server for which you wish to enable J2EE Request Profiler.
  6. Under Server Infrastructure, select Java and process Management.
  7. Under Process Definition, select Java Virtual Machine.
  8. In the Generic JVM arguments field, set the environment variable -DPD_DT_ENABLED=true.
  9. Save the configuration.
  10. Restart the server.

To enable the J2EE Request Profiler in run or debug mode for WebSphere Application Server v5.x:

  1. Start WebSphere Application Server.
  2. Double-click on your server listed in the Servers tab.
  3. Click on the environment tab listed in the bottom.
  4. Expand Java VM Arguments.
  5. In the Generic JVM arguments field, set the environment variable PD_DT_ENABLED to the value true. That is, type -DPD_DT_ENABLED=true.
  6. Restart WebSphere Application Server.

This enables the Sequence Diagram run time, which is disabled by default. You can now specify that the J2EE Request Profiler is to be used to collect data from the application.

Note: Whenever you want to disable the J2EE Request Profiler, set the PD_DT_ENABLED variable to the value false.

Note: A J2EE Request Profiler sample is shipped with the product. For instructions on how to use it, refer to its readme (File > New > Example > J2EE Request Profiler > Next > Finish).

Related tasks
Viewing trace interactions using Sequence Diagram views