Using VirtualFrameBuffer(Xvfb) with WebSphere Application Server

Technote (FAQ)
Problem
When developing on Windows®, and deploying to WebSphere Application Server on a Unix Operating System, you could encounter problems generating an image dynamically in a WebSphere Application Server.
Solution
-Djava.awt.headless=true as a parameter on the WebSphere Application Server JVM™
OR
  1. Invoke VirtualFrameBuffer(Xvfb) on Unix Server

After X11 is installed, the system must be restarted

Ensure -vfb is specified when starting X11 (most likely when booting the machine).

For instance, the following command may be used:
/usr/bin/X11/X -force -vfb -x GLX -x abx -x dbe

Add the following lines to /WebSphere/AppServer/bin/startupServer.sh :

# Setting of the DISPLAY variable
# is required for the Ad Builder
# system to connect to the X11
# server through the Xvfb (Virtual Frame Buffer=)

DISPLAY=3D127.0.0.1:0.0
export DISPLAY

NOTE:
VirtualFrameBuffer(Xvfb)
is an X server that can run on systems with no display hardware and no physical input devices. It emulates a dumb terminal framebuffer using virtual memory and is limited in the number of colors and fonts it can handle.











Document Information

Product categories: Software, Application Servers, Distributed Application & Web Servers, WebSphere Application Server, Java SDK
Operating system(s): AIX, HPUX, Linux, Solaris
Software version: 3.5, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0
Software edition: Edition Independent
Reference #: 1194936
IBM Group: Software Group
Modified date: 2005-01-20