There are several ways to configure an ORB. For example, you can use ORB custom property settings, or system property settings to configure an ORB, or you can provide objects during ORB initialization.
If you use ORB custom properties to configure an ORB, you must understand that there are two types of default values for some of these properties: JDK default values and WebSphere Application Server default values. The JDK default is the value that the ORB uses for a property if the property is not specified in any way. The WebSphere Application Server default is the value that WebSphere Application Server sets for a property in one of the following files:
Because WebSphere Application Server explicitly sets its default value, if both a WebSphere Application Server and a JDK default value is defined for a property, the WebSphere Application Server default takes precedence over the JDK default.
For more information about the different ways to specify ORB properties and the precedence order, see the JDK Diagnostic Guide for the version of the JDK that you are using. These guides are available at .
The WebSphere Application Server orb.properties file, that is located in the WebSphere Application Server was_home/java/jre/lib directory, contains WebSphere Application server ORB custom properties that are initially set to WebSphere Application Server default values during the WebSphere Application Server installation process.
You can specify new values for the ORB custom properties in the administrative console. Any value you specify takes precedence over any JDK or WebSphere Application Server default values for these properties. The ORB custom properties settings that you specify in the administrative console are stored in the WebSphere Application Server server.xml system file and are passed to an ORB in a properties object whenever an ORB is initialized.
To use the administrative console to set ORB custom properties, in the administrative console, click Servers > Application Servers > serverName > ORB Service > Custom Properties.
To add properties to the page, click New and enter at least a name (case-sensitive) and value for the property. Then click Apply. When you are finished entering properties, click OK.
Setting ORB Properties through the command lineIf you use java command, then you use the -D option, for example:
java -Dcom.ibm.CORBA.propname1=value1 -Dcom.ibm.CORBA.propname2=value2 ... application name
If you use the launchclient command, then you need to prefix the property with -CC, for example:
launchclient yourapp.ear -CCDcom.ibm.CORBA.propname1=value1 -CCDcom.ibm.CORBA.propname2=value2 ... optional application arguments
The custom properties page already might include Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) properties that were added during product setup. A list of additional properties associated with the Java ORB service follows. Unless otherwise indicated, the default values provided in the descriptions of these properties are the JDK default values.
Default | 2809 |
When this property is set to true, the ORB first sends a short message to the server to find the object that it needs to access. This first contact is called the locate request. If most of your initial method invocations are very small, setting this property to false might improve performance because this setting change can reduce the GIOP traffic by as much as half. If most of your initial method invocations are large, you should set this property to true so that the small locate request message is sent instead of the large message. The large message is then sent to the proper target after the desired object is found.
WebSphere Application Server default | true |
JDK default | false |
Default | Next available system-assigned port number |
Range | 0 to 2147483647 |
WebSphere Application Server default | 3 |
JDK default | Not applicable |
Range | 0 - largest integer recognized by Java |
The value you specify for this property should be at least as high as the highest client setting for the com.ibm.CORBA.RequestTimeout property, otherwise the IIOP Tunnel Servlet might timeout more quickly than the client would normally timeout while waiting for a reply. If this property is set to zero, the IIOP Tunnel Servlet does not time out.
WebSphere Application Server default | com.ibm.CORBA.RequestTimeout property setting for the application server on which the IIOP Tunnel Servlet is installed. |
JDK default | Not applicable |
Range | 0 - largest integer recognized by Java |