WebSphere Application Server - Express, Version 6.0.x     Operating Systems: AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows

Automatically restarting server processes

There are several server processes related to WebSphere Application Server products that the operating system can monitor and automatically restart when the server processes stop abnormally. This task describes how to set up these monitored processes.

Before you begin

To set up this function on a Linux or UNIX-based operating system, you must have root authority to edit the inittab file.

To set up this function on a Microsoft Windows operating system, you must belong to the Administrator group and have the following advanced user rights:
  • Act as part of the operating system
  • Log on as a service

The Installation wizard grants you the user rights if your user ID is part of the administrator group.

If you are running on a Microsoft Windows Operating System, the Installation wizard displays a message that states that although the advanced user rights are now effective, they do not display as effective until the next time you log on to the Windows machine.

You can also add the advanced user rights manually if you are performing a silent installation on a Windows operating system. For example, to grant the user rights to your administrator group user ID on a Windows operating system, perform the following procedure:
  1. Click Administrative Tools in the Control Panel.
  2. Click Local Security Policy.
  3. Click Local Policies.
  4. Click User Rights Assignments.
  5. Right click Act as part of the operating system.
  6. Click Security.
  7. Click Add.
  8. Click your user ID.
  9. Click Add.
  10. Click OK.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Right click Log on as a service.
  13. Click Security.
  14. Click Add.
  15. Click OK.
  16. Click OK.
  17. Reboot your machine to make the settings effective.

Consult your Windows help system for more information.

Why and when to perform this task

You can use this function to automatically restart Express servers. You can restart the server1 process, for example.

On a Linux or UNIX-based operating system, you must manually create a shell script that automatically starts any of the processes previously mentioned. Each UNIX shell script controls a single process, such as a stand-alone WebSphere Application Server instance. Multiple stand-alone Application Server processes require multiple UNIX scripts, which you can define.

If you do not install the WebSphere Application Server base product as a Windows service during installation, you can use the WASService command in the install_root/bin directory to do so at a later time. You can use this command to add any WebSphere Application Server process as a Windows service. The operating system can then monitor each server process and restart the process if it stops.

Steps for this task

  1. On a Windows operating system, Use the installation wizard to set up a Windows service to automatically monitor and restart processes related to the WebSphere Application Server product.
    • Perform the following procedure from the installation wizard to select services that the installation wizard can set up:
      1. Click Run WebSphere Application Server as a service.
        If you select this option, the installation wizard creates the following service during the installation:
        IBMWAS6Service - node_name 

        The IBMWAS6Service - node_name service controls the node_name process.

        After you complete and verify the installation, use the Windows Services panel to change the IBMWAS6Service - node_name service to an automatic startup type.
        1. Right click IBMWAS6Service - node_name and click Properties.
        2. Click Automatic from the Startup type list box and click OK.
      2. Click Run IBM HTTP Server as a service.

        Select this option on the machine where you are installing the IBM HTTP Server.

        If you select this option, the installation wizard creates the following services during the installation:
        • IBM HTTP Server 2.0.x
        • IBM HTTP Administration 2.0.x
        The installation wizard defines the startup type of these services as automatic. It is not necessary for you to change the type from manual to automatic.
      3. Enter your user ID and password and click Next.

      In a coexistence environment, you can change the default service names to make them unique. In a same version coexistence scenario for IBM HTTP Server 2.0.x on a Windows platform, you cannot use the default service names created by the installer because they are common.

      To work around this problem:
      1. Install the first copy of IBM HTTP Server, either by itself or with WebSphere Application Server and select to install the services.
      2. Customize the service names for the first install by running the following commands from the first install location:
             apache -k install -n "IHS 2.0(1)"
             apache -k install -f conf\admin.conf -n "IHS 2.0 Administration (1)"
      3. Edit the AdminAlias directive in the installLocation 1\conf\admin.conf file to point to the new service name, such as IHS 2.0(1).
      4. Remove the default service names installed by the first install by running the following commands:
             apache -k uninstall -n "IBM HTTP Server 2.0"
             apache -k uninstall -n "IBM HTTP Administration 2.0"
      5. Install the second copy of IBM HTTP Server, either by itself or with WebSphere Application Server. The default service names correspond to the second install.
      Note: Customized service names must be unique on your system.
  2. On a Linux or UNIX operating system, after you install the WebSphere Application Server product, set up a Linux and UNIX-based shell script to automatically monitor and restart the node agent process or any other related server process.
    1. Locate the rc.was example shell script, which is in the install_root/bin directory.
    2. Create a new shell script for each process that the operating system is to monitor and restart.
    3. Edit each shell script according to comments in its header, which provide instructions for identifying a WebSphere Application Server process.
    4. Edit the inittab table of the operating system, to add an entry for each shell script you have created.

      Comments in the header of the rc.was file show a sample inittab entry line for adding the script. This inittab entry causes the Linux and UNIX-based system to call each shell script whenever the system initializes. As it runs, each shell script monitors and starts the server process you specified.

    Each shell script monitors and restarts an Express server process.

  3. On a Windows operating system, after installing the WebSphere Application Server product, you can use the WASService.exe command in the install_root\bin directory to manually define a Windows service for another installation instance or for another configuration instance of the server1 process.

Result

On a Windows operating system, you can
  • Use the net start and net stop commands to control the IBM HTTP Server services on a Windows system. For more information about these commands, see the Windows help file. Access these commands from the Start menu, clicking Start > Programs > IBM HTTP Server.
  • Use the Start the Server and Stop the Server commands to control the IBM WebSphere Application Server process. Access these commands from the Start menu, clicking Start > Programs > IBM WebSphere > Application Server V6.
  • Use the Start the Manager and Stop the Manager commands to control the Network Deployment dmgr process. Access these commands from the Start menu, clicking Start > Programs > IBM WebSphere > Application Server V6 > Deployment Manager.

Processes started by a startServercommand are not running as monitored processes, regardless of how they are configured.

For example, you can configure a server1 process as a monitored process. However, if you start the server1 process using the startServer command, the operating system does not monitor or restart the server1 process because the operating system did not originally start the process as a monitored process.

What to do next

After the process is set up, the operating system can monitor each server process and restart the process if it stops.

Return to Defining application server processes to continue.




Sub-topics
WASService command

Related reference
startServer command
startManager command

Task topic    

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Last updated: Jun 8, 2005 12:45:23 PM EDT
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