0.2: What are administrative server nodes?

A node is a physical machine in a topology comprised of one or more machines. An administrative server node is a node that contains a WebSphere administrative server.

WebSphere Application Server Advanced Edition provides centralized administration of multiple nodes. That is, the administrative server on each machine (node) can be configured to use a shared administrative database. See article 0.14.3 for more information.

Nearly every resource in the WebSphere administrative domain resides on one node or another. A few resource types, such as virtual hosts and enterprise applications, are not associated with particular nodes.

For its contents to be managed by the IBM WebSphere Application Server product, a node must contain an administrative server. Therefore, for all practical purposes, a node and administrative server node are equivalent in the world of WebSphere administration.