PQ73132: UNNECESSARY J2EE SERVER RECYCLING

APAR status
Closed as unreproducible in next release.

Error description
Whenever there is a changed made to the application server using
SMEUI, the server is recycled.  However, not every action
requires recycling of the server.  For example, the server
should not be restarted when:
- a description field is changed for the J2EE server
- a new application is deployed and deleted before conversation
is activated
- a 'Save' button is clicked even if no changes were made to any
entry for the server.

Customers in production might be effected by this if they were
not ready for the recycling of the server.

A side effect of the bullet 2 above is the following scenario:
The customer was trying to redeploy a new version of an
application on server A, but deployed it on a server B by
Local fix
mistake.  To fix the problem, he deleted the application from
server B using the same SM EUI conversation (therefore canceling
previous action), and then activated it.  Server B was still
recycled.  In addition, if JNDI names for the application are
the same for both servers, A and B, the above scenario will
cause the ldap entries for that application's components to be
deleted.  Next time server A is recycled, it will show ldap 32
(entry not found) error for specific components of the
application in question.  The application will not be usable.
Redeployment of the application on server A will be required.
LOCAL FIX:
Delete the conversation instead of activating it.  All the
changes made in that conversation will be lost.
Problem summary
****************************************************************
* USERS AFFECTED: All users of WebSphere Application Server    *
*                 V4.0.1 for z/OS and OS/390                   *
****************************************************************
* PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: J2EE servers are recycled during        *
*                      activate even if the changes made to    *
*                      them do not require a recycle.          *
****************************************************************
* RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
****************************************************************
Whenever any change is made to a J2EE application server using
SM EUI, the server is recycled when the conversation containing
the change is activated.  However, not every action requires
recycling of the server.  For example, the server need not be
restarted when:
- a description field is changed for the J2EE server
- a new application is deployed and deleted before conversation
  is activated
- a 'Save' button is clicked even if no changes were made to any
  entry for the server.
In these cases, recycling the server results in an unnecessary
disruption to the server and can cause an LDAP rc=32 error in
the following scenario:

A user accidentally deploys on server B an application which is
already running on server A (using the same JNDI names), then
immediately deletes the application from server B (therefore
undoing the deploy) to correct the mistake.  When the
conversation is activated, server B recycles and as part of
processing the application delete, removes the entries for the
application's components from LDAP.  Because the JNDI names were
those for the application on server A, the next time server A is
recycled, it gets an LDAP rc=32 error (entry not found) when
trying to read the component entries in LDAP and the application
is no longer usable.  To restore the LDAP entries, the
application must be deleted from server A, the conversation
activated, then the application must be redeployed on server A
and that conversation activated.
Problem conclusion Temporary fix Comments
The product was designed to recycle, during activation, any J2EE
server that was touched in any way in order to ensure that all
changes are applied and take effect as soon as a conversation is
activated.  Therefore, the recycling in the situations described
in this APAR are all expected behavior.

To avoid recycling a J2EE server that was modified by mistake,
the conversation containing the incorrect update can be deleted
instead of being activated.  All changes made in the
conversation - for the J2EE server and everything else - are
discarded when the conversation is deleted, so nothing is
recycled and no changes are made.  A new conversation can then
be created and any desired changes made there.

This area of the product is redesigned in the next release and
the scenarios in this APAR do not occur in that release.
With the customer's consent, this APAR is closed UR1.
APAR information
APAR number PQ73132
Reported component name WASKBASE
Reported component ID 5655A9801
Reported release 401
Status CLOSED UR1
PE NoPE
HIPER NoHIPER
Submitted date 2003-04-11
Closed date 2003-05-15
Last modified date 2003-05-15

APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Modules/Macros

Fix information
Fixed component name WASKBASE
Fixed component ID 5655A9801

Applicable component levels
R401 PSN    UP


Document Information


Product categories: Software > Application Servers > Distributed Application & Web Servers > WebSphere Application Server for z/OS
Operating system(s):
Software version: 401
Software edition:
Reference #: PQ73132
IBM Group: Software Group
Modified date: May 15, 2003