WebSphere Application Server Management

The WebSphere Application Server stores its configuration in set of .xml files. It provides a Administrative Console application as well wsadmin scripting client to modify the configuration files. The administrative client works with administration service to make the changes in the configuration files. The administration of the environment can be handled in different ways depending on the environment that you have setup.

• Stand-alone server environment: refers to a single stand-alone server that is not managed as part of cell. This is the configuration that most of the development environments have. In a stand-alone server environment both the administrative console application and the administrative service runs on the same application server. The configuration repository consist of one set of configuration files managed by the administrative service. System management is simplified because the changes made by the administrator are applied directly to the configuration files used by the server.


• Distributed server environment: refers to the situation where you have multiple servers managed from a single deployment manager in the cell. In a distributed server environment, administration tasks and configuration files are distributed among the nodes. THe administration services and the administrative console are hosted on the deployment manager. Managed servers are installed on nodes. Each node has a node agent that interacts with the deployment manager to maintain and manage the process on the nodes. Multiple sets of the configuration files exists. The master configuration is maintained on the deployment manager node and pushed out, synchronized, to the nodes. Each managed process starts with its own configuration files.