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Administration Guide

Using Ant Tasks to Configure a WebLogic Server Domain

The following sections describe how to start and stop WebLogic Server instances and configure WebLogic Server domains using WebLogic Ant tasks:

- Overview of Configuring and Starting Domains Using Ant Tasks

- Starting Servers and Creating Domains Using the wlserver Ant Task

- Configuring a WebLogic Server Domain Using the wlconfig Ant Task

Overview of Configuring and Starting Domains Using Ant Tasks

WebLogic Server provides a pair of Ant tasks to help you perform common configuration tasks in a development environment. The configuration tasks enable you to start and stop WebLogic Server instances as well as create and configure WebLogic Server domains.

Notes: The WebLogic Server Ant tasks are incompatible with Ant versions prior to 1.5. Also, if you use a version of Ant that is not included with WebLogic Server, you must specify the appropriate task definition in your build.xml file, as described in the sections that follow.

When combined with other WebLogic Ant tasks, you can create powerful build scripts for demonstrating or testing your application with custom domains. For example, a single Ant build script can:

- Create a new single-server domain and start the Administration Server using the wlserver Ant task.

- Configure the new domain with required application resources using the wlconfig Ant task.

- Deploy the application using the wldeploy Ant task.

- Automatically start a compiled client application to demonstrate or test product features.

The sections that follow describe how to use the configuration Ant tasks, wlserver and wlconfig. For more information about the wldeploy task, see wldeploy Ant Task in Developing WebLogic Server Applications.

Starting Servers and Creating Domains Using the wlserver Ant Task

What the wlserver Ant Task Does

The wlserver Ant task enables you to start, reboot, shutdown, or connect to a WebLogic Server instance. The server instance may already exist in a configured WebLogic Server domain, or you can create a new single-server domain for development by using the generateconfig=true attribute.

When you use the wlserver task in an Ant script, the task does not return control until the specified server is available and listening for connections. If you start up a server instance using wlserver, the server process automatically terminates after the Ant VM terminates. If you only connect to a currently-running server using the wlserver task, the server process keeps running after Ant completes.

Basic Steps for Using wlserver

To use the wlserver Ant task:

1. Set your environment.

   On Windows NT, execute the setWLSEnv.cmd command, located in the directory WL_HOME\server\bin, where WL_HOME is the top-level directory of your WebLogic Server installation.

   On UNIX, execute the setWLSEnv.sh command, located in the directory WL_HOME/server/bin, where WL_HOME is the top-level directory of your WebLogic Server installation.

   Note: The wlserver task is predefined in the version of Ant shipped with WebLogic Server. If you want to use the task with your own Ant installation, add the following task definition in your build file:

   >     <taskdef name="wlserver" classname="weblogic.ant.taskdefs.management.WLServer"/>

2. Add a call to the wlserver task in the build script to start, shutdown, restart, or connect to a server. See wlserver Ant Task Reference for information about wlserver attributes and default behavior.

3. Execute the Ant task or tasks specified in the build.xml file by typing ant in the staging directory, optionally passing the command a target argument:

   >     prompt> ant

   Use ant -verbose to obtain more detailed messages from the wlserver task.

Sample build.xml Files for wlserver

The following shows a minimal wlserver target that starts a server in the current directory using all default values:

>       <target name="wlserver-default">
>         <wlserver/>
>       </target>

This target connects to an existing, running server using the indicated connection parameters and username/password combination:

>       <target name="connect-server">
>         <wlserver host="127.0.0.1" port="7001" username="weblogic" password="weblogic" action="connect"/>
>       </target>

This target starts a WebLogic Server instance configured in the config subdirectory:

>       <target name="start-server">
>         <wlserver dir="./config" host="127.0.0.1" port="7001" action="start"/>
>       </target>

This target creates a new single-server domain in an empty directory, and starts the domain's server instance:

>       <target name="new-server">
>         <delete dir="./tmp"/>
>         <mkdir dir="./tmp"/>
>         <wlserver dir="./tmp" host="127.0.0.1" port="7001"
>         generateConfig="true" username="weblogic" password="weblogic" action="start"/>
>       </target>

wlserver Ant Task Reference

The following table describes the attributes of the wlserver Ant task.

Table 13-2 Attributes of the wlserver Ant Task

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
policy | The path to the security policy file for the WebLogic Server domain. This attribute is used only for starting server instances. | File | No
dir | The path that holds the domain configuration (for example, c:\bea\user_projects\mydomain). By default, wlserver uses the current directory. | File | No
beahome | The path to the BEA home directory (for example, c:\bea). | File | No
weblogichome | The path to the WebLogic Server installation directory (for example, c:\bea\weblogic700). | File | No
servername | The name of the server to start, reboot, or connect to. | String | No
domainname | The name of the WebLogic Server domain in which the server is configured. | String | No
adminserverurl | The URL to access the Administration Server in the domain. This attribute is required if you are starting up a Managed Server in the domain. | String | Required for starting Managed Servers.
username | The username of an administrator account. If you omit both the username and password attributes, wlserver attempts to obtain the encrypted username and password values from the boot.properties file. | String | No
password | The password of an administrator account. If you omit both the username and password attributes, wlserver attempts to obtain the encrypted username and password values from the boot.properties file. | String | No
pkpassword | The private key password for decrypting the SSL private key file. | String | No
timeout | The maximum time, in seconds, that wlserver waits for a server to boot. This also specifies the maximum amount of time to wait when connecting to a running server. | long | No
productionmodeenabled | Specifies whether a server instance boots in development mode or in production mode. | boolean | No
host | The DNS name or IP address on which the server instance is listening. | String | No
port | The TCP port number on which the server instance is listening. | int | No
generateconfig | Specifies whether or not wlserver creates a new domain for the specified server. This attribute is false by default. | boolean | No
action | Specifies the action wlserver performs: startup, shutdown, reboot, or connect. The shutdown action can be used with the optional forceshutdown attribute perform a forced shutdown. | String | No
failonerror | This is a global attribute used by WebLogic Server Ant tasks. It specifies whether the task should fail if it encounters an error during the build. This attribute is set to true by default. | Boolean | No
forceshutdown | This optional attribute is used in conjunction with the action="shutdown" attribute to perform a forced shutdown. For example: <wlserver host="${wls.host}" port="${port}" username="${wls.username}" password="${wls.password}" action="shutdown" forceshutdown="true"/> | Boolean | No

Configuring a WebLogic Server Domain Using the wlconfig Ant Task

What the wlconfig Ant Task Does

The wlconfig Ant task enables you to configure a WebLogic Server domain by creating, querying, or modifying configuration MBeans on a running Administration Server instance. Specifically, wlconfig enables you to:

- Create new MBeans, optionally storing the new MBean Object Names in Ant properties.

- Set attribute values on a named MBean available on the Administration Server.

- Create MBeans and set their attributes in one step by nesting set attribute commands within create MBean commands.

- Query MBeans, optionally storing the query results in an Ant property reference.

- Query MBeans and set attribute values on all matching results.

- Establish a parent/child relationship among MBeans by nesting create commands within other create commands.

Basic Steps for Using wlconfig

1. Set your environment in a command shell. See Basic Steps for Using wlserver for details.

   Note: The wlconfig task is predefined in the version of Ant shipped with WebLogic Server. If you want to use the task with your own Ant installation, add the following task definition in your build file:

   >     <taskdef name="wlconfig" classname="weblogic.ant.taskdefs.management.WLConfig"/>

2. wlconfig is commonly used in combination with wlserver to configure a new WebLogic Server domain created in the context of an Ant task. If you will be using wlconfig to configure such a domain, first use wlserver attributes to create a new domain and start the WebLogic Server instance.

3. Add an initial call to the wlconfig task to connect to the Administration Server for a domain. For example:

>        <target name="doconfig">
>           <wlconfig url="t3://localhost:7001" username="weblogic"
>              password="weblogic">
>        </target>

1. Add nested create, delete, get, set, and query elements to configure the domain.

2. Execute the Ant task or tasks specified in the build.xml file by typing ant in the staging directory, optionally passing the command a target argument:

   >     prompt> ant doconfig

   Use ant -verbose to obtain more detailed messages from the wlconfig task.

Sample build.xml Files for wlconfig

Complete Example

This example shows a single build.xml file that creates a new domain using wlserver and performs various domain configuration tasks with wlconfig.

The script starts by creating the new domain:

>     <target name="sample.config">
>        mkdir dir="config"/>
>        <wlserver username="a" password="a" servername="SampleServer"
>           domainname="sample" dir="config" host="localhost" port="7000"
>           generateconfig="true"/>

The script then starts the wlconfig task by accessing the newly-created server:

>        <wlconfig url="t3://localhost:7000" username="a" password="a">

Within the wlconfig task, the query element runs a query to obtain the Server MBean object name, and stores this MBean in the ${sampleserver} Ant property:

>         <query domain="sample" type="Server" name="SampleServer"
>              property="sampleserver"/>

The script the uses a create element to create a new JDBC connection pool in the domain, storing the object name in the ${samplepool} Ant property. Nested set elements in the create operation set attributes on the newly-created MBean. The new pool is target to the server using the ${sampleserver} Ant property set in the query above:

>        <create type="JDBCConnectionPool" name="SamplePool"
>           property="samplepool">
>           <set attribute="CapacityIncrement" value="1"/>
>           <set attribute="DriverName"
>              value="com.pointbase.jdbc.jdbcUniversalDriver"/>
>           <set attribute="InitialCapacity" value="1"/>
>           <set attribute="MaxCapacity" value="10"/>
>           <set attribute="Password" value="samplename"/>
>           <set attribute="Properties" value="user=samplepwd"/>
>           <set attribute="RefreshMinutes" value="0"/>
>           <set attribute="ShrinkPeriodMinutes" value="15"/>
>           <set attribute="ShrinkingEnabled" value="true"/>
>           <set attribute="TestConnectionsOnRelease" value="false"/>
>           <set attribute="TestConnectionsOnReserve" value="false"/>
>           <set attribute="URL"
>              value="jdbc:pointbase:server://localhost/demo"/>
>           <set attribute="Targets" value="${sampleserver}"/>
>        </create>

Next, the script creates a JDBC TX DataSource using the JDBC connection pool created above:

>        <create type="JDBCTxDataSource" name="Medical Records Tx DataSource">
>           <set attribute="JNDIName" value="SampleTxDataSource"/>
>           <set attribute="PoolName" value="SamplePool"/>
>           <set attribute="Targets" value="${sampleserver}"/>
>        </create>

The script creates a new JMS connection factory using nested set elements:

>        <create type="JMSConnectionFactory" name="Queue">
>           <set attribute="JNDIName" value="jms/QueueConnectionFactory"/>
>           <set attribute="XAServerEnabled" value="true"/>
>           <set attribute="Targets" value="${sampleserver}"/>
>        </create>

A new JMS JDBC store is created using the SamplePool:

>        <create type="JMSJDBCStore" name="SampleJDBCStore"
>           property="samplejdbcstore">
>           <set attribute="ConnectionPool" value="${samplepool}"/>
>           <set attribute="PrefixName" value="Sample"/>
>        </create>

When creating a new JMS server, the script uses a nested create element to create a JMS queue, which is the child of the JMS server:

>        <create type="JMSServer" name="SampleJMSServer">
>           <set attribute="Store" value="${samplejdbcstore}"/>
>           <set attribute="Targets" value="${sampleserver}"/>
>           <create type="JMSQueue" name="Registration Queue">
>              <set attribute="JNDIName" value="jms/REGISTRATION_MDB_QUEUE"/>
>           </create>
>        </create>

This script creates a new mail session and startup class:

>        <create type="MailSession" name="Medical Records Mail Session">
>           <set attribute="JNDIName" value="mail/SampleMailSession"/>
>           <set attribute="Properties"
>              value="mail.user=joe;mail.host=mail.mycompany.com"/>
>           <set attribute="Targets" value="${sampleserver}"/>
>        </create>

>        <create type="StartupClass" name="StartBrowser">
>           <set attribute="Arguments" value="port=${listenport}"/>
>           <set attribute="ClassName"
>              value="com.bea.sample.startup.StartBrowser"/>
>           <set attribute="FailureIsFatal" value="false"/>
>           <set attribute="Notes" value="Automatically starts a browser on server boot."/>

>           <set attribute="Targets" value="${sampleserver}"/>

>         </create>

Finally, the script obtains the WebServer MBean and sets the log filename using a nested set element:

>           <query domain="sample" type="WebServer" name="SampleServer">
>              <set attribute="LogFileName" value="logs/access.log"/>
>           </query>
>        </wlconfig>
>     </target>

Query and Delete Example

The query element does not need to specify an MBean name when nested within a query element:

>     <target name="queryDelete">
>        <wlconfig url="${adminurl}" username="${user}" password="${pass}"
>           failonerror="false">
>           <query query="${wlsdomain}:Name=MyNewServer2,*"
>              property="deleteQuery">
>              <delete/>
>           </query>
>        </wlconfig>
>     </target>

Example of Setting Multiple Attribute Values

The set element allows you to set an attribute value to multiple object names stored in Ant properties. For example, the following target stores the object names of two servers in separate Ant properties, then uses those properties to assign both servers to the target attribute of a new JDBC Connection Pool:

>     <target name="multipleJDBCTargets">
>        <wlconfig url="${adminurl}" username="${user}" password="${pass}">
>           <query domain="mydomain" type="Server" name="MyServer"
>              property="myserver"/>
>           <query domain="mydomain" type="Server" name="OtherServer"
>              property="otherserver"/>
>           <create type="JDBCConnectionPool" name="sqlpool" property="sqlpool">
>              <set attribute="CapacityIncrement" value="1"/>
>     [.....]
>              <set attribute="Targets" value="${myserver},${otherserver}"/>
>           </create>
>        </wlconfig>
>     </target>

Note: Separate multiple values with a comma (,) not a semi-colon (;) .

wlconfig Ant Task Reference

Main Attributes

The following table describes the main attributes of the wlconfig Ant task.

Table 13-3 Main Attributes of the wlconfig Ant Task

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
url | The URL of the domain's Administration Server. | String | Yes
username | The username of an administrator account. | String | No
password | The password of an administrator account. To avoid having the plain text password appear in the build file or in process utilities such as ps, first store a valid username and encrypted password in a configuration file using the weblogic.Admin STOREUSERCONFIG command. Then omit both the username and password attributes in your Ant build file. When the attributes are omitted, wlconfig attempts to login using values obtained from the default configuration file. If you want to obtain a username and password from a non-default configuration file and key file, use the userconfigfile and userkeyfile attributes with wlconfig. | String | No
failonerror | This is a global attribute used by WebLogic Server Ant tasks. It specifies whether the task should fail if it encounters an error during the build. This attribute is set to true by default. | Boolean | No
userconfigfile | Specifies the location of a user configuration file to use for obtaining the administrative username and password. Use this option, instead of the username and password attributes, in your build file when you do not want to have the plain text password shown in-line or in process-level utilities such as ps. Before specifying the userconfigfile attribute, you must first generate the file using the weblogic.Admin STOREUSERCONFIG command. | File | No
userkeyfile | Specifies the location of a user key file to use for encrypting and decrypting the username and password information stored in a user configuration file (the userconfigfile attribute). Before specifying the userkeyfile attribute, you must first generate the key file using the weblogic.Admin STOREUSERCONFIG command. | File | No

Nested Elements

wlconfig also has several elements that can be nested to specify configuration options:

- create

- delete

- set

- get

- query

create

The create element creates a new MBean in the WebLogic Server domain. The wlconfig task can have any number of create elements.

A create element can have any number of nested set elements, which set attributes on the newly-created MBean. A create element may also have additional, nested create elements that create child MBeans.

The create element has the following attributes.

Table 13-4 Attributes of the create Element

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
name | The name of the new MBean object to create. | String | No (wlconfig supplies a default name if none is specified.)
type | The MBean type. | String | Yes
property | The name of an optional Ant property that holds the object name of the newly-created MBean. | String | No

delete

The delete element removes an existing MBean from the WebLogic Server domain. delete takes a single attribute:

Table 13-5 Attribute of the delete Element

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
mbean | The object name of the MBean to delete. | String | Required when the delete element is a direct child of the wlconfig task. Not required when nested within a query element.

set

The set element sets MBean attributes on a named MBean, a newly-created MBean, or on MBeans retrieved as part of a query. You can include the set element as a direct child of the wlconfig task, or nested within a create or query element.

The set element has the following attributes:

Table 13-6 Attributes of the set Element

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
attribute | The name of the MBean attribute to set. | String | Yes
value | The value to set for the specified MBean attribute. You can specify multiple object names (stored in Ant properties) as a value by delimiting the entire value list with quotes and separating the object names with a semicolon. See Example of Setting Multiple Attribute Values. | String | Yes
mbean | The object name of the MBean whose values are being set. This attribute is required only when the set element is included as a direct child of the main wlconfig task; it is not required when the set element is nested within the context of a create or query element. | String | Required only when the set element is a direct child of the wlconfig task.
domain | This attribute specifies the JMX domain name for Security MBeans and third-party SPI MBeans. It is not required for administration MBeans, as the domain corresponds to the WebLogic Server domain. | String | No

get

The get element retrieves attribute values from an MBean in the WebLogic Server domain. The wlconfig task can have any number of get elements.

The get element has the following attributes.

Table 13-7 Attributes of the get Element

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
attribute | The name of the MBean attribute whose value you want to retrieve. | String | Yes
property | The name of an Ant property that will hold the retrieved MBean attribute value. | String | Yes
mbean | The object name of the MBean you want to retrieve attribute values from. | String | Yes

query

The query elements finds MBean that match a search pattern. query can be used with nested set elements or a nested delete element to perform set or delete operations on all MBeans in the result set.

wlconfig can have any number of nested query elements.

query has the following attributes:

Table 13-8 Attributes of the query Element

Attribute | Description | Data Type | Required?
--- | --- | --- | ---
domain | The name of the WebLogic Server domain in which to search for MBeans. | String | No
type | The type of MBean to query. | String | No
name | The name of the MBean to query. | String | No
pattern | A JMX query pattern. | String | No
property | The name of an optional Ant property that will store the query results. | String | No
domain | This attribute specifies the JMX domain name for Security MBeans and third-party SPI MBeans. It is not required for administration MBeans, as the domain corresponds to the WebLogic Server domain. | String | No