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Administration Console Online Help

Connectors

Based on the Sun Microsystems J2EE Connector Specification, Version 1.0 Final Release, the WebLogic J2EE Connector Architecture integrates the J2EE Platform with one or more heterogeneous Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). The following sections explain how to manage and administer the WebLogic J2EE Connector Architecture. They also describe how to configure and deploy a new connector using the Administration Console.

For more deployment-related information, see "Writing J2EE Connector Architecture-Compliant Resource Adapters" in Programming the WebLogic J2EE Connector Architecture.

For more information, see Programming the BEA WebLogic J2EE Connector Architecture.

Tasks

Configuring Resource Adapters (Connectors) for Deployment

To configure a Connector using the WebLogic Server Administration Console:

1. Start the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

2. Select the Domain in which you will be working.

3. In the left pane of the Console, click Deployments.

4. In the left pane of the Console, click Connectors. A table is displayed in the right pane of the Console showing all the deployed Connectors.

5. Select the Configure a new Connector option.

6. Locate the archive file (RAR) to configure.

   Note: You can also configure an exploded application or component directory. Note that WebLogic Server deploys all components it finds in and below the specified directory.

7. Click [select] to the left of a directory or file to choose it and proceed to the next step.

8. Select a Target Server from among Available Servers.

9. Enter a name for the Connector in the provided field.

10. Click Configure and Deploy. The Console will display the Deploy panel, which lists deployment status and deployment activities for the Connector.

11. Using the available tabs, enter the following information:

    - Configuration—Edit the staging mode and enter the deployment order.

    - Targets—Indicate the Targets-Server for this configured Connector by moving the server from the Available list to the Chosen list.

    - Deploy—Deploy the Connector to all or selected targets or undeploy it from all or selected targets.

    - Monitoring—Enable session monitoring for the Connector.

    - Notes—Enter notes related to the Connector.

Configuring a Connector to Display a Connection Profile

The Administration Console can display call stacks for Connectors (connection profiles) as well as call stacks for leaked and idle connections. To configure a Connector to make this information available to the Administration Console, do the following:

1. After you deploy the Connector, in the left pane of the Administration Console, right click the Connector and choose Edit Connector Descriptor.

2. In the left pane, expand WebLogic RA and click Map Config Properties.

3. In the right pane, click Configure a new Map Config Property....

4. On the Configure a new Map Config Property, in the Description box, enter a description such as "Connection Profiling".

5. In the Config Property Name box, enter connection-profiling-enabled.

6. In the Config Property Value box, enter true.

7. Click Apply to save your changes.

For information on viewing this profile information, refer to Monitoring Connections Tasks.

Deploying Resource Adapters (Connectors)

To deploy a Connector using the WebLogic Server Administration Console:

1. Expand the Deployments node in the left pane.

2. Right-click on the Connectors node.

3. Select Configure a New Application.

4. Locate the archive file (RAR) to configure.

   Note: You can also configure an exploded application or component directory. Note that WebLogic Server deploys all components it finds in and below the specified directory.

5. Click [select] to the left of a directory or file to choose it and proceed to the next step.

6. Select a Target Server from among Available Servers.

7. Enter a name for the Connector in the provided field.

8. Click Configure and Deploy. The Console will display the Deploy panel, which lists deployment status and deployment activities for the Connector.

9. Use the Deploy button to deploy the Connector to all or selected targets or undeploy it from all or selected targets.

10. Test your Connector by accessing a resource through a Web browser. Access resources with a URL constructed as follows:

    http://myServerr:myPort/myConnector/resource

    Where:

    - myServer is the name of the machine hosting WebLogic Server.

    - myPort is the port number where WebLogic Server is listening for requests.

    - myConnector is the name of theConnector archive file (myConnector.rar, for instance) or the name of a directory containing the Connector.

    - resource is the name of a resource such as a JSP, HTTP servlet, or HTML page.

Viewing Deployed Resource Adapters (Connectors)

To view a deployed connector in the Administration Console:

1. In the Console, click Deployments.

2. Click the Connectors option.

3. View a list of deployed Connectors in the table displayed in the Console.

Undeploying Deployed Resource Adapters (Connectors)

To undeploy a deployed connector from the WebLogic Server Administration Console:

1. In the Console, click Deployments.

2. Click the Connectors option.

3. In the displayed table, click the name of the connector you wish to undeploy.

4. Click Apply.

Updating Deployed Resource Adapters (Connectors)

To update a deployed connector:

1. In the Console, click Deployments.

2. Click the Connectors option.

3. In the displayed table, click the name of the connector you wish to update.

4. Update the deployment status by accessing the Deploy tab.

5. Click Apply.

Monitoring Connections Tasks

The BEA J2EE Connector Architecture provides you with monitoring capabilities in the WebLogic Server Console that show detected leaks and provides a method for looking up stacks to determine which application(s) is causing the leak. Delete buttons in the Console allow you to dynamically close leaked connections that are identified; the option to delete connections is only available for connections that have exceeded their specified idle time and are safe to delete (in other words, the connection is not involved in a transaction).

The connection-profiling-enabled element of the weblogic-ra.xml file indicates whether or not the connection pool should store the call stacks of where each connection is allocated. If you set this element value to true, you can view this information on active connections through the Console. Also, you can view the stacks for leaked and idle connections, and you can debug components that fail to close connections. For information on setting the connection-profiling-enabled element, refer to Configuring a Connector to Display a Connection Profile.

Getting Started

There are two methods for accessing monitoring tools using the Console:

Method One

1. In the left pane of the Console, select Deployments > Connectors to display a list of connectors.

2. Right-click the name of the connector you wish to monitor.

3. From the pop-up menu, choose Monitor all Connector Connection Pool Runtimes. Connection pool run-time information is provided in the right pane for the selected connector.

Method Two

1. In the right pane of the Console, under Deployments, select Connectors.

   A connector table is displayed.

2. Under the Name column, click the connector to monitor.

3. In the Monitoring tab, select Monitor all Connector Connection Pool Runtimes.

   Connection pool run-time information is provided in the right pane for the selected connector.

Viewing Leaked Connections

There are two methods for viewing leaked connections using the Console:

Method One

1. In the left pane of the Console, select Deployments > Connectors to display a list of connectors.

2. Right-click a connector, and select View Leaked Connections from the pop-up menu.

   Connection pool run-time information for the selected connector is provided in the right pane.

3. Under the Connection Leak Profiles column, click the number of leaked connections pertaining to the selected connector.

   Leaked connection information is displayed in the right pane.

Method Two

1. In the right pane of the Console, under Deployments, select Connectors.

   A connector table is displayed.

2. Under the Name column, click the name of the connector to monitor.

3. In the Monitoring tab, select Monitor all Connector Connection Pool Runtimes.

   Connection pool run-time information for the selected connector is provided in the right pane.

4. Under the Connection Leak Profile Count column, click the number of leaked connections pertaining to the selected connector.

   Leaked connection information is displayed in the right pane.

Viewing Idle Connections

A Connection Idle Profiles column in the Console allows you to view profile information pertaining to idle connections. This column is not to be confused with the Idle Connections Detected column, which simply displays the number of idle connections.

A key difference between these two columns is the Connection Idle Profiles column is controlled by use of the connection-profiling-enabled setting in the weblogic-ra.xml file. By default, this setting is false, so normally the Connection Idle Profiles column will be zero (disabled). However, the Idle Connections Detected column is always enabled and will always display the number of idle connections.

There are two methods for idle connections using the Console:

Method One

1. In the left pane of the Console, select Deployments > Connectors to display a list of connectors.

2. Right-click a connector, and select View Idle Connections from the pop-up menu.

   Connection pool run-time information for the selected connector is provided in the right pane.

3. Under the Connection Idle Profiles column, click the number of idle connections pertaining to the selected connector.

   Idle connection information is displayed in the right pane.

Method Two

1. In the right pane of the Console, under Deployments, select Connectors.

   A connector table is displayed.

2. Under the Name column, click the name of the connector to monitor.

3. In the Monitoring tab, select Monitor all Connector Connection Pool Runtimes.

   Connection pool run-time information for the selected connector is provided in the right pane.

4. Under the Connection Idle Profiles column, click the number of idle connections pertaining to the selected connector.

   Idle connection information is displayed in the right pane.

Deleting Connections

This functionality is not currently implemented in the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

Deleting a Connector

To delete a connector, proceed as follows:

1. Select a connector to delete in the left pane of the Console under Deployments > Connectors > Connector Name.

2. In the table of connectors located in the right pane, select the Trash Can icon.

   The following message is displayed in the right pane:

   Are you sure you want to permanently delete <Connector Name> from the domain configuration?

3. Click Yes to delete the connector.

Editing Connector Deployment Descriptors

This section describes the procedure for editing the following connector (resource adapter) deployment descriptors using the Administration Console Deployment Descriptor Editor:

- ra.xml

- weblogic-ra.xml

For detailed information about the elements in the resource adapter deployment descriptors, refer to Programming the WebLogic J2EE Connector Architecture.

To edit the resource adapter deployment descriptors, follow these steps:

1. Invoke the Administration Console in your browser using the following URL:

   http://host:port/console

   where host refers to the name of the computer upon which WebLogic Server is running and port refers to the port number to which it is listening.

2. Click to expand the Deployments node in the left pane.

3. Click to expand the Connectors node under the Deployments node.

4. Right-click the name of the resource adapter whose deployment descriptors you want to edit and choose Edit Connector Descriptor from the drop-down menu.

   The Administration Console window appears in a new browser. The left pane contains a tree structure that lists all the elements in the two resource adapter deployment descriptors and the right pane contains a form for the descriptive elements of the ra.xml file.

5. To edit, delete, or add elements in the resource adapter deployment descriptors, click to expand the node in the left pane that corresponds to the deployment descriptor file you want to edit, as described in the following list:

   - The RA node contains the elements of the ra.xml deployment descriptor.

   - The WebLogic RA node contains the elements of the weblogic-ra.xml deployment descriptor.

6. To edit an existing element in one of the resource adapter deployment descriptors, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate the tree in the left pane, clicking on parent elements until you find the element you want to edit.

   2. Click the element. A form appears in the right pane that lists either its attributes or subelements.

   3. Edit the text in the form in the right pane.

   4. Click Apply.

7. To add a new element to one of the resource adapter deployment descriptors, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate the tree in the left pane, clicking on parent elements until you find the name of the element you want to create.

   2. Right-click the element and chose Configure a New Element from the drop-down menu.

   3. Enter the element information in the form that appears in the right pane.

   4. Click Create.

8. To delete an existing element from one of the resource adapter deployment descriptors, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate the tree in the left pane, clicking on parent elements until you find the name of the element you want to delete.

   2. Right-click the element and chose Delete Element from the drop-down menu.

   3. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the element.

9. Once you have made all your changes to the resource adapter deployment descriptors, click the root element of the tree in the left pane. The root element is the either the name of the resource adapter *.rar archive file or the display name of the resource adapter.

10. Click Validate if you want to ensure that the entries in the resource adapter deployment descriptors are valid.

11. Click Persist to write your edits of the deployment descriptor files to disk in addition to WebLogic Server's memory.