Updating enterprise application files

You can update Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) application files deployed on a server.

Before you begin

Update your Java EE application or modules and reassemble them using an assembly tool. Typical tasks include adding or editing assembly properties, adding or importing modules into an application, and adding enterprise beans, web components, and files.

Also, determine whether the updated files can be installed to your deployment targets. Version 8.x supports Java EE 6 enterprise applications and modules.

If you are deploying Java EE 6 modules, ensure that the deployment target and its node support Version 8.0 or later. You can deploy Java EE 6 modules to Version 8.x servers or to clusters that contain Version 8.x cluster members only. You cannot deploy Java EE 6 modules to servers on Version 7.x or 6.x nodes or to clusters that contain Version 7.x or 6.x cluster members.

The administrative console Server collection pages show the versions for deployment targets.

About this task

Updating consists of adding a new file or module to an installed application, or replacing or removing an installed application, file or module. After replacement of a full application, the old application is uninstalled. After replacement of a module, file or partial application, the old installed module, file or partial application is removed from the installed application.

Service Component Architecture (SCA) applications can contain Java EE modules as well as SCA composites. You can use the procedure described in this topic to update Java EE modules in SCA applications. However, you cannot use this procedure to update SCA composites or other SCA-specific files.

Procedure

  1. Determine which method to use to update your application files.
    The product provides several ways to update modules.
  2. Update the application files using
    • Administrative console
    • [AIX Solaris HP-UX Linux Windows][z/OS]Drag and drop to a monitored directory
    • wsadmin scripts
    • Java application programming interfaces
    • WebSphere® rapid deployment of Java EE applications

    In some situations, you can update applications or modules without restarting the application server using hot deployment. Do not use hot deployment unless you are an experienced user and are updating applications in a development or test environment.

  3. If needed, restart the application manually so the changes take effect. Start the deployed application files using
    • Administrative console
    • wsadmin startApplication
    • Java programs that use ApplicationManager or AppManagement MBeans

    When you update an application while it is running, the product automatically stops the application or only its changed components, updates the application logic, and restarts the stopped application or its components.

    If you update module metadata while an application is running, restarting the application might not be sufficient for the changes to take effect. For example, if you change descriptors in running Java EE 6 applications that use annotations, you must reinstall the application. If you change classes that introduce, remove, or alter class hierarchies within an application, and those changes impact annotated classes, you also must reinstall the application.

What to do next

Save the changes to your administrative configuration.

When saving the configuration, synchronize the configuration with the nodes where the application is expected to run.

Avoid trouble:
  • You must use either the administrative console or wsadmin scripting to synchronization a node. Of these two options, using the administrative console is the best way to perform this operation. The Nodes panel in the administrative console includes the Synchronize operation.

    If you need to use wsadmin scripting to synchronize a node, use the NodeSync MBean sync() command.

  • Do not restart the node agent as part of the synchronize node process. Administration operations, such as node synchronization for application deployment, or updates that take place while the node agent is starting, that are initiated through the node agent, and affect the application servers, fail until the node agent has a chance to discover the application servers.

Next, test the application. For example, point a web browser at the URL for a deployed application (typically http://hostname:9060/web_module_name, where hostname is your valid web server and 9060 is the default port number) and examine the performance of the application. If the application does not perform as desired, edit the application configuration, then save and test it again.