Configuring developer mode on Windows

The developer mode improves startup performance and to configure IBM® WebSphere® Portal for development. This file explains how to configure and unconfigure the development mode option. Developer mode is for a development environment only and must not be used in a production environment.

Before you begin

Install WebSphere Portal with the Base installation option.

About this task

This task modifies the following components:
JVM
The JVM is switched to development mode. This setting is a WebSphere Application Server specific setting independent of WebSphere Portal. See the Application server settings topic in the related information section for exact changes that are made with this setting. The initial heap size is set to 768 MB to reduce the amount of garbage collection during startup.
Portlets
Portlets and web applications is activated on first access and not at the startup. Since some of the portlets and applications are required at startup, a white list, which contains the list of applications, holds the applications.
Note: To add applications to the white list, modify the wp_profile_root\PortalServer\config\StartupPerformance\wp.base_TargetMapExclList.properties file. Add a line such as App_name, where App_name is the name of the application. Log on to the WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console and go to Applications > Application Types > WebSphere enterprise applications to get a list of available applications.

Run the ConfigEngine.bat enable-develop-mode-startup-performance -DWasPassword=password task, from the wp_profile_root\ConfigEngine directory, immediately after you install WebSphere Portal to develop portals and portlets. Then, stop and restart the WebSphere_Portal server to propagate your change.

Prepare the remote web server for your developer mode. See the related links for information.

Run the ConfigEngine.bat disable-develop-mode-startup-performance -DWasPassword=password task, from the wp_profile_root\ConfigEngine directory, to revert to a production server. Then, stop and restart the WebSphere_Portal server to propagate your change.
Note: You can run the disable-develop-mode-startup-performance task when you are done developing your portal and portlets. You can run this task if the development settings are not adequate for a special development situation, or if a problem found on the production server cannot be re-created on the development server.
  • Parent topic: Changing to developer mode
    • Related tasks:
  • Application server setting