IBM WebSphere is an Application Server, otherwise known as a Web Container, developed by IBM.

WebSphere implements the Java Servlet and the JavaServer Pages (JSP) specifications from Sun Microsystems, providing an environment for Java code to run in cooperation with a web server, in addition it adds tools for configuration and management which can be configured through a web interface, and includes its own internal HTTP server.

Discovering WebSphere

BMC Atrium Discovery uses the IBM.WebSphereApplicationServer pattern to discover the WebSphere instance, identify the installation directory and determine the WebSphere version. The pattern extracts information from the WebSphere configuration files to create and populate a WebSphere SI and its attributes.

Extended WebSphere discovery is enabled by the activation of the WebSphere.ExtendedDiscovery.DiscoverWebSphere pattern. This is activated by default in a new installation of BMC Atrium Discovery, but in an upgraded appliance, it must be activated manually. The WebSphere.ExtendedDiscovery.DiscoverWebSphere pattern triggers on the creation or update of a WebSphere SI and performs a deep discovery of WebSphere instances via configuration files. It then parses the results to build a J2EE inferred model of its Applications and Resources.

Creation of a JDBC Resource Detail Node triggers the CreateJDBCToDatabaseSI pattern which searches the BMC Atrium Discovery model for an SI representing that database. If the database SI is found the pattern creates relationships between the WebSphere Application Server SI and the nodes representing the database (see below). If the host that the database runs on has not been scanned, no further work is undertaken.

Creation of a J2EEApplication Component node does not trigger any further operations.

The pattern attempts to:

• Get the application names from serverindex.xml and create the application SoftwareComponent node.
• Get the JNDI names of all the resources used by each application from the <appname.ear>/WEB-INF/web.xml file
• Read the resources.xml files for the server, node and cell and get
  database and mail resource info.
• Create the database and mail Detail nodes.
• Link each resource with the apps that use it.

The WebSphere.ExtendedDiscovery.DiscoverWebSphere pattern is fully described in Configipedia.

MainView for WebSphere Application Server product version 2.5 Attempting to discover a host server running version 2.5 of the optional MainView for WebSphere Application Server product results in the script failure "message View 49Z not available", and no WebSphere Discovered Application Components are created, preventing extended discovery.

Requirements for a full discovery

For a full discovery of WebSphere, the database or databases that it is using, and the relationships between them, you need the following credentials:

• WebSphere host login credentials
• Database host login credentials
• Database credentials

Database nodes and relationships

The relationships created depend on the way that the database type is represented. (For example, an Oracle database is represented by an SI whereas a MySQL database server is represented as an SI and the individual databases by Detail nodes with contained by relationships to the database server SI).

The use of detail nodes is not intended to be permanent.

WebSphere Discovery results

The following screen shows a successfully scanned IBM WebSphere instance.

The attributes section of the WebSphere SI contains sections for Components, and Details.

• Components are J2EE applications on WebSphere.
• Details are resources on WebSphere. These may be application specific or globally defined. They may be one of the following:
  • User Database Resource: the default WebSphere user management database.
  • Java Mail Resources
  • JDBC Resources