Domain Configuration:

[Aravapalli]

System Resources vs. Application Resources

In general, the WebLogic Server domain configuration file (config.xml) contains the configuration information required for a domain. This configuration information can be further classified into environment-related (or system resource definitions) and application-related information. Some examples of environment-related definitions are the identification and definition of JMS servers, JDBC data sources, WebLogic persistent stores, and server network addresses. These system resources are usually unique from domain to domain.

The configuration and management of these system resources are the responsibility of a WebLogic administrator, who usually receives this information from an organization's system administrator or MIS department. To accomplish these administrative tasks, an administrator can use the WebLogic Administration Console, various command-line tools, such as WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST), or JMX APIs for programmatic administration.

Some examples of application-related definitions that are highly independent of the domain environment are the various J2EE application components configurations, such as EAR, WAR, JAR, RAR files, and which in this release includes JMS and JDBC modules. The application components are originally developed and packaged by an application development team, and may contain optional programs (compiled Java code) and respective configuration information (also called descriptors, which are mostly stored as XML files). In the case of JMS and JDBC modules, however, there are no compiled Java programs involved. These pre-packaged applications are given to WebLogic Server administrators for deployment in a WebLogic domain.

WebLogic Server provides tools for deploying applications, such as the Administration Console and the weblogic.Deployer command-line utility. The process of deploying an application links the application components to the environment-specific resource definitions, such as which server instances should host a given application component (targeting), and the WebLogic persistent store to use for persisting JMS messages.

Once the initial deployment is completed, an administrator has only limited control over deployed applications. For example, administrators are only allowed to ensure the proper life-cycle of these applications (deploy, undeploy, redeploy, remove, etc.) and to tune the parameters, such as increasing or decreasing the number of instances of any given application to satisfy the client needs. Other than lifecycle and tuning, any modification to these applications must be completed by the application development team.