addNode command best practices

Use the addNode command to add a standalone node into a cell. The addNode command does the following:

• Copies the base WebSphere Application Server cell configuration to a new cell structure. This new cell structure matches the structure of deployment manager.

• Creates a new node agent definition for the node that the cell incorporates.

• Sends commands to the deployment manager to add the documents from the new node to the cell repository.

• Performs the first configuration synchronization for the new node, and verifies that this node is synchronized with the cell.

• Launches the node agent process for the new node.

• Updates the setupCmdLine.bat or setupCmdline.sh files and the wsadmin.properties file to point to the new cell.

• After federating the node, the addNode command backs up the plugin-cfg.xml file from the app_server_root/config/cells directory to the config/backup/base/cells directory. The addNode command regenerates a new plugin-cfg.xml file at the Deployment Manger and the nodeSync operation copies the files to the node level.

Tips for using the addNode command:

• If you add a node to a cell, the cell name of the node you are federating must be different from the name of the cell to which the node is federated. Otherwise, you receive the ADMU0027E message, and the addNode command does not add the node to the cell.

• Verify that the deployment manager and nodes are updated to the same revision level within the WebSphere Application Server. For example, a deployment manager at level 6.0.1 will be unable to federate with nodes at 6.0.2.

• Do not put WebSphere Application Server .jar files on the generic CLASSPATH variable (default class path) for the overall system.

• By default, applications that are installed on the node will not copy to the cell. If you install an application after using the addNode command, the application will install on the cell. By specifying the -includeapps option, you force the addNode command to copy applications from the node to the cell. Applications with duplicate names will not copy to the cell.

• Cell-level documents are not merged. Any changes that you make to the standalone cell-level documents before using the addNode command must be repeated on the new cell. For example, virtual hosts.

• If you receive an OutOfMemory exception while using the addNode command, you may need to increase the heap size of the deployment manager. To increase the heap size of the deployment manager, adjust the Maximum Heap Size parameter using the administrative console. In the administrative console, go to System Administration > Deployment Manager > Java and Process Management > Process Definition > Java Virtual Machine > Maximum Heap Size.

• In some instances it may take longer than anticipated for the deployment manager to respond to the addNode command. The default timeout value, which determines how long the client will wait for a server response, is appropriate in the majority of cases. However, you may require more time for the server to respond under heavier processing conditions. For example, if you include the -includeapps option and have a large number of applications, or the applications are very large, the default value of 180 seconds may be insufficient. To change the default timeout value, open the file $WAS_HOME/profiles/<profile name>/properties/soap.client.props in any ASCII text editor and find the following line (shown here with default value of 180 seconds):

  com.ibm.SOAP.requestTimeout=180 If you need to change the default you can edit this line to set the timeout to a value more appropriate for your situation (Note: setting the above value to 0 will disable the timeout check altogether). If the timeout value is set too high you will have to wait a long time to determine if the addNode command will successfully complete its request to the deployment manager. If the value is set too short the deployment manager will not have sufficient time to complete the request before the addNode command concludes that the deployment manager is not responding and will respond with an error. Other factors that may affect server timeouts include the processing load or excessive paging on the deployment manager and network latency. Some of these conditions may be transient.

• If you use the addNode command from a node that was federated to an existing deployment manager, the deployment manager will be corrupt. You will not be able to start the second deployment manager after you stop it. This happens because the addNode command creates a dmgrProfile]/config/cells/dmgrCell/nodeName directory in the master configuration. This is an incomplete node configuration directory.

  You will come into contact with the issue if you have a federated node and run the addNode command again for a different deployment manager. This causes the deployment manager to be corrupted and you will not be able to start the deployment manager afterwards because of the incomplete node directory. Perform one of the following solutions to resolve this issue:

  • If the deployment manager is running, you can use the cleanupNode command on deployment manager where the incomplete node resides.

  • Manually delete the directory that was created on the deployment manager configuration during an addNode command operation that was incomplete. For example:

    washome/profiles/dmgrProfile/config/cells/dmgrCell/]nodeName

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