Configure a J2C activation specification

Use this task to configure a J2C activation specification used to deploy message-driven beans with an external resource adapter.

Overview

Use this task if you want to use a message-driven bean as a listener on a Java Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.5 resource adapter other than the default messaging JMS provider.

You can create or modify a J2C activation specification under an installed resource adapter at the cell, node, or server scope. You can select the message listener type from those provided by the given resource adapter. Configuring a J2C activation specification offers two distinct advantages:

• The activation specification configuration information can be shared among multiple message-driven beans across multiple applications.

• Updates to the configuration properties can be made without the need to redeploy the application.

The following guidelines show which scenarios use activation specifications or listener ports:

• If you are using J2EE 1.2 and EJB 1.1 with WebSphere Application Server v4, MDBs are not used so you do not need listener ports or activation specifications. WebSphere Application Server v4 uses message beans, but these are not MDbs or EJBs.

• If you are using J2EE 1.3 and EJB 2.0 with WebSphere Application Server v5, use listener ports. The MDBs are JMS MDBs that implement MessageListener, and there is no JCA support. WebSphere Application Server v5 uses listener ;ports to associate MDB classes with their JMS destinations.

• If you are using J2EE 1.4 and EJB 2.1 with WebSphere Application Server v6, use activation specifications. A connector MDB uses JCA to access its resources, so the connector must therefore be configured with an activation specification. This is for new bean development, and does not affect the conversion of MDBs from EJB 2.0 to EJB 2.1.

• If you are using J2EE 1.4 and EJB 2.1 with WebSphere Application Server v6, the decision depends on whether your JMS provider API is implemented with JCA. In J2EE 1.4, the JMS 1.1 API can now be implemented with the JCA 1.5 API. If so, your MDB is a JMS MDB that is implemented as a connector MDB, and must therefore be configured with an activation specification. If not, this is the same JMS situation as for J2EE 1.3, and configure this EJB 2.1 MDB in the same way as you would configure an EJB 2.0 MDB, which in WebSphere Application Server is to use a listener port.

To configure a J2C activation specification for an external resource adapter, use the administrative console to complete the following steps. This task contains an optional step for you to create a new activation specification.

Procedure

1. Display the external resource adapter. In the navigation pane, click Resources > Resource Adapters > adapter_name. This displays in the content pane a table of properties for the external resource adapter, including links to the types of J2C resources that it provides.

2. Optional: Change the Scope setting to the scope level at which the activation specification is to be visible to applications, according to your needs.

3. In the content pane, under the Activation specifications heading, click J2C Activation Specifications. This lists any existing J2C activation specifications for the external resource adapter in the content pane.

4. Display the properties of the J2C activation specification. If you want to display an existing J2C activation specification, click one of the names listed.Alternatively, if you want to create a new J2C activation specification, click New, then specify the following required properties:

   Name

   Type the name by which the activation specification is known for administrative purposes. The JNDI name is automatically generated based on the value for the Name property.

   Message listener type

   Select the message listener type that this activation specification instance should support. This list is based on the deployment descriptor of the external resource adapter.

   Depending on the external resource adapter, there can be additional required properties that need to be supplied. To provide values for these properties, click Custom properties. When creating a new activation specification, you may need to click Apply before this custom property selection is available.

5. Specify properties for the activation specification, according to your needs .

6. Click OK.

7. Save your changes to the master configuration.

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