Starting the application server in debug mode

To be able to debug Web applications that are running on the WebSphere® Application Server, you need to configure the application server so that it starts in debug mode.

Starting the application server in debug mode is supported in WebSphere Application Server versions 5.1, 6.0, and 6.1, as described in the following sections.

WebSphere Application Server Version 6.0/6.1

  1. Start the application server.
  2. Launch and log in to the Administrative Console (this is also called the Integrated Solutions Console in Version 6.1).
  3. In the left-hand frame, expand the Servers node and then select the Application servers link. This will open the Application Servers page.
  4. In the Application Servers page, all application servers are listed by Name and Node. In the Name column, each server name is displayed as a link which, when selected, takes you to configuration pages for the server. Follow the link for the server that you want to set up for debug mode.
  5. Ensure that the Configuration tab is selected and scroll to the Debugging Service link in the Additional Properties section. Select this link to open the Debugging Service configuration page.
  6. In the General Properties section of the Configuration tab, select the Startup check box. This will cause debugging service to be enabled when the server starts.
  7. Note the value of the JVM debug port (default 7777) field, which might be needed when connecting to the application server with the debugger. If you want, you can alter the values of this port at this time (for example, you might want to change the value of the port, if that port number is being used by another application).
  8. Click Apply to make the changes to your local configuration, and then click Save to apply the configuration changes.
  9. Proceed with other actions in the Administrative Console or log out.
  10. You must restart the application server before the changes that you have made take effect.

WebSphere Application Server Version 5.1

  1. Start the application server.
  2. Launch and log in to the Administrative Console.
  3. In the left-hand frame, expand the Servers node and then select the Manage Application Servers link. This will open the Application Servers page.
  4. In the Application Servers page, all application servers are listed by Name and Node. In the Name column, each server name is displayed as a link which, when selected, takes you to configuration pages for the server. Follow the link for the server that you want to set up for debug mode.
  5. Ensure that the Configuration tab is selected and scroll to the Debugging Service link in the Additional Properties section. Select this link to open the Debugging Service configuration page.
  6. In the General Properties section of the Configuration tab, select the Startup check box. This will cause debugging service to be enabled when the server starts.
  7. Note the values of the JVM debug port (default 7777) and BSF debug port (default 4444) fields, which might be needed when connecting to the application server with the debugger. If you want, you can alter the values of these ports at this time (for example, you might want to change the value of either port, if that port number is being used by another application).
  8. Click Apply to make the changes to your local configuration, and then click Save to apply the configuration changes.
  9. Proceed with other actions in the Administrative Console or log out.
  10. You must restart the application server before the changes that you have made take effect.
Related tasks
Preparing to debug

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