The HATS Administrative Console is a robust tool that enables administrators to efficiently maintain the integrity and performance of their HATS environments. By offering real-time monitoring, configuration management, performance optimization, security enhancements, backup and recovery capabilities, and automation tools, the console enables administrators to remotely manage HATS applications with exceptional flexibility and efficiency.

In the sections below, we will explore the HATS Admin Console capability to manage HATS projects deployed in the Liberty Server and across different Liberty Server instances hosted on separate systems. We can also monitor the various ears deployed on the same host within the admin console.

Implementing Remote Administration Support for Liberty Server

Follow the steps below to enable remote administration support for HATS applications on the Liberty Server.

1. Create a HATS project by enabling admin console support

Figure 1: HATS Project creation 

2. Configure necessary features in the Liberty Server to support application deployment and management

• 1. Update the jvm.options with the proper host and port.

• 1. • -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote=true
     • -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=8888
     • -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false
     • -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false
     • -Djava.rmi.server.hostname=<hostname>

Figure 2: Configure the JMX in the Liberty server

                 II. Add the features in server.xml as shown below:

• • • Navigate to Liberty Server 🡪 Server Configuration (server.xml) and add the following features as shown in the image.

Figure 3: Features added in the Liberty Server

3. Restart the server and deploy the application
         Restart the Liberty Server to apply the changes, then deploy the application.
   

4. Launch the admin console

                 Access the Admin Console using the admin user ID and password.

5. Enable "Manage All Applications"

1.   After successful login, navigate to Getting Started 🡪 Management Scope in the left side panel.
   Note:
   -The hostname and JMX port of the default system (the machine on which the Admin Console is accessed) will be displayed here.
   -By default, the host application from which the Admin Console is accessed is shown as the default.
2. To manage a different host. 
   -Click on the New folder or button (depending on the UI layout).
   -Enter the remote system host name and the JMX port number.
   
3. Enable the Manage All Applications option under the management scope, and then click OK to confirm.

       Figure 4: List all scopes in the admin console

Figure 5 Admin Console: Enabling Manage all applications

                 Note: You can verify the deployed application (HATSPrj1) in the Connection Pool running on the default host system.

   Figure 6: Application HATSPrj1 is up and running in the default host

6. Monitor Active Connections

• • Navigate to Connection Management 🡪 Host Connection to view the active connection.

Figure 7 Application HATSPrj1 listed within scope

• •  If multiple EAR applications are deployed on the same Liberty server instance, the Admin Console shows all sessions under the same host. In this example, HATPrj_EAR and HATSPrjNew_EAR are two EAR applications deployed on the same Liberty server.

Figure 8: Multiple ears deployed on the same liberty instances

Figure 9: All active sessions under the same liberty instances are displayed in the Admin Console

7. Managing all other applications from the remote system using the admin console

The Admin Console can be accessed from a remote system, allowing us to:

• • • View and manage applications running on another host.

    • Switch between systems seamlessly.

    • Monitor sessions and activity across multiple environments.

In our case, WinDev2407Eval is the remote system. LP2-AP-####### is the localhost (local system).

The Admin Console lists all applications that run on local and remote systems. To switch between systems, select the required host under Management Scope and enable Manage all applications within scope.

Figure 10: All other applications running are listed under the management scope

8. View all remote servers’ active sessions in your local system

The Admin Console will list all applications running across all systems within the management scope. The Admin Console on WinDev2407Eval can list active sessions from LP2-AP-xxxxxxxx. The two sessions running on LP2-AP-xxxxxxxx are visible and manageable from the Admin Console on WinDev2407Eval. This confirms that applications and sessions across hosts are integrated into a unified view.

Figure 11: Application HATSPrj1 and HATSPrjNew are listed within the scope

Summary:

By enabling the management scope, users can remotely manage all applications and remote connections directly from the admin console. The console will display all running applications across all systems within the management scope, including those hosted on remote machines. This approach is well-suited for modern DevOps, cloud operations, and containerized environments where centralized visibility and remote management are essential.

Key Benefits of Remote Administration for HATS Applications on Liberty Server

★ Centralized Multi-System Management

Administrators can manage multiple HATS projects deployed across different Liberty Server instances from a single admin console, eliminating the need to switch between environments.

★ Seamless Remote Access

The management scope enables real-time remote monitoring and control, reducing the need for physical system access and supporting distributed team operations.

★ Scalability for Cloud and Hybrid Environments

This setup is cloud-friendly and supports both on-premises and cloud-based Liberty Server deployments. As organizations scale their applications in hybrid cloud environments, the admin console provides a unified interface to manage workloads seamlessly across systems.

★ Support for High Availability Architectures

By managing applications across multiple servers and systems, this solution aligns with cloud-native and high-availability strategies, ensuring that workloads can easily shift and recover across environments.

★ Enhanced Flexibility for Modern IT Infrastructures

The ability to manage applications across virtual machines, cloud platforms, and on-premises servers enables organizations to adopt flexible, scalable, and cost-effective deployment models.

References:

1. 1. https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/hats/9.7.0?topic=console-remote-admin-support-liberty-server

   2. https://community.ibm.com/community/user/ibmz-and-linuxone/blogs/shivaprasad-na njundaswamy/2021/10/20/access-hats-admin-console-on-liberty

   3. https://community.ibm.com/community/user/blogs/supreeth-roy2/2024/10/04/hats-cloud-depl oyment-support?communityKey=02ca7e54-2793-4fe1-867f-786e27caaac6

Mahua Chanda

Senior Software Developer

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