Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 Developer's Guide

AMX MBeans

All AMX MBeans are represented as interfaces in a subpackage of com.sun.appserv.management (see http://glassfish.dev.java.net/nonav/javaee5/amx/javadoc/com/sun/appserv/management/package-summary.html) and are implemented by dynamic proxies on the client-side. Note that client-side means any client, wherever it resides. AMX may be used within the server itself such as in a custom MBean. While you can access AMX MBeans directly through standard JMX APIs, most users find the use of AMX interface (proxy) classes to be most convenient.

An AMX MBean belongs to an Application Server domain. There is exactly one domain per DAS. Thus all MBeans accessible through the DAS belong to a single Application Server administrative domain. All MBeans in an Application Server administrative domain, and hence within the DAS, belong to the JMX domain amx. All AMX MBeans can be reached by navigating through the DomainRoot.

Note –

Any MBeans that do not have the JMX domain amx are not part of AMX, and are neither documented nor supported for use by clients.

AMX defines different types of MBean, namely, configuration MBeans, monitoring MBeans, utility MBeans and Java EE management JSR 77 MBeans. These MBeans are logically related in the following ways:

They all implement the com.sun.appserv.management.base.AMX interface (see http://glassfish.dev.java.net/nonav/javaee5/amx/javadoc/com/sun/appserv/management/base/AMX.html).
They all have a j2eeType and name property within their ObjectName. See com.sun.appserv.management.base.XTypes (http://glassfish.dev.java.net/nonav/javaee5/amx/javadoc/com/sun/appserv/management/base/XTypes.html) and com.sun.appserv.management.j2ee.J2EETypes (http://glassfish.dev.java.net/nonav/javaee5/amx/javadoc/com/sun/appserv/management/j2ee/J2EETypes.html) for the available values of the j2eeType property.
All MBeans that logically contain other MBeans implement the com.sun.appserv.management.base.Container interface.
JSR 77 MBeans that have a corresponding configuration or monitoring peer expose it using getConfigPeer() or getMonitoringPeer(). However, there are many configuration and monitoring MBeans that do not correspond to JSR 77 MBeans.

Configuration MBeans

Configuration information for a given Application Server domain is stored in a central repository that is shared by all instances in that domain. The central repository can only be written to by the DAS. However, configuration information in the central repository is made available to administration clients through AMX MBeans.

The configuration MBeans are those that modify the underlying domain.xml or related files. Collectively, they form a model representing the configuration and deployment repository and the operations that can be performed on them.

The Group Attribute of configuration MBeans, obtained from getGroup(), has a value of com.sun.appserv.management.base.AMX.GROUP_CONFIGURATION.

Monitoring MBeans

Monitoring MBeans provide transient monitoring information about all the vital components of the Application Server.

The Group Attribute of monitoring MBeans, obtained from getGroup(), has a value of com.sun.appserv.management.base.AMX.GROUP_MONITORING.

Utility MBeans

Utility MBeans provide commonly used services to the Application Server.

The Group Attribute of utility MBeans, obtained from getGroup(), has a value of com.sun.appserv.management.base.AMX.GROUP_UTILITY.

Java EE Management MBeans

The Java EE management MBeans implement, and in some cases extend, the management hierarchy as defined by JSR 77, which specifies the management model for the whole Java EE platform.

The AMX JSR 77 MBeans offer access to configuration and monitoring MBeans using the getMonitoringPeer() and getConfigPeer() methods.

The Group Attribute of Java EE management MBeans, obtained from getGroup(), has a value of com.sun.appserv.management.base.AMX.GROUP_JSR77.

Other MBeans

MBeans that do not fit into one of the above four categories have the value com.sun.appserv.management.base.AMX.GROUP_OTHER. One such example is com.sun.appserv.management.deploy.DeploymentMgr (see http://glassfish.dev.java.net/nonav/javaee5/amx/javadoc/com/sun/appserv/management/deploy/DeploymentMgr.html).

MBean Notifications

All AMX MBeans that emit Notifications place a java.util.Map within the UserData field of a standard JMX Notification, which can be obtained using Notification.getUserData(). Within the map are one or more items, which vary according to the Notification type. Each Notification type, and the data available within the Notification, is defined in the Javadoc of the MBean (AMX interface) that emits it.

Note that certain standard Notifications, such as javax.management.AttributeChangeNotification (see http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/javax/management/AttributeChangeNotification.html) do not and cannot follow this behavior.

Access to MBean Attributes

An AMX MBean Attribute is accessible in three ways:

Dotted names using MonitoringDottedNames and ConfigDottedNames
Attributes on MBeans using getAttribute(s) and setAttributes(s) (from the standard JMX API)
Getters/setters within the MBean’s interface class, for example, getPort(), setPort(), and so on

All dotted names that are accessible through the command line interface are available as Attributes within a single MBean. This includes properties, which are provided as Attributes beginning with the prefix property., for example, server.property.myproperty.

Note –

Certain attributes that ought to be of a specific type, such as int, are declared as java.lang.String. This is because the value of the attribute may be a template of a form such as ${HTTP_LISTENER_PORT}.