5.1.1 MBeanServer Interface

The MBeanServer interface is an extension of the MBeanServerConnection interface, and represents the agent-side interface for interacting with MBeans.

The specification of the interface defines all operations that can be applied to resources and other agent objects through the MBean server. Its methods can be divided into three main groups:

• Methods for controlling MBean instances:

  • createMBean, or instantiate and registerMBean add a new MBean to the agent

  • unregisterMBean removes an MBean from the agent

  • isRegistered and getObjectInstance associate the class name with the MBean's management name

  • addNotificationListener and removeNotificationListener control event listeners for a particular MBean

  • getClassLoader is used to download new MBean classes

• Methods for accessing MBean attributes and operations. These methods are identical to those presented in 2.1.1 DynamicMBean Interface, except they all have an extra parameter for specifying the target MBean:

  • getMBeanInfo

  • getAttribute and getAttributes

  • setAttribute and setAttributes

  • invoke

• Methods for managing the agent as a whole:

  • getDefaultDomain (domains are a way of grouping MBeans in the agent)

  • getMBeanCount counts all MBeans in an agent

  • queryMBeans and queryNames to find MBeans by name or by value