Requirements
Contents
- Splunk requirements
- Basic system requirements
- Installation tool requirements
- Requirements for getting Data in
- To collect WAS log or config XML data with a forwarder
- To collect performance or config XML data via JMX
- JMX Data (performance and config data)
- Get your IBM JAR files
- Copy the JAR files to the Splunk FA Add-on for WAS
- Performance specific requirements
- Config data requirements
- Solution requirements
- Requirements for gathering data
Requirements
Before you install Splunk for WebSphere Application Server (WAS) read the following system and component requirements. You must satisfy the requirements listed to successfully install the Solution and to successfully map the data from your monitored inputs to Splunk App for WAS. The App is your window to the data in your environment.
Splunk requirements
- We support Splunk, version 4.2 or later, whether you have Splunk configured as search heads or indexers in your environment. Be sure to download the correct version for your platform; In particular, ensure that you run the 32-bit version of Splunk on 32-bit platforms.
- Splunk forwarders must be versions 4.2 or later.
Basic system requirements
- We support IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment versions 8.0, 7.0, 6.1, 6.0.
Installation tool requirements
To run the Java based command line tool, CreateInputs.jar you must:
- Have JRE version 1.5 or later installed on your WAS box.
- Know the host name of the WAS box.
- Know the installation path to the WAS profiles on this WAS box.
To learn more, see Installation Tools in this manual.
Requirements for getting Data in
To collect WAS log or config XML data with a forwarder
You can create your own inputs.conf file or you can run the install scripts to populate inputs.conf automatically.
To collect log and configuration data on a WebSphere Application Server box, you must have:
- Credentials to access the WAS box.
- A Splunk forwarder, Splunk UF version 4.2 or later, installed on the WAS boxes in your Splunk environment.
Note: We recommend that you collect config XML data using the Splunk forwarder on the WAS box as the data is collected more efficiently than collecting it via JMX.
Important: The Splunk forwarder applianceis not required to collect WAS log or config XML data.
To collect performance or config XML data via JMX
Collecting performance data is CPU intensive. We recommend that you do not use the WAS box as the collection point for the data. Collect the data on an independent box with a Splunk Universal Forwarder (version 4.2 or later) installed. This is the Splunk forwarder appliance. Once this is set up, you can forward the data to a Splunk indexer (version 4.2 or later). In a test environment you can use the indexer to collect the performance data.
IMPORTANT: A JMX connection requires a DNS host name to communicate with the WAS Deployment Manager. It cannot work on IP. You can either modify /etc/hosts and add the host name for the WAS Deployment Manager on your JMX box, or you can run the configuration scripts to do this for you. Add the host names used by the Splunk for WAS configuration files to /etc/hosts (on Linux if your DNS doesn't recognize the host of your WAS installation).
JMX Data (performance and config data)
To collect performance (PMI) and Config XML data remotely from your WAS deployment manager via JMX you need:
- Splunk installed.
- IBM JRE (see the WAS JAR and JRE version compatibility table).
- IBM JAR files.
We recommend that you use WAS 8.0 JAR files to facilitate JMX communication. The WAS 8.0 JAR files can connect with all previous versions of the Deployment Manager.
If you do not have access to 8.0 JAR files, read the following information and select what works best in your environment.
- Select the IBM JAR files. This determines the JRE you can use to connect to the WAS Deployment Manager.
- Select your operating system. We recommend that you use a Linux system. Technically you can use any operating system where Splunk can be installed, but using other systems can have limitations. See the WAS JAR and JRE version compatibility table for a list of limitations.
- Identify a box on which to collect the performance data, then configure it to gather the data (this box is the forwarder appliance).
- To create the Splunk forwarder appliance you must satisfy the JRE requirements and WAS JAR requirements listed in the tables below.
- If you have IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment version 8.0 installed, then you have access to all the latest JAR and JRE versions.
For details about operating systems supported by Splunk, see "System requirements" in the Splunk product documentation.
WAS JAR and JRE version compatibility table
| On WAS JAR version | You can install this JRE | Operating system limitations (JRE will not work on this system) |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 | Oracle JRE 6.0 or 7.0, IBM JRE6.0 or 7.0 | ORACLE AIX and IBM Windows, Sun OS, Solaris |
| 7.0 | IBM JRE 6.0 or 7.0 | Windows, Sun OS, Solaris |
| 6.1 | IBM JRE 6.0 or 7.0 | Windows, Sun OS, Solaris |
| 6.0 | IBM JRE 6.0 or 7.0 | Windows, Sun OS, Solaris |
"Note": An IBM JRE installation can require high level privileges and has certain constraints and requirements associated with it. Read the IBM documentation on the IBM download website to understand the specific requirements for downloading and installing a JRE.
Your connection with a specific deployment manager version depends upon the WAS JAR version you are using. The following table shows what WAS JAR versions work with with different Deployment Manager versions.
WAS JAR version and Deployment Manager version compatibility table
| WAS JAR file version... | Connects with Deployment Manager versions... |
|---|---|
| 8.0 | 8.0,7.0,6.1, 6.0 |
| 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 6.1 | 6.1 |
| 6.0 | 6.0 |
Get your IBM JAR files
We recommend that you use WAS 8.0 JAR files as they are backward compatible with WAS Deployment Manager versions 8.0, 7.0, 6.1 and 6.0. You can also use the Oracle JRE as it does not require special privileges and can be easier to deploy.
WAS JAR files
| WAS JAR version | contains the following files |
|---|---|
| 8.0 | In WAS_INSTALL/runtimes/ you can find:
|
| 7.0 | In WAS_INSTALL/runtimes/ you can find:
|
| 6.1 | In WAS_INSTALL/runtimes/ you can find:
In
|
| 6.0 | In WAS_INSTALL/lib/ you can find:
|
Copy the JAR files to the Splunk FA Add-on for WAS
Copy the WebSphere JAR files you selected to the folder $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/splunk_fa_addon_was/bin/SplunkWAS<WAS JAR version>_lib/ .
For example, copy WAS 8.0 JAR files to $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/splunk_fa_addon_was/bin/SplunkWAS8_lib/
Performance specific requirements
- At a minimum you must have monitor role accounts (WAS monitor role) to connect with the WAS Deployment Manager.
- To include accurate host name information for your performance metrics, see WAS role requirements in the Confguration section below.
Config data requirements
To collect config data you must have:
- WAS administrator privileges(required to collect data remotely).
- Splunk installed on the box from which you want to collect the data.
Solution requirements
To splunk your WebSphere environment and map the data to the dashboards and views in the Splunk App for WAS, you must deploy Splunk for WebSphere Application Server into your environment. For more information about what to deploy as part of the Solution, see what to download.
Requirements for gathering data
To use the Solution to collect the data that matters to you, you must:
- Identify the data you want to collect.
- Identify the machines that store the data you need.
- Get the credentials for the machines.
- Download the Solution from Splunkbase.
This documentation applies to the following versions of WAS: 2.0 , 2.0.1 View the Article History for its revisions.
Hi,
I see some ambiguity re collecting JMX data on WAS. One part of document you say use full Splunk as heavy forwarder, call Splunk for universal forwarder support, this page says use universal forwarder. What is the latest and greatest re recommendation?