(DI-2211) Install and start JMX connector on SAP system

JMX connector is implemented in Java as a JCo service. The service has to be configured and running before first use. All configuration setup of the JCo service for the JMX connector has to be done on the central instance of CrystalBridge® Monitoring.

If you are on lower version than 2202, we recommend to apply a following Transport to Upgrade JCO Service for JMX Connector. This transport contains the newer JCO libraries compatible with Java 1.7 and higher, upgrades of java application with its own log mechanism which might help you to investigate the root cause of any issues occurred during starting the JCO service for JMX connector. If this transport not applied, you might experience some compatibility issues and the JCO service might not start as expected.

When transport request imported, you need to first “Stop and uninstall JCO service” and then execute the report with option “Install and start JCO service” again. This step is needed to update the java application and libraries in the installation directory.

Setup

  1. Create user DVD_JMX_USER using transaction SU01 and assign him role /DVD/JMX_JCO_RFC. This user will communicate with the JMX connector installed on the application server.

  2. Execute the report /DVD/JMX_JCO_SETUP, check Setup JCO service and all fields should be now editable.

    • JCO server

      • Gateway service - port which SAP gateway of SAP AS is listening on. It is automatically detected for the main SAP AS.

      • Program ID - name under which JCo service will be registered on SAP AS Gateway. The default value is DVD_JMX_PROGID

      • Connection count - value of greater than 1 allows parallel outbound processing of server instances. The maximum is 100, the default value is 10.

      • Worker thread count - defines the maximum number of JCo Server worker threads in the thread pool. To enable parallel outbound processing, use a value greater than 1. It is recommended you use a value of 4 to process a high number of small messages. The maximum value is 100. The default value is 20.

      • Worker thread min. count - defines the minimum number of JCo Server worker threads for receiving calls from SAP. The default value is 5. If JCo Server is idle, the specified number of minimum threads is kept running in the thread pool.

      • Gateway host - IP address of gateway host. It is automatically detected for the main SAP AS

    • JCO client

      • Client - name of the SAP logon client for the central system

      • User - user created in step 1 for logon to the central system

      • Password - password of the user created in step 1 for SAP authentication

      • System number - SAP system number

      • Peak limit - maximum number of connections available in the connection pool

      • Application server host - fully-qualified name or IP address of the application server that hosts SAP. It is recommended to choose the same application server for deploying of JCo service.

    • Installation properties

      • Installation directory on AS - full directory path where Java application for JMX connector and all corresponding files will be copied.

      • Java path on AS - full path to the installation directory of Java on the Application server. Not enabled on Windows systems as long as Java is added to PATH.

      • AS name to deploy JCo - name of the application server on which the JMX connector will be installed.

    • You can hit Get default configuration values and fields will be populated by default values with exception of password and system number

  3. After entering the correct values, do not forget to execute (F8) so configuration values are saved.

  4. Check Install and start JCO service and execute.

    1. When the JCo service started as expected, you should see the following successful messages with some additional information logs from Java written into spool output.

    2. When JCo service did not start as expected, please check the Troubleshooting tips.

  5. After the report finishes executing, you can get back and execute Check deployment to make sure the JMX connector was installed and started successfully on the application server.

Troubleshooting

There can be various issues that can cause JCo service hasn't started as expected:

  1. Missing Java installed on your system - make sure that you have installed Java with version 1.7 or higher on your system.

  2. Defined path to Java is not valid - make sure that a valid path is defined for installed Java on your system.

  3. Invalid path to Installation directory or the current user has no sufficient permissions to access this directory - make sure that the installation directory path is valid and you have sufficient permissions to access this directory.

  4. Invalid user name or password for SAP user - make sure that the defined user exists on the SAP system and a valid password has been provided. Please also check whether this user is not locked and has the authorization role /DVD/JMX_JCO_RFC assigned.

  5. Invalid Gateway or Application server host is not valid - make sure that defined hosts and all other configured fields in JCO Setup are still valid.

If all the above requirements are met and the JCo service did not start as expected, you can find additional details about the failure directly in the spool output when this report is executed with the option ‘Install and start JCO service’.

Logs written into spool output

Logging

Additionally, you can check all created logs in the file ‘startup.log' which is located in the installation directory. By default, logging for the JMX connector is activated only when starting this JCO service. If you are experiencing any issues during BOBJ monitoring setup, you have a possibility to temporarily activate additional logging from the JMX connector application as follows:

  1. Go to the transaction SE16

  2. Enter table name /DVD/JMX_CONF

  3. Display content of this table (F7)

  4. Select the row with the name ‘logging enabled’ and click the change button (F6)

  5. Change the value from false to true

  6. Save changes (CTRL+S)

At this point, logging for the JMX connector is enabled and all actions executed between SAP and BOBJ systems are written into the file ‘startup.log’ in the installation directory.

Make sure that logging is enabled only during setup phase and not during active monitoring. If activated during monitoring, multiple MB can be written into the log file every 5 minutes and log file might became very big after few days of active monitoring. This might lead into a various space issues on your central SAP system.

If you are still experiencing any issue with starting the JCO service after checking all above steps, please contact our support. In such case, please always add a screenshot of the spool output from this report and also add the content of the ‘startup.log’ file.