The Application Server is (usually) run as a Windows service i.e. it is a executable that performs specific functions and it is designed not to require user intervention. Windows Services are not started by direct user intervention but by the Windows Service Control Manager.
When started the Application Server has to perform a series of tasks before it can be accessed by users (for example through the Smart Client). Table 1 lists the main tasks the Application Server performs during startup. Depending on various factors the startup process can take anywhere from several seconds to some minutes. Note that the Application Server will show up as running in the Windows operating system long before all the tasks listed in table 1 are executed.
Detailed information about the startup process is mostly recorded using Application Servers logging facility, Some information about the startup process (especially when startup fails) is written to the Windows System Events.
Task |
Description |
Loading instance configuration |
Loads the configuration file for the started instance. If the Application Server encounters problems during this task it will log these problems to the Windows event log. The Application Server will not start if it encounters problems during this step. |
Logging initialization |
If the Application Server encounters problems during this task it will log these problems to the Windows event log. The Application Server will not start if it encounters problems during initialization of the global log. After this point all diagnostic messages will be logged according to the configuration of the logging engine. |
Inspection of operating environment |
The Application Server will inspect its operating environment. This includes the processor architecture (32 or 64 bit). |
Testing directory environment |
The Application Server relies on some directories where it stores data. In this step the Application Server checks if all those directories are available. |
Test database connection |
The Application Server tests if it can access the configured database If this test fails the Application Server will not start. |
Test database version |
Tests if the Database Version is supported by the Application Sever. If this test fails the Application Server will not start. |
Readout of global settings |
The global settings are read from the database. The Application Server will fail to start if the global settings cannot be read. |
Manager user privileges |
The Application Server checks the privileges granted to the manager user created with the Database Setup. If this user does not have all the privileges needed these privileges will be auto assigned in this step. |
HTTP Proxy configuration |
The Application Server gets the HTTP proxy server configuration and sets the default HTTP proxy server that will be used by the Application Server. Afterwards the Application Server tests if it can connect to the Redbex Distribution Server. The Application Server will still start if it cannot establish a connection to the distribution Server, however some functionality will be limited. |
Tests if the Application Server has access to the configured path for binary, temporary and cache storage and if the Application Server can create and delete files in these directories. The Application Server will fail to start if one of these tests fails. |
|
Load license |
Loads the currently installed license. The Application Server will start even if the installed license is not valid. However you cannot login to the Application Server without providing a valid license first. |
Load caches |
If the system finds persisted caches (as files on the file system) it reads the caches into memory and deletes the file. Depending on the amount of data handled by that installation of the Application Server the cache files might get huge and therefore may take some time to load. |
Cleanup after unclean shutdown |
If the system detects an unclean system shutdown (e.g. due to a power failure) it performs tasks to bring the system into a clean state. This includes: •Closing of ghost sessions (user sessions that were not closed on shutdown) •Deleting of temporary files |
Clear Ghost sessions |
If the Application Server was not shutdown cleanly, ghost sessions might remain. During startup these sessions will be closed. |
Start job queuing |
Job queuing is enabled so that jobs can now be queued and executed |
Start job scheduler |
The job scheduler is started so that jobs scheduled after this point in time will be executed. |
Start services |
The Application Server's Services are started, so that clients can access the Services. As soon as this task is finished an information is written to the Windows Event Log. |
Table 1: Main tasks performed by the Application Server during startup. Listed in sequence of execution.
