UserRegistry and DataSource

[Gianni Salvagno]

Problem Description:
This simple code works fine in UserRegistry set in Admin Web Console.

Context initialcontext = new InitialContext();
DataSource datasource = (DataSource)
initialcontext.lookup("jdbc/DSNAME");

But when I stop and start server for applying security set, I have :
My log:
...
NamingException while looking up datasource: jdbc/DSNAME
javax.naming.NameNotFoundException: jdbc/DSNAME
...
WAS trace:
[1/8/03 19:13:54:116 CET] 28c15c33 CNContextImpl < lookup: exception
[1/8/03 19:13:54:116 CET] 28c15c33 CNContextImpl d
getNameInNamespace()-->>myserver/nodes/myserver/servers/server1
[1/8/03 19:13:54:116 CET] 28c15c33 Helpers d jndiNamingException

com.ibm.ws.naming.jndicos.CNContextImpl
lookup

infep1b30/nodes/infep1b30/servers/server1
jdbc/DSNAME

javax.naming.NameNotFoundException: jdbc/DSNAME
at com.ibm.ws.naming.jndicos.CNContextImpl.doLookup(CNContextImpl.java:1503)
at com.ibm.ws.naming.jndicos.CNContextImpl.doLookup(CNContextImpl.java:1457)
at com.ibm.ws.naming.jndicos.CNContextImpl.lookup(CNContextImpl.java:1167)

Can I get datasource 'outside' WAS Console ?
Can I use a datasource in UserRegistry implementation ?
Thank you very much.

[Kyle Brown]

I may be going out on a limb here (in other words, I'm not 100% certain -- more like 70%) but I THINK that you can't use J2EE resources like DataSources or EJB's in a custom registry because it starts up before the services do. Have you looked at the custom registry example (which uses a database) that comes with WebSphere? I THINK they ended up using the DriverManager to get to the database, but I would check the example to be sure.
Kyle

[Gianni Salvagno]

I think you are right about Security it's initialize before resource (I posted a problem on IBM support but I had no posts about this).
I can't find an example for the UserRegistry implementation for WAS 5, but I think they use DriverManager that always works...
In WAS 5 Info Center says:
"If the custom registry implementation is using data sources to connect to a database you need to set the property WAS_UseDataSource to true in the custom registry properties in the Network Deployment environment"

So, I think they knows the problem ( which it seems to be not for datasource only ...) .
So, I set this property in CustomRegistry Custom Property by admin web console, but the result is the same.
So, I failed to set property ( What Network Deployment environment means ? ) OR this property doesn't work ( I will not be surprise, because in was 4.0 you Must use a 2-phase commit datasource in customregistry even if no documentation suggests ... ).
Thank you very much.

[Kyle Brown]

Yep found it. Read this redbook, especially the chapter on Custom Registries (page 184). You can't use DataSources in Custom Registries in V5, plain and simple.
Kyle
[ January 10, 2003: Message edited by: Kyle Brown ]

[Gianni Salvagno]

Kyle, thank you very much.
Now, two questions:
- WAS_UseDataSource, I can't understand why Info Center says this property should be set for using datasource ?!
- Where can I get a Connection in User Registry, I don't think I can't use a connection pooling whitout a datasource ...
Thanks,
Gianni

[Kyle Brown]

Gianni,
I'm as clueless as you are about why the property exists -- I'll have to take that one up with the developers, since it goes against everything I've read and heard from them.
As far as I know, the only way to get a connection in a custom registry is the old-fashioned way -- from a DriverManager.
Kyle

[Lorenz Chi]

Dear All,

Thanks for your posts. I just tried out custom registries by following
IBM's example instruction and it's working fine. Here is a question, if
I wanna use a database as user registry, I have to use the old-fashioned way
which is getting a database connection from DriverManager and it seems I
cannot use connection pooling mechanism. In that case, would the performance
be dragged down because it has to get a connection each time when a security
check is necessary?

Thanks.

Lorenz

[Kyle Brown]

Yes, it would. Luckily this shouldn't happen that often (e.g. it only accesses the database on login in most cases). My recommendation would be to perhaps look into an open-source connection pooling mechanism like the one in Struts.

Kyle