Improving startup performance of SignDoc Web running on IBM WebSphere Application Server 9

Customer Situation

After deploying SignDoc Web to IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 9 the startup is drastically slowed down. Depending on the actual server setup and configuration it can take up to a couple of hours for the server to change from the message of initialization ("ADMU3200I: Server launched. Waiting for initialization status.") to the final availability ("ADMU3000I: Server server1 open for e-business; process id is 2408").

Solution

This issue is related to Contexts and Dependency Injection (CDI) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_injection) 1.2 being enabled by default in WebSphere Application Server 9. The enablement of CDI 1.2 increases unnecessary performance overhead since SignDoc Web does not use JavaEE CDI.

To reduce the startup time significantly, CDI can be completely disabled on the server level (N.B.: This is only possible if there are no other applications running on the server making use of CDI). To disable CDI a Java custom property has to be set via the WebSphere Admin Console. To do so please open up the Admin Console and navigate to Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers > server_name. Then, under Server Infrastructure, click Java and process management > Process definition > Java virtual machine > Custom properties. Add a new variable with the name "com.ibm.ws.cdi.enableCDI" and set it´s value to "false":

Save the changes and restart the IBM WebSphere Application Server. The startup time will be significantly reduced now.

For further information on the parameter and outline of the behaviour see this IBM Technote: http://www- 01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21983564 (http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss? uid=swg21983564)

Applies to

• Kofax SignDoc Web 5.2.1-1330
• IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0.0.3