Overview of server.xml

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      *Back to [[Book|Administrator's Configuration File Reference#cfr]]     [[Topic|Administrator's Configuration File Reference#chap2]]*
h2. Overview of {{server.xml}}
The {{server.xml}} file contains most of the configuration information needed to run the server. The {{server.xml}} file is located in the _instance_dir_{{/config}} directory. The encoding is UTF-8 to maintain compatibility with regular UNIX text editors.

h3. {{sun-web-server_7_0.xsd}}

The {{sun-web-server_7_0.xsd}} schema validates the format and content of the {{server.xml}} file. The schema enforces type checks. For example, it ensures that the {{ip}} element specifies a valid IP address. The {{sun-web-server_7_0.xsd}} file is located in the {{_install_dir_/lib/dtds}} directory.

h3. Editing {{server.xml}}

The structure of {{server.xml}} is a hierarchy, with {{server}} as the topmost element. The {{server}} element has many subelements, many of which have subelements of their own.

In general, you do not need to edit {{server.xml}} directly. Instead, use the Admin Console and the {{wadm}} command-line interface to change values in {{server.xml}}. Using {{wadm}} when creating scripts to change {{server.xml}} assures you of forward compatibility. If you do edit {{server.xml}} directly, exercise caution to make sure that the resulting {{server.xml}} file is valid.

h4. Editing Element Values

To change the values in {{server.xml}}, change the value between the tags associated with the element you are editing. For example, to change the log level from {{info}} to {{fine}}, find the {{log}} child element of the {{server}} element. In this example, you see the following lines:
{code}
<log>
<log-file>../logs/errors</log-file>
<log-level>info</log-level>
</log>
{code}

To change the log level from {{info}} to {{fine}}, change the line:

{{&lt;log-level>info&lt;/log-level>}}

to:

{{&lt;log-level>fine&lt;/log-level>}}

After you make changes to the {{server.xml}} file, you must deploy your configuration for most changes to take effect. Use the command-line interface command {{wadm pull-config}} to pull the modified {{server.xml}} file, then use the Admin Console or the {{wadm deploy-config}} command to deploy your changes. For some changes, you must restart the server before they take effect. For information on which changes require a restart and which do not, see [Dynamic Reconfiguration].

h4. Adding Elements

To add a new element to {{sever.xml}}, add the element and any required subelements. Elements begin with a tag, for example {{&lt;virtual-server>}}, and end with the closing tag, for example {{&lt;/virtual-server>}}. The tags are case-sensitive.

h4. Validating server.xml

After editing {{server.xml}}, Web Server automatically validates the XML when you start or dynamically reconfigure a the server.