How to Update Java used by Reflection X Advantage on UNIX Systems

This technical note describes how to configure Reflection X Advantage (RXA) running on a UNIX or Linux system to use an alternative Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Although Java is included in the Reflection X Advantage installer, it can be manually updated to a newer version.

Note: The procedures in this note apply to UNIX and Linux installations only. For information about updating Java on Windows, see KB 7021833.

Download the JRE from the Oracle site

The default JRE installed from a browser is for a "client" environment, not a "server" environment. Reflection X Advantage requires the server JRE for full functionality. You can download and install this from the Oracle website.

1. Go to the Java SE Downloads page (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads).
2. Download and install the JRE using either the JDK download (which installs the server JRE) or the Server JRE download.

3. After installing the JRE, run the following command to confirm that the JRE version reported is the version you downloaded:

Apply the Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files to your JRE

The download from the Oracle site installs limited strength cryptographic files. Installing the unlimited strength version of these files is recommended for all users. The unlimited strength files are required to run X Administrative Console and to run in FIPS mode using either X Manager or X Manager for Domains. These files are also required to run the Reflection X Advantage service; a fatal error is written to rxs.log when you attempt to start the service using a JRE that is not configured for unlimited strength cryptography.

Note: You need to install the unlimited strength policy files each time you download and install a new JRE.

To install the unlimited strength cryptographic files:

1. From the Java SE Downloads page, download the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files for your version of Java.
2. Unzip the downloaded file and locate the following two policy files.

3. Locate the security folder in the Java install you want to use (<java-path>/jre/lib/security).
4. Replace the default limited strength policy files in that folder with the unlimited strength policy files.

Configure Reflection X Advantage to use the installed JRE

For all Reflection X Advantage installations, you need to edit all installed *.lax files. The number of files you need to edit depends on which features you installed.

1. Log on as root and locate the Reflection X Advantage installation folder (the default is /opt/rxadvantage).
2. Open each of the *.lax files present in a text editor and modify the "lax.nl.current.vm" property value to use the correct path for your java install (/<java-path>/bin/java). For example:

If you run Reflection X Advantage in domain mode, you must also make the following change to update the Reflection X Advantage services:

1. Open rxs.conf in a text editor. The default location is /opt/rxadvantage/bin/rxs.conf.
2. Edit the 'wrapper.java.command' property value to use the correct path for your java install (/<java-path>/bin/java). For example:

3. Restart the Reflection X Service.

Verify that the new JRE is in use

Use the following Reflection X Advantage log files to verify the version and location of the JRE in use.

Application or Service	Log file
X Manager and X Manager for Domains	~/.attachmate/rx/logs/xmanager.log
X Administrative Console	~/.attachmate/rx/logs/xadmin.log
Reflection X Advantage service	/opt/rxadvantage/logs/rxs.log

Look for the following entries:

Search for "java version" to view the java version. For example:

Search for "JVM_EXE" to view the path to the Java executable. For example:

014-08-07 12:24:16,628 [ INFO]: JVM_EXE is: /jdk/jdk1.8.0_67/jre/bin/java

Legacy KB ID

This document was originally published as Attachmate Technical Note 2740.