There may come a time when you need to change the hostname of your IBM Maximo WebSphere Application Server. This could be due to migrating the configuration to another machine, changing domain/subnet information, or copying a virtual machine for development purposes. Whatever the reason, this article aims to help get Maximo back up and running after a hostname change on the IBM WebSphere Application Server. For example, let’s assume the old hostname is 172.31.36.36, and we want to change it to maximo.a3jgroup.com in a WebSphere v8.5.5 environment.

Step 1: Change the Host Name for the Cell Manager and Node

1. Sign into the IBM WebSphere Application Server machine as an administrative user.
2. Stop the IBM Cell Manager and Node Agent Windows Services if they are running.
3. Open a command prompt as an administrator and navigate to the C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\bin directory (substitute your WebSphere folder if necessary).
4. Run the following command: wsadmin.bat -conntype NONE -lang jython
5. At the wsadmin> prompt, issue the following command: AdminConfig.list('ServerIndex') This will list out the existing servers (typically the Cell Manager and Node). The results will look like: '(cells/ctgCell01/nodes/ctgCellManager01|serverindex.xml#ServerIndex_1)' '(cells/ctgCell01/nodes/ctgNode01|serverindex.xml#ServerIndex_1)'
6. For each of the entries returned in the previous step, issue the following command: AdminConfig.modify('(cells/ctgCell01/nodes/ctgCellManager01|serverindex.xml#ServerIndex_1)', "[[hostName maximo.a3jgroup.com]]") AdminConfig.modify('(cells/ctgCell01/nodes/ctgNode01|serverindex.xml#ServerIndex_1)', "[[hostName maximo.a3jgroup.com]]")
7. Save the changes by running: AdminConfig.save()
8. Exit the wsadmin> prompt by running: exit
9. Start the IBM Cell Manager Windows Service. This should enable you to log into the IBM WebSphere Console.

Step 2: Change the Host Name for the various Ports

1. Sign into the IBM WebSphere Console as the wasadmin user.
2. Open the Servers > Server Types > WebSphere application servers page.
3. Click on the MXServer application server.
4. Click on the Ports link under Communications.
5. Click on each address that has the old hostname and change it to the new hostname. Click OK.
6. Open the System administration > Deployment manager page.
7. Click on the Ports link under Additional Properties
8. Click on each address that has the old hostname and change it to the new hostname. Click OK.
9. Open the System administration > Node agents page.
10. Click on the nodeagent Node agent.
11. Click on the Ports link under Additional Properties
12. Click on each address that has the old hostname and change it to the new hostname. Click OK.
13. Click the Save to master configuration file link.
14. Synchronize changes back to the cell.
15. Log out of the IBM WebSphere Console
16. Restart the IBM Cell Manager Windows Service.
17. Start the IBM Node Agent Windows Service.
18. Depending on whether the MXServer application server is set to start automatically, you may need to log back into the IBM WebSphere Console to start it.

Maximo should now be running on a new host name!