Unzipping the Java Agent distribution archive extracts the following files and directories to the current directory.

Java Agent Directory Contents 

  • conf: Common configuration files. The configuration files in this directory are used by an agent if a more specific version of the configuration file does not exist in the version-specific conf directory, ver<version_number>/conf. 
  • javaagent.jar: The common JAR file used to bootstrap the Java Agent. To enable the agent, pass the fully qualified location of this file as the --javaagent argument value to the JVM at startup.
  • readme.txt: Instructions and notes for installing the Java Agent. 
  • utils: Binary files for utilities shared across versions of the agent.  
  • ver<version_number>: The javaagent.jar file, configuration files, and other resources specific for this version of the Java Agent. This directory is named to reflect the Java Agent version number, such as ver4.4.0.5.
    Among other things, the directory contains: 
    • conf: The configuration files used by this version of the Java agent, including controller-info.xml, app-agent-config.xml, and more. These settings in these files take precedence over the configuration file in the <agent_home>/conf directory. 
    • external-services: Dynamically loaded modules that extend the agent, such as the Analytics Data Sources dynamic service.
    • javaagent.jar: A version-specific JAR file that serves as the Java agent binary. Do not use this Java agent JAR when configuring instrumenting directly. Use javaagent.jar in the root directory instead. 
    • lib: Libraries that support the operation of this version of the Java agent.  
    • logs: Log files written by the agent.
    • sdk: Samples, APIs, and Javadoc for extending the capabilities of the AppDynamics Java Agent.
    • utils: Binary files for utilities that are specific to this version of the agent.

You can point the JVM argument at the top-level javaagent.jar, as it allows you to upgrade the agent without changing how you deploy your application (unzip the new agent version and place it at the old location on the file system). The top-level jar has a specific version that behaves the same as the javaagent.jar under the directory with the same version number in its name.

The version-specific javaagent.jar allows you to use different versions of the agent and at the same time re-use the same top-level config files. You can point different applications JVM arg at different versions of the agent. 

Contents of the conf Directory

The files located in this directory are commonly used for agent configuration and deployment.

  • transactions.xml: Configuration settings for business transactions identified by the agent.
  • controller-info.xml: Configuration settings that identify the node, tier, and application associated with the data that this agent reports to the AppDynamics Controller, along with connection settings for the Controller. For more information, see Java Agent Configuration Properties.
  • app-agent-config.xml: Local configuration settings for this agent. The settings in this file override any equivalent settings specified globally for the AppDynamics deployment. This file is typically used for short-term property settings or for debugging agent issues.
  • jmx: Files for configuring the JMX and Websphere PMI metrics.
  • logging/log4j2.xml: Flags to control logging levels for the agent. It is highly recommended not to change the default logging levels.