Using jboss-ra.xml to override ra.xml property values?

[charrogruver]

We are using WebSphere MQ as our JMS provider in JBoss AS 5.1.  The ra.xml specifies a couple of RA specific properties that are not part of the connection factory configuration, and therefore cannot be overridden in the data source.

I am led to understand that ra.xml properties may be overridden with a jboss-ra.xml file.  I have been unable to find any documentation or posts about how to actually do this.

We are reluctant to unpack the wmq.jmsra.rar and edit its ra.xml file...  I generally shy away from messing with packaged files.

Has anyone used a jboss-ra.xml file to override default values in an ra.xml?

Thanks.

[benr]

What are you looking to set? Tracing can be configured using Java system properties, the other properties can't (reconnectionRetryInterval/Count and the connection pooling properties) but the defaults should be ok for general use.

[charrogruver]

I was afraid that it was going to be something like that...  :>)  We need to set the pooling properties associated with maximum connections and concurrent connections.  We will just explode the rar when we deploy it and modify the ra.xml as needed.  Our middleware team will just have to be careful when they update and patch MQSeries.

Thanks.

[benr]

maxConnections and connectionConcurrency only affect the number of connections available for MDB delivery, and unless you have a large number of MDBs and/or are connecting to a number of different queue managers the default values should be ok for most configurations. Connections for outbound JMS are configured separately.

If you can raise a PMR then I can put in a change to allow these values to be overridden using Java system properties. That would be a better solution long-term than unpacking/repacking the .rar file.