# JSON Configuration Files

When Central Administration is used, TIBCO Enterprise Message Service stores server configuration settings in a single JSON-based configuration file. This file holds the entire configuration of the server without the need of sub-files. Furthermore, a single JSON configuration file holds the configuration settings for a pair of fault tolerant servers. JSON-based configuration files use the `.json` file extension.

The JSON configuration standard was introduced in an earlier version of TIBCO Enterprise Message Service software. Prior to that release, the configuration of the EMS server could only be stored in a set of text-based configuration files with names ending in `.conf`. The main configuration file name defaults to tibemsd.conf and a set of sub-files such as queues.conf hold information on specific types of configuration items. These configuration files are described in the TIBCO Enterprise Message Service User’s Guide.

An EMS server can be started either with a set of `.conf` files or with a single `.json` file. However, the EMS server can be managed through the Central Administration feature only if it has been started with the JSON file. EMS servers started with a set of .conf files cannot be managed using the Central Administration server.

You can convert a text-based server configuration to a single `tibemsd.json` file using the `tibemsconf2json` utility, which is described in Conversion of Server Configuration Files to JSON.

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