# Mechanics of Configuration

## Configuration Files

The EMS server reads configuration files only once, when the server starts. It ignores subsequent changes to the configuration files. If you change a configuration file, use the `shutdown` command from the EMS Administration Tool to shutdown the server and then restart the server as described in Running the EMS Server.

## Administrative Requests

You can also change the server configuration with administrative requests, using either `tibemsadmin` (a command line tool), the Java or .NET administrative APIs, or TIBCO Administrator™ (a separate TIBCO product).

When the server validates and accepts an administrative request, it writes the change to the appropriate configuration file as well (overwriting any manual changes to that file). This policy keeps configuration files current in case the server restarts (for example, in a fault-tolerant situation, or after a hardware failure).

Re-installing or updating EMS overwrites the files in the `bin/` and `samples/config/` directories. Do not use these directories to configure your deployment.

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