Switching to another Java Development Kit for the node manager

If you want to use a different Java Development Kit than the one included with the installation, you must upgrade the node manager to the newer Java version manually, whenever it is released.

About this task

See the Spotfire Server system requirements for information on which JDK distributions that are supported.

You can perform this upgrade with minimal impact on the Spotfire system, however, you must restart each node manager at least once. Follow the process outlined below for each node manager in your environment.

Before you begin

A supported Java Development Kit (JDK), suitable for your operating system, must be installed. It is only supported to change to another JDK of the same major version as the one bundled with the product. It is not supported to downgrade to an older Java version (major or minor) than the one bundled with the Spotfire node manager, unless Spotfire Support specifically clears you to do so.

Switch to another Java Development Kit

Procedure

Stop the Spotfire Node Manager.
Uncomment and specify the variable SPOTFIRE_JAVA_HOME in the file <installation directory>\nm\setspotfireenv.bat (Windows) or <installation directory>/nm/setspotfireenv.sh (Linux) pointing to the JDK installation that you want to use (for example, C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-17, or to the existing JAVA_HOME environment variable if there is one).
Optionally, if you run on Windows, you can set an environment variable called SPOTFIRE_JAVA_HOME instead.
Start the Spotfire Node Manager.
The Java Development Kit has now been updated.
Optional: If you determine that the original Java Development Kit is not needed, it is possible to remove it by deleting the directory <installation directory>/jdk. However, keeping it installed should not cause any problems and makes reverting easier.

Important: If you remove the old Java Development Kit, you cannot revert the Java changes without reinstalling the Spotfire Node Manager.

Revert to the original Java Development Kit

About this task

If you should need to switch back to the bundled Java Development Kit, it is easy to do so, assuming that you have not removed it.

Procedure

Stop the Spotfire Node Manager.
Undo the changes made to the file <installation directory>\nm\setspotfireenv.bat (Windows) or <installation directory>/nm/setspotfireenv.sh (Linux), by commenting out, or removing, the SPOTFIRE_JAVA_HOME variable. Clear the SPOTFIRE_JAVA_HOME environment variable if it has been set.
Start the Spotfire Node Manager.
The Spotfire Node Manager will use the original Java Development Kit.