A provider is a centrally configured resource that supplies services to run time components in the server. For example, a keystore provider centralizes the definition of one security keystore, including its type, file location, and password. Each configured provider has a name. Using that name the services of the provider can be referenced in other parts of the server.
One provider can refer to another provider. The SSL provider, as an example, requires a keystore and a trust store. Each of these is a keystore of some type, so instead of configuring all of the details of the keystore, the configuration simply asks for the name of the keystore provider(s) in charge of the keystore and trust store.
Often, several providers can supply the same service, although in different ways. For example, in a secure system a certificate can be stored in a keystore or in an LDAP directory. A Certificate Revocation List (CRL) can be stored in a file system directory or in an LDAP directory. Simply specifying the name of the provider to be used to access the certificate or the CRL is all that is needed when configuring for a need. This simplifies server configuration.
A provider describes a resource available at run time, while the users of the provider are configured in the design time experience; a deployed usage is tied to the run time physical implementation only by its name. For example, a configuration requiring a certificate store can be deployed on servers having completely different storage for its certificates.
Please note that the term providers is used on several levels. While the providers available in iWay Service Manager offer services to other iWay components, providers can also refer to software that is installed into the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that provides services to application programs. These JVM providers must also be configured.
As with all server-level modifications, you must completely stop and then start your iSM instance for these changes to take affect.