You manage a Converged Application Server domain using an Administration Server. The Administration Server hosts the Administration Console interface, which you use to configure, deploy, and monitor the Converged Application Server installation.

Oracle recommends the following best practices for configuring Administration Server and Managed Server instances in your Converged Application Server domain:

• Run the Administration Server instance on a dedicated machine. The Administration Server machine should have a memory capacity similar to Managed Server machines, although a single central processing unit (CPU) is generally acceptable for administration purposes.
• Configure all Managed Server instances to use Managed Server Independence. This feature allows the Managed Servers to restart even if the Administration Server is unavailable. For more information, see Administering Server Startup and Shutdown for Oracle WebLogic Server for more information.
• Configure the Node Manager utility to automatically restart all Managed Servers in the Converged Application Server domain. See Understanding the WebLogic Scripting Tool for more information.

If an Administration Server fails, only configuration, deployment, and monitoring features are affected, but Managed Servers continue to operate and process client requests. See Monitoring, Tuning, and Troubleshooting in Oracle Communications Converged Application Server Administrator's Guide.