# Start Coherence servers from the Administration Console

Before you begin

1. If you have not already done so, create a Coherence server. See Create Coherence servers.
2. Configure the Coherence server to communicate with a Node Manager. Node Manager is a WebLogic Server utility that lets you start, stop, and suspend server instances, and automatically restart servers remotely. Node Manager must run on each computer that hosts the Coherence server instance that you want to control with Node Manager. Configure each computer as a Machine in WebLogic Server, and assign each Coherence server instance that you will control with Node Manager to the machine upon which it runs. See Create and configure machines, Assign server instances to machines, and Configure startup arguments for Coherence servers. For more information, see Node Manager Administrator's Guide.
3. Start the Node Manager on the computer that you want to host the Coherence server. The WebLogic Server custom installation process optionally installs and starts Node Manager as a Windows service on Windows systems. If it's not already running, you can start Node Manager manually at a command prompt or with a script. See Starting Node Manager. On Windows, you can start the Node Manager using a shortcut on the Start menu (WebLogic Server > Tools > Node Manager).

To use the Administration Console to start Coherence servers:

1. If you have not already done so, in the Change Center of the Administration Console, click Lock & Edit (see Use the Change Center).
2. In the left pane of the Console, expand Environment and select Coherence Servers.

   The Coherence servers table displays all the Coherence servers defined in the domain.

3. In the right pane, select Control.

   Alternatively, you can first select the server you want to start, then select Control.

4. Select the check box next to the name of the server you want to start and click Start.

   The Node Manager starts the server on the target machine. When the Node Manager finishes its start sequence, the server's state is indicated in the State column in the Server Status table.

5. To activate these changes, in the Change Center of the Administration Console, click Activate Changes.
   Not all changes take effect immediately—some require a restart (see Use the Change Center).