Upgrading the DX APM Java Agent to version 25.10.1 or higher on applications running Java 1.7 results in a startup failure or missing metrics.

Products

• CA Application Performance Management (APM / Wily / Introscope)
• DX Application Performance Management
• DX SaaS
• DX Operational Observability

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms

• The application fails to start or the Agent logs show: java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: com/wily/introscope/agent/Agent has been compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime.
• WebSphere PMI metrics are not visible in the Investigator.
• The logs indicate the Agent is targeting Java 8+ bytecode while the application server uses Java 1.7.

Environment

• DX APM Java Agent 25.10.1 and higher
• Application Server: WebSphere 8.5 or any server using Java 1.7 (JVM 1.7)

Cause

Java 1.7 support was officially dropped starting with the DX APM Java Agent version 25.10.1. The Agent binaries are now compiled for Java 1.8 and higher.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform one of the following actions:

1. Upgrade the application server JVM to Java 1.8 or higher.
2. If the application must remain on Java 1.7, use the DX APM Java Agent version 25.9.1, which is the last version to support Java 1.7.