Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1. What is Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (JBoss EAP)?

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 (JBoss EAP) is a middleware platform built on open standards and compliant with the Java Enterprise Edition 7 specification. It provides preconfigured options for features such as high-availability clustering, messaging, and distributed caching. It includes a modular structure that allows you to enable services only when required, which results in improved startup speed.

The web-based management console and management command line interface (CLI) make editing XML configuration files unnecessary and add the ability to script and automate tasks. In addition, JBoss EAP includes APIs and development frameworks that allow you to quickly develop, deploy, and run secure and scalable Java EE applications. JBoss EAP 7 is a certified implementation of the Java EE 7 full and web profile specifications.

1.2. How Does JBoss EAP Work on OpenShift?

Red Hat offers a containerized image for JBoss EAP that is designed for use with OpenShift. Using this image, developers can quickly and easily build, scale, and test applications that are deployed across hybrid environments.

1.3. Comparison: JBoss EAP and JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift

There are some notable differences when comparing the JBoss EAP product with the JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift image. The following table describes these differences and notes which features are included or supported in the current version of JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift.

Table 1.1. Differences between JBoss EAP and JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift

JBoss EAP FeatureStatus in JBoss EAP CD for OpenShiftDescription

JBoss EAP management console

Not included

The JBoss EAP management console is not included in this release of JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift.

JBoss EAP management CLI

Not recommended

The JBoss EAP management CLI is not recommended for use with JBoss EAP running in a containerized environment. Any configuration changes made using the management CLI in a running container will be lost when the container restarts. The management CLI is accessible from within a pod for troubleshooting purposes.

Managed domain

Not supported

Although a JBoss EAP managed domain is not supported, creation and distribution of applications are managed in the containers on OpenShift.

Default root page

Disabled

The default root page is disabled, but you can deploy your own application to the root context as ROOT.war.

Remote messaging

Supported

Red Hat AMQ for inter-pod and remote messaging is supported. JBoss EAP CD releases only support client messaging, and Red Hat AMQ provides the messaging broker.

Transaction recovery

Partially supported

There are some unsupported transaction recovery scenarios and caveats when undertaking transaction recovery with the JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift image.

1.4. Version Compatibility and Support

This guide covers the JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift image: jboss-eap-7-tech-preview/eap-cd-openshift.

You can see information on the latest tag for this image in the Red Hat Container Catalog.

JBoss EAP CD for OpenShift is updated frequently. Therefore, it is important to understand which versions of the images are compatible with which versions of OpenShift. Not all images are compatible with all OpenShift 3.x versions. See OpenShift and Atomic Platform Tested Integrations on the Red Hat Customer Portal for more information on version compatibility and support.