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 8 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 for OpenShift
There are some notable differences when comparing the JBoss EAP product with the JBoss EAP for OpenShift image. The following table describes these differences and notes which features are included or supported in the current version of JBoss EAP for OpenShift.
Table 1.1. Differences between JBoss EAP and JBoss EAP for OpenShift
| JBoss EAP Feature | Status in JBoss EAP for OpenShift | Description |
|---|---|---|
| JBoss EAP management console | Not included | The JBoss EAP management console is not included in this release of JBoss EAP 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 |
| Remote messaging | Supported | Red Hat AMQ for inter-pod and remote messaging is supported. ActiveMQ Artemis is only supported for messaging within a single pod with JBoss EAP instances, and is only enabled when Red Hat AMQ is absent. |
| Transaction recovery | Partially supported | There are some unsupported transaction recovery scenarios and caveats when undertaking transaction recovery with the JBoss EAP for OpenShift image. |
1.4. Version Compatibility and Support
This guide covers the following JBoss EAP for OpenShift images:
-
jboss-eap-7/eap72-openshift(JDK 8) -
jboss-eap-7/eap72-openjdk11-openshift-rhel8(JDK 11)
You can see information on the latest tag for these images in the Red Hat Container Catalog:
The Hawkular agent is not active in JDK 11, and will be ignored if configured.
JBoss EAP for OpenShift is updated frequently. Therefore, it is important to understand which versions of the images are compatible with which versions of OpenShift. See OpenShift and Atomic Platform Tested Integrations on the Red Hat Customer Portal for more information on version compatibility and support.
1.4.1. OpenShift 4.1 Support
Changes in OpenShift 4.1 affect access to Jolokia, and the Open Java Console is no longer available in the OpenShift 4.1 web console.
In previous releases of OpenShift, certain kube-apiserver proxied requests were authenticated and passed through to the cluster. This behavior is now considered insecure and is not supported. As a result, accessing Jolokia in this manner is no longer supported.
Due to changes in codebase for the OpenShift console, the link to the Open Java Console is no longer available.
1.5. Technology Preview Features
Automated Transaction Recovery
This feature is provided as Technology Preview only. It is not supported for use in a production environment, and it might be subject to significant future changes. See Technology Preview Features Support Scope on the Red Hat Customer Portal for information about the support scope for Technology Preview features.
When a cluster is scaled down, it is possible for transaction branches to be in doubt. The JBoss EAP for OpenShift image has an automated transaction recovery feature that can complete these branches. At the moment, this implementation of automated transaction recovery is provided as technology preview only.
The eap72-tx-recovery-s2i application template that is provided to demonstrate automatic transaction recovery on scale down of application pods is also provided as a technology preview only.
For JDK 11 image streams, the application template is eap72-openjdk11-tx-recovery-s2i.
