Chapter 1. Introduction to Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
Before you start working with Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform, you must understand some general components used by JBoss EAP.
When you understand these components, you can enhance both your use of Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform and your ability to configure Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform.
1.1. Uses of JBoss EAP 7
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (JBoss EAP) 7.4 is compatible with Jakarta EE 8 specifications, such as web profile and full-platform specifications. Each major version of JBoss EAP provides you with a tested, stabilized, and certified product.
JBoss EAP provides preconfigured options for features such as high-availability clustering, messaging, and distributed caching.
You can use JBoss EAP to deploy and run applications using supported APIs and services. Additionally, you can configure JBoss EAP to meet your needs, for example:
- You can customize JBoss EAP to include only the subsystems required to meet your needs. This can improve the startup speed of your JBoss EAP 7.4 instance.
- You can script and automate tasks by using the web-based management console and the management command line interface (CLI) to avoid having to edit XML configuration files.
Major versions of JBoss EAP are forked from the WildFly community project at intervals when the community project has reached the desired feature completeness level. The major version is tested until it is stabilized, certified, and enhanced for production use.
During the life cycle of a JBoss EAP major version, selected features are cherry-picked and back-ported from the community project into minor releases within the major release. Each minor release introduces feature enhancements to the major release.
Additional resources
- For information about the WildFly community project see WildFly.
1.2. JBoss EAP 7 features
JBoss EAP includes a variety of features to meet the needs of your organization.
Table 1.1. Features of JBoss EAP
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Jakarta EE compatible | JBoss EAP 7.4 is Jakarta EE 8 compatible implementation for both Web Profile and Full Platform specifications. |
| Managed Domain | Centralized management of multiple server instances and physical hosts, compared to a standalone server that supports just a single server instance. Provides server-group management of configuration, deployment, socket bindings, modules, extensions, and system properties. Centralized and simplified management of application security and security domains. |
| Management console and management CLI | New domain or standalone server management interfaces. The management CLI includes a batch mode that scripts and automates management tasks.
NOTE: To avoid making changes to your system configuration while a domain is active, do not edit the Do not directly edit the JBoss EAP XML configuration files. Use the management CLI to modify configurations. |
| Simplified directory layout | The modules directory contains application server modules. The domain directories contain the artifacts and configuration files for domain deployments. The standalone directories contain the standalone deployments. |
| Modular class-loading mechanism | Modules are loaded and unloaded on demand. This practice improves security performance and reduces startup and restart times. |
| Streamlined datasource management | Database drivers are deployed similarly to other JBoss EAP services. Datasources are created and managed with the management console and management CLI. |
| Unified security framework | Elytron provides a single unified framework for managing and configuring access for both standalone servers and managed domains. Additionally, Elytron is used to configure security access for applications deployed on JBoss EAP servers. |
1.3. Application servers
An application server, or app server, is software that provides an environment to run web applications. Most app servers use a set of APIs to provide functionality to web applications. For example, an app server can use an API to connect to a database.
1.4. JBoss EAP subsystems
JBoss EAP organizes APIs into subsystems. You can configure these subsystems to enhance the capabilities of your JBoss EAP instance.
Administrators can configure these subsystems to support different behavior, depending on the goal of the application.
For instance, if an application requires a database, you must configure a datasource so that a deployed application on a JBoss EAP server or a domain server can access the database.
1.5. High availability (HA) functionality of JBoss EAP
You can use the JBoss EAP HA functionality to enhance any running applications by providing improved data sharing among multiple running JBoss EAP instances.
HA in JBoss EAP refers to multiple JBoss EAP instances working together to deliver enhanced applications, which are most resistant to fluctuations in data flow, server load, and server failure. HA incorporates numerous qualities, including scalability, load balancing, and fault tolerance.
1.6. Supported operating modes in JBoss EAP
JBoss EAP has powerful management capabilities for deployed applications. These capabilities differ depending on which operating mode is used to start JBoss EAP.
JBoss EAP offers the following operating modes:
- Standalone server to manage instances individually
- Managed domain for managing groups of instances from a single control point
