How to start JBoss EAP 7.4 with read-only configuration directory

Issue

• How to start JBoss EAP 7.4 with read-only configuration directory
• EAP 7.4 installation which are using softlinks for configuration files fails to start after applying patch with

23:50:53,578 INFO  [org.jboss.modules] (main) JBoss Modules version 1.12.0.Final-redhat-00001
java.lang.IllegalStateException: WFLYCTL0214: Could not get main file: standalone.xml. Specified files must be relative to the configuration dir: /usr/share/jbossas/standalone/configuration
    at org.jboss.as.controller.persistence.ConfigurationFile.determineMainFile(ConfigurationFile.java:381)
    at org.jboss.as.controller.persistence.ConfigurationFile.<init>(ConfigurationFile.java:206)
    at org.jboss.as.server.ServerEnvironment.<init>(ServerEnvironment.java:590)
    at org.jboss.as.server.Main.determineEnvironment(Main.java:425)
    at org.jboss.as.server.Main.main(Main.java:97)
    at org.jboss.modules.Module.run(Module.java:353)
    at org.jboss.modules.Module.run(Module.java:321)
    at org.jboss.modules.Main.main(Main.java:617)
23:50:53,830 FATAL [org.jboss.as.server] (main) WFLYSRV0239: Aborting with exit code 1