JBoss - Getting Started
2.1. Pre-Requisites
You must have adequate disk space to install JDK and JBoss Application Server while also
allowing enough space for your applications. Before installing JBoss Application Server you must
have a working installation of Java. Since JBoss is 100% pure Java you can have it working on
any Operating System / Platform that supports Java.
2.1.1. Hardware and Operating System Requirements
For the latest information on supported Operating System / JVM combinations and supported
Database platforms, please refer to http://www.jboss.com.
2.1.2. Configuring Your Java Environment
You must have a working installation of JDK 1.5 or JDK 1.6 before you install JBoss Application
Server. You can install the 32-bit or 64-bit JVM as per your requirements. In this guide we will
show you how to install a 32-bit Sun JDK 5.0 on a Linux Platform and Microsoft Windows Platform.
But before we do that let's take a look at some of the benefits of using a 64-bit JVM.
Benefits of 64-bit JVM on 64-bit OS and Hardware:
- Wider datapath: The pipe between RAM and CPU is doubled, which improves the performance
of memory-bound applications.
- 64-bit memory addressing gives virtually unlimited (1 exabyte) heap allocation. However large
heaps affect garbage collection.
- Applications that run with more than 1.5GB of RAM (including free space for garbage collection
optimization) should utilize the 64-bit JVM.
- Applications that run on a 32-bit JVM and do not require more than minimal heap sizes will gain
nothing from a 64-bit JVM. Barring memory issues, 64-bit hardware with the same relative clock
speed and architecture is not likely to run Java applications faster than their 32-bit cousin.
Installing and Configuring 32-bit Sun JDK 5.0 or JDK 6.0 on Linux
- Download the Sun JDK 5.0 or JDK 6 (Java 2 Development Kit) from Sun's website:
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index_jdk5.jsp for JDK 5.0 or http://java.sun.com/javase/
downloads/ for JDK 6.0. Select the JDK Update " (where x is the latest update number) for
download and then select "RPM in self-extracting" file for Linux1. Read the instructions on Sun's
website for installing the JDK.
- If you do not want to use SysV service scripts you can install the "self-extracting file" for Linux
instead of choosing the "RPM in self-extracting" file. In that case you can skip the next step
mentioned here. But it is recommended to use the SysV service scripts for production servers.
- Download and install the appropriate -compat RPM from JPackage here [ftp:/
/jpackage.hmdc.harvard.edu/JPackage/1.7/generic/RPMS.non-free/]. Please ensure you
choose a matching version of the -compat package to the JDK you installed.
- Create an environment variable that points to the JDK installation directory and call it
JAVA_HOME. Add $JAVA_HOME/bin to the system path to be able to run java from the command
line. You can do this by adding the following lines to the .bashrc file in your home directory.
#In this example /usr/java/jdk1.6.0_07 is the JDK installation directory.
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jdk1.6.0_07
export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin
Set this variable for the user account doing the installation and also for the user account that
will run the server.
- If you have more than one version of JVM installed in your machine, make sure you are using
the JDK1.5 or JDK1.6 installation as the default source for the java and javac executables.
You can do this using the alternatives system. The alternatives system allows different versions
of Java, from different sources to co-exist on your system.
Select alternatives for java, javac and java_sdk_1.<x>
- As root, type the following command at the shell prompt and you should see something like
this:
[root@vsr ~]$ /usr/sbin/alternatives --config java
There are 2 programs which provide 'java'.
Selection Command
-----------------------------------------------
1 /usr/lib/jvm/jre-1.4.2-gcj/bin/java
*+ 2 /usr/lib/jvm/jre-1.5.0-sun/bin/java
Enter to keep the current selection[+], or type selection number:
Make sure the Sun version [jre-1.5.0-sun in this case] is selected (marked with a '+' in the
output), or select it by entering its number as prompted.
- Repeat the same for javac and java_sdk_1.<x>
[root@vsr ~]$ /usr/sbin/alternatives --config javac
There are 1 programs which provide 'javac'.
Selection Command
-----------------------------------------------
*+ 1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun/bin/javac
Enter to keep the current selection[+], or type selection number:
[root@vsr ~]$ /usr/sbin/alternatives --config java_sdk_1.5.0
There are 1 programs which provide 'java_sdk_1.5.0'.
Selection Command
-----------------------------------------------
*+ 1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun
Enter to keep the current selection[+], or type selection number:
You should verify that java, javac and java_sdk_1.<x> all point to the same manufacturer
and version.
Note
You can always override this step by setting the JAVA_HOME environment variable
as explained in the previous step.
- Make sure that the java executable is in your path and that you are using an appropriate version.
To verify your Java environment, type java -version at the shell prompt and you should see
something like this:
[root@vsr ~]$ java -version
java version "1.5.0_14"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_14-b03)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_14-b03, mixed mode, sharing)
Installing and Configuring 32-bit Sun JDK 5.0 or JDK 6.0 on Microsoft
Windows
- Download the Sun JDK 5.0 (Java 2 Development Kit) from Sun's website: http://java.sun.com/
javase/downloads/index_jdk5.jsp for JDK 5.0 or http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/ for JDK
6.0. Choose the JDK Update " (where x is the latest update number) for download and then
select your Windows Platform options to perform the installation.
- Create an environment variable called JAVA_HOME that points to the JDK installation
directory, for example: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.5.0_14\. In order to run java from
the command line add the jre\bin directory to your path, for example: C:\Program
Files\Java\jdk1.5.0_14\jre\bin. To do this, open the Control Panel from the Start Menu,
switch to Classic View if necessary, open the System Control Panel applet, select the Advanced
Tab, and click on the Environment Variables button.
