JBoss ON FAQ

General Product

Why should I use JBoss ON when I already get content updates from the Customer Service Portal and my JBoss subscription?

The basic JBoss subscription is focused on certified content updates (JBoss Customer Support Portal) and managing your support needs, while JBoss ON is focused on the active management of your applications. While certified content updates are extremely valuable, JBoss ON provides tools for managing the entire application server life cycle, not just updates. Most IT applications are not static JBoss ON uses Sun JDK 1.5 or higher, Sun JDK 1.6, and require active hands-on management. JBoss ON gives administrators control and visibility into JBoss middleware to maximize your technology ROI.

What options do I have to try JBoss ON in my environment?

JBoss ON provides 30-day supported and unsupported evaluations. For an unsupported evaluation, visit http://www.jboss.com/products/jbosson and click on the link provided there to sign up. For a supported evalua tion, please contact your sales representative.

How is the JBoss ON packaged and sold?

JBoss ON Core Management (which includes inventory, administration, and content capabilities) is included with 32-CPU JBoss Enterprise Application Platform and 32-CPU JBoss Enterprise SOA Platform subscriptions. If you do not have a 32-CPU subscription of one of these platforms, then JBoss ON Core Management can be purchased separately. Beyond Core Management, there is a monitoring component that provides extensive availability management for your JBoss environment.

What level of support/service is included with JBoss ON?

Your JBoss ON support will match the support level for your JBoss subscription.

Virtualization Support

Can you run JBoss ON management server and agents in a virtual instance of Xen, KVM, and/or Vmware?

Yes, both the JBoss ON management server and agents ca be run on Xen, KVM, or Vmware and still have full technical support.

Installation and Architecture

What version of Java is required to run JBoss ON?

JBoss ON uses Sun JDK 1.5 or higher, Sun JDK 1.6, JRockit 1.5.0_14 or higher, or Apple 1.5 for both the management server and agents.

What type of hardware do you need to run the JBoss ON management server?

A typical JBoss ON management server would require a minimum of 512 MB of memory and 10 GB of storage space. However, 1 GB of memory and 40 GB of storage are recommended. Please see the installation guide for details.

Does JBoss ON require an agent for managing machines?

Yes, JBoss Operations Network is a client-server or agent-based management platform.

Are there any high availability options for JBoss ON?

Yes. JBoss ON has high availability for the server and agent failover when communication back to the primary management server is lost.

What kind of database is required to run JBoss ON management server in my environment?

JBoss ON management server uses either a Postgres (8.2.4 and up) or Oracle (10g, 10gR2) database.

Are there installation and consulting services available for JBoss ON?

Please contact your sales representative for a Red Hat Professional Services engagement.

Interoperability and customization

Does JBoss ON manage SUSE, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX or Windows platforms?

JBoss ON provides support for all of these platforms for agents and the management server. This includes the ability to monitor these platforms and administer any JBoss Application Servers or JBoss ESBs in which they host. See the product sheet for visit the JBoss ON website for the most up to date platform support information.

Does JBoss ON work with other availability management products, such as HP OpenView, IBM Tivoli, or BMC Performance Manager (formerly PATROL)?

JBoss ON can send SNMP traps for alerting to any of the above solutions, allowing you to correlate incidents in the environment.

Does the JBoss ON management server have an API layer or command line interface (CLI)?

Currently there is no API or CLI for the JBoss ON management server, but this is on the roadmap for an upcoming release. Currently, JBoss ON does provide a plug-in API for extensibility via our agents.

Can JBoss ON manage third-party or custom content?

JBoss ON can deploy and manage custom applications and content within your JBoss Application Server container. Additionally, the plug-in API can be used to extend the management capabilities of JBoss ON to other resources.

Security implications

My environment does not allow a network connection from the JBoss ON management server back to the JBoss Customer Service Portal. Do I have other options?

While running in detached mode, the JBoss ON management server will not have access to certified content, so patching capabilities will be impaired. All other JBoss ON management server functionality will remain.

How is security handled between the JBoss ON management server and its agents?

All communications can be encrypted using SSL certificates between the JBoss ON management server and its agents.

Is there proxy support when communicating between the JBoss ON management server and the JBoss Customer Service Portal?

Yes. JBoss ON supports an authentication proxy between the JBoss ON management server and the JBoss Customer Service Portal.

Version History

What's new in JBoss Operations Network 2.1?

• Advanced JBoss ESB management
  • Automatic ESB service inventory discovery
  • Remote configuration and service control
  • ESB package deployment
  • Monitoring metrics to understand ESB health
• Management cerver clustering for high availability
• Configurable SNMP trap alerts for more robust enterprise integration
• Dynamic grouping wizard for easier resource management
• Ability to monitor standalone JVMs from a central location
• Improved metric processing (over 1,000 metrics per second)