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Chapter 1. Introduction to Red Hat JBoss Web Server installation

Red Hat JBoss Web Server is a fully integrated and certified set of components for hosting Java web applications. Red Hat JBoss Web Server provides a fully supported implementation of the Apache Tomcat Servlet container and the Tomcat native library.

Note

If you need clustering or session replication support for Java applications, use Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (JBoss EAP).

1.1. JBoss Web Server components
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JBoss Web Server includes components such as the Apache Tomcat Servlet container, Tomcat native library, Tomcat vault, mod_cluster library, Apache Portable Runtime (APR), and OpenSSL.

Apache Tomcat
Apache Tomcat is a servlet container in accordance with the Java Servlet Specification. JBoss Web Server 6.x contains Apache Tomcat 10.1.
Tomcat native library
The Tomcat native library improves Tomcat scalability, performance, and integration with native server technologies.
Tomcat vault
Tomcat vault is an extension for JBoss Web Server that is used for securely storing passwords and other sensitive information used by a JBoss Web Server.
Mod_cluster
The mod_cluster library enables communication between Apache Tomcat and the mod_proxy_cluster module of the Apache HTTP Server. The mod_cluster library enables you to use the Apache HTTP Server as a load balancer for JBoss Web Server. For more information about configuring mod_cluster, or for information about installing and configuring alternative load balancers such as mod_jk and mod_proxy, see the HTTP Connectors and Load Balancing Guide.
Apache Portable Runtime
The Apache Portable Runtime (APR) provides an OpenSSL-based TLS implementation for the HTTP connectors.
OpenSSL
OpenSSL is a software library that implements the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. OpenSSL includes a basic cryptographic library.

For a full list of components that Red Hat JBoss Web Server supports, see the JBoss Web Server Component Details page.

Both Red Hat JBoss Web Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) provide separate distributions of Apache Tomcat. However, JBoss Web Server offers distinct benefits compared to the RHEL distribution of Apache Tomcat by including an integrated and certified set of additional components and features. JBoss Web Server also provides more frequent software and security updates.

Note

RHEL provides a distribution of Apache Tomcat on RHEL 7, RHEL 8.8 or later, RHEL 9.2 or later, and RHEL 10.

For RHEL 8.0 through 8.7 and RHEL 9.0 through 9.1, the RHEL platform subscriptions do not provide a distribution of Apache Tomcat. On these operating system versions, JBoss Web Server is the only Apache Tomcat distribution that Red Hat provides, which is available as part of the Middleware Runtimes subscription.

1.2.1. Apache Tomcat versions
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Consider the following version information for the Apache Tomcat distributions that are available with JBoss Web Server and RHEL:

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Apache Tomcat versionJBoss Web Server distributionRHEL distribution

Apache Tomcat 7

JBoss Web Server 3.1 provides a distribution of Apache Tomcat 7 and Apache Tomcat 8 together with an integrated and certified set of additional components and features.

Note:
Red Hat no longer offers full support or maintenance support for JBoss Web Server 3.1, which is currently in extended life cycle support (ELS) phase 2 with a planned end-of-life date of December 2028.

The RHEL 7 tomcat package is based on the community version of Apache Tomcat 7.

Apache Tomcat 8

JBoss Web Server 3.1 provides a distribution of Apache Tomcat 7 and Apache Tomcat 8 together with an integrated and certified set of additional components and features.

Note:
Red Hat no longer offers full support or maintenance support for JBoss Web Server 3.1, which is currently in extended life cycle support (ELS) phase 2 with a planned end-of-life date of December 2028.

Not applicable

Apache Tomcat 9

JBoss Web Server 5.x provides a distribution of Apache Tomcat 9 together with an integrated and certified set of additional components and features.

Note:
Red Hat no longer offers full support for JBoss Web Server 5.x. Red Hat will provide maintenance support until July 31, 2025 followed by extended life cycle support (ELS) phase 1 with a planned end-of-life date of July 2027.

The RHEL 8.x and RHEL 9.x tomcat package is based on the community version of Apache Tomcat 9. The tomcat package is available with RHEL 8.8 or later and RHEL 9.2 or later only.

The RHEL 10 tomcat9 package is also based on the community version of Apache Tomcat 9. Red Hat offers the tomcat9 package on RHEL 10 as part of the initial RHEL 10.0 release. Red Hat plans to stop providing the tomcat9 package in future releases of RHEL 10.x.

Apache Tomcat 10

JBoss Web Server 6.x provides a distribution of Apache Tomcat 10.1 that Red Hat fully tests and supports together with an integrated and certified set of additional components and features.

The RHEL 10 tomcat package is based on the community version of Apache Tomcat 10.1.

For more information about product life cycle phases and available support levels, see Life Cycle Phases. For more information about Apache Tomcat versions, see Apache Tomcat versions supported by Red Hat.

Note

Red Hat does not provide support for community releases of Apache Tomcat.

Consider the following differences between JBoss Web Server and the RHEL distribution of Apache Tomcat:

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JBoss Web ServerRHEL distribution of Apache Tomcat

Supports installation from archive files or RPM packages on RHEL versions 8, 9, and 10.

Note:
Red Hat does not provide a distribution of JBoss Web Server 6.x on RHEL 7.

Supports installation from RPM packages only on RHEL 7, RHEL 8.8 or later, RHEL 9.2 or later, and RHEL 10.

Note:
RHEL 10.0 includes both a tomcat9 package based on the community version of Apache Tomcat 9 and a tomcat package based on the community version of Apache Tomcat 10.1. Red Hat plans to stop providing the tomcat9 package in future releases of RHEL 10.x.

Supports installation from archive files on supported Windows Server platforms.

Not applicable

Offers developers support for creating and deploying back-end web applications and large-scale websites that can service client requests from Apache HTTP Server proxies in a secure and stable environment.

Offers administrators support for deploying and running Apache Tomcat instances on a RHEL system.

Provides a fully tested and supported distribution of Apache Tomcat that includes the following integrated and certified set of additional features and functionality:

  • Fully tested and certified integration with the Apache HTTP Server for the forwarding and load-balancing of web client requests to back-end web applications by using a mod_proxy, mod_jk, or mod_proxy_cluster connector
  • Tomcat native library for improving Apache Tomcat scalability, performance, and integration with native server technologies
  • Tomcat Vault extension for masking passwords and other sensitive strings and securely storing sensitive information in an encrypted Java keystore
  • Mod_cluster library for enabling communication and intelligent load-balancing of web traffic between the mod_proxy_cluster module of the Apache HTTP Server and back-end JBoss Web Server worker nodes
  • Apache Portable Runtime (APR) library for providing an OpenSSL-based TLS implementation for the HTTP connectors
  • Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliance
  • Support for JBoss Web Server in Red Hat OpenShift environments
  • JBoss Web Server Operator for managing OpenShift container images and for creating, configuring, managing, and seamlessly upgrading instances of web server applications in Red Hat OpenShift environments
  • Automated installation of JBoss Web Server by using a Red Hat Ansible certified content collection
  • Offers developers support for creating and deploying back-end web applications and large-scale websites that can service client requests from Apache HTTP Server proxies in a secure and stable environment

Provides only a standard distribution of Apache Tomcat with infrequent software updates that is based on the community version.

Provides a set of Maven repository artifacts in a jws-6.X.x-maven-repository.zip file that you can download from the Red Hat Customer Portal. You can use these artifacts in the web application archive (WAR) files for your application deployment projects.

Not applicable

Also includes libraries for embedded Tomcat in the jws-6.X.x-maven-repository.zip file, which enables you to build web applications by using embedded Tomcat with a fully supported Apache Tomcat version.

Not applicable

The JBoss Web Server documentation set is broader and more comprehensive than the RHEL documentation for the tomcat package:

  • JBoss Web Server includes a Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.1.x Documentation archive file that contains API documentation for Apache Tomcat 10.1 and Tomcat Vault. You can download this archive file from the Red Hat Customer Portal.

  • The JBoss Web Server product documentation page provides information on all of the following types of use cases:

    • Performing a standard installation of JBoss Web Server from an archive file or RPM package on supported operating systems.
    • Configuring JBoss Web Server for use with Apache HTTP Server connectors and load-balancers such as mod_jk and mod_proxy_cluster.
    • Enabling automated installations of JBoss Web Server by using a Red Hat Ansible certified content collection.
    • Using JBoss Web Server in a Red Hat OpenShift environment.
    • Installing and using the JBoss Web Server Operator for OpenShift.
    • Configuring JBoss Web Server to support features such as the HTTP/2 protocol, Tomcat Vault, and FIPS compliance.

Red Hat JBoss Web Server supports different versions of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Server operating systems. For more information about supported operating system versions, see JBoss Web Server 6 Supported Configurations.

1.4. JBoss Web Server installation methods
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You can install Red Hat JBoss Web Server on supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Server systems by using archive installation files that are available for each platform. You can also install JBoss Web Server on supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems by using RPM packages.

The following components are included in the archive installation files. These components are the core parts of a JBoss Web Server installation.

  • jws-6.1.0-application-server.zip

    • Apache Tomcat 10.1
    • mod_cluster
    • Tomcat vault

  • jws-6.1.0-optional-native-components-<platform>-<architecture>.zip

    • Platform-specific utilities

JBoss Web Server includes an additional documentation bundle that includes the original vendor documentation for each component. You can download this documentation bundle, jws-6.1.0-docs.zip, from the Red Hat Customer Portal.

The documentation bundle contains additional documentation for the following components:

  • Apache Tomcat
  • Tomcat native library
  • Tomcat vault
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