Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection for Red Hat JBoss Web Server Release Notes
For Use with the Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.2
Abstract
Preface Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
The Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection for Red Hat JBoss Web Server is a prepackaged Ansible content collection that Red Hat provides. You can use the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection to automate the installation and configuration of the Red Hat JBoss Web Server product. You can also add customized tasks to your playbook to automate the deployment of JBoss Web Server applications either at the same time as the automated product installation or later.
For general information about the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection, see the Ansible Collection - redhat.jws page in Ansible automation hub. The Ansible Collection - redhat.jws page includes information about the roles that the collection contains. You can click the name of a role to view details about the purpose of this role, any requirements or dependencies, and the list of variables and default settings that the role uses to complete automation tasks.
For more information about Ansible concepts or the benefits of using Ansible, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
The Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection for Red Hat JBoss Web Server is released with Production Support. If you have any issues or questions related to this collection, please contact support at Red Hat Customer Experience & Engagement.
The rest of this document refers to the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection for Red Hat JBoss Web Server as the JBoss Web Server collection.
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Making open source more inclusive Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web properties. We are beginning with these four terms: master, slave, blacklist, and whitelist. Because of the enormity of this endeavor, these changes will be implemented gradually over several upcoming releases. For more details, see our CTO Chris Wright’s message.
Chapter 1. Installing the JBoss Web Server collection Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
As a first step toward automating deployments of Red Hat JBoss Web Server by using Ansible, you must download and install the JBoss Web Server collection from Ansible automation hub. The JBoss Web Server collection is named redhat.jws in Ansible automation hub. Before you install the JBoss Web Server collection, you must ensure that your system complies with certain prerequisites. You must install the JBoss Web Server collection on an Ansible control node in your system.
For more information about any prerequisites and installing the collection, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
Chapter 2. New or changed features in the latest release Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
The latest release of the JBoss Web Server collection provides the following new or changed features.
- Support for
ansible-corepackage version 2.16 or later -
The 2.1 release of the JBoss Web Server collection requires that you have installed the
ansible-corepackage version 2.16 or later on a control node in your system. You can install theansible-corepackage by installing Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.x. For more information, see the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform installation guide. - Automated installation of native archive file enabled by default
From the 2.1 release onward, the JBoss Web Server collection is also configured to install the native archive file for the specified product version by default. The
jws_nativevariable is now set toTrueby default.This supersedes the behavior in earlier releases where the
jws_nativevariable was set toFalseby default. In this situation, unless you explicitly changed thejws_nativevariable setting toTrue, the JBoss Web Server collection did not install the native archive file.NoteIf you set the
jws_nativevariable toFalse, the JBoss Web Server collection cannot install the native archive, which causes issues for features such as SELinux policies that require the installation of a native archive file.- Preconfigured
become: truedirectives inredhat.jws.jwsrole -
From the 2.1 release onward, the
redhat.jws.jwsrole is already preconfigured withbecome: truedirectives, which activate user privilege escalation for performing any automated tasks that require root privileges on your target hosts. - Requirement for
become: truedirective in playbook removed From the 2.1 release onward, because the
redhat.jws.jwsrole is preconfigured withbecome: truedirectives, you no longer need to specify abecome: truedirective in your playbook.This supersedes the behavior in earlier releases where the JBoss Web Server collection required that you specify a
become: truedirective in your playbook to activate user privilege escalation at the play level.
Chapter 3. New or changed features in earlier releases Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
The JBoss Web Server collection includes the following features that were introduced in earlier releases.
- Full Red Hat support
- From the 2.0 release onward, the JBoss Web Server collection is a fully supported feature from Red Hat. Before the 2.0 release, the JBoss Web Server collection was a Technology Preview feature only.
- Support for automated installations of JBoss Web Server on RHEL 8 or RHEL 9
- The JBoss Web Server collection supports the automated installation of Red Hat JBoss Web Server on target hosts that are running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version 8 or 9.
- Predefined set of variables for enabling automation tasks
The JBoss Web Server collection provides a comprehensive set of predefined variables and default values that you can manually update to match your setup requirements. These variable settings provide all the information that the JBoss Web Server collection requires to complete an automated and customized installation of Red Hat JBoss Web Server on your target hosts.
For a full list of variables that the JBoss Web Server collection provides, see the
redhat.jws.jwsrole in Ansible automation hub. The information page for theredhat.jws.jwsrole lists the names, descriptions, and default values for all the variables that you can define.- Automated installation of a Red Hat JBoss Web Server base release from archive files
By default, the JBoss Web Server collection supports the automated installation of Red Hat JBoss Web Server from product archive files. You can enable the JBoss Web Server collection to install the base release of a specified JBoss Web Server version from archive files. A base release is the initial release of a specific product version (for example,
6.2.0is the base release of version6.2).The JBoss Web Server collection requires that local copies of the appropriate archive files are available on your Ansible control node. If copies of the archive files are not already on your system, you can set variables to permit automatic file downloads from the Red Hat Customer Portal. For more information, see Support for automatic download of archive files. Alternatively, you can download the archive files manually.
This feature also includes variables to support the following automation setup tasks:
- You can specify the base release of the product version that you want to install.
- If you have changed the names of the archive files on your Ansible control node, you can specify the appropriate file names.
After you set the appropriate variables, the JBoss Web Server collection automatically extracts the archive files and installs the product on your target hosts when you subsequently run the playbook. For more information about enabling the automated installation of a JBoss Web Server base release, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Automated installation of Red Hat JBoss Web Server patch updates from archive files
If product patch updates are available for the JBoss Web Server version that is being installed, you can also enable the JBoss Web Server collection to install these patch updates from archive files. This feature is disabled by default. You can use the same steps to enable the automated installation of patch updates regardless of whether you want to install these updates at the same time as the base release or later.
The JBoss Web Server collection requires that local copies of the appropriate archive files are available on your Ansible control node. If copies of the archive files are not already on your system, you can set variables to permit automatic file downloads from the Red Hat Customer Portal. For more information, see Support for automatic download of archive files. Alternatively, you can download the archive files manually.
This feature also includes variables to support the following automation setup tasks:
- You can enable the automated installation of patch updates.
- If you want to install a specified patch release rather than the latest available patch update, you can specify the appropriate patch release.
- If you want to prevent the JBoss Web Server collection from contacting the Red Hat Customer Portal for file downloads, you can enable a fully offline installation. For more information, see Support for fully offline installations from archive files.
After you set the appropriate variables, the JBoss Web Server collection automatically extracts the archive files and installs the patch updates on your target hosts when you subsequently run the playbook. For more information about enabling the automated installation of JBoss Web Server patch updates, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Support for automatic download of archive files
The JBoss Web Server collection is configured to support the automatic download of archive files by default. However, this feature also requires that you set variables to specify the client identifier (ID) and secret that are associated with your Red Hat service account.
NoteService accounts enable you to securely and automatically connect and authenticate services or applications without requiring end-user credentials or direct interaction. To create a service account, you can log in to the Service Accounts page in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console, and click Create service account.
For more information about enabling the automated installation of a JBoss Web Server base release or JBoss Web Server patch updates, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Support for fully offline archive file installations
By default, the JBoss Web Server collection is configured to contact the Red Hat Customer Portal to check if new patch updates are available. However, you can optionally set a variable to enforce a fully offline installation and prevent the collection from contacting the Red Hat Customer Portal, This feature is useful if your Ansible control node does not have internet access and you want the collection to avoid contacting the Red Hat Customer Portal for file downloads.
NoteIf you enable this feature, you must also set a variable to specify the patch release that you want to install. You must also ensure that copies of the appropriate archive files already exist on your Ansible control node.
For more information about enabling the automated installation of JBoss Web Server patch updates, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Automated installation of Red Hat JBoss Web Server from RPM packages
You can enable the JBoss Web Server collection to install Red Hat JBoss Web Server from RPM packages. This feature is disabled by default.
When you enable the RPM installation method, the JBoss Web Server collection installs the latest RPM packages for a specified major version of the product, including any minor version and patch updates. The collection obtains the RPM packages directly from Red Hat.
This feature includes variables to support the following automation setup tasks:
- You can specify the product version that you want to install.
- You can enable the RPM installation method.
After you set the appropriate variables, the JBoss Web Server collection automatically obtains the latest RPM packages and installs these packages on your target hosts when you subsequently run the playbook. For more information about enabling the automated installation of JBoss Web Server from RPM packages, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Automated installation of Red Hat build of OpenJDK
By default, the JBoss Web Server collection does not install a JDK automatically on your target hosts, based on the assumption that you have already installed a supported JDK on these hosts. However, for the sake of convenience, you can optionally set a variable to enable the automated installation of a supported version of Red Hat build of OpenJDK. In this situation, the JBoss Web Server collection automatically installs the specified OpenJDK version on each target host when you subsequently run the playbook.
NoteThe JBoss Web Server collection supports the automated installation of Red Hat build of OpenJDK only. If you want to use a supported version of IBM JDK or Oracle JDK, you must install the JDK manually on each target host or you can automate this process by using your playbook. For more information about manually installing a version of IBM JDK or Oracle JDK, see the Red Hat JBoss Web Server Installation Guide.
For more information about ensuring that a JDK is installed on the target hosts, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Automated creation of product user account and group
By default, the JBoss Web Server collection creates a
tomcatuser account and atomcatgroup automatically on each target host. However, if you want the JBoss Web Server collection to create a different user account and group, you can set variables to modify the behavior of the JBoss Web Server collection to match your setup requirements. In this situation, the JBoss Web Server collection automatically creates the specified user account and group name on each target host when you subsequently run the playbook.For more information about ensuring that a product user and group are created on the target hosts, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Automated integration of Red Hat JBoss Web Server with
systemd By default, the JBoss Web Server collection is not configured to set up Red Hat JBoss Web Server as a service that a system daemon can manage. However, if you want the JBoss Web Server collection to integrate Red Hat JBoss Web Server with a system daemon, you can set a variable to modify the behavior of the JBoss Web Server collection to match your setup requirements.
If you enable this feature, the JBoss Web Server collection sets up Red Hat JBoss Web Server as a
jws6‑tomcatservice automatically on each target host. However, if you want to use a different service name, you can also set a variable to instruct the JBoss Web Server collection to create a different service name.NoteThe JBoss Web Server service is managed by
systemd.If you have not enabled an automated installation of Red Hat build of OpenJDK, you must also set a variable to specify the location of the JDK that is installed on your target hosts. This step is required to ensure successful integration with
systemd.For more information about enabling the automated integration of JBoss Web Server with
systemd, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.- Automated configuration of Red Hat JBoss Web Server product features
The JBoss Web Server collection provides a comprehensive set of variables to enable the automated configuration of a Red Hat JBoss Web Server installation. By default, the JBoss Web Server collection configures Red Hat JBoss Web Server to listen for nonsecure HTTP connections on port
8080.Other product features such as the following are disabled by default:
- Support for secure HTTPS connections
-
Mod_clustersupport for load-balancing HTTP server requests to the JBoss Web Server back end - The password vault for storing sensitive data in an encrypted Java keystore
- Support for Apache JServ Protocol (AJP) traffic between JBoss Web Server and the Apache HTTP Server
To enable a wider set of product features, you can set variables to modify the behavior of the JBoss Web Server collection to match your setup requirements. For more information about enabling automated JBoss Web Server configuration tasks, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
- Automated deployment of JBoss Web Server applications
You can also automate the deployment of web applications on your target hosts by adding customized tasks to the playbook. If you want to deploy a new or updated application when Red Hat JBoss Web Server is already running, the JBoss Web Server collection provides a handler to restart the web server when the application is deployed.
For more information about enabling the automated deployment of JBoss Web Server applications on your target hosts, see Installing JBoss Web Server by using the Red Hat Ansible Certified Content Collection.
Chapter 4. Resolved issues Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
The following issues are resolved in the latest release of the JBoss Web Server collection:
Chapter 5. Known issues Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
There are no known issues for the latest release of the JBoss Web Server collection.
Support contact information Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
For general support queries, see https://access.redhat.com/support for more information.
If you want to report a potential security issue with Red Hat JBoss Web Server, see https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact for more information.