Chapter 2. Starting and Stopping JBoss EAP

JBoss EAP is supported on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Windows Server, and Oracle Solaris, and runs in either a standalone server or managed domain operating mode. The specific command to start JBoss EAP depends on the underlying platform and the desired operating mode.

Servers are initially started in a suspended state and will not accept any requests until all required services have started, at which time the servers are placed into a normal running state and can start accepting requests.

Start JBoss EAP as a Standalone Server

EAP_HOME/bin/standalone.sh

$ EAP_HOME/bin/standalone.sh

This startup script uses the EAP_HOME/bin/standalone.conf file, or standalone.conf.bat for Windows Server, to set some default preferences, such as JVM options. You can customize the settings in this file.

JBoss EAP uses the standalone.xml configuration file by default, but can be started using a different one. For details on the available standalone configuration files and how to use them, see the Standalone Server Configuration Files section.

For a complete listing of all available startup script arguments and their purposes, use the --help argument or see the Server Runtime Arguments section.

Start JBoss EAP in a Managed Domain

The domain controller must be started before the servers in any of the server groups in the domain. Use this script to first start the domain controller, and then for each associated host controller.

EAP_HOME/bin/domain.sh

$ EAP_HOME/bin/domain.sh

This startup script uses the EAP_HOME/bin/domain.conf file, or domain.conf.bat for Windows Server, to set some default preferences, such as JVM options. You can customize the settings in this file.

JBoss EAP uses the host.xml host configuration file by default, but can be started using a different one. For details on the available managed domain configuration files and how to use them, see the Managed Domain Configuration Files section.

When setting up a managed domain, additional arguments will need to be passed into the startup script. For a complete listing of all available startup script arguments and their purposes, use the --help argument or see the Server Runtime Arguments section.

The way that you stop JBoss EAP depends on how it was started.

Stop an Interactive Instance of JBoss EAP

Press Ctrl+C in the terminal where JBoss EAP was started.

Stop a Background Instance of JBoss EAP

Use the management CLI to connect to the running instance and shut down the server.

JBoss EAP has the ability to be started in admin-only mode. This enables JBoss EAP to run and accept management requests but not start other runtime services or accept end user requests. Admin-only mode is available in both standalone servers as well as managed domains.

Running a Standalone Server in Admin-only Mode

Start the Server in Admin-only Mode

To start a JBoss EAP instance in admin-only mode, use the --start-mode=admin-only runtime argument when starting the JBoss EAP instance.

EAP_HOME/bin/standalone.sh --start-mode=admin-only

$ EAP_HOME/bin/standalone.sh --start-mode=admin-only

Check If the Server is Running in Admin-only Mode

Use the following command to check the running mode of the server. The result will be ADMIN_ONLY if the server is running in admin-only mode.

:read-attribute(name=running-mode)
{
  "outcome" => "success",
  "result" => "ADMIN_ONLY"
}

:read-attribute(name=running-mode)
{
  "outcome" => "success",
  "result" => "ADMIN_ONLY"
}

/core-service=server-environment:read-attribute(name=initial-running-mode)

/core-service=server-environment:read-attribute(name=initial-running-mode)

Reload in a Different Mode from the Management CLI

In addition to stopping and starting a JBoss EAP instance with a different runtime switch, the management CLI may also be used to reload it in a different mode.

To reload the server in admin-only mode:

reload --start-mode=admin-only

reload --start-mode=admin-only

To reload the server in normal mode:

reload --start-mode=normal

reload --start-mode=normal

Note that if the server was started in admin-only mode and no --start-mode argument is specified to the reload command, the server will be started in normal mode.

Running a Managed Domain in Admin-only Mode

In a managed domain, if a domain controller is started in admin-only mode, it will not accept incoming connections from slave host controllers.

Start a Host Controller in Admin-only Mode

Pass in the --admin-only runtime argument to start a host controller in admin-only mode.

EAP_HOME/bin/domain.sh --admin-only

$ EAP_HOME/bin/domain.sh --admin-only

Check If a Host Controller is Running in Admin-only Mode

Use the following command to check the running mode of a host controller. The result will be ADMIN_ONLY if the host controller is running in admin-only mode.

/host=HOST_NAME:read-attribute(name=running-mode)
{
  "outcome" => "success",
  "result" => "ADMIN_ONLY"
}

/host=HOST_NAME:read-attribute(name=running-mode)
{
  "outcome" => "success",
  "result" => "ADMIN_ONLY"
}

Reload in a Different Mode from the Management CLI

In addition to stopping and starting a host controller with a different runtime switch, the management CLI may also be used to reload it in a different mode.

To reload the host controller in admin-only mode:

reload --host=HOST_NAME --admin-only=true

reload --host=HOST_NAME --admin-only=true

To reload a host controller in normal mode:

reload --host=HOST_NAME --admin-only=false

reload --host=HOST_NAME --admin-only=false

Note that if the host controller was started in admin-only mode and no --admin-only argument is specified to the reload command, the host controller will be started in normal mode.

JBoss EAP can be suspended or shut down gracefully. This allows active requests to complete normally, without accepting any new requests. A timeout value specifies how long that the suspend or shut down operation will wait for active requests to complete. While the server is suspended, management requests are still processed.

Graceful shutdown is coordinated at a server-wide level, mostly focused on the entry points at which a request enters the server. The following subsystems support graceful shutdown:

Requests are tracked by the request-controller subsystem. Without this subsystem, suspend and resume capabilities are limited and the server will not wait for requests to complete before suspending or shutting down; however, if you do not need this capability, the request-controller subsystem can be removed for a small performance improvement.

:resume

:resume

Starting and stopping JBoss EAP is different for an RPM installation compared to a ZIP or installer installation.

JBoss EAP includes PowerShell script equivalents for most of the JBoss EAP management scripts. This includes a PowerShell script to start JBoss EAP on Microsoft Windows Server.

The JBoss EAP PowerShell scripts are designed to work with PowerShell version 2 and newer running on tested versions of Windows Server.

The JBoss EAP PowerShell scripts are located in EAP_HOME\bin, and are used in mostly the same way as the JBoss EAP batch scripts.

For example, to start a standalone JBoss EAP server with the standalone-full.xml configuration file, use the following PowerShell command:

.\standalone.ps1 "-c=standalone-full.xml"

.\standalone.ps1 "-c=standalone-full.xml"