Skip Headers
Oracle GlassFish Server Quick Start Guide
Release 3.1.2

Part Number E24937-01
Go to Documentation Home
Home
Go to Book List
Book List
Go to Table of Contents
Contents
Go to Feedback page
Contact Us

Go to previous page
Previous
Go to next page
Next
View PDF

1 Quick Start for Basic Features

Oracle GlassFish Server provides a server for the development and deployment of Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE platform) applications and web technologies based on Java technology. GlassFish Server 3.1.2 provides the following:

The following topics are addressed here:

About This Quick Start Guide

Oracle GlassFish Server 3.1.2 Quick Start Guide demonstrates key features of the GlassFish Server product and enables you to quickly learn the basics. Step-by-step procedures introduce you to product features and enable you to use them immediately.

This guide assumes that you have already obtained and installed the GlassFish Server 3.1.2 software. For more information about installing GlassFish Server 3.1.2, see the Oracle GlassFish Server Installation Guide.

Instructions and examples in this guide that apply to all supported operating systems use the forward slash character (/) as path separators in all file names and commands. Ensure that you use the correct character for the system on which GlassFish Server is installed. For example:

This guide provides basic information only. For comprehensive information about GlassFish Server and other entities mentioned in this guide, see For More Information.

To review additional details about this release before you begin using the software, see the Oracle GlassFish Server Release Notes. The Release Notes provide important information about the GlassFish Server 3.1.2 release, including details about new features, information about known issues and possible workarounds, and tips for installing and working with GlassFish Server 3.1.2 software.

Default Paths and File Names

The following table describes the default paths and file names that are used in this book.

Table 1-1 Default Paths and File Names

Placeholder Description Default Value

as-install

Represents the base installation directory for GlassFish Server.

In configuration files, as-install is represented as follows:

${com.sun.aas.installRoot}

Installations on the Oracle Solaris operating system, Linux operating system, and Mac OS operating system:

user's-home-directory/glassfish3/glassfish

Installations on the Windows operating system:

SystemDrive:\glassfish3\glassfish

as-install-parent

Represents the parent of the base installation directory for GlassFish Server.

Installations on the Oracle Solaris operating system, Linux operating system, and Mac operating system:

user's-home-directory/glassfish3

Installations on the Windows operating system:

SystemDrive:\glassfish3

domain-root-dir

Represents the directory in which a domain is created by default.

as-install/domains/

domain-dir

Represents the directory in which a domain's configuration is stored.

In configuration files, domain-dir is represented as follows:

${com.sun.aas.instanceRoot}

domain-root-dir/domain-name

instance-dir

Represents the directory for a server instance.

domain-dir/instance-name


Default Administration Values

The following table lists default administration values for GlassFish Server. See Default Paths and File Names for more information about the as-install and domain-dir placeholders.

Table 1-2 Default Administration Values

Item Default Value or Location

Domain name

domain1

Master password

changeit

asadmin(1M) command-line utility

as-install/bin

Configuration files

domain-dir/config

Log files

domain-dir/logs

Administration server port

4848

HTTP port

8080

HTTPS port

8181

Pure JMX clients port

8686

Message Queue port

7676

IIOP port

3700

IIOP/SSL port

3820

IIOP/SSL port with mutual authentication

3920


Starting and Stopping the Default Domain

When you install GlassFish Server, a default domain named domain1 is created. The following procedures describe how to start and stop domain1 when it is the only domain. For information about starting and stopping a domain when there are multiple domains, see "Administering Domains" in Oracle GlassFish Server Administration Guide.

To Start the Default Domain

Before You Begin

GlassFish Server software must be installed before you start the domain.

Run the asadmin start-domain command without an operand:

as-install/bin/asadmin start-domain

The command starts the default domain, domain1.

To Stop the Default Domain

Run the asadmin stop-domain command without an operand:

as-install/bin/asadmin stop-domain

The command stops the default domain, domain1.

Tip:

To determine whether a domain is running, use the asadmin list-domains command:

as-install/bin/asadmin list-domains

Starting and Stopping the Database Server

A database server is not started by default when you start the GlassFish Server domain. If your applications require a database back end, you must start and stop the database server manually.

The following procedures describe how to start and stop the Java DB server that is bundled with GlassFish Server. For information about starting and stopping other database servers, see the documentation for your specific product.

For the list of database products supported in this release, see the Oracle GlassFish Server Release Notes.

For more information about database connectivity, see "Administering Database Connectivity" in Oracle GlassFish Server Administration Guide.

To Start the Java DB Server

Before You Begin

At least one GlassFish Server domain must be started before you start the database server.

Run the asadmin start-database command.

The general form for the command is as follows:

as-install/bin/asadmin start-database --dbhome directory-path

For example, to start the Java DB server from its default location:

as-install/bin/asadmin start-database --dbhome as-install-parent/javadb

To Stop the Java DB Server

Run the asadmin stop-database command:

as-install/bin/asadmin stop-database

Starting the Administration Console

The GlassFish Server Administration Console provides a browser interface for configuring, administering, and monitoring GlassFish Server.

To Start the Administration Console

Before You Begin

At least one GlassFish Server domain must be started.

  1. Type the URL in your browser.

    The default URL for the Administration Console on the local host is as follows:

    http://localhost:4848
    
  2. If prompted, log in to the Administration Console.

    You will be prompted to log in if you chose to require an administration password at the time GlassFish Server was installed.

See Also

For more information, see the Administration Console online help.

Deploying and Undeploying Applications

The process of configuring and enabling applications to run within the GlassFish Server framework is referred to as deployment.

This section explains how to deploy, list, and undeploy applications. The procedures in this section use the hello.war sample application. The following topics are addressed here:

To Obtain the Sample Application

  1. Download a copy of the hello.war sample application from http://glassfish.java.net/downloads/quickstart/hello.war.

  2. Save the hello.war file in the directory of your choice.

    This directory is referred to as sample-dir.

Deploying and Undeploying the Sample Application From the Command Line

GlassFish Server provides asadmin subcommands for performing the following deployment-related tasks:

To Deploy the Sample Application From the Command Line

Before You Begin

The sample application must be available before you start this task. To download the sample, see To Obtain the Sample Application. At least one GlassFish Server domain must be started before you deploy the sample application.

  1. Run the asadmin deploy command.

    The general form for the command is as follows:

    as-install/bin/asadmin deploy war-name
    

    To deploy the hello.war sample, the command is as follows:

    as-install/bin/asadmin deploy sample-dir/hello.war
    
  2. Access the hello application by typing the following URL in your browser:

    http://localhost:8080/hello
    

    The application's start page is displayed, and you are prompted to type your name.

    Hi, my name is Duke. What's yours?
    
  3. Type your name and click Submit.

    The application displays a customized response, giving you a personal Hello.

See Also

For more information about the deploy subcommand, see deploy(1).

For more information about deploying applications from the command line, see the Oracle GlassFish Server Application Deployment Guide.

To List Deployed Applications From the Command Line

Run the asadmin list-applications command:

as-install/bin/asadmin list-applications

To Undeploy the Sample Application From the Command Line

Run the asadmin undeploy command.

The general form for the command is as follows:

as-install/bin/asadmin undeploy war-name

For war-name, use the literal hello, not the full hello.war name.

For the hello.war example, the command is as follows:

as-install/bin/asadmin undeploy hello

See Also

For more information about the undeploy subcommand, see undeploy(1).

Deploying and Undeploying Applications by Using the Administration Console

The graphical Administration Console of GlassFish Server enables you to perform the following deployment-related tasks:

To Deploy the Sample Application by Using the Administration Console

Before You Begin

The sample application must be available before you start this task. To download the sample, see To Obtain the Sample Application. At least one GlassFish Server domain must be started before you deploy the sample application.

  1. Launch the Administration Console by typing the following URL in your browser:

    http://localhost:4848
    
  2. Click the Applications node in the tree on the left.

    The Applications page is displayed.

  3. Click the Deploy button.

    The Deploy Applications or Modules page is displayed.

  4. Select Packaged File to be Uploaded to the Server, and click Browse.

  5. Navigate to the location in which you saved the hello.war sample, select the file, and click Open.

    You are returned to the Deploy Applications or Modules page.

  6. Specify a description in the Description field, for example:

    hello

  7. Accept the other default settings, and click OK.

    You are returned to the Applications page.

  8. Select the check box next to the hello application and click the Launch link to run the application.

    The default URL for the application is as follows:

    http://localhost:8080/hello/
    

See Also

For more information, see the Administration Console online help.

To View Deployed Applications in the Administration Console

  1. Launch the Administration Console by typing the following URL in your browser:

    http://localhost:4848
    
  2. Click the Applications node in the tree on the left.

    Expand the node to list deployed applications. Deployed applications are also listed in the table on the Applications page.

To Undeploy the Sample Application by Using the Administration Console

  1. Launch the Administration Console by typing the following URL in your browser:

    http://localhost:4848
    
  2. Click the Applications node in the tree on the left.

    The Applications page is displayed.

  3. Select the check box next to the hello sample application.

  4. Remove or disable the application.

    • To remove the application, click the Undeploy button.

    • To disable the application, click the Disable button.

See Also

For more information, see the Administration Console online help.

Deploying and Undeploying the Sample Application Automatically

GlassFish Server enables you to performing the following deployment-related tasks automatically:

To Deploy the Sample Application Automatically

You can deploy applications automatically by placing them in the domain-dir/autodeploy directory, where domain-dir is the directory of the domain for which you want to configure automatic deployment. For this example, use the default domain, domain1, in the default domain-root-dir, which is as-install/domains:

as-install/domains/domain1/autodeploy

Before You Begin

The sample application must be available before you start this task. To download the sample, see To Obtain the Sample Application.

Copy the application WAR file to the domain-dir/autodeploy directory.

  • On UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X systems, type this command:

    cp sample-dir/hello.war as-install/domains/domain-dir/autodeploy
    
  • On Windows systems, type this command:

    copy sample-dir\hello.war as-install\domains\domain-dir\autodeploy
    

GlassFish Server automatically discovers and deploys the application. The default URL for the application is as follows:

http://localhost:8080/hello/

To Undeploy the Sample Application Automatically

  1. Change to the domain's autodeploy directory.

    cd as-install\domains\domain-dir\autodeploy
    
  2. Delete the sample application's WAR file to undeploy and remove the application.

    • On UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X systems, type this command:

      rm hello.war
      
    • On Windows systems, type this command:

      del hello.war
      

High Availability Clustering and Load Balancing

GlassFish Server enables multiple GlassFish Server instances to be clustered to provide high availability through failure protection, scalability, and load balancing. The subsections that follow provide an overview of high availability clustering and load balancing for GlassFish Server. For a complete example of setting up high availability clustering and load balancing, see Deploying an Application to a Two-Instance Cluster.

Clusters of GlassFish Server Instances

A cluster is a collection of GlassFish Server instances that work together as one logical entity. A cluster provides a runtime environment for one or more Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) applications. A cluster provides high availability through failure protection, scalability, and load balancing.

A GlassFish Server instance is a single Virtual Machine for the Java platform (Java Virtual Machine or JVM machine) on a single node in which GlassFish Server is running. A node defines the host where the GlassFish Server instance resides. The JVM machine must be compatible with the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE).

GlassFish Server instances form the basis of an application deployment. An instance is a building block in the clustering, load balancing, and session persistence features of GlassFish Server. Each instance belongs to a single domain and has its own directory structure, configuration, and deployed applications. Every instance contains a reference to a node that defines the host where the instance resides.

For more information, see the following documentation:

Session Persistence and Failover

Storing session state data enables the session state to be recovered after the failover of an instance in a cluster. Recovering the session state enables the session to continue without loss of information. GlassFish Server supports in-memory session replication on other servers in the cluster for maintaining HTTP session and stateful session bean data.

For more information, see "Configuring High Availability Session Persistence and Failover" in Oracle GlassFish Server High Availability Administration Guide.

Load Balancing for Clustered Configurations

GlassFish Server supports web server and hardware-based load balancing for clustered configurations. A load balancer is deployed with a cluster, and provides the following features:

  • Allows an application or service to be scaled horizontally across multiple physical (or logical) hosts yet still present the user with a single URL

  • Insulates the user from host failures or server crashes when used with session persistence

  • Enhances security by hiding the internal network from the user

Oracle GlassFish Server includes a Load Balancer Plug-in for popular web servers such as Oracle HTTP Server, Oracle iPlanet Web Server, Apache HTTP Server, and Microsoft Windows IIS. The Load Balancer Plug-in includes a graphical Load Balancer Configurator installation wizard that makes it easy to configure the plug-in to work with your particular GlassFish Server and web server installations.

GlassFish Server load balancing configurations can vary widely depending on the needs of your enterprise. For complete information about configuring load balancing in GlassFish Server, see the following documentation:

Updating and Extending an Existing Installation

GlassFish Server provides an administrative tool called Update Tool that enables you to install updates and add-on components to your existing GlassFish Server installation. Update Tool can be accessed as a standalone graphical tool from the command line or as a browser-based graphical tool from the Administration Console. For more information about Update Tool, see "Update Tool" in Oracle GlassFish Server Administration Guide.

To Access the Graphical Update Tool From the Command Line

Run the updatetool command:

as-install-parent/bin/updatetool

If Update Tool is not installed, you will be prompted to install it. Install the tool if desired, then use the updatetool command to start the tool. Extensive online help is available from the tool's Help menu.

See Also

A command-line interface is also available for Update Tool. The command-line interface uses the pkg command and enables you to perform most of the tasks provided by the graphical version. For more information about the pkg command, see "Extending and Updating GlassFish Server" in Oracle GlassFish Server Administration Guide.

To Access Update Tool by Using the Administration Console

Before You Begin

At least one GlassFish Server domain must be started before you launch the Administration Console.

  1. Launch the Administration Console by typing the following URL in your browser:

    http://localhost:4848
    
  2. Click the Update Tool node in the tree on the left.

See Also

For more information, see the Administration Console online help.

Removing GlassFish Server 3.1.2 Software

Before removing the GlassFish Server software, stop the following processes:

For more information about performing these tasks, see "Uninstalling GlassFish Server" in Oracle GlassFish Server Installation Guide.

To Remove GlassFish Server Software on UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X Systems

  1. Change to the as-install-parent directory, which contains the uninstallation program.

  2. If necessary, grant execute permissions to the uninstallation program file.

    chmod +x ./uninstall.sh
    
  3. Run the uninstallation program.

    ./uninstall.sh
    
  4. Examine the contents of the remaining installation directories and remove any files or directories that you do not want, including hidden directories prefixed with a dot.

To Remove GlassFish Server Software on Windows Systems

  1. Change to the as-install-parent directory, which contains the uninstallation program.

  2. Run the uninstallation program.

    uninstall.exe
    
  3. Examine the contents of the remaining installation directories and remove any files or directories that you do not want, including hidden directories prefixed with a dot.

For More Information

Additional resources are available to help you learn more about GlassFish Server 3.1.2 and related technologies.

The following resources are described here:

Product Documentation

Comprehensive product documentation is available and includes the following.

GlassFish Communities

The following resources will help you connect with other users, learn more about GlassFish Server, and get help if needed.

  • GlassFish Forum: Public online discussion forum that provides community support and tips for working with GlassFish Server.

  • GlassFish Wiki: Community site that provides a wide range of information related to GlassFish Server.

  • GlassFish Documentation Project: Documentation community site that provides details about GlassFish Server documentation and how you can participate.

  • GlassFish Quality Community: Quality community site focused on testing and improving GlassFish Server.

Tutorials

The following tutorials provide working examples and detailed instructions for creating enterprise applications for the Java EE 6 platform.

  • Your First Cup: An Introduction to the Java EE Platform: Provides a short tutorial for beginning Java EE programmers that shows how to develop a simple enterprise application from scratch. The sample application consists of four main components: a JAX-RS RESTful web service, an enterprise bean, a Java Persistence API entity, and a web application created with JavaServer Faces Facelets technology.

  • The Java EE 6 Tutorial: Provides a beginner's guide to developing enterprise applications for GlassFish Server. The tutorial includes working examples and instructions for creating applications with Java EE 6 technologies, including Java Servlets, JavaServer Faces, Facelets, RESTful Web Services, Enterprise JavaBeans, Java Persistence API, Contexts and Dependency Injection for the Java EE platform, and more. The document is also available through Update Tool.

Java EE 6 Samples

The sample applications demonstrate Java EE 6 technologies. The samples are available through Update Tool and also as part of the Java EE 6 SDK distributions. The SDK distributions are available from the Java EE SDK downloads page.