JBoss Application Server 7 Boosts Performance, Adds Arquillian Support

Red Hat has launched JBoss Application Server 7, a free and open source Java Enterprise Edition-based application server developed by the JBoss Community. JBoss Application Server 7 enables a cloud-ready architecture, provides support for Java Enterprise Edition 6, and forms the basis for JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.

Key features of JBoss Application Server 7 include:

  • Improved performance (a "tenfold" reduction in startup time over previous versions, according to Red Hat);
  • Support for Arquillian to execute tests inside the target runtime environment from the developer's IDE or build tool;
  • JBoss Modules to provide application isolation;
  • Ability to load classes on demand;
  • Out of the box support for OSGi;
  • Improved memory management;
  • Modular services container (MSC), so each service can be started and stopped in isolation with minimal dependencies;
  • Configuration file based on a domain model, and which can be used for multiple servers in domain mode;
  • Java Enterprise Edition (EE) 6 Web Profile certification;
  • Java Context and Dependency Injection (CDI); and
  • Developer tool support from Eclipse-based JBoss Tools.

JBoss Application Server 7 will be integrated with Red Hat OpenShift later this month. Red Hat OpenShift is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) cloud that enables open source developers to rapidly deploy applications. OpenShift has three components:

  • Express, a free, cloud-based platform for deploying new and existing Ruby, PHP, and Python applications in the cloud;
  • Flex, a free, auto-scaling PaaS for JBoss, Java EE6, and PHP applications; and
  • Power, for deploying applications written in C or using many binary components to the cloud.

JBoss Application Server 7 forms the core of JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6, which will be available in early 2012 and will feature improved performance and scalability, powerful management, integrated developer tooling, and a more flexible and lightweight footprint.

JBoss Application Server 7 is available now as a free download from the JBoss site.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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