JMX/Microkernel

The JBossMX project is the JBoss application server implementation for the Java Management Extensions technology and the core of the JBoss microkernel architecture. It is optimized for speed in the MBean server invocation bus and will support many of the advanced features such as security, transactions, MBean server federation, and fail-over.

JMX/JBoss the Microkernel design

While most other servers use JMX for, well, management, we at JBoss use it as the basis for our modularity. The full server is based on the microkernel which provides core services such as classloading and cycling as well as configuration of these and deployment of services. All of JBoss is then lego pieces, known as MBeans, that sit in the MBeanServer and communicate with each other. We are capable of independently cycling the different parts thereby achieving 24x7 stability of the codebase. This is also the reason for JBoss' high degree of modularity. In JBoss 3.0 deploying and removing services is as simple as dropping the service.xml description file in the deploy directory or removing it from the deploy directory. Customizing JBoss is trivial. Also this microkernel design, comes with state of the art classloaders that support cycling and remote loading so you can fully install JBoss from a central webserver.

Features

JBossMX 1.0 release implements the functionality defined in the JMX 1.0 specification:

  • Standard, Dynamic and Model MBean instrumentation
  • MBean Queries
  • Timer Service
  • MLet Service
  • Monitoring Service
  • Relation Service

Additional features included in the JBossMX 1.0 release:

  • XMBean Model MBean implementation. Supports externalizing the MBean management interface to an XML file, or generating it based on Standard MBean naming conventions.
  • high quality logging implementation that allows you to plug in different log frameworks including Log4j, and JDK1.4 logging
  • performance optimizations for Standard MBean invocations
  • interceptor based invocation design
  • pluggable design for MBean registry, classloader repositories, Model MBean implementations and the MBean Server implementation

Active Development

JBossMX will be enhanced to support the JMX 1.2 API. 

You can find us discussing development topics in the JMX Development Forum.

Join us now! Come on board of the JBossMX project, the microkernel infrastructure of the JBoss application server.

Contributors

  • Juha Lindfors
  • Trevor Squires
  • Adrian Brock
  • Fusayuki Minamoto
  • Tom Elrod
  • Jeff Haynie
  • Ivelin Ivanov
         

Buy Now

The JBossMX implementation is in many parts based on the design and code discussed in the JMX: Managing J2EE with Java Management Extensions book published by SAMS.

Order a copy to support development.
Download book source code.