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Administering the WildFly 14 and JBoss® EAP 7.2 Application Servers: Lab Setup Instructions (Standard Setup: Windows OS / EAP 7.2)

Below are the standard requirements for this course. If you have any questions or issues, please contact us.

Important Note: Student lab files are required on each computer used for the course. The links for these are not in this lab setup, and you should receive them separately.

Other notes:

  • It’s a good idea to keep downloaded software install files on the machines during the class in case of problems that require a re-install.
  • Cloning a setup is generally not a problem. If it is, we’ll mention it in the software section (for example, much of the IBM/RAD-WAS software can be problematic in this regard).

Hardware and classroom setup.

Each student and the instructor shall have a workstation that fulfills the listed requirements.

  • Required: Intel-compatible processor (with reasonably recent hardware).
  • Memory: 8GB min recommended
  • Disk Space: Free disk space for software installs (generally minimum 2GB)
  • Operating System: Windows OS (Any modern version - e.g. Windows 10. - labs have not been tested on Windows 8 variants)
  • Required: Zip utility. A good free one is 7-zip
  • Required: Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Required: One of Firefox browser (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/) or Chrome browser (https://www.google.com/chrome/). Edge browser is not sufficient.
  • Recommended: Internet access
  • Recommended: Class machines networked together - allows students to access a shared network directory.

Install 7-zip 

We’ve found that there are sometimes problems using the built in Windows archive/zip utility. This generally has to do with long path lengths that it can’t handle. Use 7-zip to extract the labs and any software zips which we’ve found very reliable.

  • Can try direct download link for 64-bit install: https://www.7-zip.org/a/7z2301-x64.exe
  • If that doesn’t work, go to home page https://www.7-zip.org
  • Near the top of the page, find the download link for your bitness (probably 64 bit), and download the installer.
  • Execute the installer, and take all the defaults.
  • You can now extract zip files by right clicking on them, and selecting 7-Zip | Extract ...

Lab Files: Each student and instructor must have lab files installed (links to these files are generally sent separately via e-mail).

  • Extract the lab files to a location conveniently accessible to the student (e.g. C:\ )
  • Recommend using utility like 7-zip, not Windows built-in extractor.
  • If using folder other than C:\, make sure that students know where they are.

Other instructor requirements for the classroom

  • Projector or large screen TV capable of 1280x800 or higher resolution. Instructor must be able to use this to project slides.
  • Whiteboard (preferred) or flip charts with markers.

Install Java Development Kit – JDK 1.8 Update 391

  • Note that any relatively recent JDK1.8 version is fine.
  • Note that you'll need a free Oracle logon to download the JDK.
  • From https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/javase8u211-later-archive-downloads.html find the latest Java 8 release installer file for your OS
    • Windows 64 bit: e.g. jdk-8u391-windows-x64.exe (Almost certainly this is the one you want. 32-bit Windows OS installs are now rare).
  • Click the link for the installer file, accept the license agreement, enter your login credentials, and download the installer.
  • Run the installer and take all defaults.

  • Create or modify environment variables as appropriate for your OS. This will add an environment variable JAVA_HOME, and modify your path to include the jdk bin folder
    • JAVA_HOME:
      • Right click My Computer and choose Properties > click the Advanced tab > click the Environment Variables button
      • In the bottom half of the dialog, click New to add a new System variable
      • Variable name: JAVA_HOME (this is case-sensitive)
      • Variable value: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_391 (or adjust to the actual path where you installed the JDK and your JDK version – please double-check this path – probably best to copy and paste it)
      • Click OK
    • Path:

      %JAVA_HOME%\bin;

      • Find this existing entry in the bottom half of the Environment Variables button, and click Edit
      • Click in the Variable value field and move your cursor all the way to the left (pressing Home on your keyboard should do this quickly for you)
      • Check whether the value below is already present, or add it at the beginning if necessary (make sure you get all of this, including the trailing semicolon, with no spaces):
    • Click OK repeatedly (likely in 3 different dialogs) until all the dialogs close.

  • Open a terminal prompt type the below, and press Enter

    javac -version

    You should get a message that tells you the version. If the command is not found, you did something wrong.

  • Close the terminal prompt. You’re done installing Java

Install JBoss EAP 7.2

  • Red Hat Account: You MUST have a (free) Red Hat account to download JBoss EAP.
  • If you already have an account, then continue to Download. Otherwise, set up an account as follows:
    • Go to http://www.redhat.com
    • Click on the Login link (currently at the top right of the page).
    • Look for the Register link, and register as per their instructions.
  • Download: You are downloading the file jboss-eap-7.2.0.zip
  • First, try the direct link - currently: https://developers.redhat.com/download-manager/file/jboss-eap-7.2.0.zip
  • Supply your login if asked.
  • Save the file where you can access it easily.
  • If the direct download doesn’t work, then try the download process below (the direct links change sometimes).
    • Go to http://developers.redhat.com/products/eap/download
    • Go to the 7.2.0 section
    • If you don’t see that section, click the link for “View Older Downloads” and then go to it.
    • Click the zip file link on the “Application Platform” line and download the zip file
    • Save the file where you can access it easily
  • Extract: Extract the zip file where students can access and run it easily.
    • Windows OS: Common location is C:\
    • Mac OS: Common location is user home directory.
  • Create a JBOSS_HOME Environment variable that points to the WildFly install folder (according to your OS needs)
    • Windows OS: Right click My Computer and choose Properties, Click the Advanced tab, Click the Environment Variables butto
    • *nix / Mac OS: Generally done in user’s shell config file (e.g. ~/.bashrc)
  • That’s all that needs to be done to install WildFly.

Install Apache Httpd plus mod_cluster 1.3.1

  • NOTE: Do NOT use a later version - only 1.3.1
  • Download directly from: From http://downloads.jboss.org/mod_cluster//1.3.1.Final/windows/mod_cluster-1.3.1.Final-windows-amd64-ssl.zip
    • The filename will be mod_cluster-1.3.1.Final-windows-amd64-ssl.zip
    • Save the file where you can access it easily
    • Note that this install includes Apache httpd with mod_cluster already installed
       
  • Extract: Extract the zip file where students can access and run it easily.
    • Windows OS: Common location is C:\
    • Linux/Mac OS: Common location is user home directory.
       
  • That’s all that needs to be done to install mod_cluster.