Announcing JBoss EAP 7

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 is here.

This is a significant new release. There are the obvious benefits -- Java EE 7 certification, numerous bug fixes, a simplified and more intuitive administrative UI -- but there are a lot of features just under the hood that really make JBoss EAP 7 a pathway for IT departments and app developers to move their projects forward.

Agility and Transformation

There are a lot of buzzwords and think-pieces on changes in IT, like bimodal development, microservices, DevOps, digital transformation, big data, Internet of Things.

What these buzzy words are trying to explain, though, is the real tension and transition in trying to move older application architectures and processes to take advantage of true advances in technology, like cloud and containers.

This is where JBoss EAP 7 can work as a supporting partner in IT departments, because JBoss EAP 7 can function effectively on both sides of that transition.

JBoss EAP 7 takes full advantage of the Java EE 7 spec, and it is certified on the full Java EE profile. For large, monolithic Java applications, JBoss EAP 7 offers strong and resilient support with effective resource management, distributed caching, large domains with high availability clustering, intelligent load balancing, and other features that can handle the loads from large enterprises. It is compatible with traditional Java applications and capable of handling business-critical applications.

However, the nature of applications are changing. As businesses start introducing microservices to replace monoliths or to incorporate mobile apps with their traditional applications, you also need a platform that can support lightweight, fast, data-rich architectures. JBoss EAP 7 has been optimized to run in resource-light environments like containers and cloud instances and it natively works with tools like Fabric8, Vert.X, and OpenShift so that development teams can rapidly (and consistently) build and deploy applications.

Developer-Focused

There are three key elements to app development: architecture, process, and platform. Only “platform” is technology-centric, but the right technology can support what you’re doing with architecture and process.

DevOps and continuous integration / delivery (CI/CD) are more effective if there are tools that help rapid deployment, and JBoss EAP 7 introduces or enhances several features that aid quick deployment:

• Native integration with DevOps tools including Arquillian, Maven, and Jenkins
• Specialized profiles to run on Red Hat OpenShift (container environments)
• Lightweight, optimized performance on resource-constrained environments like containers and cloud instances
• Faster     startup times (in just a couple of seconds) and graceful shutdowns
• Support for new app development tools like Fabric8 (for container-based microservices) and Vert.X (for reactive applications)

Bullet List of Awesome

JBoss EAP 7 offers a lot of additional features. A complete list is available in the JBoss EAP 7 release notes, but these are some more highlights:

• Java EE 7 certification
• Unified domain management over both JBoss EAP 6 and JBoss EAP 7 servers
• A unified messaging subsystem, relying on Artemis ActiveMQ
• An embeddable, lightweight web server based on the Undertow project
• New transactions subsystem, based on the Narayana project
• Resilient high availability features including clustering and distributed caching
• Memory analyzer and other resource management tools

Additional Resources

There are many resources available on both the Customer Portal and redhat.com to get more detailed information about JBoss EAP 7.

• Datasheet
• Documentation
• Product page
• Modern app development