How to Install WildFly (JBoss) on Debian 11

Introduction

Before we begin talking about how to install WildFly on Debian 11, let's briefly understand – What is WildFly?

WildFly, formerly known as JBoss, is an open-source Java application server that provides a platform for developing and deploying enterprise applications. It offers a lightweight and flexible runtime environment, enabling developers to create scalable and robust applications.

With its extensive set of features, including support for Java EE and MicroProfile, WildFly empowers developers to build modern, cloud-native applications. It boasts high performance, efficient resource utilization, and excellent security. WildFly is a popular choice for organizations seeking a reliable and adaptable application server solution.

In this tutorial, you will install WildFly (JBoss) on Debian 11.

Advantages of WildFly

1. Lightweight: WildFly is a lightweight application server, ensuring efficient resource utilization and fast startup times.
2. Java EE Compatibility: It offers full support for Java EE standards, enabling developers to leverage a wide range of enterprise technologies.
3. High Performance: WildFly delivers excellent performance, allowing applications to handle heavy workloads with ease.
4. Flexibility: It provides a flexible runtime environment, accommodating various deployment models and adapting to changing business needs.
5. Strong Security: WildFly prioritizes security, offering robust features such as role-based access control and secure communication protocols.

Install WildFly (JBoss) on Debian 11

Refer to the following sections for instructions on installing and configuring WildFly (JBoss) on Debian 11.

Step 1 – Install Java in your Debian system

We will start the setup by installing Java on our Debian system. To install the most recent JDK version available in your OS repository, execute the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install default-jdk

Verify installation afterward by examining the Java version:

java -version

Output

openjdk version "11.0.13" 2021-10-19
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.13+8-post-Debian-1deb11u1)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.13+8-post-Debian-1deb11u1, mixed mode, sharing)

Once Java is installed and working on our system, we can move on to the next step.

Step 2 – Download WildFly zipped distribution

We will install a complete WildFly server with support for both standalone and managed domain operating modes using the zipped distribution.

Using wget, download the archive file.

sudo apt install wget curl

WILDFLY_RELEASE=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/wildfly/wildfly/releases/latest|grep tag_name|cut -d '"' -f 4)

wget https://github.com/wildfly/wildfly/releases/download/${WILDFLY_RELEASE}/wildfly-${WILDFLY_RELEASE}.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded file:

tar xvf wildfly-${WILDFLY_RELEASE}.tar.gz

Transfer the downloaded document to the /opt directory:

sudo mv wildfly-${WILDFLY_RELEASE} /opt/wildfly

Step 3 - Configure WildFly on Debian Linux system

We will establish a WildFly user and a systemd service unit for WildFly in this section.

sudo groupadd --system wildfly
sudo useradd -s /sbin/nologin --system -d /opt/wildfly  -g wildfly wildfly

Next, a directory containing WildFly configuration file was created.

sudo mkdir /etc/wildfly

To manage the WildFly service, copy all necessary files:

sudo cp /opt/wildfly/docs/contrib/scripts/systemd/wildfly.service /etc/systemd/system/

sudo cp /opt/wildfly/docs/contrib/scripts/systemd/launch.sh /opt/wildfly/bin/

sudo chmod +x /opt/wildfly/bin/launch.sh

sudo cp /opt/wildfly/docs/contrib/scripts/systemd/wildfly.conf /etc/wildfly/

Ensure that directory permissions are correctly configured.

sudo chown -R wildfly:wildfly /opt/wildfly

Reload system components and launch the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start wildfly
sudo systemctl enable wildfly

Verify that the WildFly service is currently running:

systemctl status wildfly

Output

● wildfly.service - The WildFly Application Server
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/wildfly.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2021-12-24 09:42:22 UTC; 42s ago
   Main PID: 46946 (launch.sh)
      Tasks: 51 (limit: 2340)
     Memory: 291.8M
        CPU: 7.659s
     CGroup: /system.slice/wildfly.service
             ├─46946 /bin/bash /opt/wildfly/bin/launch.sh standalone standalone.xml 0.0.0.0
             ├─46947 /bin/sh /opt/wildfly/bin/standalone.sh -c standalone.xml -b 0.0.0.0
             └─47040 java -D[Standalone] -server -Xms64m -Xmx512m -XX:MetaspaceSize=96M -XX:MaxMetaspaceSize=256m -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Djboss.modules.system.pkgs=org.jboss.byteman -Djav>

Dec 24 09:42:22 debian-bullseye-01 systemd[1]: Started The WildFly Application Server.
Dec 24 09:42:27 debian-bullseye-01 systemd[1]: /etc/systemd/system/wildfly.service:11: PIDFile= references a path below legacy directory /var/run/, updating /var/run/wildfly/wildfly.pid → /run/wild>
lines 1-14/14 (END)

The system's port 8080 will receive a service binding. Verify that no other service is using this port.

ss -tunelp | grep 8080

Output

tcp   LISTEN 0      4096                            0.0.0.0:8080          0.0.0.0:*    uid:997 ino:208664 sk:9 cgroup:/system.slice/wildfly.service <->

Step 4 – Creating Management / Application users in WildFly

The management interfaces in WildFly are secured by default. The initial administration user is manually created using a script that the application distributes.

The following command can be used to add the first user:

sudo /opt/wildfly/bin/add-user.sh

Choose the kind of user you want to add to the system. For the initial admin user, we will pick a. Choose b if the application was user-created:

What type of user do you wish to add? 
  a) Management User (mgmt-users.properties) 
  b) Application User (application-users.properties)
 (a): a

Enter the username of the user who is joining the system.

Enter the details of the new user to add.
Using realm 'ManagementRealm' as discovered from the existing property files.
Username : myadminuser

Enter and verify the user password:

Password recommendations are listed below. To modify these restrictions edit the add-user.properties configuration file.
 - The password should be different from the username
 - The password should not be one of the following restricted values {root, admin, administrator}
 - The password should contain at least 8 characters, 1 alphabetic character(s), 1 digit(s), 1 non-alphanumeric symbol(s)
Password : <Enter Password>

Proceed with the configuration as directed by the script:

What groups do you want this user to belong to? (Please enter a comma separated list, or leave blank for none)[  ]:
About to add user 'myadminuser' for realm 'ManagementRealm'
Is this correct yes/no? yes
Added user 'myadminuser' to file '/opt/wildfly/standalone/configuration/mgmt-users.properties'
Added user 'myadminuser' to file '/opt/wildfly/domain/configuration/mgmt-users.properties'
Added user 'myadminuser' with groups  to file '/opt/wildfly/standalone/configuration/mgmt-groups.properties'
Added user 'myadminuser' with groups  to file '/opt/wildfly/domain/configuration/mgmt-groups.properties'
Is this new user going to be used for one AS process to connect to another AS process?
e.g. for a slave host controller connecting to the master or for a Remoting connection for server to server Jakarta Enterprise Beans calls.
yes/no? yes
To represent the user add the following to the server-identities definition <secret value="UGFzc3dvcmRAMzIxIQ==" />

Step 5 – Accessing WildFly Admin Console

The /opt/wildfly/bin/ directory stores all WildFly scripts and binary files. We should have this directory in our PATH. Let us include it accordingly:

cat >> ~/.bashrc <<EOF
export WildFly_BIN="/opt/wildfly/bin/"
export PATH=\$PATH:\$WildFly_BIN                                                                                                                    
EOF

Before executing the script, source the bashrc file.

source ~/.bashrc

Access the WildFly CLI console using the jboss-cli.sh command:

jboss-cli.sh --connect
Authenticating against security realm: ManagementRealm
Username: myadminuser
Password: <INPUT-REQUIRED-PASSWORD>
[standalone@localhost:9990 /] version
JBoss Admin Command-line Interface
JBOSS_HOME: /opt/wildfly
Release: 26.0.1.Final
Product: WildFly Full 26.0.1.Final
JAVA_HOME: null
java.version: 11.0.13
java.vm.vendor: Debian
java.vm.version: 11.0.13+8-post-Debian-1deb11u1
os.name: Linux
os.version: 5.10.0-8-amd64

To leave the console, type exit.

[standalone@localhost:9990 /] exit

Step 6 – Accessing WildFly Admin Console from Web Interface

The console is normally available through localhost IP on port 9990.

ss -tunelp | grep 9990

Output

tcp    LISTEN   0    50    127.0.0.1:9990  0.0.0.0:* users:(("java",pid=6769,fd=404)) uid:999 ino:30407 sk:3 <->

We could launch it from a different IP address that is reachable from outside the local server. Make the following changes to /opt/wildfly/bin/launch.sh:

sudo vim /opt/wildfly/bin/launch.sh

#!/bin/bash

if [ "x$WILDFLY_HOME" = "x" ]; then
    WILDFLY_HOME="/opt/wildfly"
fi

if [[ "$1" == "domain" ]]; then
    $WILDFLY_HOME/bin/domain.sh -c $2 -b $3
else
    $WILDFLY_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -c $2 -b $3 -bmanagement=0.0.0.0
fi

We modified the start script line to include -bmanagement=0.0.0.0. This links the “management” interface to every IP address that is accessible.

Restart the WildFly service.

sudo systemctl restart wildfly

Verify the status of the service to ensure it was successful.

systemctl status  wildfly

Output

● wildfly.service - The WildFly Application Server
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/wildfly.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2021-12-24 12:11:21 EAT; 6s ago
   Main PID: 8205 (launch.sh)
      Tasks: 70 (limit: 9482)
     Memory: 159.8M
        CPU: 12.265s
     CGroup: /system.slice/wildfly.service
             ├─8205 /bin/bash /opt/wildfly/bin/launch.sh standalone standalone.xml 0.0.0.0
             ├─8206 /bin/sh /opt/wildfly/bin/standalone.sh -c standalone.xml -b 0.0.0.0 -bmanagement=0.0.0.0
             └─8305 java -D[Standalone] -server -Xms64m -Xmx512m -XX:MetaspaceSize=96M -XX:MaxMetaspaceSize=256m -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Djboss.modules.system.pkgs=org.jboss.byteman -Djava>

Verify that port 9990 is listening:

ss -tunelp | grep 9990

Output

tcp    LISTEN   0  50     0.0.0.0:9990  0.0.0.0:*  users:(("java",pid=9496,fd=320)) uid:999 ino:73367 sk:c <->

To access the WildFly Web console, open your browser and enter the URL http://serverip:9990.

Enter the previously created username and password to access the WildFly web-based administration console:

After gaining access to the web console successfully, explore sections to become familiar with how it appears and function. The primary sections of the interface are:

• Deployments: Adding and managing deployments
• Configuration: Configure settings of the subsystem
• Runtime: Status of the monitor server
• Access Control: Oversee user and group permissions for management operations
• Patching: Maintain WildFly Full patches

FAQs to Install WildFly (JBoss) on Debian 11

Conclusion

We have so far successfully installed WildFly on a Debian 11 Linux machine. To learn more about the concepts, how it functions, and how to begin hosting your applications on the WildFly application server, visit the WildFly Documentation page.

If you have any queries, feel free to comment them below, and we will be glad to answer them.