How This Book is Structured | Professional Apache Geronimo (Wrox Professional Guides)

The book is structured to get you started working with Geronimo in the shortest possible time. It is divided into three parts. The first couple of chapters covers download, installation, testing, and initial deployment of a J2EE application on the Geronimo server.

Once you are up to speed, you take a little time off to investigate Geronimo’s history, architecture, operations, and how all the components and configuration files fit together. This part of the reading is most applicable to readers evaluating Geronimo. You can skip directly to this section if you do not need the hands-on installation and deployment exercise.

The third part of the book covers the administrative, management, and troubleshooting tools supplied with Geronimo, and each of the J2EE deployable modules in more detail. A chapter is devoted to each important topic. There are many deployment and configuration examples throughout this section that you can customize for your specific scenario.

Advanced Geronimo topics are covered in additional bonus chapters that you can download from the companion Web site. Updates to chapters in this printed book can also be found on the companion Web site.

The following is a description of the chapters in this book:

Chapter 1, “Getting Started with Geronimo,” covers the hardware and software that you need to have before installing Geronimo, as well as the download and installation of the Apache Geronimo server. The different available downloads are explained, and the chapter guides you through a hands-on installation. You will have a working Geronimo application server running by the end of this chapter.
Chapter 2, “Basic Geronimo Configuration,” guides you through the hands-on configuration and deployment of an enterprise application to the Geronimo server. You deploy an application consisting of servlet, JSP, and EJB components. This chapter shows how to override the default configuration of Geronimo server, and how to use the command-line deployer, as well as the Web console to deploy modules and monitor server status.
Chapter 3, “Apache and Geronimo,” provides historical information on the Geronimo project. The chapter describes the heritage and excellence of its originator-the Apache Software Foundation. The events that led from concept to actual release of the server are presented. The different types of Open Source licenses and how they may affect your application are also explored.
Chapter 4, “Geronimo’s J2EE 1.4 Components,” provides an overview of the components comprising the Geronimo server from a J2EE perspective. The different J2EE tiers, the container at each tier, and the individual container services are explored in detail. The interaction between deployed software modules and Geronimo at each tier is also explained.
Chapter 5, “Geronimo Architecture and Directory Structure,” examines the architecture and operations of the Geronimo server. This chapter puts into perspective the components introduced in Chapter 4, and shows how they work during the operation of the server. The internal working of the Geronimo server is explored. The on-disk directory organization of Geronimo is presented, and the purpose of each of the directories is described. You will learn about the location of the various configuration files, and you will become familiar with Geronimo’s repository.
Chapter 6, “The Geronimo Deployer,” provides comprehensive coverage of the most commonly used tool in Geronimo. Every available command and option is covered. A brief discussion of how the deployer tool works and how it works with JSR-88–complaint deployment systems is presented.
Chapter 7, “Using the Geronimo Debug Console and jconsole,” reveals a versatile, yet little-known, debug tool for Geronimo. Using the debug tool enables you to look inside a running instance of Geronimo and see all the objects that are running. The JSR-77–compatible object naming convention used internally by Geronimo is explained. For readers running on JDK 5, the chapter shows how the jconsole utility from Java Developer’s Kit (JDK) 5 can also be used to examine server states and monitor server operations.
Chapter 8, “Geronimo Web Console,” covers the use and operation of Geronimo’s GUI Web console. From startup to shutdown, each option and menu of the console is examined. You will become fluent with the use of this essential tool. Wherever applicable, coverage is provided to show how to do the equivalent operation using manual command-line tools. This approach ensures that you can get your deployment and configuration done even if you cannot start the Web console.
Chapter 9, “Geronimo Deployment Plans,” is a chapter that enumerates and explains each of the deployment plans that you may use when deploying J2EE application modules to Geronimo. With many different kinds of deployable modules available, and each module containing both mandatory and optional deployment plans, a large number of possible plans exist. This chapter classifies them and explains where each one may be used.
Chapter 10, “Web Container Configuration and Jetty,” examines the deployment and configuration of Web applications in the Geronimo server. The focus of this chapter is on the general deployment of Web application modules, and also the configuration of the Jetty container. The Jetty container has container-specific features (such as virtual hosting) that can be configured via Geronimo deployment plans. This chapter shows all the Jetty-specific configuration options.
Chapter 11, “Tomcat Web Container Configuration,” follows up from Chapter 10 and provides details on how to configure the Tomcat Web application container using Geronimo deployment plans. Tomcat-specific features (such as realms, filters, and valves) can be configured with virtual hosting support. You will also see how the Geronimo container managed security system can be configured to work with the Tomcat server.
Chapter 12, “Deploying Enterprise Applications (EAR) with OpenEJB,” explores the deployment of enterprise applications, including EJBs. Both session beans and entity beans are covered, including the deployment of EJB 2.1 supported Container Managed Persistence (CMP) beans. You will work hands-on with the required deployment plans. This chapter also reveals how you can configure Geronimo to enable JavaMail support, allowing your EJBs and applications to send and receive email. The chapter also contains a brief discussion of Geronimo’s Client Application Container.
Chapter 13, Configuring and Deploying JDBC Resources with PostgreSQL,” examines the configuration and deployment of application that make connections to relational databases, including EJB, which relies on CMP to access relational database management systems (RDBMSs). Coverage includes the deployment of database pools and drivers via a Resource Adapter Archive (RAR)-allowing Geronimo-hosted applications to access external RDBMS servers. A hands-on example using the robust PostgreSQL is presented.
Chapter 14, “Deploying Web Services and CORBA Interoperation,” provides a working hands-on example showing how to expose servlets and EJBs as Web services in Geronimo. These Web services can be accessed from a variety of clients, including .NET and scripting clients such as Python or PHP. It also shows how EJBs in an application can be exposed as Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) servers-enabling access to your J2EE application from legacy systems. The configurable CSI v2 interoperable security architecture from CORBA is also explained in this chapter.
Chapter 15, “Security,” explains the security infrastructure in the Geronimo server. Fundamental concepts including security realms, login modules, and login domains are covered. The authentication and authorization needs of applications are examined, and the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) and Java Authorization Contract for Containers (JACC) based implementation are revealed. Details will be provided for the available security descriptors, and where and how they can be used within Geronimo deployment plans.
Chapter 16, “Configuring, Deploying, and Using JMS Resources with ActiveMQ,” is a chapter devoted to the deployment of modules for applications using message queues (MQs). The architecture of the ActiveMQ message broker, included as part of Geronimo, is presented. Customization and general configuration of this versatile MQ server is illustrated through several example configurations. Application-level resource adapter deployment is demonstrated through a hands-on example.
Appendix A, “Geronimo Deployment Plans Cross-Reference,” is a summary of the different Geronimo-specific deployment plans that you may use in the module. It provides just enough information on the structure of the plan to kick-start your configuration effort. This appendix is designed to be used in conjunction with Geronimo reference documentation or the DTD/ Schema of the associated plan. (This appendix tells you where to find these DTD and schemas.)
Appendix B, “Run-Time Deployment Command Reference,” is a command and option reference for the command line-deployment tool. This appendix can be a handy reference when you deploy and manage application modules on your Geronimo servers.