JMX Tools Reference Guide

Version: 3.3.0.M5
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1. What is JMX Tools? ........................................................................................... 1
1.2. Key Features of JMX Tools ................................................................................. 3
2. JMX Tools Tasks ......................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Quick Start ......................................................................................................... 5
2.2. Managing Application .......................................................................................... 5
2.3. Tomcat Managing ............................................................................................... 9
2.4. Managing a JBoss application server Remotely .................................................... 9
2.5. Extension Task ................................................................................................. 10
2.5.1. Why you extend the framework ............................................................... 10
2.5.2. Core Extensions ..................................................................................... 10
2.5.3. UI Extensions ........................................................................................ 10
2.6. Connections Creation Task ................................................................................ 11
2.6.1. Establishing Connection .......................................................................... 11
3. References ................................................................................................................. 13
3.1. MBean Explorer ................................................................................................ 13
3.2. MBean Editor .................................................................................................... 15
3.2.1. Notifications Page .................................................................................. 17
4. Summary .................................................................................................................... 19
4.1. Other relevant resources on the topic ................................................................ 19

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Chapter 1.

Introduction
JBoss Tools' JMX project is a fork of eclipse-jmx [http://code.google.com/p/eclipse-jmx/], a project
by Jeff Mesnil. It was forked with permission.

1.1. What is JMX Tools?

JBoss JMX Tools™ allows you to setup multiple JMX connections, and provides a view for
exploring the JMX tree and execute operations directly from within Eclipse.

This chapter covers the basics of working with JMX plugin™, which is used to manage Java
applications (with Managed Beans) through JMX and its RMI Connector.

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Chapter 1. Introduction

Figure 1.1. JMX Tools

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 Key Features of JMX Tools

1.2. Key Features of JMX Tools

The table below lists the main features of JBoss JMX Tools:

Table 1.1. Key Functionality for JBoss JMX Tools

Feature Benefit Chapter

MBean Explorer MBean Explorer is a useful view with a text filter mbean_explorer
that displays domains, mbeans, attributes, and
operations inside a connection.
MBean Editor MBean Editor is a multi-page editor to manage mbean_editor
MBeans.

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Chapter 2.

JMX Tools Tasks

This chapter will provide answers to common questions asked by JMX plugin users.

2.1. Quick Start

To start using the JMX Tools it is necessary to open MBean Explorer. Select Window → Show
View → Other, select MBean Explorer and click the OK button.

The MBean Explorer lists all the domains, MBeans, attributes, and operations inside a
connection. When you double-click an MBean in the MBean Explorer, it opens a multi-page editor
to manage the MBean. The MBean Editor is composed of these pages:

• Attributes page, to get/set the attributes of the MBean

• Operations page, to invoke operations on the MBean

• Notifications page, to receive notifications from the MBean

• Info page, which displays general information about the MBean

2.2. Managing Application

In this section we will show you how to get connected to a sample Java application and run the
sayHello() method remotely from inside of the MBean Explorer.

1. Save the bundle of JMX API sample classes, jmx_examples.zip [http://java.sun.com/docs/

books/tutorial/jmx/examples/jmx_examples.zip], to your working directory.

2. Unzip the bundle of sample classes.

3. Compile the example Java classes from within where you unpacked the files directory.

javac com/example/*.java

4. Start the Main application, specifying the properties that expose Main for remote management:

java -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=9999 \
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false \
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false \
com.example.Main

If everything was done correctly you will see the

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Chapter 2. JMX Tools Tasks

Waiting for incoming requests...

message on the screen.

5. Now launch the Eclipse IDE, in Eclipse open the MBean Explorer. Go to Window → Show

View → Other, select MBean Explorer, and then click the OK button)

6. Click the New Connection icon

in the MBean Explorer menu bar.

7. In the Create JMX Connection dialog, click the Next button and then click the Advanced tab.

8. In the JMX URL input field enter the following URL:

service:jmx:rmi:///jndi/rmi://:9999/jmxrmi

Figure 2.1. JMX Connection

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 Managing Application

9. Click the Finish button to establish the connection with the application.

10.Now expand the connection you have just created, open the com.example package, and click
the sayHello() method.

Once the sayHello() method is selected the MBean Editor is activated.

11.In the MBean Editor go to the Operation Details section and click the sayHello() button.

You will get the "Operation invoked successfully" message.

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Chapter 2. JMX Tools Tasks

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 Tomcat Managing

12.The final step is to make sure the application worked as expected. Open the terminal where
you launched the application in step 3. You should see output similar to the following:

[matthew@localhost jmx_examples]$ java -

Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=9999 \
> -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false \
> -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false \
> com.example.Main
Waiting for incoming requests...
hello, world

2.3. Tomcat Managing

It is possible to manage Tomcat using JMX Tools.

Currently, JMX Tooling is able to connect to Tomcat without authentication or with password-
based authentication.

Using SSL for authentication is not supported: you need to make sure that the System property
com.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl is set to false.

More information to manage Tomcat can be found in the Tomcat management documentation
[http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-7.0-doc/].

Instructions to remotely manage Tomcat are available in Tomcat's monitoring documentation

[http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-7.0-doc/monitoring.html].

2.4. Managing a JBoss application server Remotely

Important

If you are running JBos Enterprise Application Platform 6, JBoss Application Server
7 or later, you can connect automatically to a remote server through the Server
Behaviour tab in the server settings. For further information on this see the JBoss
Server Manager Reference Guide for this release.

The JBoss JMX Tools allow you to easily access and manage a JBoss server remotely. In order
to connect to a remote instance of a JBoss server, you need to run the server or make sure the
server is launched.

1. Select Window → Open Perspective → Other and select the JMX perspective option.

2. Switch to the MBean Explorer by selecting Window → Show View → Other and selecting
the MBean Explorer option.

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Chapter 2. JMX Tools Tasks

3. Click the New Connection icon

in
the MBean Explorer menu bar.

4. Select the Advanced tab and set the JMX URL to:

service:jmx:rmi://localhost/jndi/rmi://localhost:1090/jmxconnector

Please note that in this example we are connected to the local host.

2.5. Extension Task

This section will outline how to contribute your own Server type with some default behavior.

2.5.1. Why you extend the framework

You might be asking yourself why you would need to extend this framework if JMX is a standard.
Perhaps you want a connection to be automatically created after some specific action, or perhaps
you want your connection wizard to do more than simply set a host and port. JBoss, for example,
requires setting some credentials on the client machine, but uses JBoss classes to do it. This
requires that the connection has access to the JBoss JARs.

2.5.2. Core Extensions

To create your own JMX Connection type, you must use the
org.jboss.tools.jmx.core.MBeanServerConnectionProvider extension point. This
point takes one child, a
connectionProvider with a class that implements
org.jboss.tools.jmx.core.IConnectionProvider.

An IConnectionProvider is responsible for creation and deletion of IConnectionWrapper

objects. It must also keep a list of listeners that it is expected to notify when a connection is added
or removed from its list.

Each IConnectionWrapper is expected to be able to run arbitrary JMX runnables or

getting a "Root" object representing all JMX nodes. There are some utility methods the
IConnectionWrapper can make use of.

2.5.3. UI Extensions
There are two extension points currently approved for use in the UI

• org.jboss.tools.jmx.ui.providerUI - provide an icon, id, displayable name, and

wizardPage class for creation of new connections

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 Connections Creation Task

• org.jboss.tools.jmx.ui.attribute.controls - allows you to map class types to some

Control to present them in the MBean Editor

2.6. Connections Creation Task

The MBean Explorer supports several different types of connections. The tooling itself comes only
with a default connection type, however other adopters can provide additional connection types
that may require additional or non-spec behavior. Connections can be in either the connected
state or the disconnected state. Some connection types (such as the default connection type)
allow you to control the current state. Other connection types may not.

Similarly, some connection types may be able to be created, and others may not. The default
connection type, for example, can be created and deleted at will. The AS Tools connection type,
which represents a JBoss server, does not allow you this level of control. A JBoss JMX connection
is created when a JBoss server is created in the server's view, and deleted when said server
is deleted. The JMX connection for this server is in the connected state only when the server is
started.

2.6.1. Establishing Connection

There are two ways to connect to an application with remote management enabled:

The first step is the same for both methods - to

connect to a MBean Server, click the New Connection icon

in the MBean Explorer menu bar.

The simple method is to specify the host, port (and optionally user name and password) and click
the OK button.

On the Advanced tab you can set the server name (it will be displayed in MBean Explorer), and
a URL to the remote server. For example, to connect to JBoss AS you need to set the JMX URL to

service:jmx:rmi://localhost/jndi/rmi://localhost:1090/jmxconnector

If it is required you can enter user name and password for the server connection.

Note

Only JMX URL based on RMI are supported.

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Chapter 3.

References
3.1. MBean Explorer
The MBean Explorer displays the MBean features (both attributes and operations) in its hierarchy.
Double-clicking on a feature will open an MBean Editor, displaying the page corresponding to the
feature type and select the feature.

Figure 3.1. MBean Explorer Features

Since it is possible to have many MBean Editors opened at the

same time, the MBean Explorer has the Link With Editor button

to synchronize selections between the active MBean Editor and the MBean Explorer (and vice
versa).

The MBean Explorer has also a filter that can be used to filter the available MBeans to show
those that interest you.

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Chapter 3. References

For example, if you are only interested by MBeans related to memory, typing "memo" will show
any node (domain, mbean, attribute, or operation) that matches that text, as well as that node's
parents and children. So if an MBean matches, all attributes and operations from that bean will
be displayed. If, however, an attribute or operation name (a leaf node) matches, only that node
and its parents in the tree will be displayed.

Figure 3.2. Query Filter

The Collapse All button

on the MBean Explorer toolbar is used to collapse all the MBeans and display only the domains.
It is also possible to double click on a node to expand or collapse it.

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 MBean Editor

3.2. MBean Editor

Figure 3.3. MBean Editor Pages

The MBean Editor is composed of several pages:

• the Attributes page

• the Operations page

• the Notifications page

• the Info page

The Attributes and Operations pages display a list for either the MBean attributes or operations,
as well as details about the selection.

It is possible to toggle the layout between the list and the details either
vertically (by default) or horizontally with the help of the special icons

in the right top corner of the editor.

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Chapter 3. References

Figure 3.4. MBean Editor Horizontal Layout

Figure 3.5. Visual Page Editor

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 Notifications Page

3.2.1. Notifications Page

The Notifications page provides the ability to subscribe or unsubscribe to an MBean to receive
its notifications by checking or unchecking the Subscribe button in the right top corner.

The list of notifications is refreshed every time a new notification is received:

Figure 3.6. MBean Editor Notifications Page

Note

It is only possible to subscribe to an MBean that emits notifications (i.e. they must
be a NotificationBroadcaster).

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Chapter 4.

Summary
This document has provided an overview of the functionality included with JXM Tools, as well
as walking you through the steps on managing Tomcat, Eclipse Equinox or JBoss Instances and
how to create new JMX connections. If you have questions or suggestions concerned both the
documentation and tools behavior, you are welcome to JBoss Tools Users forum. Please, use
Jira to report bugs and requests on documentation.

4.1. Other relevant resources on the topic

You can find the JBoss Developer Studio/JBoss Tools release documentation at http://
docs.jboss.org/tools in the corresponding release directory.

The latest documentation builds are available at http://download.jboss.org/jbosstools/nightly-

docs.

The JBoss JXM Wiki can be found at http://www.jboss.org/community/wiki/JBossMX

For more information about JMX technology please visit JMX Technology Home Page [http://
java.sun.com/javase/technologies/core/mntr-mgmt/javamanagement/]

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