The difference between standalone and domain reflects in the filesystem of the application server, as shown in the following diagram:
As you can see, the AS 7 filesystem is divided into two main parts: the first one is pertinent to a standalone server mode and the other is dedicated to a domain server mode. Common to both server modes is the modules directory, which is the heart of the application server.
JBoss AS 7 is based on the JBoss Modules project, which provides an implementation of a modular (non-hierarchical) class loading and execution environment for Java. In other words, rather than a single class loader that loads all JARs into a flat class path, each library becomes a module, which only links against the exact modules it depends on and nothing more. It implements a thread-safe, fast, and highly concurrent delegating class loader model, coupled with an extensible module resolution system, which combine to form a unique, simple, and powerful system for application execution and distribution.
The following table details the content of each folder contained at the root of JBOSS_HOME:
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Folder |
Description |
|---|---|
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This folder contains startup scripts, startup configuration files, and various command-line utilities such as vault, add-user, and Java diagnostic reports available for Unix and Windows environments. |
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This folder contains a client jar for use by non Maven-based clients. |
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This folder contains XML schema definition files. |
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This folder contains some sample standalone configurations, such as a minimal standalone configuration ( |
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This folder contains configuration files, deployment content, and writable areas used by the domain mode processes run from this installation. |
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This folder contains all the modules installed on the application server. |
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This folder contains configuration files, deployment content, and writable areas used by the single standalone servers run from this installation. |
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This folder contains configuration files, deployment content, and writable areas used by the application client container run from this installation. |
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This folder contains the default Welcome Page content. |
Digging into the standalone server tree, we can find folders that are pertinent to standalone independent processes. If you have experience on earlier server releases, you will find these folders quite intuitive to you:
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Directory |
Description |
|---|---|
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This directory contains configuration files for the standalone server that runs off this installation. All configuration information for the running server is located here and is the single place for configuration modifications for the standalone server. |
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This directory contains the persistent information written by the server to survive a restart of the server. |
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The end user deployment content can be placed in this directory for automatic detection and deployment of that content into the server's runtime. |
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This directory is the location for the installed library jars referenced by the applications using the |
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This directory contains the standalone server logfiles. |
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This directory contains the location of the temporary files written by the server. |
The domain directory structure is quite similar to the standalone equivalent, with one important difference: as you can see from the following table, the deployments folder is not present here since the domain mode does not support deploying content based on scanning a filesystem. We need to use the JBoss AS 7 managed instruments (CLI and Web Admin console) in order to deploy applications to a domain.
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Directory |
Description |
|---|---|
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This directory contains configuration files for the domain, Host Controller, and any servers running off of this installation. All the configuration information for the servers managed within the domain is located here and is the single place for configuration information. |
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This directory is an internal working area for the Host Controller that controls this installation. This is where it internally stores the deployment content. This directory is not meant to be manipulated by the end users. It is created after the first server startup. |
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This directory is the location for installed library jars referenced by applications using the |
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This directory is the location where the Host Controller process writes its logs. The Process Controller, a small, lightweight process that actually spawns the other Host Controller processes and any application server processes, also writes a log here. It is created after the first server startup. |
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This directory is a writable area used by each application server instance that runs from this installation. Each application server instance will have its own subdirectory, created when the server is first started. In each server's subdirectory, the following subdirectories will be present:
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The location for the temporary files written by the server. |