How to Install WildFly (JBoss) on CentOS 7

WildFly , formerly known as JBoss is a cross-platform open-source application runtime written in Java. WildFly is flexible, lightweight, and it is based on pluggable subsystems that can be added or removed as needed.

Install Java OpenJDK

OpenJDK is the open-source implementation of the Java Platform which is the default Java development and runtime in CentOS 7.

Install the OpenJDK package by running:

yum install java-11-openjdk-devel

You can verify the installation, by running the following command which will print the Java version:

java -version

Create a User

Running WildFly as the root user is a security risk and not considered best practice.

First, we need to create a folder to WildFly:

mkdir /opt/wildfly

We need to create a new user and group named wildfly with home directory /opt/wildfly:

> groupadd -r wildfly
> useradd -r -g wildfly -d /opt/wildfly -s /sbin/nologin wildfly

Install WildFly

In order to install the latest version of WildFly, please check the following link: Download WildFly.

Download the WildFly archive in the /tmp directory using the following wget command:

wget https://download.jboss.org/wildfly/21.0.1.Final/wildfly-21.0.1.Final.tar.gz -P /tmp

When the download is completed, unpack the tar.gz file and move it to the /opt directory:

tar xf /tmp/wildfly-21.0.1.Final.tar.gz -C /opt/

Next, create a symbolic link wildfly that will point to the WildFly installation directory:

ln -s /opt/wildfly-21.0.1.Final /opt/wildfly

WildFly will run under the wildfly user which needs to have access to the WildFly installation directory.

Change the directory ownership to user and group wildfly with the following chown command :

chown -RH wildfly: /opt/wildfly

Configure Systemd

1 – First, we need to create a directory which will hold the WildFly configuration file:

mkdir -p /etc/wildfly

2 – Then, copy the configuration file to that /etc/wildfly directory:

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

This file allows you to specify the WildFly mode and bind address.
By default, WildFly will run in a standalone mode and will listen on all interfaces.
You can edit the file according to your needs.

3 – Next, copy the WildFly launch.sh script to the /opt/wildfly/bin/ directory:

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

The scripts inside bin directory must have executable flag:

sh -c 'chmod +x /opt/wildfly/bin/*.sh'

4 – Copy the systemd unit file named to the /etc/systemd/system/ directory:

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

Notify systemd that we created a new unit file:

systemctl daemon-reload

5 – Start the WildFly service an enable it to be automatically started at boot time by running:

systemctl start wildfly
systemctl enable wildfly

6 – Verify that the service is running:

systemctl status wildfly

Open the firewall port for the WildFly

we need to open the following port to be able to access the WildFly from outside:

firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=8080/tcp
firewall-cmd --reload

Test the WildFly Installation

To access the default WildFly page, open your browser and type: http://<your_domain_or_IP_address>:8080

Configure WildFly Authentication

Now that WildFly is installed and running the next step is to create a user who will be able to connect using the administration console or remotely using the CLI.

To add a new user use the add-user.sh script that is located the WildFly’s bin directory:

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

You’ll be asked what type of user do you wish to add
Select a and hit Enter:

Next, the script will prompt you to enter the details of the new user.

Access WildFly Administration Console

Command-Line Interface

To access the WildFly Administration Console from the command line you can use the jboss-cli.sh script.

Navigate to the WildFly’s bin directory and run the script with the --connect option:

cd /opt/wildfly/bin/
./jboss-cli.sh --connect

You will be asked to enter your administrative username and passwor.ز

Once you login the console prompt will change to [standalone@localhost:9990 /]. Type help to get a list of commands and command syntax.

Web Interface

If you prefer to manage your server from the GUI, WildFly also provides a web-based console.

By default, the WildFly administration console is available only from localhost at http://localhost:9990/console.

If you want to access the console from remote locations you’ll need to make small modifications to the wildfly.service, wildfly.conf and launch.sh files.

1 – Open the wildfly.conf and append WILDFLY_CONSOLE_BIND=0.0.0.0 at the end of the file.

2 – Open the launch.sh and edit the highlighted lines:

Restart the service for changes to take effect:

systemctl restart wildfly

3 – Open the wildfly.service and edit the ExecStart= line as following:

ExecStart=/opt/wildfly/bin/launch.sh $WILDFLY_MODE $WILDFLY_CONFIG $WILDFLY_BIND $WILDFLY_CONSOLE_BIND

4 – Create the /var/run/wildfly directory and set correct permissions:

mkdir /var/run/wildfly/
chown wildfly: /var/run/wildfly/

5 – Notify systemd that the unit file was changed and restart the service:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart wildfly

6 – Open the WildFly management port in the firewall:

firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=9990/tcp
firewall-cmd --reload

Now, you should be able to access the WildFly administration console at http://<your_domain_or_IP_address>:9990/console.