Introduction to jManage

From jManage

jManage Overview

jManage is a open source, web and command-line based JMX client, which provides a centralized console for managing application c 2000 lusters and distributed-application environments. jManage goes beyond an ordinary JMX client by providing features like Alerts, Graphs, Security, SNMP support, etc.

Following is a screenshot of jManage web interface:

You can see more screenshots here.

jManage Features

jManage 1.0 has the following features:

- Web based interface, which allows jManage to be used from behind firewall.
- Production level security.
- Command line interface - Useful for scripting and automation.
- Application Cluster Support - Change attribute values and perform operations across the cluster.
- Authentication and fine-grained Authorization to control which MBean operations and attributes are accessible.
- Support for different J2EE app servers and JDK1.5.
- Runtime Graphs.
- MBean attribute value monitoring.
- Alerts based on MBean notifications and MBean attribute monitors.
- Support for Open MBean types: CompositeData and TabularData
- Basic SNMP support
- Framework to define custom DataFormat classes for custom objects.
- Support for external login modules (JAAS based with name and password callback)

jManage is being built keeping security in mind, as one of the usages of jManage is in the production environment. Production environments usually have limited access and are managed by an operations team. jManage lets the operations team monitor the production environment (via browser or command line) and also allows the operations team to give controlled access to developers, QA and others. Operations team can create jManage users and assign roles to these users. Access to different features can be controlled by assigining permissions to various roles. Permission can be granted even at the level of MBean attributes or operations.

jManage Platform

jManage is a Struts and Jetty based web application, which provides both web and command line interface to manage JMX enabled applications. jManage 1.0 version supports the following:

- JBoss
- Bea Weblogic
- IBM WebSphere
- JDK1.5
- MX4J
- JMX Remoting (JSR 160)

jManage command line interface uses java serialization over HTTP to connect to the jManage web application. This allows the command line client to connect to the jmanage server across the firewall.

Typical Deployment

jManage is typically deployed in a production environment in the same network as the applications to be managed. This allows jManage to access the JMX enabled applications via any JMX remoting protocol supported by that application. Users access jManage over HTTP via a web browser or command line.

Access to jManage is controlled via username/password provided by the System Administrators or the Operations team. Admins can control access even at the MBean attribute or operation level.

User activites are logged in a log file, which can be audited by the system administrators.