How to Configure Apache Tomcat to Use MBeans (Linux)

Java Management Extensions (JMX) is a technology that permits applications to expose properties and operations through managed beans, or "MBeans". Tomcat supports JMX and provides numerous MBeans to a consumer program, such as jconsole, that expose useful properties and operations. But in order to access Tomcat's MBeans we must configure Tomcat to expose the MBeans to consumers.

To learn how to configure Apache Tomcat to use MBeans in Linux follow these steps:

1. Stop the Tomcat server.
2. Create a new file named CATALINA_HOME/bin/setenv.sh, e.g., /usr/share/tomcat7/bin/setenv.sh. Open the file for edit. Add the following line:

   export CATALINA_OPTS=-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=9009 
   		-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false	
   	

   Here you are setting properties that will activate the MBeans the next time you start Tomcat. Note that I have arbitrarily assigned 9009 to the JMX port. There is nothing magic about this value, any available port number will suffice. Also note that fpr testing convenience I have not enabled SSL. In practice, SSL should be used when activating MBeans. Visit this link for a discussion of how to use SSL with MBeans.
3. Save your changes.
4. Start the Tomcat server. Your server is now configured to use MBeans.