In Payara Server 5 we will be introducing some major changes to the way clustering is working by creating the Domain Data Grid (see documentation for more info). The Domain Data Grid will be easier to use, more scalable, more flexible and ideally suited for cloud environments and cloud-native architectures. All Payara Server instances will join a single domain-wide data grid for sharing of in-memory data like web sessions, JCache, SSO and Stateful EJBs. 

Payara Micro supports Hazelcast out of the box, and can be used for clustering. This allows members in the cluster to distribute data between themselves, amongst other things. By default, Hazelcast comes with multiple ways to discover other members in the same network. A multicast discovery strategy is commonly used for this purpose; a multicast request is sent to all members in a network and the members respond with their IP addresses. Another strategy must be employed if a member cannot or does not wish to provide their IP address.

Both Payara Server and Payara Micro can cluster together and share data using Hazelcast. Out-of-the-box, there is no configuration needed, since Hazelcast uses multicast to discover and join other cluster members. However, when running in cloud environments like AWS, for example, there are a lot of things which can stop discovery being quite so straightforward. The key thing is that Multicast is not available, meaning another discovery strategy is needed; the most common generic alternative is to use TCP, but this assumes that you know at least the intended subnet that your cluster members will be in ahead of time.

The Payara Micro 173 release had a few changes which will make the lives of Docker users easier. This blog will cover the changes which affect Payara Micro in Docker,  demonstrating the following:

• Using the new Payara Micro 5 Docker image, which provides Java EE 8 features.

• Deploying applications without the targetted database being present.

• Adding library JARs from the command line.

In this blog, which follows on from the  Cloud Connectors in Payara Micro, we will explain the Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) connector and how to use it in Payara Server / Micro.

In this blog, which follows on from the introduction to Cloud Connectors in Payara Micro, we will explain MQTT and how to use it in Payara Micro with Mosquitto.

In this blog, which follows on from the introduction to Cloud Connectors in Payara Micro, we'll guide you through the process of setting up Payara Micro as a Kafka Client, which can produce and consume data from Apache Kafka.

Payara Micro 172 brings with it support for JCA adapters, meaning it can be used as a client for Java Messaging Service (JMS) brokers. JMS is a Java EE API which provides a common interface for standard communication protocols. This means that you can send and receive messages between systems in a platform and language independent way. With Payara Micro now supporting JMS, you can setup your Micro instance as a JMS client with Message Driven Beans (MDBs) to listen and respond to messages from other systems through a message broker.

This spring's silver lining, Payara Server 4.1.2.172, a highly cloud-focused release, is now available!

Focusing on enhancing Payara Server and Payara Micro's ease-of-use in cloud environments, we've brought in new features to make working with Docker more seamless and secure, native support for SaaS monitoring solutions and a huge increase in messaging capabilities for Payara Micro! Inside this quarter's release you will find 54 fewer bugs, a host of ecosystem and cloud improvements, and an update to match GlassFish 4.1.2. Carry on reading for a summary of this quarter's changes, or check out the full release notes for a complete list of changes.

In case you missed the news earlier this week - we are pleased to announce a new release of Payara Micro and Payara MicroProfile 171 to start the new year with a bang! With this new release, we have implemented substantial changes that are meant to improve the stability and usability of both 'regular' and MicroProfile version of Payara Micro. As is usual with our releases, keep special attention to our blog in the following weeks to read detailed articles on these changes and features to take full advantage of them!

For Payara support customers, LTS - Long Term Support - has been introduced for both Payara Micro and Payara MicroProfile so you can expect a full year of patch releases which only include fixes - great news for users who value stability over new features (find out more about the support services here)! 

All new changes and features introduced in this release are also included in Payara MicroProfile unless explicitly stated.