What's New in the January 2022 Payara Platform Release?

The January 2022 Payara Platform release is here!  Payara Platform Enterprise 5.35.0 includes 2 improvements and 7 bug fixes. 

Users can also use the newly updated IntelliJ IDEA Payara Platform Tools plugin, detailed below! 

Read more below to learn about the highlights of this Enterprise-only release.

You can request Payara Platform Enterprise 5.35.0here.

While it has not been updated this month, you can still download Payara Platform Community 5.2021.10here, released in December 2021. 

Why is This Release Enterprise Only? 

We recommend Payara Platform Enterprise for use in production, as you will benefit from guaranteed monthly releases, bug fixes and patches. 

If you are using Payara Platform in production, consider anEnterprise subscriptionfor optimum reliability and security. 

With Payara Enterprise, you also have the added benefit of theUpgrade Tool, making updating to new Payara versions a quick and easy process. The improvements in this January release are to the Upgrade Tool. As a result, the release is Enterprise-only and Enterprise users will benefit from some bug fixes before the Community users. 

Please have in mind that Payara Platform Community is designed to be used for innovation and projects in development. Releases are frequent and regular, but not guaranteed!  With Community, only the latest release receives fixes. Note that when Community moves to Payara 6 soon (based on the Jakarta EE 9 namespace), you will have to move to Payara Enterprise to receive bug fixes for Payara 4 and 5.

Find out more about the difference between Payara Enterprise and Communityhere.

IntelliJ IDEA Plugin Updated for Version 2021.3 and Newer 

We have updated the IntelliJ IDEA Payara Platform Tools plugin for bothIntelliJ IDEA CommunityandIntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.

Jakarta EE is only supported by IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate,JetBrains'commercial IDE for enterprise development. With IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate,  the Payara Platform Tools plugin supports Payara Micro and Payara Server. It provides all the features of IntelliJ IDEA's GlassFish plugin, plus additional tooling features for Payara - like Hot Deploy functionality. 

For JetBrains' free, open-source IDE, IntelliJ Community, the plugin supports Payara Micro only.

As JetBrains regularly updates the IntelliJ IDEA Plugin API, we need to adapt the Payara Tools plugin so it stays compatible and can be used with latest versions. We have now done this for the latest version, 2021.3.

Download the new toolinghere.

IntelliJ IDEA 2021.3,released November 2021, brought support for remote development in Beta and a way to diagnose and fix IDE problems more efficiently, amongst other improvements. 2021.3.1is its latest minor update, released at the end of December, and provides all these capabilities, alongside the latest fixes. You can now enjoy all the latest features with Payara.

Find out how to use Payara Server with IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate in our bloghere, written withDalia Abo Sheasha, Java Developer Advocate at JetBrains.

Improvements to the Upgrade Tool 

Version Validation Added 

Previously, if you entered an incorrect Payara version when using the Upgrade Tool, you were met by a meaningless HTTP 404 error. 

Now, you will receive validation when you use the tool correctly and successfully upgrade to a more recent version of Payara Platform Enterprise. On the flipside, you will also receive the error message "The version indicated is incorrect, please set correct version and try again", if you have entered an incorrect version number.

In short, by enacting the Payara Upgrade Asadmin CLI command (the Upgrade Tool!), you will receive either validation you have upgraded correctly or an error message. This better protects the upgrade process from developer errors! 

Previously, you could also technically 'upgrade' to a previous Payara version than the one you are currently using. If this previous version was from before we implemented the Upgrade Tool, you would afterwards have to manually move the now redundant Upgrade Tool JAR file.

Now, if you try to move to a previous Payara version, you will receive an error message and the downgrade will not be possible - preventing you from entering into this awkward process. If for any reason you do need to downgrade, you can do so manually and avoid issues this way.

Warning Added When Nodes Are Not Upgraded  

The Upgrade Tool will only upgrade your SSH nodes. Config, DCOM and Docker nodes will not be upgraded. 

You will need to upgrade these nodes manually. Following this release, you will receive an error message including the name of the node that has not been upgraded, making it easier for you to ensure all nodes are upgraded.

No Longer Asks for Password Twice

As well as the above improvements, this release also sees us fix the bug where previously you had to input your user password twice when upgrading. 

MicroProfile Bug Fixes 

Three errors using MicroProfile specifications have been fixed. This includes two issues around the loading of the MicroProfile HealthCheck specification, and an error thrown by MP REST Client specification. [Bug Fixes]

Ability to Call a Remote EJB with OIDC Security Connector

Previously, when you had authenticated a user with the Payara OpenID Connect Support (OIDC) connector AND called a remote EJB deployed on a different JVM server, you would receive a security exception client side. 

Now, the call to remote EJB will work, the client will receive the result and execution will continue. 

Join our January Payara Platform Roadmap Update Webinar!

Want to learn more about the future of Payara Platform? 

Our CEO Steve Millidge will be discussing the current Roadmap for Payara Platform and answering your questions live on Monday, January 31, at 3.00 PM GMT. Register via our Meetup eventhere. 

Release Notes

The January 2022 Payara Enterprise Release (request here) includes 2 improvements and 7 bug fixes.

See a more detailed overview of the fixes and improvements in the Release Notes:

• Payara Platform Enterprise Edition 5.35.0