I have posted a few links here for anyone interested in testing out a Java application server. The target audience is for those who have little or no experience with running J2EE application servers and how to get it set up.

The Elevator Pitch on Application Servers
Pre-requisites: Have Java installed on the host (JRE or JDK 1.5+ is recommended)

Step 1) Get the application server of choice (in this case the free, open-source version of JBoss AS) to install on their system from http://www.jboss.org/jbossas/downloads/
Step 2) Configure the ulimit settings and JAVA_OPTS to enable core dumps and remote management with Java Management Extensions (JMX).

NOTE: For the ulimit settings a ulimit of unlimited is recommended for the user account under which the application server will run. This is to enable core dumps and setting this to unlimited will eliminate the need to change this setting if heap size is adjusted.

Setting the JAVA_OPTS: http://gallemore.blogspot.com/2007/11/connecting-jconsole-to-jboss-jmx-server.html
What is JMX: http://blogs.sun.com/jmxetc/entry/what_is_jmx

Step 3) Unzip the jboss installation to it’s desired location and run bin/run.sh.
Step 4) Deploy an application that you created or downloaded from a trusted site. A simple Hello World web application was used as an example: http://www.centerkey.com/jboss/

Now the application server is running, and is ready for the deployment of Java web applications or web service applications to it. That’s it! You have configured a Java application server.

Troubleshooting the Application Server
Some utilities were showcase and introduced during the talk, and those links are available below. Gathering thread dumps was shown during the talk and the process is generally as follows:

Generate a thread dump
How to generate and capture Java stack traces: http://www.jboss.org/community/docs/DOC-12300

Analyze the thread dump.
A tool called Samurai (written in Java) was used as an example: http://yusuke.homeip.net/samurai/en/index.html
Monitor the live application server via JMX using Jconsole. Jconsole part of the standard J2SE 1.5+ distribution: http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/J2SE/jconsole.html
I hope this BoF/Talk has whetted your appetite for Java, which is a rich, incredibly powerful programming language and application platform.

Matthew