JBoss & WildFly Monitoring

JVM heap and non-heap memory Nagios tracks both heap and non-heap (Metaspace) memory allocation in real time. High heap usage is one of the earliest indicators of a memory leak or undersized JVM configuration. Non-heap exhaustion causes OutOfMemoryError exceptions that can crash the JVM without warning — Nagios alerts your team before either threshold becomes a crisis.

Thread pool activity JBoss uses thread pools to handle incoming application requests. When active threads approach the pool maximum, new requests queue up and response times spike. Nagios monitors active thread count against your configured pool limit so your team can act before the server becomes unresponsive.

Database connection pools Connection pool exhaustion is one of the most common causes of JBoss application failures. Nagios tracks used and available connections continuously, alerting you when pools are running short — before requests start blocking or timing out.

Response times Nagios monitors end-to-end server response times and alerts when they exceed defined thresholds, giving you a direct measure of the experience your users are getting from JBoss-hosted applications.

System load and CPU Host-level CPU and load metrics provide context for everything happening at the JVM layer — helping your team correlate application slowdowns with underlying infrastructure pressure.

Nagios connects to JBoss and WildFly servers over JMX using the built-in check_jvm.jar plugin, or via NCPA for environments where JBoss is behind a firewall. Both methods are supported by the Configuration Wizard in Nagios XI. For Nagios Core users, community plugins including check_jboss_status (thread and memory checks via Perl) and check_jboss (MBean attribute checks via the twiddle utility) are available on Nagios Exchange.

Checks can be combined into a single consolidated service or broken out individually, depending on how your team prefers to view JBoss health in the dashboard.

• Catch memory leaks early: heap and non-heap memory trending lets you spot problems days before they cause an outage, not minutes after
• Prevent thread pool exhaustion: know when your JBoss thread pools are filling up before new requests start queuing
• Protect database connection availability: monitor pool usage in real time and get alerted before connection exhaustion takes down an application
• Unified visibility: JBoss metrics sit alongside the rest of your infrastructure in the same Nagios dashboard, so your team isn’t switching between tools
• Works with WildFly: the JBoss/WildFly Configuration Wizard and all supported plugins work identically with WildFly, the open-source upstream of JBoss EAP
• Flexible deployment: monitor JBoss directly over JMX from Nagios XI, or use NCPA for firewall-restricted environments
• Customizable alert thresholds: set warning and critical thresholds for each metric independently, tuned to your application’s normal operating range

The step-by-step configuration guide walks through both the JMX and NCPA methods, including wizard screenshots and prerequisite commands.

Read the JBoss/WildFly Setup Guide (PDF)

Browse JBoss plugins on Nagios Exchange

• Java Monitoring
• JMX Monitoring
• Tomcat Monitoring
• Application Monitoring
• WebLogic Monitoring
• WebSphere Monitoring