What is JMX?
Java Management Extensions or JMX is a technology for application in the J2EE environment. With JMX, you will be able to monitor and manage your Java applications. JMX’ monitoring capabilities include looking at attributes and components running inside the Java Virtual Machine environment. Like in the case of component status, JMX monitoring will help identify if a particular component is active, passive, or running. Management with JMX on the other hand, involves control over the components by changing their state, behavior, and configuration. The MBean server is actually behind the management of objects. This server centralizes the management part of JMX architecture and allows server components to plug in and view all objects that can be managed. MBean also allows for remote management of resources. But configurations must be done to secure the connection.

JMX helps developers to instrument Java code and create Java agents for the easy integration with existing management and monitoring systems. The good thing about JMX is that it will enable you to look and control resources as they are installed.

JMX technology has multiple uses. JMX allows data collection for statistical purposes. It can also be used for notifications like when there’s a change of state on a particular object or during erroneous conditions. These notifications may be broadcast when something happens like a component being started or stopped, or when a particular message is processed or received. JMX also helps in changing and/or consulting of application configuration.

JMX technology will run on almost all Java-enabled devices, so there’s no need of heavy investment in terms of managing your own Java applications. JMX solutions can also be applied to both small-scale devices and large telecom switches. It also very flexible and dynamic because it can run with other technology or services like Service Location Protocol (SLP) and the discovery and lookup services provided by the ‘Jini’ network.