Knowledgebase

How to Install Eclipse Jetty Web Server on AnonVM

Eclipse Jetty is a high-performance web server and servlet container. It is lightweight, supports HTTP/2, and is used for serving Java-based applications, providing easy integration with frameworks like Spring and Hibernate. This tutorial will walk you through the process of installing Jetty Web Server on your AnonVM VPS or dedicated server.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, ensure the following:

• AnonVM VPS or Dedicated Server with root or sudo privileges.
• Operating System: This tutorial works on Ubuntu/Debian or CentOS.
• Java: Jetty requires Java to run. Make sure you have Java installed on your system.

Step 1: Update Your System

It’s always a good idea to update your system before installing any software to ensure everything is up-to-date.

For Ubuntu/Debian-based systems:

For CentOS-based systems:

Step 2: Install Java

Jetty requires Java 8 or newer. You can install the default Java package available for your distribution.

For Ubuntu/Debian-based systems:

For CentOS-based systems:

You can verify the Java installation by running:

Step 3: Install Eclipse Jetty Web Server

Now, we’ll install Jetty. You can install Jetty by either downloading the distribution or by using package managers if available.

Option 1: Install Jetty Using Package Manager (Ubuntu/Debian-based systems)

1. Install Jetty:

    

   sudo apt install jetty9 -y

2. Start Jetty: After installation, Jetty should start automatically. To verify that Jetty is running:

    

   sudo systemctl status jetty

   If Jetty is not running, start it manually:

    

   sudo systemctl start jetty

3. Enable Jetty to start at boot:

    

   sudo systemctl enable jetty

Option 2: Install Jetty from Binary Distribution (Manual Installation)

For more control over your installation, you can manually download and install the Jetty distribution.

1. Download Jetty: Visit the official Eclipse Jetty Downloads page or use the following command to download the latest Jetty release. For example:

    

   wget https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/org/eclipse/jetty/jetty-distribution/9.4.43.v20210629/jetty-distribution-9.4.43.v20210629.tar.gz

2. Extract the Jetty tar file:

    

   tar -xzvf jetty-distribution-9.4.43.v20210629.tar.gz

3. Move the extracted files to a desired location:

    

   sudo mv jetty-distribution-9.4.43.v20210629 /opt/jetty

4. Create a Jetty systemd service (optional): If you want to manage Jetty as a systemd service, create a new file /etc/systemd/system/jetty.service with the following content:

   ini

    

   [Unit] Description=Jetty Web Server After=network.target [Service] Type=simple ExecStart=/opt/jetty/bin/jetty.sh User=jetty Group=jetty WorkingDirectory=/opt/jetty Restart=always [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target

5. Start Jetty: After creating the service file, you can start Jetty:

    

   sudo systemctl start jetty

6. Enable Jetty to start at boot:

    

   sudo systemctl enable jetty

7. Verify Jetty is running: To check if Jetty is running properly, you can use the following command:

    

   sudo systemctl status jetty

Step 4: Accessing Jetty Web Server

Once Jetty is installed and running, you can access the default Jetty page by navigating to the IP address or domain of your server in a web browser:

You should see the Jetty welcome page, confirming that the web server is up and running.

Step 5: Configure Jetty for Your Application

Jetty is often used to serve Java-based applications, such as those built with Spring or other Java frameworks. You can configure Jetty to deploy web applications by adding them to the webapps/ directory.

1. Deploy a Web Application:

   • Create a .war (Web Application Archive) file for your Java application.
   • Move the .war file to the webapps/ directory of your Jetty installation:
      

     sudo cp your-application.war /opt/jetty/webapps/

2. Restart Jetty: After deploying your application, restart Jetty to load the new application:

    

   sudo systemctl restart jetty

3. Access Your Application: You can now access your deployed application in a web browser:

    

   http://your-server-ip:8080/your-application

Step 6: Secure Jetty with SSL/TLS

To secure your Jetty server with HTTPS, you can use Let’s Encrypt for a free SSL certificate.

1. Install Certbot: Certbot is a tool that automates the process of obtaining and renewing SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt.

   For Ubuntu/Debian-based systems:

    

   sudo apt install certbot sudo apt install python3-certbot-nginx

   For CentOS-based systems:

    

   sudo yum install certbot sudo yum install python3-certbot-nginx

2. Obtain an SSL Certificate: To obtain a certificate for your domain, use Certbot’s webroot plugin. Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain name:

    

   sudo certbot certonly --webroot -w /opt/jetty/webapps -d yourdomain.com

3. Configure Jetty for SSL: Jetty can be configured to use SSL by modifying its start.ini or creating a new jetty-ssl.xml file to point to your SSL certificates. You'll need to configure the keystore for SSL and enable HTTPS.

4. Restart Jetty: After configuring SSL, restart Jetty:

    

   sudo systemctl restart jetty

5. Verify SSL Configuration: You should now be able to access your Jetty server over HTTPS:

   arduino

    

   https://yourdomain.com

Step 7: Monitor and Manage Jetty Web Server

1. Check Jetty status:

    

   sudo systemctl status jetty

2. View Jetty logs: Jetty logs can typically be found in /var/log/jetty/ or /opt/jetty/logs/ depending on your installation method. You can view the logs using:

    

   tail -f /opt/jetty/logs/jetty.log

3. Stop, start, or restart Jetty:

   • Stop Jetty:
      

     sudo systemctl stop jetty
   • Start Jetty:
      

     sudo systemctl start jetty
   • Restart Jetty:
      

     sudo systemctl restart jetty

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and configured Eclipse Jetty Web Server on your AnonVM VPS or dedicated server. By following this tutorial, you now have a scalable, fast web server running Java-based applications, with SSL support to secure your traffic. Jetty's lightweight nature makes it a great choice for handling modern web applications.