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Java Considerations

Use supported JRE

GeoServer's speed depends a lot on the chosen Java Runtime Environment (JRE). The latest versions of GeoServer are tested with both Oracle JRE and OpenJDK. Implementations other than those tested may work correctly, but are generally not recommended.

Tested:

  • Java 17 - GeoServer 2.22.x and above (OpenJDK tested, experimental only)
  • Java 11 - GeoServer 2.15.x and above (OpenJDK tested)
  • Java 8 - GeoServer 2.9.x to GeoServer 2.22.x (OpenJDK and Oracle JRE tested)
  • Java 7 - GeoServer 2.6.x to GeoServer 2.8.x (OpenJDK and Oracle JRE tested)
  • Java 6 - GeoServer 2.3.x to GeoServer 2.5.x (Oracle JRE tested)
  • Java 5 - GeoServer 2.2.x and earlier (Sun JRE tested)

As of GeoServer 2.0, a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is sufficient to run GeoServer. GeoServer no longer requires a Java Development Kit (JDK).

Running on Java 17

GeoServer is compatible with Java 17, but requires extra care for running in some environments.

Deployment on Tomcat 9.0.55 has been tested with success.

The "bin" packaging can work too, but requires turning off the Marlin rasterizer integration. This can be done by modifying the scripts, or by simply removing the Marlin jars:

rm webapps/geoserver/WEB-INF/lib/marlin-0.9.3.jar

GeoServer code depends on a variety of libraries trying to access the JDK internals. As reported above, it does not seem to matter when running as a web application. However, in case of need, here is the full list of opens used by the build process:

--add-opens=java.base/java.lang=ALL-UNNAMED --add-opens=java.base/java.util=ALL-UNNAMED --add-opens=java.base/java.lang.reflect=ALL-UNNAMED --add-opens=java.base/java.text=ALL-UNNAMED --add-opens=java.desktop/java.awt.font=ALL-UNNAMED  --add-opens=java.desktop/sun.awt.image=ALL-UNNAMED --add-opens=java.naming/com.sun.jndi.ldap=ALL-UNNAMED

Running on Java 11

GeoServer 2.15 will run under Java 11 with no additional configuration on Tomcat 9 or newer and Jetty 9.4.12 or newer.

Running GeoServer under Java 11 on other Application Servers may require some additional configuration. Some Application Servers do not support Java 11 yet.

  • Wildfly 14 supports Java 11, with some additional configuration - in the run configuration, under VM arguments add:

    --add-modules=java.se

    Future WildFly releases should support Java 11 with no additional configuration.

  • GlassFish does not currently Java 11, although the upcoming 5.0.1 release is expected to include support for it.

  • WebLogic do not yet support Java 11.