Eclipse GlassFish review
A free, security-focused Jakarta EE server with broad administration and deployment options.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Eclipse GlassFish is an open-source application server for developing and deploying Jakarta EE applications and web services. It offers both full and Web Profile distributions, making it relevant for teams that need Jakarta EE runtime capabilities across Linux, macOS, UNIX, or Windows. The project supports self-hosted deployment, API-based administration, and container-oriented and cloud deployment scenarios for its embedded variant. GlassFish 8.0.4 implements Jakarta EE 11 and requires JDK 21 or higher.
Administration is a central strength. Teams can manage deployments through a browser-based console, the asadmin command-line tool, or REST interfaces for administration, monitoring, and configuration. The server also includes application deployment and undeployment, JPA and JDBC connection pooling, JMS and JCA integration, and an embedded executable JAR distribution. High-availability clustering and load balancing extend its fit beyond a single-server setup, while the published feature set gives operators several management paths rather than tying them to one interface.
Security capabilities make GlassFish a strong candidate for Jakarta EE environments with defined access-control and audit requirements. TLS, role-based access control, realms, and audit logging are included alongside the broader Jakarta EE platform. Because it is self-hosted and open source, organizations should be prepared to handle deployment and ongoing operations within their own environment rather than selecting a managed subscription tier. Choose GlassFish for free Jakarta EE deployments that value administration depth, clustering, and security controls; consider an alternative if the application stack is outside Jakarta EE or the team wants a hosted service instead.
Eclipse GlassFish pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free, open-source Jakarta EE Platform and Web Profile implementations
- Clustering, load balancing, embedded deployment, and REST administration
- TLS, RBAC, realms, and audit logging support security-focused deployments
- Where it doesn't
- Requires JDK 21 or higher for GlassFish 8.0.4
- Self-hosted deployment leaves installation and operations to your team
- Its focus on Jakarta EE may not fit non-Jakarta application stacks
Eclipse GlassFish fact sheet, pricing and score →
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