Jetty Project

Jetty Project
Name	Jetty Project
Developer	Eclipse Foundation
Released	1995
Programming language	Java
Operating system	Cross-platform
License	Eclipse Public License

Jetty Project Jetty Project is an open-source HTTP server and Java Servlet container developed under the Eclipse Foundation. It provides a lightweight, embeddable runtime for web applications and HTTP-based services used in diverse environments such as application servers, cloud platforms, continuous integration systems, and IoT devices. Jetty is notable for integration with projects across the Java ecosystem and for adoption by organizations that include application vendors, platform providers, and research institutions.

Overview

Jetty Project implements the Java Servlet specification and supports HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, WebSocket, and TLS features while being embeddable within Java applications created by developers using frameworks like Spring Framework, Jakarta EE, Apache Maven, Gradle (software), and OSGi. It interoperates with build tools and CI systems such as Jenkins, Travis CI, CircleCI, GitHub Actions, and Azure DevOps. Deployments are found on cloud infrastructures provided by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Heroku as well as in container platforms like Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift. Jetty’s modularity aligns with modular systems such as Java Platform Module System and runtime environments including OpenJDK, Oracle JDK, and GraalVM.

History

Jetty Project originated in the mid-1990s and evolved alongside servlet technology adopted by organizations like Apache Software Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, and research groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley. Early adoption occurred among projects that include Apache Tomcat, GlassFish, JBoss, and WildFly where Jetty served as an alternative servlet container. Over time, stewardship migrated to governance models exemplified by foundations such as Eclipse Foundation and license transitions parallel to projects like Eclipse Jetty and other notable software hosted at GitHub. Contributions have come from corporations including Google, VMware, Red Hat, IBM, and IntelliJ IDEA plugin authors, and from community efforts tied to conferences like JavaOne, Devoxx, QCon, and FOSDEM.

Architecture and Components

Jetty Project’s architecture centers on a server core and pluggable components used by organizations and projects including Eclipse IDE, NetBeans, IntelliJ IDEA, and server-side frameworks such as Dropwizard, Play Framework, Micronaut, and Quarkus. Core components include a connector layer compatible with protocols promoted by standards bodies like IETF, W3C, and ECMA International, request dispatch mechanisms paralleling designs in Apache HTTP Server and NGINX, and session management layers influenced by technologies used by Redis, Hazelcast, and Apache Cassandra. Additional modules provide servlet handling for specifications defined by Java Community Process, security integration with OAuth, OpenID Connect, and certificate management interoperable with Let's Encrypt. The component model facilitates embedding in application servers produced by Pivotal, Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, and in microservice platforms like Spring Boot and Eclipse Vert.x.

Features and Use Cases

Jetty Project supports asynchronous processing patterns similar to those in Netty (software), event-driven models used by Node.js, WebSocket APIs adopted by projects such as Socket.IO and SignalR, and HTTP/2 server push strategies discussed at IETF HTTP Working Group. Use cases span content delivery in CDNs like Akamai, API gateways like Kong (software) and Apigee, streaming services akin to Netflix, real-time collaboration tools used by Atlassian, embedded web interfaces in products by Epson and Siemens, and edge computing deployments on platforms such as Cloudflare Workers. It is also used in test harnesses for projects like JUnit, TestNG, and integration testing in Selenium (software) and Cypress (software).

Deployment and Configuration

Typical deployment patterns follow practices used by operators of Google Kubernetes Engine, Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service, and Azure Kubernetes Service integrating with observability stacks like Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, and OpenTelemetry. Configuration is managed via tools such as Ansible, Chef (software), Puppet (software), and Terraform for infrastructure as code. Packaging formats include artifacts for Maven Central, container images pushed to registries like Docker Hub and Quay.io, and operating-system packages relevant to distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Alpine Linux. Service meshes like Istio and Linkerd often sit alongside Jetty-based services for traffic management and security.

Community and Governance

The project is stewarded under foundation governance models exemplified by the Eclipse Foundation and collaborates with standards organizations including Java Community Process, IETF, and W3C. Development activities are coordinated through issue trackers hosted on GitHub and mailing lists similar to those used by Apache Software Foundation projects. Contributors include engineers from companies like Google, Red Hat, IBM, VMware, Eclipse Foundation, and independent developers who participate in events such as FOSDEM, Devoxx, JavaOne, and community meetups run by regional user groups like London Java Community and JAX London. Release processes adhere to continuous integration practices seen in projects such as Apache Maven and Gradle, with binary distribution strategies resembling those of AdoptOpenJDK and Eclipse Temurin.

Security and Performance Considerations

Security practices around Jetty Project mirror those recommended by groups like OWASP, CVE Program, and standards bodies such as IETF for TLS and HTTP. Hardening often integrates with identity providers like Keycloak, Okta, and Auth0 and secrets management used by HashiCorp Vault. Performance tuning draws on techniques employed by NGINX, HAProxy, and Envoy (software) including connection pooling, thread model adjustments, and TLS offload strategies used by Cloudflare and Akamai. Monitoring and profiling use tools such as VisualVM, YourKit, JFR (Java Flight Recorder), and APM platforms like New Relic, Datadog, and Dynatrace to detect latency issues, memory leaks, and throughput bottlenecks. Vulnerability disclosures follow coordinated disclosure workflows similar to those at CISA and major software vendors.

Category:Java web servers