Can't stop tomcat normally when I configure jmxremote

In order to monitor the java process, you need to add the following system properties to the command line:

-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=9999
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false

In the visualvm you just use the connection string host:9999.

However, sometimes the RMI listener listens to the wrong IP address, one which is inaccessible to the visualvm. Thanks to Pavel’s tip, I found a way to overcome this is by adding the following parameters:

-Djava.rmi.server.hostname=$(hostname)
-Djava.rmi.server.useLocalHostname=true

Now it works like a charm!

For completeness, I’d mention you can secure the connection to the JVM, either by requiring user/password or by using SSL. If you are interested, please see this guide.

Make sure that you put the definitions in a place only the start command sees, but not the shutdown. The reason or this is that the jmx remote create a listening socket, making the shutdown to listen to the same port if not configured properly.