Java includes a simple timer based capability through the java.util.Timer and java.util.TimerTask utility classes. JMX also includes a mechanism for scheduling JMX notifications at a given time with an optional repeat interval as the javax.management.timer.TimerMBean agent service.

JBoss includes two variations of the JMX timer service in the org.jboss.varia.scheduler.Scheduler and org.jboss.varia.scheduler.ScheduleManager MBeans. Both MBeans rely on the JMX timer service for the basic scheduling. They extend the behavior of the timer service as described in the following sections.