ColdFusion 2025 FAQ

This is a substantial release. The highlights:

• JDK 17 LTS — The biggest performance gain. Expect 30-40% improvements over JDK 11.
• Tomcat 10.1 — Modern servlet container with Jakarta EE 10. Note: javax.* is now jakarta.*.
• cfpm — Install only what you need. Smaller footprint, smaller attack surface.
• Tighter security defaults — The Lockdown Guide is updated, and more settings are secure out of the box.
• Better monitoring — Improved metrics and observability for production environments.

JDK 17 is required. Stick with the latest patch release for security and performance.

Your options:

• Eclipse Temurin OpenJDK 17 — Free, well-tested. This is what most people use.
• Amazon Corretto 17 — Free, optimized for AWS environments.
• Oracle JDK 17 — Requires a license for production. Usually not worth it.

The short answer: 50-70% of available system RAM for the JVM heap.

The real answer: it depends on your application. Start with 4-8GB for production, monitor actual usage, and adjust from there. Don't guess—use tools like FusionReactor or the built-in Server Monitor to see what your application actually needs.

See the JVM & Tomcat Tuning Guide for the full methodology.

Yes. ColdFusion 2025 runs well in containers. Adobe provides official Docker images, and the platform supports the stateless deployment patterns that Kubernetes expects.

The main considerations are externalizing your configuration and session storage (typically to Redis). Get those right and ColdFusion scales horizontally like any other containerized application.

The Containerization Guide walks through the full setup.

Think of cfpm like npm for ColdFusion. It's a command-line tool that lets you install only the features you need—PDF services, image processing, whatever your application requires.

The security benefit is real: features you don't install can't be exploited. For production deployments, use cfpm to keep your installation lean.

The CFPM Package Management Guide covers the commands you'll use most.

Security updates: Immediately. Within 48 hours. No exceptions.

Cumulative updates: Test in staging within 30 days, deploy to production within 60. Don't let them pile up.

JDK patches: Stay current. Security vulnerabilities in Java affect ColdFusion too.

Subscribe to Adobe Security Bulletins so you know when patches drop.

Start with the Adobe ColdFusion 2025 Lockdown Guide. Run it on every installation—it closes vulnerabilities attackers know about.

Beyond that:

• Use cfpm to remove features you don't need
• Restrict /CFIDE/administrator access by IP
• Configure secure session cookies (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite)
• Set up your web server connector correctly—don't expose CF ports directly
• Stay current on patches

The Security Baseline Guide has the full checklist.

Yes, but the effort varies significantly based on where you're starting.

From CF 2021: Usually straightforward. Test thoroughly, especially around JDK 17 compatibility.

From CF 2018: More involved. The JDK jump is bigger, and Tomcat 10.1's Jakarta EE changes (javax.* → jakarta.*) can break custom Java integrations.

For both: run Adobe's Code Analyzer first. It flags compatibility issues before you discover them in production.

FusionReactor is the gold standard—deep ColdFusion integration, real-time profiling, and production debugging. It's worth the cost for any serious deployment.

Alternatives:

• SeeFusion — Good ColdFusion-specific metrics at a lower price point
• New Relic / AppDynamics — Work fine if you're already using them for other applications
• Built-in Server Monitor — Free, basic, better than nothing

The Performance Monitoring Toolset Guide compares your options.

Absolutely. ColdFusion makes an excellent API backend for React, Vue, Angular, or whatever your frontend team prefers.

The pattern that works best: ColdFusion serves JSON APIs, your JavaScript framework handles the UI. ColdFusion's REST capabilities are mature, and WebSocket support handles real-time features when you need them.

You don't have to choose between "legacy" and "modern"—ColdFusion plays well with both.

ColdFusion ships with JDBC drivers for the major databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2.

That said, update them. The bundled drivers work, but database vendors release security patches and performance improvements regularly. Download the latest drivers from your database vendor and drop them in.

The Datasources & JDBC Guide shows you how.

Start with the basics—they have the biggest impact:

• Size your heap correctly — Measure, don't guess. Too small causes OutOfMemory errors; too large causes GC pauses.
• Enable trusted cache — Eliminates filesystem checks on every request.
• Configure your datasource pools — Size them based on actual concurrent usage.
• Set up monitoring — You can't optimize what you can't measure.

The JVM & Tomcat Tuning Guide walks through the full process.

Standard covers most use cases. Enterprise adds Redis support, clustering, and advanced monitoring—you'll know if you need it.

You can buy perpetual (one-time purchase, pay for maintenance separately) or subscription (annual, includes updates). For most organizations, subscription makes sense now.

The Developer Edition is free for development and testing. Use it to evaluate before you buy.

Details in the Licensing & Activation Guide.

Yes. Adobe continues to invest in ColdFusion with regular releases—2025 is proof of that. You get quarterly security updates, ongoing feature development, and enterprise support options.

The community remains active too: user groups, the CFML Slack, online meetups, and a solid ecosystem of tools and frameworks.

ColdFusion isn't going anywhere.

ColdFusion works with Apache, IIS, and nginx through connector configurations. Each has trade-offs:

• Apache — Most common setup. Mature connector, well-documented.
• IIS — Native choice for Windows environments. ISAPI or BonCode connectors.
• nginx — Works via proxy configuration. Popular for containerized deployments.

For development or small deployments, the built-in Tomcat works fine on its own.

The Web Server Connectors Guide covers the setup for each.