The server-side components can run with the headless support that is built into the Java SE. For more information about this feature, refer to the Java SE release notes. If you are not running on Windows, you can also run with a virtual X server like Xvfb (X Virtual Frame Buffer). This solution is described on the Sun website at http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/2D/forDevelopers/java2dfaq.html#xvfb.