Glassfish is an open source Java application server that uses the Grizzly component and Java NIO for scalability and performance. It supports Java servlets, JSPs, EJBs and other Java EE technologies. The NetBeans IDE can be used to create a simple Java web application using servlets and JSPs, deploy it to Glassfish, and view it in a browser. Key steps include creating a Java class with getters and setters, an index JSP to display a form, a response JSP to handle form submission, and using JavaBeans and JSP tags to connect the classes and pass data between pages.