installing apache tomcat

“zip” ⇒ “apache-tomcat-7.0.xx.zip“.

1. UNZIP into a directory of your choice. DO NOT unzip onto the Desktop (because its path is hard to locate). I suggest using “d:\myproject“. Tomcat will be unzipped into directory “d:\myproject\apache-tomcat-7.0.xx“. For ease of use, we shall shorten and rename this directory to “d:\myproject\tomcat“. Take note of Your Tomcat Installed Directory. Hereafter, I shall refer to the Tomcat installed directory as<TOMCAT_HOME>.

I recommend “zip” version, as you could simply delete the entire directory when Tomcat is no longer needed (without running any un-installer). You are free to move or rename the Tomcat’s installed directory. You can install (unzip) multiple copies of Tomcat in the same machine.

 STEP 2: Create an Environment Variable JAVA_HOME

You need to create an environment variable called “JAVA_HOME” and set it to your JDK installed directory.

1. First, take note of your JDK installed directory (the default is “c:\program files\java\jdk1.7.0” or “c:\program files\java\jdk1.6.0_xx“).
2. Start a CMD shell, and issue the command “SET JAVA_HOME” to check if variable JAVA_HOME is set:

   prompt> set JAVA_HOME
   Environment variable JAVA_HOME not defined

   If JAVA_HOME is set (by other applications), check if it is set to your JDK installed directory.

3. To set/change an environment variable in Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7: Click “Start” button ⇒ “Control Panel” ⇒ “System” ⇒ (Vista/7) “Advanced system settings” ⇒ Switch to “Advanced” tab ⇒ “Environment Variables” ⇒ “System Variables” (or “User Variables” for the current user only) ⇒ “New” (or “Edit” for modification) ⇒ In “Variable Name” field, enter “JAVA_HOME” ⇒ In “Variable Value” field, enter your JDK installed directory (e.g., “c:\program file\java\jdk1.7.0“) – I suggest that you copy and paste the directory name to avoid typo error!
4. To verify, RE-START a CMD shell and issue:

   prompt> set JAVA_HOME
   JAVA_HOME=c:\program file\java\jdk1.7.0   <== CHECK! YOUR JDK installed directory

(For Mac and Unix Users only) Take note of your JDK installed directory (most likely under /usr/local). Start a Terminal (Bash Shell), run:

$ java_home=your_jdk_install_directory  // Set environment variable java_home
$ export java_home                      // Make this variable available to all applications

To make permanent changes, store the above command in “.bash_profile” in your home directory (denoted as '~'), and run “source $HOME/.bash_profile” to refresh.

  STEP 3: Configure Tomcat Server

The Tomcat configuration files are located in the “conf” sub-directory of your Tomcat installed directory (e.g. “d:\myproject\tomcat\conf“). There are 3 configuration files:

1. server.xml
2. web.xml
3. context.xml

Make a backup of the configuration files before you proceed.

Step 3(a) “server.xml” – Set the TCP Port Number

Use a text editor (e.g., NotePad++, TextPad or NotePad) to open the configuration file “server.xml“, under the “conf” sub-directory of Tomcat installed directory (e.g. “d:\myproject\tomcat\conf“).

The default TCP port number configured in Tomcat is 8080, you may choose any number between 1024 and 65535, which is not used by an existing application. We shall use port 9999 in this article. (For production server, you should use port 80, which is pre-assigned to HTTP server as the default port number.)

<!-- Define a non-SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8080 -->
<Connector port="9999" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" />

Step 3(b) “web.xml” – Enabling Directory Listing

Again, use a text editor to open the configuration file “web.xml“, under the “conf” sub-directory of Tomcat installed directory.

We shall enable directory listing by changing “listings” from “false” to “true” for the “default” servlet, as shown in red.

<!-- The default servlet for all web applications, that serves static     -->
<!-- resources.  It processes all requests that are not mapped to other   -->
<!-- servlets with servlet mappings.                                      -->
<servlet>
  <servlet-name>default</servlet-name>
  <servlet-class>org.apache.catalina.servlets.DefaultServlet</servlet-class>
  <init-param>
    <param-name>debug</param-name>
    <param-value>0</param-value>
  </init-param>
  <init-param>
    <param-name>listings</param-name>
    <param-value>true</param-value>
  </init-param>
  <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

Step 3(c) “context.xml” – Enabling Automatic Reload

Again, use a text editor to open the configuration file “context.xml“, under the “conf” sub-directory of Tomcat installed directory.

We shall add the attribute reloadable="true" to the <Context> element to enable automatic reload after code changes, as shown in red.

<Context reloadable="true">
   ......
</Context>

  STEP 4: Start Tomcat Server

The Tomcat’s executable programs are kept in the “bin” sub-directory of the Tomcat installed directory (e.g., “d:\myproject\tomcat\bin“).

Step 4(a) Start Server

Launch a CMD shell. Set the current directory to “<TOMCAT_HOME>\bin“, and run “startup.bat” as follows:

// Change the current directory to Tomcat's "bin"
// Assume that Tomcat is installed in "d:\myproject\tomcat"
prompt> d:                     // Change the current drive
D:\...> cd \                   // Change Directory to ROOT directory
D:\> cd \myproject\tomcat\bin  // Change Directory to YOUR Tomcat's "bin" directory

// Start Tomcat Server
D:\myproject\tomcat\bin> startup

A new Tomcat console window appears. Study the messages on the console. Look out for the Tomcat’s port number (double check that Tomcat is running on port 9999). Future error messages will be send to this console. System.out.println() issued by your Java servlets will also be sent to this console.

......
INFO: Initializing Coyote HTTP/1.1 on http-9999
......
INFO: Starting Coyote HTTP/1.1 on http-9999
......
INFO: Server startup in 699 ms

(For Mac and Unix Users Only) First, change directory to Tomcat binary directory. You may need to use “./startup.sh” to start the server.

(source:http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/ehchua/programming/howto/tomcat_howto.html )