This page is for system administrators who are upgrading Tomcat before upgrading their PhixFlow instance.
Overview
The instructions on this page provide guidance on how to upgrade:
- a standard Tomcat setup
- a Tomcat setup with some configuration changes to
server.xml
andweb.xml
.
Most PhixFlow installations use a standard Tomcat setup. Some common variations are:
SSL termination is handled in Tomcat to provide a secure connection. This means you have installed a certificate.
Tomcat uses a non-standard port number.
PhixFlow can export large files because the limit set by
maxPostSize
has been increased or disabled; see Configuring Large Image Upload.
The instructions assume you install the target version of Tomcat as a new install, then move resources and configuration changes from the previous install. This means the common variations listed above will be moved into the new installation.
Tomcat provides a tool for comparing configuration files between patch versions; for example, for version 9 see https://tomcat.apache.org/migration-9.html#Upgrading_9.0.x. However, at PhixFlow, we have found it easier and more reliable to treat even minor upgrades as new installations.
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On Linux
The following instructions assume that Tomcat is installed in /opt/tomcat
, as recommended in PhixFlow’s installation instructions. If you have installed Tomcat somewhere else, remember to replace /opt/tomcat
in commands with your installation directory.
Step 1 Identify your current version of Tomcat
At the command line, enter:
Code Block |
---|
tomcatHome/bin/version.sh |
Step 2 Check your configuration
To find out what changes have been made to Tomcat configuration files, compare your configuration files to those in a standard installation, as follows.
Using the instructions in Install Tomcat on Linux, download and install your current version of Tomcat in a temporary location,
TmpCurrent
.
Do not install this temporary installation to/opt/tomcat
.Use the
diff
command to compare theTmpCurrent/conf
directory with the your current installation'sconf
directory, for example:Code Block diff /opt/tomcat/conf TmpCurrent/conf
- Make a note of any differences between your current installation and the test installation.
You will need to reproduce these changes in the new installation. see below.
In particular, check for changes in
server.xml
context.xml
web.xml
tomcat-users.xml. PhixFlow does not recommend updates to this file but you may have enabled internal Tomcat users.
Step 3 Move the current Tomcat installation into a backup
Stop Tomcat.
Move the current
/opt/tomcat
directory into a backup.Code Block sudo systemctl stop tomcat sudo mv /opt/tomcat/ /opt/tomcat-back
Step 4 Install the new version of Tomcat
To install the required new version of Tomcat, follow the instructions on Install Tomcat on Linux.
Step 5 Configure the new version of Tomcat
Move the PhixFlow webapp from the backup into the new Tomcat
webapps
directory.Code Block sudo mv /opt/tomcat-back/webapps/phixflow /opt/tomcat/webapps/
If you have custom folders, move them back into the new Tomcat installation, for example
tomcat\secure
andtomcat\metadata
.Apply the standard configuration settings and hardening steps; see Install Tomcat.
Copy your specific configurations from the backup files into the Tomcat configuration files, for example: SSL termination, non-standard ports, etc.
Copy only the sections that are specific to your installation.Tip You do not need to re-create the service configuration for Tomcat. For example, if you previously installed Tomcat to run under systemd, the service script continue to work after the upgrade.
You may need to revise your service configuration if you have:
also updated Java
installed Tomcat in the same location as previously check
Step 6 Restart and Test
Restart Tomcat
Code Block sudo systemctl start tomcat
Test that Tomcat is running and the PhixFlow webapp can run:
Code Block sudo systemctl status tomcat curl http://localhost:8080/phixflow/start.html
Check that you are now running the required version of Tomcat:
Code Block /opt/tomcat/bin/version.sh
On Windows
The following instructions assume that Tomcat is installed in the tomcat
base directory, as recommended in PhixFlow’s installation instructions.
Step 1 Identify your current version of Tomcat
In PowerShell, check the version
Code Block |
---|
$tomcat\bin\version.bat |
Step 2 Check your configuration
To find out what changes have been made to Tomcat configuration files, compare your configuration files to those in a standard installation, as follows.
Download a new copy of your current version of Tomcat
Unpack it to a temporary directory, for example
TempCurrent
. Do not install it.Use the
compare
command to find the differences between theTmpCurrent/conf
files and those in your current installation'sconf
directory. For example, in PowerShell, enter:Code Block compare-object (get-content $tomcat\conf\file.xml) (get-content $standardInstallCurrentVersion\conf\file.xml)
Compare the following files in
TmpCurrent/conf
directory with those in your current installation'sconf
directory, for example:server.xml
context.xml
web.xml
tomcat-users.xml. PhixFlow does not recommend updates to this file but you may have enabled internal Tomcat users.
- Make a note of any differences between your current installation and the test installation.
You will need to reproduce these changes in the new installation. see below.
Step 3 Back-up the current Tomcat installation
Copy the entire
tomcat
folder to a backup location.If your log files are large and you do not want to retain them, as a minimum, you must back up the following
tomcat/
sub-folders:webapps
conf
lib
bin
- and if they exist
metadata
andsecure
Step 4 Note your Java setup
- Check and make a note of your system's Java setup, including.
In particular, note:- the path of the Java Virtual Machine
Java options
Tip . PhixFlow recommends:
Insert excerpt Install Tomcat on Windows Install Tomcat on Windows nopanel true
- Memory allocation
- On the server, open Services → Apache Tomcat service properties:
If tomcat is running under a service account,
make a note of the service account name
, and make sure that. Ensure you have the service account password available.
To see this, open services on the server and open the properties for the Apache Tomcat service:
Step 4 Uninstall the current version of Tomcat
Note |
---|
We do not recommend using Uninstall.exe in the |
- Open Add or remove programs.
- Locate Tomcat and click Uninstall.
- Windows prompts asks if you want to
If remove all files:- Click Yes if you have taken a backup of the necessary folders in Step 3
Alternatively, click no so that Windows keeps- .
- Click No if you want Windows to keep the
conf
,logs
,null
andwebapps
directories, as well as any other directories you have added.
Step 4 Install the new version of Tomcat
To install the required new version of Tomcat, follow the instructions on Install Tomcat on Windows.
Remember
to re-apply the your Java optionsas recommended on that page, and settings you captured above for the Java configuration (JVM path, memory settings, any Java options you applied in addition to the standard setup) Configure the service wrapperSection Run under service account if you identified above that tomcat was being run under a service account re-apply this configurationto reapply the settings:
recommended for PhixFlow; see Configure the service wrapper
you noted in Step 4, such as:
JVM path
memory settings
service account; see Run under service account.
Step 5 Configure the new version of Tomcat
Move Copy the PhixFlow webapp from the backup into the new Tomcat
webapps
directory. sudo mv /opt/tomcat-back/webapps/phixflow /opt/tomcat/webapps/Code Block , for example from
backup\webapps\phixflow
totomcat\webapps\phixflow
If you have custom folders, move copy them back into the new Tomcat installation, for example
tomcat\secure
andtomcat\metadata
.Apply the standard configuration settings and hardening steps; see Install Tomcat.
Copy your specific configurations (as identified in Step 2) from the backup files into the Tomcat configuration files, for example: SSL termination, non-standard ports, etc.
Copy only the sections that are specific to your installation.
tipYou do not need to re-create the service configuration for Tomcat. For example, if you previously installed Tomcat to run under systemd, the service script continue to work after the upgrade.
You may need to revise your service configuration if you have:
also updated Java
installed Tomcat in the same location as previously check
Step 6 Restart and Test
Restart Tomcat
Code Block sudo systemctl start tomcat
Test that Tomcat is running and the PhixFlow webapp can run:
Code Block sudo systemctl status tomcat curl http://localhost:8080/phixflow/start.html
Check that you are now running the required version of Tomcat. In PowerShell, enter:
Code Block /opt/tomcat/bin/version.sh
Copy the webapp back in from backup, e.g. $backup\webapps\phixflow to $tomcat\webapps\phixflow
Copy any other custom folders back in, e.g. $tomcat\secure and $tomcat\metadata
Apply standard configuration settings and harderning steps, as instructed in https://phixflow.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/HELPTRUNKR/pages/97734713/Install%2BTomcat , ensuring that:
You apply any variation from the standard setup you captured above, including settings for SSL termination, non-standard ports, etc.
You may find it easier to copy the relevant sections from the backup files, but make sure you only copy the sections that needs updating
Start Tomcat and check that PhixFlow is up and running
In PowerShell, check the version
$tomcat\bin\version.bat