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Unix/ Linux installation: these instructions guide you to setting up tomcat to run as a service under the classic init mechanism on unix/ linux (System V) since this will be available on all platforms, but you should consider using Upstart, a more modern init mechanism that will be available on most modern unix/ linux distributions. Installation using upstart is widely covered on the web. Further, at some versions of tomcat, on certain unix/ linux versions, a complete tomcat installation can be performed using a few simple package commands. Before you begin, a web search for tomcat installation at the desired version of tomcat, on the installed version of your unix/ linux distribution, may give you a much simpler installation method. However you install tomcat, please note the settings that are needed under configuring tomcat |
Download
The System Administrator should have set up a linked directory structure like [c:]/opt/tomcat. The details of this may differ between installations so from this point on, the “root” tomcat directory will be referred to as $TOMCAT.
Download the appropriate version of Tomcat from tomcat.apache.org and unpack (unzip/uncompress) into the $TOMCAT. (Refer to Compatibility Guide and Upgrade Planning for supported versions).
Install
Some instructions are given here for installing tomcat, and making it run as a service. You should ensure that any installation meets with your company standards.
Installing on windows
Run the tomcat installation programFollow these instructions.
Installing on unix/ linux
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Install the login scripts in tomcat login scripts into the tomcat user home directory. These scripts are correct as of Tomcat 8.0 but you should confirm that no changes are needed because of environment differences or because of different versions of tomcat.
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server.xml: Port Specification
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Follow these instructions.
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Having completed the basic tomcat installation, stop the tomcat service then make the following changes:
conf/context.xml: cache settings
The default Tomcat cache settings are insufficient for PhixFlow:
Edit $TOMCAT/conf/context.xml:
Add <Resources ... /> to at the end of the <Context/> block so that the file looks something like this:
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<Context>
<!-- lines omitted -->
<Resources allowLinking="true" cachingAllowed="true" cacheMaxSize="1000000" />
</Context> |
conf/server.xml: Connector settings
Edit $TOMCAT/conf/server.xml to specify the port that PhixFlow will use (usually 8081). Find the following lines and change as needed:
Find the line starting <Connector port="8080"
Edit the <Connector block to
- Use the required port number (port="8080"). Tomcat defaults to port 8080 for HTTP, but you may need to use a different port if you are running other web servers on the same host.
- Enable compression (compression="on"). Compressing responses from the server is particularly important if you are going to access the PhixFlow server over a slow connection (e.g. a mobile data connection).
After editing, the <Connector/> block should look like this:
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<!-- Define a non-SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8080 --> <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" <Connector port connectionTimeout="808120000" maxHttpHeaderSize redirectPort="81928443" … compression="on"/> |
Remember to enable this port in the server’s firewall (if enabled).
web.xml: Session timeout
Modify The default session timeout period is 30 minutes.
We recommend that you change this to a longer period, e.g. 12 hours (720 minutes).
Edit $TOMCAT/conf/web.xml to change the Tomcat
Find the line containing <session-timeout.
Change the session timeout period from its default value (30 mins). Find the following lines and change as needed:). Once changed, it should look something like this (this example shows a 12-hour timeout).
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<session-config> <session-timeout>600<timeout>720</session-timeout> </session-config> |
Update <session-timeout> to the value you need, e.g. to 720 (minutes i.e. 12 hours).
Java and JVM Options
Download and install Java from java.com. Java JDK 1.8 is required (and version 1.8.0_74 or greater is recommended). The following JVM (Java Virtual Machine) options should be set to control (amongst other things) the amount of memory reserved for Tomcat and therefore made available for PhixFlow. The options are:
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Option
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Recommended Setting
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Syntax
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Initial Memory Pool
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1024Mb on 32bit architecture. 40% of physical memory on x64 architecture. Consult your sys admin for recommended settings on virtual servers.
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-Xms1024m
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Max Memory Pool
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As much as possible. 1024Mb on 32bit architecture. 75% of physical memory on x64 architecture. Consult your sys admin for recommended settings on virtual servers.
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-Xmx1024m
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Garbage Collector Diagnostics
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Enabled
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-verbose:gc
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Some JDBC (database) drivers generate warning messages direct to the screen if running under a GUI (graphical user interface).
These messages are confusing at best for a background service such as the PhixFlow web application server, and should be disabled.
This setting tells Java to behave as though there were no GUI present.
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To set JVM options:
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Windows
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- Run the Tomcat Monitor
- Open the Tomcat Monitor system tray Configure … menu
- Select the Java tab
- Set the Initial memory Pool (see table above)
- Set the Max Memory Pool (see table above)
- Add the following lines to the Java Options scrollable field:
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-XX:MaxPermSize=150m
-verbose:gc
-Djava.awt.headless=true |
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Unix/Linux
If you have installed the scripts in tomcat login scripts, these option will already be set however for clarity, these options are defined in the JAVA_OPTS environment variable set in the tomcat user’s shell startup file (e.g. .profile / .bash_profile / .cshrc in the user’s home directory – the actual startup file is determined by the user’s default shell settings).
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Pre-installed Web Applications
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We recommend that you remove all web applications that are provided as part of the Tomcat installation as they are not required for PhixFlow's normal operation and constitute potential security loopholes. |
These are the pre-installed web apps, in more detail.
| Supplied Web Application | Description |
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| ROOT | The ROOT web application presents a very low security risk but it does include the version of Tomcat that is being used. The ROOT web application should normally be removed from a publicly accessible Tomcat instance, not for security reasons, but so that a more appropriate default page is shown to users. |
| Documentation | The documentation web application presents a very low security risk but it does identify the version of Tomcat that is being used. It should normally be removed from a publicly accessible Tomcat instance. |
| Examples | The examples web application should always be removed from any security sensitive installation. |
| Manager | The Manager application allows the remote deployment of web applications and is frequently targeted by attackers due to the widespread use of weak passwords and publicly accessible Tomcat instances with the Manager application enabled. |
| Host Manager | The Host Manager application allows the creation and management of virtual hosts - including the enabling of the Manager application for a virtual host. |
Database JDBC Drivers
The drivers needed to connect to PhixFlow’s own database are included within the release pack and no action is needed.Drivers used
If you want to connect, via a Datasource, to external databases may still have to be downloaded.an external database, you can rely on the bundled drivers to connect to any database that is one of PhixFlow's supported technologies and versions for its own connection - see Compatibility Guide and Upgrade Planning. If the external database is not covered by these, you will need to install a JDBC driver to support these connections. These JDBC drivers are available from the database suppliers, and must be placed in:
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[tomcat home]/lib |
For information on using SQLServer with Integrated Authentication, see SQLServer Integrated Authentication.
Start Tomcat
To start Tomcat:
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Windows
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Run the Tomcat Monitor.
Click on Right mouse menu -> Start Service
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Unix
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Login to the unix server as user tomcat.
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unix> cd $TOMCAT
unix> startup.sh |
Make tomcat run as a service
Windows
- Run the Tomcat Monitor.
- Right click on the Apache Tomcat icon in the system tray and select Configure …
- On the ‘General’ tab:
- Set Startup Type to Automatic.
Unix/ Linux
As the root user, install the tomcat script listed in in tomcat service scripts and create a softlink to it from the appropriate run-level directory. The actual run-level directories are specific to the particular unix variant.