Introduction

Apache Tomcat is the java web server which runs the PhixFlow web application.

This guide covers downloading and installing Tomcat 9 on Windows and Windows Server.

Prerequisites

You have installed Windows / Windows Server

You can login as a user with admin privileges.

You have installed Java.

Instructions

Download and Install Tomcat

Download the latest version

Go to the tomcat downloads page, find the latest Binary Distributions section, then the Core sub-heading, and click on 32-bit/64-bit Windows Service Installer.

Install Tomcat

Run the installer.

On Choose Install Location, set Destination Folder to a short folder name e.g. c:/app/tomcat9.

Accept all other recommended defaults.

Set the tomcat administrator password to something secure.

Configure the service wrapper

You must configure the service wrapper before using it to start tomcat:

Click Configure Tomcat

Java Tab

Switch to the Java Tab.

Java Options

Add these lines to Java Options:

-verbose:gc
-Djava.awt.headless=true

Memory

Set Initial Memory Pool and Maximum Memory Pool to the required memory sizes.

General Tab

Startup Type

If you want to start/stop Tomcat manually, set Startup Type to Manual

If you want Tomcat to start automatically when Windows starts, set Startup Type to Automatic

Run under service account

You may wish to run this under a service account. This is advisable for long running installations - for example, when you move your PhixFlow installation to production. But note that this isn't nessary; for temporary or ad-hoc systems, running tomcat with the default option - under Local System account - in generally fine. 

Open services on the server, open the properties for the Apache Tomcat service, and under the Log On tab, enter the service account.

Conclusion

From this point on, you can use Monitor Tomcat to start/stop tomcat