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 program.

Installing on unix/ linux

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.

Configure tomcat

context.xml: cache settings

The default Tomcat cache settings are insufficient for PhixFlow:

Add <Resources ... /> to at the end of the <Context/> block in

[tomcat base]/conf/context.xml

so that the file looks something like this:

<Context>
    <!-- lines omitted -->
	<Resources allowLinking="true" cachingAllowed="true" cacheMaxSize="1000000" />
</Context>

server.xml: Connector settings

Edit the <Connector block in $TOMCAT/conf/server.xml to:

1. 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.
2. Enable compression (compression="force"). 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:

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

Remember to enable this port in the server’s firewall (if enabled).

web.xml: Session timeout

Modify $TOMCAT/conf/web.xml to change the Tomcat session timeout period from its default value (30 mins). Find the following lines and change as needed:

<session-config>
	<session-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). Also install Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jce8-download-2133166.html (required for reading password protected Excel files). 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:

To set JVM options:

-Xms1024m
-Xmx1024m
-verbose:gc
-Djava.awt.headless=true

JAVA_OPTS='-Xms1024m -Xmx1024m -verbose:gc -Djava.awt.headless=true'

Database JDBC Drivers

The drivers needed to connect to PhixFlow’s own database are included within the release pack and no action is needed.

If you want to connect, via a Datasource, to 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:

[tomcat home]/lib

For information on using SQLServer with Integrated Authentication, see SQLServer Integrated Authentication.

Start Tomcat

To start Tomcat:

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 tomcat service scripts and create a soft link to it from the appropriate run-level directory. The actual run-level directories are specific to the particular unix variant.