Apache Tomcat Administration Training Course

Overview of Tomcat

• Quick introduction to Apache
• The Apache Software Foundation
• The Jakarta Project
• Tomcat Licensing
• Java EE Technologies
• Java Web Development
• Servlet and JSP Containers

Java Web Applications

• An overview of Servlets
• Benefits of Servlets and their Lifecycle
• JavaServer Pages
• JSP, JavaBeans, and JSP Tag Libraries
• MVC frameworks

Installing Tomcat

• Downloading and Installing Apache Tomcat
• Download and install a JVM, Tomcat, and Ant
• Using the Windows installer
• Managing Java memory and tweaking the JVM for improved performance

Tomcat Directories

• Tomcat installation directories, directory structure, the bin Directory, and common/shared directories
• The conf Directory, logs Directory, server directory, work Directory, temp Directory, and webapps Directory
• Structure of the Web Application Directory
• Deploying HTML and JSP Pages and understanding Web Context
• JSP Pages and the Generated Code
• Deploying a Web Application

Configuring Tomcat

• Configuring Tomcat and exploring configuration techniques
• Tomcat's Component Architecture
• The <Server> Element, <Service> Element, <Connector> Element, <Engine> Element, <Host> Element, <Context> Element, <Realm> Element, <Valve> Element, <Listener> Element, <Loader> Element, and <Manager> Element
• The server.xml File
• Modifying server.xml

Web Applications

• Web Application Administration and Deployment
• Directory Structure of a Web Application
• The web.xml configuration file
• Deployment Descriptors
• The <web-app></web-app> Element
• Mapping a Servlet to a URL
• The <resource-ref></resource-ref> Element
• The <env-entry></env-entry> Element
• The <ejb-ref></ejb-ref> Element
• A sample web.xml file
• Deploying a Web Application
• Tomcat’s default conf/web.xml file
• Tuning default JSP and static-content servlets

Tomcat Manager

• Deploying and Managing Web Applications using the Tomcat Manager
• Starting the Tomcat Manager and exploring its interface
• Exploring the Manager Section
• Applications, Deploy, and Server Information
• Creating a WAR File
• Lab 4: Deploying a WAR File
• Java Management Extensions (JMX) on Tomcat
• Integrating Tomcat with Ant

Advanced Features

• Utilizing some of Tomcat's advanced features
• Valves, Access Log Valve, Single Sign-on Valve
• Remote Address Filter and Remote Host Filter
• Request Dumper Valve
• Configuring JNDI Resources
• JNDI: Java Naming and Directory Interface and Defining a JNDI Resource
• The <environment></environment> Element and The <resource></resource> Element
• Configuring a JavaMail Session
• Global Resources

JDBC Connectivity

• Configuring Tomcat to Connect to a Database
• Overview of JDBC
• JDBC Drivers
• Connecting to a Database and Connection Pools
• Download and Install MySQL
• Configure MySQL for Tomcat
• Create a Database in MySQL
• Download and Deploy a JDBC Driver
• Defining a DataSource in Tomcat and Defining a Data Source Manually
• Modifying the Deployment Descriptor
• Detecting and closing leaked database connections

Tomcat Security

• Examining Security on Tomcat and its configuration
• Security Considerations
• File System Security and Filesystem Recommendations
• Java Security Manager
• Granting Permissions to Java Apps and Examining Java Permissions
• Creating and Adding Your Own Policies
• Enabling the Java Security Manager
• Security Manager Tips and Security Realms
• Exploring different Types of Realms and Configuring a Realm
• Users and Roles (authentication and authorization)
• Creating a Data Source Realm
• Password Protection
• FORM-based authentication
• Configuring Tomcat for SSL
• Requiring SSL in Applications

Connecting

• Connecting Tomcat to Apache
• Examining Connectors
• HTTP Connectors
• Advantages of Using a Web Server
• Connector Protocols
• Configuring an AJP Connector
• Download mod_jk
• Create the mod_jk.conf file
• Start Tomcat
• Create a Worker
• Configure httpd.conf
• Test the Setup
• Load balancing applications across multiple Tomcat instances
• Issues with Load Balancing
• Server Affinity via Sticky Sessions
• Shared Session Storage
• Replicated Sessions via Tomcat Clustering
• Shared Hosting
• Tomcat Virtual Hosting
• Configuring Tomcat to Enable Virtual Hosting as a Stand-alone Server
• Configuring Tomcat to Enable Virtual Hosting using jk2 or webapp
• Configuring Tomcat as Stand-alone
• Configuring Tomcat with AJP
• Separate JVM for Each Host

Load Testing

• JMeter Application
• Load Testing with JMeter
• Install and Run JMeter
• Creating a Test Plan
• Configure the Thread Group and Adding a Task
• Configure the HTTP Request
• Add a Report Listener
• Run the Test Plan
• Viewing the Results