Apache Tomcat Administration Training Course

Tomcat Overview 

• A brief introduction to Apache
• The Apache Software Foundation
• The Jakarta Project
• Tomcat Licensing details
• J2EE Technologies
• Java Web Development
• Servlet and JSP Containers

Java Web Applications

• Introduction to Servlets
• Benefits of Servlets and their Lifecycle
• JavaServer Pages (JSP)
• JSP, JavaBeans, and JSP Tag Libraries
• MVC Frameworks

Installing Tomcat

• Steps to download and install Apache Tomcat
• Installing the JVM, downloading Tomcat, and setting up Ant
• Using the Windows installer
• Java memory management and JVM performance tuning

Tomcat Directories

• Overview of Tomcat installation paths and directory structure, including the bin, common, and shared directories
• Exploration of the conf, logs, server, work, temp, and webapps directories
• Understanding the standard Web Application directory layout
• Deploying HTML, JSP pages, and Web Contexts
• JSP pages and their generated code
• Process for deploying a Web App

ConfiguringTomcat

• Techniques for Tomcat configuration
• Tomcat’s Component Architecture
• Key Elements: <Server>, <Service>, <Connector>, <Engine>, <Host>, <Context>, <Realm>, <Valve>, <Listener>, <Loader>, and <Manager>
• The Server.xml file
• Methods for modifying server.xml

Web Applications

• Administering and deploying Web Applications
• Directory structure of a Web App
• The web.xml configuration file
• Deployment Descriptors
• The <web-app></web-app> Element
• Mapping Servlets to URLs
• The <resource-ref></resource-ref> Element
• The <env-entry></env-entry> Element
• The <ejb-ref></ejb-ref> Element
• Sample web.xml file analysis
• Deploying a Web Application
• Reviewing Tomcat’s default conf/web.xml file
• Tuning default JSP and static content servlets

Tomcat Manager

• Deploying and managing Web Applications via the Tomcat Manager
• Starting the Tomcat Manager and navigating its interface
• Understanding the Manager Section
• Viewing Applications, deploying, and checking Server Information
• Creating a WAR File
• Lab 4: Deploying a WAR File
• Java Management Extensions (JMX) in Tomcat
• Integrating Tomcat with Ant

Advanced Features

• Utilizing advanced Tomcat features
• Valves, including Access Log Valve and Single Sign-on Valve
• Remote Address and Remote Host Filters
• 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
• Setting up a JavaMail Session
• Global Resources

JDBC Connectivity

• Configuring Tomcat for database connectivity
• JDBC Overview
• JDBC Drivers
• Database connections and Connection Pools
• Downloading and installing MySQL
• Configuring MySQL for Tomcat
• Creating a Database in MySQL
• Downloading and deploying a JDBC Driver
• Defining a DataSource in Tomcat, including manual setup
• Modifying the Deployment Descriptor
• Detecting and closing leaked database connections

Tomcat Security

• Security considerations and configuration in Tomcat
• Key Security Considerations
• File System Security and best practices
• The Java Security Manager
• Granting permissions to Java Apps and reviewing Java Permissions
• Creating and adding custom policies
• Enabling the Java Security Manager
• Security Manager tips and Security Realms
• Different Realm types and configuring a Realm
• Managing Users and Roles for authentication and authorization
• Creating a Data Source Realm
• Password protection mechanisms
• FORM-based authentication
• Configuring Tomcat for SSL
• Enforcing SSL requirements in applications

Connecting

• Integrating Tomcat with Apache
• Understanding Connectors
• HTTP Connectors
• Benefits of using a dedicated Web Server
• Connector Protocols
• Configuring an AJP Connector
• Downloading mod_jk
• Creating the mod_jk.conf file
• Starting Tomcat
• Creating a Worker
• Configuring httpd.conf
• Testing the setup
• Load balancing applications across multiple Tomcat instances
• Common issues with load balancing
• Server affinity using sticky sessions
• Shared session storage
• Replicated sessions via Tomcat clustering
• Shared Hosting
• Tomcat Virtual Hosting
• Configuring Tomcat for virtual hosting as a stand-alone server
• Enabling virtual hosting using jk2 or webapp
• Configuring Tomcat as Stand-alone
• Configuring Tomcat with AJP
• Assigning a Separate JVM for Each Host

Load Testing

• The JMeter Application
• Conducting Load Testing with JMeter
• Installing and running JMeter
• Creating a Test Plan
• Configuring the Thread Group and adding tasks
• Configuring the HTTP Request
• Adding a Report Listener
• Executing the Test Plan
• Analyzing the Results