Apache Tomcat Administration Training Course

Tomcat Overview 

• A brief introduction to the Apache project
• The Apache Software Foundation
• The Jakarta Project
• Licensing terms for Tomcat
• Overview of J2EE Technologies
• Foundations of Java Web Development
• Servlet and JSP Containers

Java Web Applications

• An overview of Servlets
• Benefits of Servlets and their lifecycle
• Introduction to JavaServer Pages
• Integration of JSP, JavaBeans, and JSP Tag Libraries
• Exploration of MVC frameworks

Installing Tomcat

• Steps for downloading and installing Apache Tomcat
• Procurement and installation of a JVM, Tomcat, and Apache Ant
• Utilizing the Windows installer
• Java memory management and JVM tuning for optimal performance

Tomcat Directories

• Overview of Tomcat installation paths, directory layout, bin directory, and common/shared directories
• Details on conf, logs, server, work, temp, and webapps directories
• Structure of the web application directory
• Deploying HTML and JSP pages and defining Web Contexts
• JSP pages and their generated code
• Process of deploying a web application

Configuring Tomcat

• Techniques for configuring Tomcat
• Understanding Tomcat's component architecture
• Key elements: <Server>, <Service>, <Connector>, <Engine>, <Host>, <Context>, <Realm>, <Valve>, <Listener>, <Loader>, and <Manager>
• In-depth look at the server.xml file
• Methods for modifying server.xml

Web Applications

• Administrative tasks and deployment of web applications
• Directory structure specific to web applications
• The web.xml configuration file
• Understanding Deployment Descriptors
• The <web-app></web-app> element
• Mapping Servlets to specific URLs
• The <resource-ref></resource-ref> element
• The <env-entry></env-entry> element
• The <ejb-ref></ejb-ref> element
• Example of a web.xml file
• Steps for deploying a web application
• Review of 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
• Launching the Tomcat Manager and exploring its interface
• Analysis of the Manager section
• Managing applications, deployment, and server information
• Generating a WAR file
• Lab 4: Practical deployment of a WAR file
• Java Management Extensions (JMX) within Tomcat
• Integrating Tomcat with Ant

Advanced Features

• Leveraging advanced Tomcat features
• Valves: Access Log Valve and Single Sign-on Valve
• Remote Address Filter and Remote Host Filter
• Request Dumper Valve
• Configuration of JNDI Resources
• JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) and defining JNDI resources
• The <environment></environment> element and The <resource></resource> element
• Setting up a JavaMail session
• Managing global resources

JDBC Connectivity

• Configuring Tomcat for database connectivity
• Fundamentals of JDBC
• Overview of JDBC drivers
• Database connections and connection pooling strategies
• Downloading and installing MySQL
• Configuring MySQL for use with Tomcat
• Creating a database in MySQL
• Downloading and deploying a JDBC driver
• Defining a DataSource in Tomcat and manual Data Source creation
• Modifying the Deployment Descriptor
• Detection and closure of leaked database connections

Tomcat Security

• Security configurations and considerations in Tomcat
• General security best practices
• File system security and filesystem recommendations
• The Java Security Manager
• Granting permissions to Java applications and reviewing Java permissions
• Creating and adding custom policies
• Activating the Java Security Manager
• Tips for the Security Manager and Security Realms
• Types of Realms and Realm configuration
• Managing users and roles for authentication and authorization
• Creating a Data Source Realm
• Password protection mechanisms
• FORM-based authentication setup
• Configuring Tomcat for SSL
• Enforcing SSL requirements in applications

Connecting

• Integrating Tomcat with Apache
• Overview of Connectors
• HTTP Connectors
• Benefits of using a dedicated web server
• Connector protocols
• Setting up an AJP Connector
• Downloading mod_jk
• Creating the mod_jk.conf file
• Starting Tomcat
• Defining a Worker
• Configuring httpd.conf
• Testing the integrated setup
• Load balancing applications across multiple Tomcat instances
• Common issues related to load balancing
• Maintaining server affinity through sticky sessions
• Shared session storage solutions
• Replicating sessions using Tomcat clustering
• Shared Hosting concepts
• Virtual Hosting in Tomcat
• Enabling virtual hosting on a stand-alone Tomcat server
• Configuring virtual hosting using jk2 or webapp
• Tomcat Stand-alone configuration
• Tomcat configuration with AJP
• Using separate JVMs for each host

Load Testing

• Introduction to the JMeter application
• Performing load tests with JMeter
• Installation and execution of JMeter
• Developing a Test Plan
• Configuring the Thread Group and adding tasks
• Setting up the HTTP Request
• Adding a Report Listener
• Executing the Test Plan
• Reviewing test results