Apache Tomcat Administration Training Course

Tomcat Overview 

• A brief introduction to Apache
• Overview of the Apache Software Foundation
• The Jakarta Project
• Details on Tomcat Licensing
• Introduction to J2EE Technologies
• Basics of Java Web Development
• Understanding Servlet and JSP Containers

Java Web Applications

• Fundamentals of Servlets
• Benefits of Servlets and their Lifecycle
• Introduction to JavaServer Pages (JSP)
• Integration of JSP, JavaBeans, and JSP Tag Libraries
• Overview of Model-View-Controller (MVC) frameworks

Installing Tomcat

• Process for downloading and installing Apache Tomcat
• Installation of the JVM, Apache Tomcat, and Ant
• Utilizing the Windows installer
• Managing Java memory and optimizing JVM performance

Tomcat Directories

• Exploration of Tomcat installation paths, directory structure, the bin directory, and common/shared folders
• Detailed view of the conf, logs, server, work, temp, and webapps directories
• Analyzing the directory structure of web applications
• Deployment of HTML and JSP pages and understanding Web Context
• Understanding JSP pages and their generated code
• The process of deploying a web application

Configuring Tomcat

• General Tomcat configuration techniques and methodologies
• Understanding Tomcat’s component-based architecture
• Detailed examination of 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

• Administration and deployment of web applications
• Directory layout of a web application
• Review of the web.xml configuration file
• Understanding Deployment Descriptors
• Analysis of the <web-app></web-app> element
• Mapping Servlets to URLs
• Examining the <resource-ref></resource-ref> element
• Examining the <env-entry></env-entry> element
• Examining the <ejb-ref></ejb-ref> element
• Review of a sample web.xml file
• The deployment process for web applications
• Analysis of Tomcat’s default conf/web.xml file
• Optimizing default JSP and static-content servlets

Tomcat Manager

• Deploying and managing web applications via the Tomcat Manager
• Launching the Tomcat Manager and interface walkthrough
• Exploring the Manager section
• Managing Applications, Deployment, and Server Information
• Creating WAR files
• Practical Exercise 4: Deploying a WAR file
• Implementing Java Management Extensions (JMX) in Tomcat
• Integrating Tomcat with Ant

Advanced Features

• Leveraging advanced Tomcat capabilities
• Configuring Valves, including Access Log Valve and Single Sign-on Valve
• Setting up Remote Address Filter and Remote Host Filter
• Using the Request Dumper Valve
• Configuring JNDI Resources
• Understanding JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) and defining JNDI resources
• Exploring the <environment></environment> and <resource></resource> elements
• Setting up JavaMail sessions
• Managing Global Resources

JDBC Connectivity

• Configuring Tomcat for database connectivity
• Overview of JDBC technology
• Selection and usage of JDBC Drivers
• Database connection management and connection pooling
• Downloading and installing MySQL
• Configuring MySQL for use with Tomcat
• Creating a database in MySQL
• Downloading and deploying JDBC drivers
• Defining a DataSource in Tomcat and manual setup procedures
• Modifying the Deployment Descriptor
• Detecting and closing leaked database connections

Tomcat Security

• Security considerations and configuration in Tomcat
• General security best practices
• File System Security and filesystem recommendations
• Implementing the Java Security Manager
• Granting permissions to Java applications and reviewing Java Permissions
• Creating and implementing custom security policies
• Activating the Java Security Manager
• Tips for the Security Manager and understanding Security Realms
• Reviewing different Realm types and configuring a specific Realm
• Managing Users and Roles for authentication and authorization
• Creating a Data Source Realm
• Password protection mechanisms
• Implementing FORM-based authentication
• Configuring Tomcat for SSL
• Enforcing SSL within applications

Connecting

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

Load Testing

• Introduction to the JMeter Application
• Conducting load tests with JMeter
• Installing and running JMeter
• Creating a Test Plan
• Configuring the Thread Group and adding tasks
• Setting up the HTTP Request
• Adding a Report Listener
• Executing the Test Plan
• Analyzing the test results