This page explains how to setup Tomcat manually.

You can setup Tomcat in 2 manners:

As a developer : you just need to unzip it and import the runtime into your IDE.
As a server (qa / preproduction / production)

Here I'm focusing on the server installation.

This wiki is based upon the excellent article available at http://satishchilukuri.com/blog/entry/installing-java-8-and-tomcat-8-on-debian-wheezy

Get Tomcat

Get latest version of Tomcat from the official website: http://tomcat.apache.org/

Unzip it to /opt: => /opt/tomcat-8.0.21 (adjust to your own version number)

Intro to server configuration

Apache Tomcat recommends to have 2 directories:

Tomcat binary. This is the tomcat version you can update. All instances will share the same binary directory.
Tomcat deployment or instance. These are configuration & runtime files.
- Their life-cycle is different as the server updates.
- You can have many instance of Tomcat that share the same binary with different configurations.

The following picture describes what I just tried to explain:

Setup Tomcat binaries

Create / update Tomcat binary "home" folder:

rm -f /opt/tomcat-home
ln -s /opt/tomcat-8.0.21 /opt/tomcat-home

Setup Tomcat instance directory

You must repeat the following steps for each instance.

Initialization

Create a deployment directory & all the required folders, ex: /opt/tomcat-home/

# Create instance directory
mkdir /opt/tomcat-base

# Init. instance configuration
cp -r /opt/tomcat-home/conf/ /opt/tomcat-base/
cp -r /opt/tomcat-home/webapps/ /opt/tomcat-base/

# Required folders on runtime
mkdir /opt/tomcat-base/bin
mkdir /opt/tomcat-base/lib
mkdir /opt/tomcat-base/logs
mkdir /opt/tomcat-base/work
mkdir /opt/tomcat-base/temp

Create instance user/group

You can have 1 user per instance or 1 user to execute all the instances, as you like! However they must be in the same user group!

→ The following example explains 1 user per instance, in group 'tomcat'

# Create tomcat group
addgroup --system "tomcat"

# Create Tomcat Instance user (home directory must be Tomcat binaries)
adduser --system --home /opt/tomcat-home --no-create-home \
	--ingroup "tomcat" --disabled-password --shell /bin/false \
	"tomcat8"

Adjust instance rights

For security reasons:

Instance's user (tomcat8) must have access to Tomcat binaries + its own instance.
Instance's user should only have READ access on configuration files. No one should change the configuration but root!

Create a new script:

vim /opt/setTomcatRights.sh

Put the following content:

#!/bin/sh
# Script based upon http://satishchilukuri.com/blog/entry/installing-java-8-and-tomcat-8-on-debian-wheezy
# Last modification: April 2015, Guillaume Diaz. 
#                    I arranged it so the binaries VS instance operations are easier to grasp
#

CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat-home        # Tomcat binaries
CATALINA_BASE=/opt/tomcat-base        # Tomcat instance (dedicated configuration + runtime)

TOMCAT_INSTANCE_USER=tomcat8
TOMCAT_GROUP=tomcat


################################
# Tomcat binaries
################################
# Ownership
chgrp -R $TOMCAT_GROUP $CATALINA_HOME $CATALINA_HOME/*

# Read only rights
chown -Rh root:$TOMCAT_GROUP $CATALINA_HOME/conf $CATALINA_HOME/lib $CATALINA_HOME/bin

# Ensure configuration files are group readable
chmod go+r $CATALINA_HOME/conf/*

# Change permissions on tomcat-users.xml so that others can’t change it (but tomcat):
chmod 640 $CATALINA_HOME/conf/tomcat-users.xml

# Allow execution of general scripts
chmod 755 $CATALINA_HOME/**/*.sh


################################
# Tomcat instance
################################
# Ownership
chown -R $TOMCAT_INSTANCE_USER $CATALINA_BASE
chgrp -R $TOMCAT_GROUP $CATALINA_BASE

# Read only
chown -Rh root:$TOMCAT_GROUP $CATALINA_BASE/conf $CATALINA_BASE/lib $CATALINA_BASE/bin

# Ensure configuration files are group readable
chmod go+r $CATALINA_BASE/conf/*

# Change permissions on tomcat-users.xml so that others can’t change it (but tomcat):
chmod 640 $CATALINA_BASE/conf/tomcat-users.xml

echo "Operation complete! Tomcat rights have been adjusted"

Execute that script:

chmod 755 /opt/setTomcatRights.sh
/opt/setTomcatRights.sh

Start/Stop script

Now you need to setup the start/stop script so Tomcat can be executed into its own instance using some environment variables.

Create a new script:

vim /etc/init.d/tomcat8

Put the following content:

#!/bin/sh
# /etc/init.d/tomcat8 -- startup script for the Tomcat 8 servlet engine
# 
# [April 2015, Guillaume Diaz] Modified version of an existing tomcat8 script (see below)
# this script refers to the Tomcat installation setup described on my wiki:
# 
#
#
# Source: http://satishchilukuri.com/blog/entry/installing-java-8-and-tomcat-8-on-debian-wheezy 
# Modified version of the tomcat7 script pulled from Debian Wheezy Tomcat 7 package
#
# Modifications are:
#   * Remove authbind.
#   * Remove JVM_TMP. We will use CATALINA_BASE/temp
#   * Explicitly set JAVA_HOME. No need to figure out where it is.
#   * Remove SECURITY. We are not using the Java security manager.
#   * Remove references to DEFAULT. We have no defaults to use.
#   * Explicitly provide values for variables that are supposed to be set
#     while installing the tomcat package.
#   * Remove references to POLICY_CACHE.
#

### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          tomcat
# Required-Start:    $local_fs $remote_fs $network $syslog
# Required-Stop:     $local_fs $remote_fs $network $syslog
# Should-Start:      $named
# Should-Stop:       $named
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: Tomcat
# Description:       Tomcat servlet container
### END INIT INFO


#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# CONFIGURATION 
# ... Adjust these settings to match your configuration
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Process name
NAME="tomcat8"

# Target user/group
USER="tomcat8"
GROUP="tomcat"

# Directory where the Tomcat 8 binary distribution resides
CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat-home

# Directory for per-instance configuration files and webapps
CATALINA_BASE=/opt/tomcat-base

# JVM to use if JAVA_HOME is NOT already set
TOMCAT_JAVA_HOME="/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle"

#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Other settings, do not change them
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Server generic
CATALINA_SH="$CATALINA_HOME/bin/catalina.sh"
# Instance specifics
CATALINA_PID="$CATALINA_BASE/tomcat.pid"
CATALINA_TMPDIR="$CATALINA_BASE/temp"



# This enable system logger and related functions
. /lib/lsb/init-functions
if [ -r /etc/default/rcS ]; then
  . /etc/default/rcS
fi


echo " "
echo "# ------------------------- #"
echo "# Tomcat start/stop manager #"
echo "# ------------------------- #"
echo " "


#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ensure you have right to execute that script
if [ `id -u` -ne 0 ]; then
  log_failure_msg "!! You need root privileges to run this script !!"
  exit 1
fi

# checking user/group
id "$USER" > /dev/null 2>&1
if [ "$?" -ne "0" ]; then
	log_failure_msg "Error: user '$USER' does not exist !"
	exit 1
fi
id -g "$GROUP" > /dev/null 2>&1
if [ "$?" -ne "0" ]; then
  log_failure_msg "Error: group '$GROUP' does not exist !"
  exit 1
fi

# checking environment settings
if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ]; then
  JAVA_HOME="$TOMCAT_JAVA_HOME"
  export JAVA_HOME
fi 
if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ]; then
  log_failure_msg "no JDK found - please set \$JAVA_HOME or \$TOMCAT_JAVA_HOME to a valid path"
  exit 1
fi
if [ ! -d "$CATALINA_HOME" ]; then
  log_failure_msg "invalid $NAME installation folder \$CATALINA_HOME: $CATALINA_HOME"
  exit 1
fi
if [ ! -f "$CATALINA_HOME/bin/bootstrap.jar" ]; then
  log_failure_msg "Error, $NAME installation seems corrupt... bootstrap.jar is not installed"
  exit 1
fi
if [ ! -d "$CATALINA_BASE/conf" ]; then
  log_failure_msg "invalid configuration folder \$CATALINA_BASE: $CATALINA_BASE"
  exit 1
fi

# Make sure tomcat is started with system locale
if [ -r /etc/default/locale ]; then
  . /etc/default/locale
  export LANG
fi

# Set environment settings
# This enable the system logger and related functions
. /lib/lsb/init-functions

if [ -r /etc/default/rcS ]; then
  . /etc/default/rcS
fi


# Look for Java Secure Sockets Extension (JSSE) JARs
if [ -z "${JSSE_HOME}" -a -r "${JAVA_HOME}/jre/lib/jsse.jar" ]; then
    JSSE_HOME="${JAVA_HOME}/jre/"
fi

# Default Java options: no local screen, prefer IPv4 when possible
if [ -z "$JAVA_OPTS" ]; then
  JAVA_OPTS="-Djava.awt.headless=true -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true"
else
  JAVA_OPTS="${JAVA_OPTS} -Djava.awt.headless=true -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true"
fi
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


function run_catalina() {
  ##### Escape any double quotes in the value of JAVA_OPTS
  JAVA_OPTS="$(echo $JAVA_OPTS | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g')"

  ##### Define Tomcat context + command to execute
  # set -a tells sh to export assigned variables to spawned shells.
  TOMCAT_SH="set -a; JAVA_HOME=\"$JAVA_HOME\"; \
    CATALINA_HOME=\"$CATALINA_HOME\"; \
    CATALINA_BASE=\"$CATALINA_BASE\"; \
    JAVA_OPTS=\"$JAVA_OPTS\"; \
    CATALINA_PID=\"$CATALINA_PID\"; \
    CATALINA_TMPDIR\"$CATALINA_TMPDIR\"; \
    LANG=\"$LANG\"; JSSE_HOME=\"$JSSE_HOME\"; \
    cd \"$CATALINA_BASE\"; \
    \"$CATALINA_SH\" $@"

  
  set +e

  ##### Manual log rotation
  if [ -f "$CATALINA_BASE/logs/catalina.out" ]; then
      # move old log
      CURRENT_DATETIME=`date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M"`
      mv $CATALINA_BASE/logs/catalina.out $CATALINA_BASE/logs/catalina_$CURRENT_DATETIME.out
  fi
  # Create new empty log  
  touch $CATALINA_BASE/logs/catalina.out
  chown $USER:$GROUP "$CATALINA_BASE"/logs/catalina.out      


  ##### Create PID
  touch "$CATALINA_PID"
  chown $USER "$CATALINA_PID"

  ##### Call catalina.sh
  start-stop-daemon --start --background --quiet \
                    --user "$USER" --group "$GROUP" \
                    --chuid "$USER" \
                    --chdir "$CATALINA_TMPDIR" \
                    --pidfile "$CATALINA_PID" \
                    --exec /bin/bash \
                    --name "$NAME" -- -c "$TOMCAT_SH"
  status="$?"
  set +a -e
  return $status
}

function start() {
  log_daemon_msg "Starting $NAME"
  if start-stop-daemon --test --start \
                       --pidfile "$CATALINA_PID" \
                       --user $USER \
                       --exec "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" \
                       >/dev/null; then

      # Clean tomcat base temp directory
      rm -rf "$CATALINA_TMPDIR"
      mkdir -p "$CATALINA_TMPDIR" || {
        log_failure_msg "could not create JVM temporary directory"
        exit 1
      }
      chown -R $USER $CATALINA_TMPDIR
      chgrp -R $GROUP $CATALINA_TMPDIR      

      # Start Tomcat
      run_catalina start

      # Wait and ensure server has been started
      sleep 5
      if start-stop-daemon --test --start \
                           --pidfile "$CATALINA_PID" \
                           --user $USER \
                           --exec "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" \
                           >/dev/null; then

        # server is not running
        if [ -f "$CATALINA_PID" ]; then
          rm -f "$CATALINA_PID"
        fi
        log_end_msg 1
      else
        log_end_msg 0
      fi
  else
    log_progress_msg "$NAME server is already started"
    log_end_msg 0
  fi
} 


function stop() {
  log_daemon_msg "Stopping $NAME"

  set +e
  if [ -f "$CATALINA_PID" ]; then
    start-stop-daemon --stop --pidfile "$CATALINA_PID" \
                      --user $USER \
                      --retry=TERM/20/KILL/5 >/dev/null
    if [ $? -eq 1 ]; then
        log_progress_msg "$NAME is not running but pid file exists, cleaning up"
    elif [ $? -eq 3 ]; then
        PID="`cat $CATALINA_PID`"
        log_failure_msg "Failed to stop $NAME (pid $PID)"
        exit 1
    fi
    rm -f "$CATALINA_PID"
  else
    log_progress_msg "$NAME server is not running"
  fi
  log_end_msg 0
  set -e
} 


function status() {
  set +e
  start-stop-daemon --test --start --pidfile "$CATALINA_PID" \
                    --user $USER \
                    --exec "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" \
                    >/dev/null 2>&1
  if [ "$?" = "0" ]; then
  
    if [ -f "$CATALINA_PID" ]; then
        log_success_msg "$NAME is not running, but pid file exists. You can remove $CATALINA_PID"
        exit 1
      else
        log_success_msg "$NAME is not running."
        exit 3
      fi
    else
      log_success_msg "$NAME is running with pid `cat $CATALINA_PID`"
    fi
    set -e
}

case "$1" in
  start)
    start 	
  	;;
  stop)
    stop
    ;;
  restart)
    stop
    start
	 ;;
  status)
  	status
    ;;
  *)
	  echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart|status}"
	  exit 1
	;;
esac

exit 0

Adjust rights and execute the script:

chmod 755 /etc/init.d/tomcat8
/etc/init.d/tomcat8 status
/etc/init.d/tomcat8 start
/etc/init.d/tomcat8 stop

You can check the content of /opt/tomcat-base. It should have been populated during execution.

References

Superb tutorial: http://satishchilukuri.com/blog/entry/installing-java-8-and-tomcat-8-on-debian-wheezy

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Contents

Get Tomcat

Intro to server configuration

Setup Tomcat binaries

Setup Tomcat instance directory

Initialization

Create instance user/group

Adjust instance rights

Start/Stop script

References

Anonymous

Search

Navigation

Wiki tools

Page tools

Categories

Tomcat linux manual setup

Contents

Get Tomcat

Intro to server configuration

Setup Tomcat binaries

Setup Tomcat instance directory

Initialization

Create instance user/group

Adjust instance rights

Start/Stop script

References