Installing Apache Tomcat 6.0.14 on Windows Vista and Windows 2003 Server

(by Brian Wilson, 9/23/07)


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Explanation:

For my small business, we have decided to standardize on Tomcat 6 as our web server.  This means that whenever somebody needs a web server we use Tomcat 6, like for the corporate website, our  intranet, and for any appliances we build, and for the stats portal, etc.  There are a lot of valid choices for a web server, but here are some of the reasons we chose Tomcat 6: 1) it's free, 2) free to redistribute, 3) runs on both Windows and Linux, 4) runs Java/JSP which we know and is also cross platform and free.  In the end, it is probably more about what we know and are comfortable with.

Step #1: Install Java

We are currently using Java 1.6.0_02 which you can get by visiting http://java.sun.com and choosing "Downloads"->"Java SE" and then click on the "Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 2" download button then pick the correct platform.  We also copied this to our local intranet on \\whistler\bowl\software\java\6 for quick access.  Launch the installer, click "Next" a bunch.

Step #2: Install Tomcat

We are currently using Apache Tomcat 6.0.14 which you can get by visiting http://tomcat.apache.org/download-60.cgi  and choosing the correct download.   We also copied this to our local intranet on file://Whistler/bowl/software/tomcat/6.0 for quick access.  Click "Next" a lot, and when you get to the proper screen, make sure you select "Install as Server/Windows Service" checkbox.  You probably also want to change it to run on Port 80 (make sure Windows IIS is not installed and running on Port 80 first).

Step #3: Tomcat Fails to Launch on Windows 2003 Server

The current Tomcat installer has a bug where it forgot to install one Windows dll.  The solution is to copy a C:\WINDOWS\System32\msvcr71.dll from any Windows system you find it (like XP Pro or Vista or any Windows computer with a Microsoft Visual Studio installed) and copy it to the same directory on your Windows 2003 Server machine.  Then Tomcat will launch fine.

Step #4: Securing Tomcat 6 -> get rid of Tomcat 6 administration GUI login

By default Tomcat ships allowing anybody access to all admin functions, which is very bad, but simple to fix.  Shut down tomcat, then delete everything here: C:\Program Files\ Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 6.0\webapps\* 

Step #5: Make Tomcat 6 serve up static html pages

In most cases you just want Tomcat 6 to serve up a bunch of static html pages without any Java or JSP.  Create the directories and then file so that this file exists: C:\Program Files\ Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 6.0\conf\Catalina\localhost\ROOT.xml  and it should have this one line as it's entire contents: "<Context path="" docBase="C:\static_html_file_dir" />  where you have an "index.html" file here: C:\static_html_file_dir\index.html

Step #6: Optional Tomcat 6 Environment Variables

I don't think any of these are necessary, but you can set CATALINA_HOME and JAVA_HOME in your System environment variables.


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