Administering Apache Tomcat Training

Apache Tomcat Training Outline

• Introduction
• Overview of the Apache Software Foundation and the Jakarta Project
• Overview of Java EE as a platform
• Overview of the features and functionality specifically provided by Tomcat
• Installing Tomcat
• Installing the Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
• Tweaking the JRE for performance
• Performing the actual Tomcat installation
• Examining the Tomcat installation directories
• bin
• conf
• common (Tomcat 5.5 and earlier)
• lib (Tomcat 6 and later)
• logs
• server (Tomcat 5.5 and earlier)
• shared (Tomcat 5.5 and earlier)
• temp
• webapps
• work
• Configuring Tomcat
• server.xml (detailed walkthrough)
• web.xml
• context.xml
• Tomcat Valves
• AccessLog and FastCommonAccessLog
• RequestFilterValve
• SingleSignOnValve (by request)
• RequestDumperValve (by request)
• Memory management and JMX monitoring
• Understanding Java garbage collection
• Using JAVA_OPTS, JMX and JConsole to monitor and tune Tomcat memory usage
• Sizing Tomcat's JVM memory heap
• Using JMX and JConsole to configure Tomcat via Tomcat's MBeans
• Updating Tomcat's configuration via JMX "on the fly" without restarting Tomcat
• Load testing with JMeter
• Using VisualVM (new monitoring tool built into JDK 6) and PSI Probe
• Controlling JMX MBeans via Ant
• Logging
• JULI logging
• log4j logging
• Understanding exceptions and thread dumps
• Connecting databases with Tomcat applications
• Classic JDBC approach
• Better approach: JNDI resources
• Setting up and monitoring database connection pools
• Security
• File system security
• Java security manager
• Realms, authentication, and authorization
• SSL
• Performance tuning strategies
• Additional JVM tuning tips
• Enabling parallel garbage collection
• Building native connectors
• Disabling/removing unneeded applications
• Tuning incoming connections and database connection pools
• Turning off Jasper development mode
• Precompiling JSPs
• Preloading servlets
• Tomcat 7 New Features [optional]
• Memory leak prevention and detection
• Servlet 3.0, JSP 2.2, and EL 2.2 support (and the practical implications of this for Tomcat admins)
• Cross-site request forgery prevention (and how to configure)
• How Tomcat 7's new session management features prevent session fixation attacks
• Alias support (which allow static content to be stored outside the WAR file)
• Running Tomcat behind Apache httpd or IIS [this section would be taught using your web server and connector module of choice]
• Why run Tomcat behind Apache httpd or IIS?
• Installing  mod_jk (Apache httpd or IS) or mod_proxy_ajp and mod_proxy_balancer (Apache httpd 2.2 or later only)
• Proxying traffic to Tomcat via AJP
• Monitoring the status of your web server’s connection to Tomcat
• Load balancing Tomcat via mod_jk or mod_proxy_balancer
• Tomcat Clustering
• Configuring mod_jk (in Apache or IIS) or mod_proxy_balancer (Apache 2.2 or later only) as a load balancer
• Hardware load balancing as an alternative to software load balancing
• Sticky sessions
• Configuring a shared session back-end
• FileStore/JDBCStore (older approach, generally not recommended)
• Using the <Cluster /> tag
• Configuring the application to be distributable
• Setting up and testing failover
• Conclusion