Installing the HTTP Module for Tomcat

This topic describes how to install the HTTP session management module for Tomcat.

1. If you have not already installed Tomcat, download the desired version from the Apache Website and install it.

2. Following the Apache Tomcat convention, this page assumes the CATALINA_HOME environment variable is set to the root directory of the “binary” Tomcat distribution. For example, if Apache Tomcat is installed in /usr/bin/apache-tomcat-9.0.62 then

   CATALINA_HOME=/usr/bin/apache-tomcat-9.0.62
   

   Define $CATALINA_HOME if it is not already defined.

3. For development purposes, you may find it helpful to establish manager-level access to Tomcat. To do so, edit the file $CATALINA_HOME/conf/tomcat-users.xml. Uncomment the following line, and replace the <must-be-changed> placeholder with a password of your own choosing:

     <user username="admin" password="<must-be-changed>" roles="manager-gui"/>
   

   This creates an admin/password credential you can use to view system information when following links from the Tomcat home page.

4. The HTTP Session Management Module for Tomcat is included in the Tanzu GemFire installation package. After you install VMware Tanzu GemFire, you will find the module in the tools/Modules directory of the installation with a name of the form Apache_Geode_Modules-SERVER-VERSION-Tomcat.zip, where SERVER-VERSION is the VMware Tanzu GemFire version number.

5. Set your current working directory to the $CATALINA_HOME directory (or wherever you installed the application server) and unzip the HTTP Session Management Module. This adds jar files to the lib subdirectory and XML files to the conf subdirectory.

   cd $CATALINA_HOME
   unzip $GEODE_HOME/tools/Modules/Apache_Geode_Modules-SERVER-VERSION-Tomcat.zip
   

6. Copy all of the jar files from the Tanzu GemFire lib subdirectory to the lib subdirectory of your Tomcat server ($CATALINA_HOME/lib):

   cd $CATALINA_HOME/lib
   cp $GEODE_HOME/lib/*.jar .
   

Proceed to Setting Up the HTTP Module for Tomcat to complete your Tomcat configuration.