Configuring Tomcat for Jasper Server Best Practices

Products

• CA Service Desk Manager
• CA Service Management - Service Desk Manager

Issue/Introduction

The following are best practises when configuring Tomcat for use with Jasper Server.  

In the Jasper documentation, there will be references to the "application server".  This terminology is defined as your Tomcat installation that is part of your Jasper installation.  

This article supplements existing instructions to configure Tomcat as part of a Jasper installation

Environment

CA Service Management 17.3 and higher

Resolution

During the installation of Jasper, you will be instructed to create a new Jasper service from which Tomcat will run as follows from the Tomcat install directory's bin directory, or CATALINA_HOME\bin:

tomcat8.exe //IS//jasperreportsTomcat --DisplayName="Apache Tomcat 8.5 jasperreportsTomcat" --Install="<Tomcat Install Directory>\bin\tomcat8.exe" --Jvm=auto --StartMode=jvm --StopMode=jvm --StartClass=org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap --StartParams=start --StopClass=org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap --StopParams=stop

Please be aware that Tomcat MUST be configured with the service name as "jasperreportsTomcat".  This value cannot be configured any other way as the Service Management integration components will be looking specifically for the Apache Tomcat service that is identified as "jasperreportsTomcat".  If there are any other Tomcat services defined in the Jasper Server, please disable them, allowing only the "jasperreportsTomcat" to remain accessible.

To review the configuration of the above service, please run this command as follows from the Tomcat install directory's bin directory, or CATALINA_HOME\bin:

tomcat8w.exe //ES//jasperreportsTomcat

Go through each tab and configure as follows:

General Tab:

Log On Tab:

Logging Tab:

Java Tab:

Java Virtual Machine:
<JDK Install directory>\bin\server\jvm.dll

Java Classpath:
<Tomcat Install Directory>\bin\bootstrap.jar;<Tomcat Install Directory>\bin\tomcat-juli.jar;<JDK Install directory>\lib\tools.jar

Java Options:
-Djs.license.directory=C:\Users\Administrator
-Dcatalina.home=<Tomcat Install Directory>
-Dcatalina.base=<Tomcat Install Directory>
-Djava.io.tmpdir=<Tomcat Install Directory>\temp
-Djava.util.logging.manager=org.apache.juli.ClassLoaderLogManager
-Djava.util.logging.config.file=<Tomcat Install Directory>\conf\logging.properties

Java 9 Options:
--add-opens=java.base/java.lang=ALL-UNNAMED
--add-opens=java.base/java.io=ALL-UNNAMED
--add-opens=java.rmi/sun.rmi.transport=ALL-UNNAMED
-Xdebug
-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,address=9999,server=y,suspend=n

Initial Memory Pool:  1024
Maximum Memory Pool:  2048
Thread Stack Size:  2000

Startup Tab:

Class:  org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap

Working Path:  <Tomcat Install Directory>

Shutdown Tab:

Class:  org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap

Working Path:  <Tomcat Install Directory>

Additional Information

Make sure to go through ALL of the above tabs and compare the screencaps depicted above with your own implementation.  When creating the Tomcat service initially, the above tabs will largely be left blank and missing the key entries across all tabs will result in Tomcat being unusable and unable to start unless the above settings are addressed.

The above commands are specific to Tomcat 8.5 implementations.  Tomcat 9 will use a binary value of tomcat9.exe and tomcat9w.exe

Do not rely on environment variables to define the locations for <Tomcat Install Directory> or <JDK Install Directory>.  Spell out the directory locations in the above fields.