How to Install and Set Up Apache Tomcat on Windows

Apache Tomcat is a free and open-source web server written in the Java program language. It implements the Jakarta Servlet, Jakarta Expression Language, and Web Socket technologies. In this article, you will learn How to Install and Set Up Apache Tomcat on Windows. While Tomcat is not a full JEE server, it is a java web application server. Developed by the community of developers under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation, Tomcat is released under the Apache License 2.0 license. You can install Apache Tomcat in two different ways. Both two methods to install Apache Tomcat on Windows will be explained.

In order to install Apache Tomcat on Windows, you will need to have an already running Windows VPS.

Prerequisites to Install Apache Tomcat on Windows

To let this tutorial works correctly, provide the options below and move on.

• A non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK) installed and configured.

Note: Since there are different versions of Apache Tomcat available for different versions of the specifications, have a look at the below image to determine your required Java Version.

In this guide, we are going to Install Apache Tomcat 10 on Windows.

Tutorial Install and Set Up Apache Tomcat on Windows

Previously, you reviewed the required steps to install Tomcat on CentOS. Stay with us to Install Tomcat on Windows step by step. Let’s go through this guide and learn how to install and set up Apache Tomcat on Windows.

Step 1: Download Tomcat

Open your favorite browser and navigate to the Official Apache Tomcat Website to download the latest Tomcat Version. As you see, you can choose it on the left menu.

Then, by scrolling down to the Binary Distribution area, click the download link for the Windows Service Installer or the 32bit/64bit Windows zip file.

from now on, you can continue the installation process in two different methods. If you have chosen the Windows Service Installer, it will be going like this:

Step 2: Install Tomcat Using the Windows Service Installer

If you prefer to use the Windows Service Installer to install Apache Tomcat on Windows, follow the path below. When you open the Downloaded Windows Service Installer, click the Next button to let the installation begin as you see below.

Then, Read and Agree to the License to continue.

In the installation components windows, select the dropdown menu and select Full. In this way, the Tomcat server, start menu items, examples, admin interface, and documentation tools will be installed.

Now, it is time to set up the configure settings. The Tomcat server. For example, you can enter the Administrator login credentials such as username and password, or choose a different connection port to customize it to the port you consider. Also, you can name the Tomcat service or leave the default.

Next, you need to enter the full path to the JRE directory. However, it will be completed automatically if the Java environment variables are already set. When you are finished, click Next to move on.

In the next step, you need to choose the Tomcat server install location. Also, you can keep the default. Finally, click Install and continue.

When the installation is finished, check the Run Apache Tomcat box to start the service. If you desire to see the Readme file, check the Show Readme box. Click Finish to complete the installation.

When the popup window shows up, it means that the Tomcat service is being started. After that, it will be closed automatically. Now, you’re all set and the Apache web server must have been successfully installed.

Step 3: Install Apache Tomcat Using the zip Archive

As we mentioned, there are two methods to install Apache Tomcat on Windows. the second method you can use to Install Apache Tomcat on Windows is using the zip Archive. Depending on your Windows version, you download the 32bit/64bit Windows zip file. Then, unzip the downloaded file, Right-click the file, and select Extract all…

Define where the archive’s contents should be extracted. We advise extracting it to the hard drive’s root for simpler navigation. The directory can optionally have a shorter name to make server configuration easier in the future. To begin the procedure, click Extract.

Then, navigate to the conf sub-directory within the extracted directory and locate the server.xml file. The connection port’s default value is 8080. Locate the following lines in the server.xml file using a text editor like Notepad++ in order to select a different port:

<Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1"
           connectionTimeout="20000"
           redirectPort="8443" />

Next, change the connector port number to any number between 1024 and 65535.

Locate the web.xml file in the conf directory, then update the file using a text editor to allow directory browsing. Directory searching is useful for system testing, and occasionally it can fix a 403 prohibited issue.

Locate the following lines and change the listings value from false to true:

<servlet>
  <servlet-name>default</servlet-name>
  <servlet-class>org.apache.catalina.servlets.DefaultServlet</servlet-class>
  <init-param>
    <param-name>debug</param-name>
    <param-value>0</param-value>
  </init-param>
  <init-param>
    <param-name>listings</param-name>
    <param-value>false</param-value>
  </init-param>
  <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

Edit the context.xml file to include an auto-reload feature. Above all, auto-reload is helpful during development to avoid manually restarting the server after each update. Use your favorite text editor and open the context.xml file. Locate the following line and change the value from false to true in each instance:

<Context reloadable="false" crossContext="false" parallelAnnotationScanning="false">
   ......
   ......
</Context>

Start the server after making the changes. Cmd can be entered by pressing the Windows key. Enter will bring up a Command Prompt window. Then, navigate to your Tomcat server’s bin directory and execute:

startup

Next, you need to add an exception for Tomcat in the firewall. There’s a new Tomcat console window now. The Java servlets’ system.out.println() and error messages are sent to this console.

Use a web browser as an HTTP client to connect to the server. To test the server, go to http://localhost:8080 and visit the Tomcat welcome page. To learn more about the server and to get started using and configuring it, follow the Developer Quick Start pages.

When you decide to shut down the Tomcat server, you just need to press Ctrl+C on the Tomcat console.

How to verify Apache Tomcat is running

So far, you learned how to install and set up Apache Tomcat on Windows. When the installation process is finished successfully, and you viewed the recently mentioned Apache Tomcat page, you are ready to check if Apache Tomcat Service is running.

If you have done the installation by the first method, the Windows Service installer, tomcat must run on boot automatically as a Windows service. So, continue reading to make sure that tomcat is started as a Windows service:

To do this, open the Start men and search for Services and Select the Services result. Look for the Apache Tomcat service in the Services pane. The Status column shows whether the service is active or not. Using the toolbar buttons or the Stop or Restart buttons on the left side of the service list, you can start or stop the service.

Right-clicking the Tomcat service and choosing Properties will allow you to configure the service startup.

java --version

Conclusion

In this article, you learned How to Install and Set Up Apache Tomcat on Windows. You reviewed two different methods to install Apache Tomcat on Windows, and then you learned how to configure it. If you follow the above steps properly then you can smoothly install Apache Tomcat on without any errors. But if you encounter any problems, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our technical support team will try their best to solve your problems.