11. Connecting Apache and Tomcat using mod_jk2
Since (for some odd reason) some network managers allow outgoing web connections only to TCP port 80, there might be people around that cannot access your Tomcat (and MMBase) server through port 8080. You can install a JK 2 mapping or a reverse proxy in Apache, so Tomcat and MMBase can be accessed through the Apache web server at port 80. Apart from the port issue, this has the advantage that you can use Apache to manage you SSL connections and use your existing Apache logs and statistics facilities for Tomcat and MMBase as well.
Here we describe the installation and configuration of the JK 2 Connector connecting Apache and Tomcat. In this way, Tomcat paths can be mapped into Apache.
>From the JK 2 Connector website (http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-4.1-doc/config/jk2.html):
" The JK 2 Connector element represents a Connector component that communicates with a web connector via the AJP protocol. This is used for cases where you wish to invisibly integrate Tomcat 4 into an existing (or new) Apache installation, and you want Apache to handle the static content contained in the web application, and/or utilize Apache's SSL processing. In many application environments, this will result in better overall performance than running your applications under Tomcat stand-alone using the HTTP/1.1 Connector. However, the only way to know for sure whether it will provide better performance for your application is to try it both ways. "
If you will only be needing a simple configuration-- typically a single Tomcat server sitting on the same system as your Apache server-- Apache reverse proxies might be an easier solution for you. Although these are simpler in terms of the interconnection features, reverse proxies provide more flexibility in fiddling with your paths and other options. The configuration of Apache reverse proxies is described in the next section.
However, if you plan to build or grow to a farm of several Tomcat servers behind an Apache front-end or build a high-performance system deploying the JK 2 Connector is the way to go.
Download the sources of the JK 2 Connector from the Apache Jakarta website:
http://jakarta.apache.org/site/sourceindex.cgi |
Extract and compile the JK 2 Connector:
tar -zxvf jakarta-tomcat-connectors-jk2-src-xxx.tar.gz
cd jakarta-tomcat-connectors-jk2-src/jk/native2/
./configure \
--with-apxs2=/usr/local/apache/bin/apxs
make
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Make sure your $JAVA_HOME environment variable is set and the Java binaries are in your $PATH or add this option to your ./configure command:
--with-java-home=/usr/local/j2sdk |
Copy the module files mod_jk2.so and jkjni.so to the modules/ directory of Apache:
cp -i ../build/jk2/apache2/*.so /usr/local/apache/modules/ chmod 755 /usr/local/apache/modules/mod_jk2.so chown root:root /usr/local/apache/modules/mod_jk2.so chmod 755 /usr/local/apache/modules/jkjni.so chown root:root /usr/local/apache/modules/jkjni.so libtool --finish /usr/local/apache/modules |
Copy the sample configuration file workers2.properties to the configuration directory of Apache:
cp -i ../../jk/conf/workers2.properties /usr/local/apache/conf/ chown root:root /usr/local/apache/conf/workers2.properties chmod 644 /usr/local/apache/conf/workers2.properties |
and adjust it to your own needs.
Here is a simple configuration that should get you up and running:
[logger]
# outcomment this in production use
level=DEBUG
[config:]
file=${serverRoot}/conf/workers2.properties
debug=0
debugEnv=0
[uriMap:]
info=Maps the requests. Options: debug
debug=1
[shm:]
info=Scoreboard. Required for reconfiguration and status with multiprocess servers
file=${serverRoot}/logs/jk2.shm
size=1000000
debug=0
disabled=0
[workerEnv:]
info=Global server options
timing=1
debug=0
[status:]
info=Status worker, displays runtime informations
[uri:<hostname>/jkstatus/*]
info=Display status information and checks the config file for changes.
group=status:
[channel.socket:localhost:8009]
info=Ajp13 forwarding over socket
# Define the worker
[ajp13:localhost:8009]
channel=channel.socket:localhost:8009
[uri:<hostname>/mmbase-webapp/*]
info=MMBase
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Most of this configuration is pretty standard. The last uri declaration (replace <hostname> with your hostname) is what this is all about; it maps all client requests starting with /mmbase-webapp/ from Apache to your Tomcat server.
 | When we made a virtual host mapping, somehow the general mappings no longer worked for this virtual host (other virtual hosts on the same IP address had no problem at all). We had to explicitly add the general mappings for this virtual host to make these work again. A bug? Or a consequence of the way Apache implements name based virtual hosts? |
So now, the same application you accessed through Tomcat as (replace <hostname> with your hostname):
http://<hostname>:8080/mmbase-webapp/ |
will be available through Apache as:
http://<hostname>/mmbase-webapp/ |
 | Only name based virtual hosts are supported this way. Make sure you add the virtual host name (pointing to this very same (web) server) to the /etc/hosts file (replace <hostname> with your hostname):
or things will not work (running DNS is not sufficient here!). |
If your Apache installation is serving only a single website, you can leave out the hostname:
[uri:/mmbase-webapp/*] info=MMBase |
which will serve the mapped /mmbase-webapp/ directory on every address and site of your Apache installation.
| Using JK Connector version 2, all configuration settings will be in the workers2.properties file. Even though Tomcat comes with its own JK 2 configuration file /usr/local/tomcat/conf/jk2.properties, there's no need to edit this as long as you stick with the standard port 8009. If you do have to edit this file (for example when changing the port), make sure that you do it when your Tomcat server is not running; the file is auto-edited by Tomcat itself. |
After adding the mod_jk2 module to your Apache configuration (in the file /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf or in a new file jk2.conf in the Apache configuration directory /etc/httpd/conf.d):
# Load mod_jk2 module LoadModule jk2_module modules/mod_jk2.so |
chown root:root /etc/httpd/conf.d/jk2.conf chmod 644 /etc/httpd/conf.d/jk2.conf |
you can now restart Apache and give your new entrance a try: (replace <hostname> with your hostname):
http://<hostname>/mmbase-webapp/ |
To check the status of the JK 2 Connector (replace <hostname> with your hostname):
http://<hostname>/jkstatus/ |
 | You can reread the configuration in /usr/local/apache/conf/workers2.properties by (re)loading the page. This allows you to add new mappings without restarting Apache or having it reload its configuration. However, existing mappings can not be removed this way and require Apache te reconfigure. Although it's also possible to place the JK 2 configurations (in a slightly different form) in your Apache configuration file, this is a good reason to stick with the workers2.properties setup. |
| To protect access to the page, add an authentication declaration to the Apache configuration. For example:
This will prompt for a login from a user from the admin group. |
In case of any problems, check the JK 2 Connector log messages that will be written to your Apache error_log.
| In case the JK 2 Connector has difficulties connecting to Tomcat, check whether Tomcat is indeed available on port 8009:
|
Access requests mapping to Tomcat will be logged in the access_log's and error_log's of Apache.
For more information on the workers2.properties configuration, check the documentation at:
http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-4.1-doc/jk2/jk2/configwebcom.html |
There you will read about setting up more (remote) Tomcat workers, grouping these together in load-balancing pools, setting up RPC channels, using Unix sockets, using the Java Native Interface (JNI) to interconnect with Tomcat directly (in-process), setting up alternative loggers, and optimizing your time-outs.
| Apache is far more efficient than Tomcat in serving ordinary content files. You could have both the Apache and Tomcat document directories point to the same directory on your filesystem and only forward requests for JSP pages and Java Servlets. For example (in workers2.conf):
However, now you need to protect Tomcat's WEB-INF/ directories (and other directories and files you don't want visitors to have access to) from being served by Apache. For example (in Apache's httpd.conf):
Also, realize that a setup like this bypasses any security constraints you may have configured in the file /usr/local/tomcat/webapps/examples/WEB-INF/web.xml. |
You can find more general information about the JK 2 Connector at:
http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-4.1-doc/jk2/ |