Upgrading Tomcat to a newer patch version

Introduction

AppsAnywhere recommends that Apache Tomcat is updated to the latest patch version available for security concerns. For example, if Cloudpaging Server installs with Tomcat version 8.5.1, it is recommended to upgrade to version 8.5.x for the latest stable patch that Apache has released for version 8.5. 

When upgrading, Tomcat must be manually installed and configured on all servers running Cloudpaging Server. This article, provides the steps to upgrade from Tomcat 8.5.42 to Tomcat 8.5.55 as an example. Please substitute the versions with the ones upgrading from and to.

The steps on this article, only applies to Cloudpaging Server 9.2 and above.

• Customers should complete this process internally

• It is recommended to upgrade Cloudpaging Server to the Latest Release before upgrading Tomcat as that version will be compatible with the newer versions (e.g. 9.0) of Tomcat.

Obtaining the latest Tomcat Installer

The Tomcat installer can be downloaded from the Apache Tomcat site at https://tomcat.apache.org under the download section, install the 32-bit/64-bit Windows Service installer.
Please validate the hash when downloading the installer.  

Removing the Tomcat8 service

The Tomcat upgrade should be performed on one server at a time to prevent service interruption

First, remove the default Tomcat service so it does not conflict with the service installed during the newer Tomcat installation.

1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Depending on your version, navigate to the Tomcat8.exe directory:  

   CODE

   cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.XX\bin\"

3. Enter the following command to remove the Tomcat service: 

   CODE

   Tomcat8.exe //DS//Tomcat8

4. Open services.msc and verify the default Apache Tomcat8 service is no longer present.

5. Close the command prompt.

The default Tomcat service is installed during the tomcat installation. If a pre-existing Tomcat service is installed then the new Tomcat service cannot be installed and the install will fail, therefore the service needs to be uninstalled before running the installer. Cloudpaging Server does not use this service and it can safely be removed if not used elsewhere.

Installing Tomcat 8.5.x

Follow the steps below to install Tomcat using the installer.

1. Run the downloaded installer

2. Accept the EULA

3. At the Choose Components screen, Uncheck everything but the Tomcat Core component as in the screenshot below

   

4. Keep the default values and click Next > at the Configuration screen.

   

5. At the Java Virtual Machine screen, enter the following path:

   1. If on Cloudpaging 9.4.X and below, the file path will look something like this:
      C:\Program Files (x86)\AdoptOpenJDK\jre-8.0.202.08

   2. If on Cloudpaging 9.5.X and above, the file path will look something like this:
      C:\Program Files (x86)\Eclipse Foundation\jre-8.0.302.8-hotspot

      

6. When asked to choose the install location, enter C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.XX and click Install:

   

7. At the Completing Apache Tomcat Setup screen, uncheck Run Apache Tomcat and click Finish

   

Updating the Cloudpaging Server Configuration

Once Tomcat 8.5.x has been installed, the Cloudpaging Server configuration must be updated to use the new Tomcat version. 

1. Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to the following registry key: 
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Apache Software Foundation\Procrun 2.0\JukeboxServer\Parameters\Java

2. Edit the following registry value:

   • Value Name: Classpath

   • Value Type: REG_SZ

   • Value Data:  Modify any mentions of the path for the Tomcat install to reflect the new path.
     (Example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.55\bin\bootstrap.jar;C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.55\bin\tomcat-juli.jar;C:\Program Files (x86)\Numecent\Application Jukebox Server\mssql-jdbc-7.2.1.jre8.jar)

     Note: Classpath contains two path mentions for Tomcat

     

3. Edit the following registry value:

   • Value Name: Options

   • Value Type: REG_MULTI_SZ

   • Value Data: Modify the -Dcatalina.home line to reflect the new Tomcat install path
     (Example: Dcatalina.home=C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.55\)

4. Then, navigate to the following registry key and edit the value below: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\JukeboxServer

   • Value Name: ImagePath

   • Value Type: REG_EXPAND_SZ

   • Value Data: Modify the path to Tomcat to reflect the new location
     (Example: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.55\bin\tomcat8.exe" //RS//JukeboxServer)

     

5. Restart Cloudpaging Server by using the Services MMC

Configuration Verification for updated Tomcat use

To verify that Cloudpaging Server is using the new Tomcat, take a look at the core_service.log file located in <Cloudpaging Server installation directory>\core\logs\core_service.log (default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Numecent\Application Jukebox Server\core\logs). You should see the following lines if you have successfully configured Cloudpaging Server to use the new Tomcat (8.5.55 is the upgrade version in the example below).

Configuration: catalina.home: C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.55 

Tomcat File Cleanup

1. After you verify Cloudpaging Server is using the new Tomcat install, remove the old Tomcat install directory.  
   (i.e. C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.42)

2. Remove the default ....webapps\ROOT subfolder as well since it is not used (C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\tomcat-8.5.55\webapps\ROOT)