SWE 432 Servlet Deployment Instructions

10/27/2008

Please tell me if you find any errors or omissions in the document. -JO

The ISE department provides an application server for servlets and JSPs (apps-swe432), and you should use apps-swe432 as your "target deployment computer". This server supports J2SE with the open-source platform Tomcat. The server is called apps-swe432 and is part of the Hermes Cluster. I will use the name apps-swe432 in the course and in this page. This page presents step-by-step instructions to deploy your Servlets and JSPs to the Tomcat application server on apps-swe432. The server is behind the IT&E fire wall. Therefore, you will need to use the Virtual Private Network (VPN) application to access it from outside the off-campus. Or, you can access it directly in the Computer Lab in the IT&E lab in S&T II room 137.

If you are using the computer lab, the steps are straightforward and you can skip to the "Deploy and Test" section.


Connecting to apps-swe432

To access the server and deploy your code from outside the firewall, you need to follow these steps:

  1. Review the information provided about the VPN tool from https://access.ite.gmu.edu/vpn/.
  2. Follow the "Setup Instructions" to install the VPN tool on your computer. (This takes about 5 minutes.)
  3. Run the VPN tool as described in the instuctions. Yuu will need your GMU email username and password. Once connected, your computer will be given an IP address that will connect it to the network within the IT&E fire wall.
  4. Connect to the apps-swe432.ite.gmu.edu server using SSH or SCP.
  5. For a complete walkthrough of setting up OpenVPN (and SSH) on Windows XP go to http://labs.ite.gmu.edu/reference/ITE-vpn.html
  6. Please Note: If you disconnect the VPN tool, or the connection times out, your SSH or SCP session will be lost. Therefore SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN.

Deploy and Test Servlet

Now that you are connected to the server, you can deploy and test your code. The server can accept many different formats, including WAR and .class. The rest of these instructions assume you are deploying a simple .class file. To deploy your Servlet, follow these steps:

  1. Write your servlet to belong to a package belonging to your GMU username. For example, I would add the command:
    package offutt;
    to my servlet. When compiling with javac, you will need to compile from "above" the directory:
    javac offutt/Hello.java.
  2. Make a directory for your Java class package under /apps/tomcat/swe432/WEB-INF/classes. Note: Use your GMU username as a name for the package.
  3. Use the SSH Secure File Transfer Client (sftP) to copy your class files to the folder you just created.
  4. Test your servlet using the following URL:
  5. NOTE: make sure that your files are readable.

Additional Notes

NOTE, never ever do this:

   try
   {
      ... ...
   } catch(Exception e){
      System.out.println(e.getMessage());
      System.exit(0);
   }

The servlet is running inside Tomcat, so this will cause Tomcat to exit. All of your classmates will be very angry!


References

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