Professional Apache Tomcat 6

Chapter 11. Tomcat and Apache HTTP Server

A typical scenario in production environments is to use Tomcat along with a Web server. In this scenario, the Web server is used as a frontend to Tomcat. The Web server serves all static content and Tomcat serves all dynamic content. Tomcat does have its own built-in HTTP server, but some administrators managing large Web server farms may insist on using a well-known and robust Web server to accept requests from the Internet. A number of Web servers can be used for this purpose (including Apache, IIS, and Netscape). This chapter describes the process of connecting the Apache Web server to Tomcat.

Tomcat can be integrated with Apache using the JK Connector. This chapter explains how to install and configure this Connector. The JK Connector uses the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP) for communication between Tomcat and the Apache Web server.

The following topics are covered in this chapter:

• The AJP (Apache JServ Protocol) Connector and the JK module (mod_jk module)

• The AJP Connector and the mod_proxy module

• Configuring Tomcat 6 with Apache 1.3.x using mod_jk

• Configuring Tomcat 6 with Apache 2.0.x using mod_jk

• Configuring Tomcat 6 with Apache 2.2.x using mod_proxy

• Configuration of SSL for Apache 2.2.x servers

• Load balancing multiple Tomcat instances with Apache

Each of the 1.3.x, 2.0.x, and 2.2.x series of the Apache server has slightly different architecture and feature sets. A later version does not necessarily displace another, and each version has its ...