Editing the Tomcat Server Configuration File

See Also

The main configuration file for Tomcat is the server.xml file. It provides configuration information for Tomcat components and specifies deployment information for the server. For simple web modules, editing the server.xml file is not necessary because the IDE makes the necessary changes automatically. Most edits to the server configuration file can be achieved by editing the properties for the Tomcat server node and for the WEB-INF nodes, or by using menu commands in the Runtime window and the Filesystems window.

Editing is usually necessary only for advanced configuration, such as setting up authentication based on JNDI or database lookups. For more information about configuring Tomcat, see http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-5.0-doc/config/index.html.

The server.xml file can be in one of two places. Typically, you edit the server.xml file that is in the tomcat-installation-dir/conf directory. However, if the server node's property sheet shows a base directory path that is different from the home directory path, then you must edit the server.xml file that is in the base-dir/conf directory.

Be aware that you hand-edit the server.xml file at your own risk; the IDE cannot repair a damaged server.xml file. You are strongly encouraged to create a backup version of your working server.xml file before beginning to edit by hand.
See Also
Tomcat Instance Node
Tomcat Instance Property Sheet
Tomcat Context Descriptor Node

Legal Notices