How do I redirect from Apache to Tomcat?

Question

I'm working on my first Java site. I'm running Apache Tomcat on port 8080, and Apache HTTPD on port 80. The current URL that I can access the site at is (for example) 123.4.5.6:8080. I want to remove the port number from the URL before I point the domain at the new IP.

At the moment I am only using Apache for phpmyadmin, however I plan on using it for CGI scripts and other stuff once I figure out mod_jk etc... So I don't want to change Tomcat's port to 80 and turn off Apache.

I hope this makes sense.

Answer 1

The correct way to do things is to leave Apache at 80 and Tomcat at 8080 and use a plug in (preferably mod_proxy) to proxy Tomcat from Apache. mod_proxy would only take you 10 minutes to set up.

This how-to is very simple to follow.

Answer 2

The usual way this is done, as you already mentioned, is to use mod_jk from Apache HTTPD to forward that content that you want to be processed by Tomcat.

There is a Quick HowTo at tomcat.apache.org. You need to do the following:

• Copy mod_jk.so into the appropriate modules directory for Apache HTTPD.
• Create a configuration file workers.properties
• In Apache HTTPD's httpd.conf, add a section to configure mod_jk.
• Ensure that Tomcat is configured to accept the mod_jk protocol, which is usually on port 8009.

The lines in httpd.conf with JkMount:

JkMount  /examples/* worker1

tell Apache HTTPD which requests are to be forwarded to Tomcat.

Answer 3

Both the helpful answers above are good, but I much prefer mod_proxy over mod_jk. There's no extra installation to do for mod_proxy, unlike mod_jk, and the setup is much easier. mod_jk gives you more control over detailed tuning of Tomcat parameters, but if you just want a simple redirect from Apache to Tomcat, mod_proxy is the way to go.