virtual_tomcat_home

[mrudmann]

Group,
I am getting rmiAuthentication exceptions and avmRemote exceptions when I startup alfresco after a build form the fresh svn as of last evening.

Is this a configuration issue?  I was wondering if virtual_tomcat_home has anything to do with this.  I currently don't really have it pointed to anything.  I saw this in the wiki, but wasn't sure what I needed to do with it.

Is it absolutely necessary to have virtual_tomcat_home setup?  Could this be causing my startup errors (or hidden build problems - even though the build appeared clean)?


fyi - I am a community network user - not an enterprise user.  does this have anything to do with the authentication assumptions made in the svn?

Thanks!
-Matt

[jcox]

Prior to build:

[0]  Set  the VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME environment variable
       to point at your virtulization server's home.   For example, on
      Windows my VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME is c:/alfresco/virtual-tomcat
       (and my TOMCAT_HOME is c:/alfrseco/tomcat).

       The build places sevderal important files in VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME,
       including things that configure AVMRemote/RMI & permissions.
       The VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME must be a valid tomcat installation,
       and it must not be the same as your TOMCAT_HOME.

[1]   Stop tomcat.

[2]  rm  $VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME/conf/alfresco-*

[3]   Get rid of old logfiles & 'work' dirs to avoid confusion.

[4]   Get rid of any previously expanded alfresco.war file:
        rm -rf  $TOMCAT_HOME/webapps/alfresco


Now build and run the tomcat that hosts Alfresco's webapp again.
If all is well, you're set.

If this does not work for you, be aware that the backing store has
changed over time, so you might want to try stopping everything,
deleting your  backing store, doing a drop/create on the alfresco
database, then walking through steps 1-4 again.

[dcrossma]

Couple of questions

1. do I need to use the ant script to build my VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME ? for an older version without WCM  I would only run the a build_war target that I created and then I would manually copy the war doing a hot deploy to an already existing 
tomcat. This worked fine… can I do something similiar with WCM. what are the files that are placed in the VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME

2. If I cant… what order should the targets be run ?

3. is it possible to run alfresco without the VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME running ie turn off WCM as it is not needed by us.

regards Dave

[jcox]

There were some server changes that may have temporarily
broken remote clients (including the virtualization server).
A checkin was done this afternoon to fix the situation.

That said, here are the answers to your questions:

[1]  $VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME is the location of an instance of
tomcat that is devoted to virtualization.   The ant-based build
places certain files in this instance of tomcat that are vital
for its proper function.   You must install this instance of
tomcat and set  VIRTUAL_TOMCAT_HOME=<wherever-it-lives>
*prior* to doing your and-based build.   Put another way,
the ant build does not comile the instance of tomcat devoted
to virtualization — merely a few critial libs & config files that
are placed into it.

[2]  Just follow the instructions in [1],  go to the root/common
and  type  "ant".   No special targets.

[3]  Yes.   Typically, when you compile the source code, you have
both the virtualization server and the tomcat devoted to running
the Alfresco webapp turned off.   It's more important to have the
tomcat runing the Alfresco turned off so you can safely delete the
expanded .war file prior to the compile  (thus ensuring a fairly
context-free build).  If you want a totally context-free build, look
at my earlier post and walk through steps [0]-[4], in order.


I hope this helps!
    –Jon