Deploying the help system on Apache Tomcat

If you did not install the product on the server where you are deploying the help, you can deploy the help on Apache Tomcat application server.

Before you begin
  • The server that you configure the help content on must be available to your users behind the firewall.
  • A help.war file is on your server.
    • If the product that you are configuring the help for is installed on the server, a help.war file might be installed already.
      • Look in the installation_directory/help directory for the help.war file.
      • Look for a version of the file that includes the product abbreviation, such as clmhelp.war or ramhelp.war
      • Search your installation directory for *help.war.
    • If the product is not installed on the server or the product did not include a help.war file, download a version of the help.war file.
  • Install and configure Apache Tomcat.
    Learn more about installing and configuring Apache Tomcat
    1. Install a Java™ Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK). You can install one of the IBM® developer kits.
    2. Set an environment variable with the path to the JRE or JDK:
      • If you installed a JRE, create a JRE_HOME environment variable and set the value to the path of the directory where you installed the JRE; for example:
        • Windows: C:\Program Files\Java70\jre
        • linux: /usr/local/java70/jre
      • If you installed a JDK, create a JAVA_HOME environment variable and set the value to the path of the directory where you installed the JDK; for example:
        • Windows: C:\Program Files\Java70
        • linux: /usr/local/java70/
    3. Download the Apache Tomcat server application.
    4. Extract the compressed Apache Tomcat archive.
    5. Move the extracted folder to a permanent location. This location is referred to as CATALINA_HOME; for example: C:\apache-tomcat-version
    6. Create a CATALINA_HOME environment variable and set the value to the CATALINA_HOME directory; for example: C:\apache-tomcat-version
    7. Add a server administrator user to the CATALINA_HOME/conf/tomcat-users.xml file and save the changes; for example:

      <role rolename="manager-gui"/> <user username="admin" password="admin" roles="manager-gui"/>

    8. Open the CATALINA_HOME/bin directory start the Apache Tomcat server by running the startup file. The name of the file differs depending on your operating system.
      • Windows: startup.bat
      • linux: startup.sh

      Apache Tomcat is running when the information message in a command-line utility is Server Startup in number ms.

Procedure

To deploy the help.war file:

  1. In a browser, enter the following URL to open the Tomcat Manager application: http://localhost:8080/manager/html
  2. Enter the user name and password.
  3. In the Deploy > WAR file to deploy section, click Choose file.
  4. Select the help.war file.
  5. Click Deploy. The help.war file is deployed, started, and included in the Applications section. The help.war file is also copied to the CATALINA_HOME/webapps directory.
  6. Verify that you can access the help system by adding help/index.jsp to the end of your server application URL where help is the name of your .war file. For example: http://localhost:8080/help/index.jsp.
    Note:
    • The help system might not contain help content yet. Next, install the documentation into the help system.
    • If your help system is deployed on the same Apache Tomcat server as the product, the help system starts and stops when the product application is started and stopped.
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