Axis, Tomcat and VMS

[Scott C. Montgomery]

In looking through both Apache's documentation and HP's install instructions, it looks as if when installing Axis, Tomcat and Apache on my VMS boxes that it's installing a separate web server for each. Apache even warns that the one included in Axis is for demonstration purposes only (which seems to be the only one that I can get Axis running on with the start_simple_axis_server command.)

My question is, how can I get Axis to run as an application managed by my Tomcat server? I have tried to install the Axis.WAR file using the Tomcat manager, but it refuses to start.

Another related question is can I simply use the Axis.WAR file to install axis on VMS, or is the version included in the SOAP toolkit specifically complied for VMS?

[Ian Miller.]

The VAMP forums
http://www.issinoho.com:8080/phpbb2/
are a good place for this sort of info.

and here
http://sysmgr.blogspot.com/
you will find a blog of someone who is playing around with this stuff.

[Willem Grooters]

The SOAP toolkit itself is based on AXIS 1.2, the only adaption to VMS is the local (built-in, minimal) webserver. Install this first, but just copying the WAR file is not enough, you definitely need more. Follow the doumentatoin that comes with the kit _to_the_letter_. Later, you can get and just copy the 1.3 WAR file.

After you installed AXIS, you will need to restart TOMCAT, and, as I found out, Apache. This is because the server configuration has cahnged and before TOMCAT "sees" the AXIS service, it needs a reload of the defined services (and therefore, stop and start...)

NEVER forget that both TOMCAT and AXIS are JAVA with all consequences.

[davidsullivan · Accepted solution]

I'd like to clarify a few points. The SOAP_TOOLKIT is based on the Apache Axis V1.1 code base. This code base, from apache, contains the SimpleAxisServer web server.

The Axis documentation talks about how to configure Axis within a web server such as Tomcat or BEA WLS.

To configure Axis under Tomcat on OpenVMS

After installing the SOAP_TOOLKIT on OpenVMS issue the command:
$BACKUP/LOG/IGNORE=INTERLOCK AXIS$ROOT:[AXIS-1_1.WEBAPPS...]*.* DISK$:[CSWS_JAVA.APACHE.JAKARTA.TOMCAT.WEBAPPS...]

In the above example command the Tomcat root directory is DISK$:[CSWS_JAVA.APACHE.JAKARTA.TOMCAT] if you installed tomcat to a different location then make the appropriate modification to the command.


At this point the Axis application will appear in the Tomcat Manager. You can then run the Happy Axis page to validate your environment. Often a required jar file such as activation.jar may need to be added to the applications classpath. For your convience the SOAP_TOOLKIT provides common needed jar files in the directory:

AXIS$ROOT:[AXIS-1_1.openvms.libjars]

[Arch_Muthiah]

Scott,

For more info, you can go thru this URL, explains in detail about "SOAP Toolkit for HP OpenVMS Installation Guide and Release Notes"

http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/products/ips/soap/soap_relnotes.html#softwareclient


Archunan

[Sepp Stadelmann]

Hi,

Maybe nice to know for this OpenVMS community

Since nearly 9 months now we run AXIS2-1.2 (next 1.3) on top of Apache Tomcat 5.5.9 on top of JAVA 1.4.2 or 1.5.0, on top of our Alpha OpenVMS 7.3-2 system.

We use Windows 2000 (SP4), with NetBeans 3.6 and distributed NetBeans for OpenVMS.

We use WSIT 1.1 from HP for legacy server integration.

For all SW kit's/packages etc. We use the same versions of SW on OpenVMS and on the PC's, well sometimes minor version differences. :-)

This has the following advantage: It allows us to develop within a PC client/server environment with JAVA 1.5.0, Tomcat 5.5 & AXIS2-1.2.

For debugging/runing we deploy an .aar file to the relevant directory under control of axis2-1.2 web serivce engine.

If all is debugged nicely on the PC, we deploy the .aar file to the OpenVMS - AXIS2 webservice environment through NertBeans, and with hot-deployment supported, we can see in the Tomcat Log that the service has started, is initialized, is deployed.

Then we use the TOMCAT & AXIS2-1.2 management pages such as
http://alpha1:8080/manager/html and
http://alpha1:8080/axis2/axis2-admin/login
to see our service on OpenVMS and manage it as far as we can.

Sepp Stadelmann