Deploying Java Web Application on Amazon EC2 server using a WAR File

Overview

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides scalable compute capacity in the cloud, allowing developers to run virtual servers known as instances. In this blog post, we will explore deploying a Java web application on an Amazon EC2 server using a Web Application Archive (WAR) file. This step-by-step guide will cover the prerequisites, the benefits of using Amazon EC2, and the necessary steps to set up your Java application.

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Introduction

Amazon EC2 is a key service in Amazon Web Services (AWS), empowering businesses and developers to deploy applications quickly and scale resources based on demand. Deploying a Java web application on Amazon EC2 offers flexibility, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

A WAR file simplifies the deployment process, encapsulating the entire application into a single archive.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the deployment process, ensure you have the following in place:

AWS Account: Open the AWS Management Console by creating an AWS account.

Amazon EC2 Instance: Set up an Amazon EC2 instance with the necessary security groups allowing inbound traffic on required ports (e.g., port 8080 for Tomcat).

Java Development Kit (JDK): Install JDK on your Amazon EC2 instance to run Java applications.

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Connect to Your Amazon EC2 Instance

Use SSH to establish a connection to your Amazon EC2 instance:

ssh  -i "rohit-key-new.pem" ubuntu@ec2-65-0-122-41.ap-south-1.compute.amazonaws.com

1	ssh -i "rohit-key-new.pem" ubuntu@ec2-65-0-122-41.ap-south-1.compute.amazonaws.com

java

Step 2: Installing the Default JRE/JDK

Update the package list and install Java:

sudo apt install default-jre

1	sudo apt install default-jre

Verify the Java installation:

java -version

1	java -version

Step 3: Create a Tomcat user

Create a new tomcat group

sudo groupadd tomcat

1	sudo groupadd tomcat

Now create a new tomcat user that is member of tomcat group

sudo useradd -s /bin/false -g tomcat -d  /opts/tomcats tomcat

1	sudo useradd -s /bin/false -g tomcat -d /opts/tomcats tomcat

Step 4: Now install tomcat9

Go to this folder

cd /tmp
curl -O https://dlcdn.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-9/v9.0.84/bin/apache-tomcat-9.0.84.tar.gz

1 2	cd /tmp curl -O https://dlcdn.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-9/v9.0.84/bin/apache-tomcat-9.0.84.tar.gz

Now install the tomcat to this folder

sudo mkdir /opt/tomcat

1	sudo mkdir /opt/tomcat

sudo tar xzvf apache-tomcat-*tar.gz -C /opt/tomcat --strip-components=1

1	sudo tar xzvf apache-tomcat-*tar.gz -C /opt/tomcat --strip-components=1

Step 5: Update the permissions

cd /opt/tomcat

1	cd /opt/tomcat

Assign ownership of the full installation directory to the Tomcat group:sudo chgrp -R tomcat /opt/tomcat

sudo chmod -R g+r conf
sudo chmod g+x conf
sudo chown -R tomcat webapps/ work/ temp/ {logss}/

sudo chmod -R g+r conf

sudo chmod g+x conf

sudo chown -R tomcat webapps/ work/ temp/ {logss}/

Need to know where JAVA is installed

sudo update-java-alternatives -l

1	sudo update-java-alternatives -l

Now copy this Java path and store it somewhere

Go to this file and update the content

sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service

1	sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service

[Unit]
Description=Apache Tomcat Web Application Container
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking

Environment=JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.11.0-openjdk-amd64
Environment=CATALINA_PID=/opt/tomcat/temp/tomcat.pid
Environment=CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat
Environment=CATALINA_BASE=/opt/tomcat
Environment='CATALINA_OPTS=-Xms512M -Xmx1024M -server -XX:+UseParallelGC'
Environment='JAVA_OPTS=-Djava.awt.headless=true -Djava.security.egd=file:/dev/./urandom'

ExecStart=/opt/tomcat/bin/startup.sh
ExecStop=/opt/tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh

User=tomcat
Group=tomcat
UMask=0007
RestartSec=10
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

[Unit]

Description=Apache Tomcat Web Application Container

After=network.target

[Service]

Type=forking

Environment=JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.11.0-openjdk-amd64

Environment=CATALINA_PID=/opt/tomcat/temp/tomcat.pid

Environment=CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat

Environment=CATALINA_BASE=/opt/tomcat

Environment='CATALINA_OPTS=-Xms512M -Xmx1024M -server -XX:+UseParallelGC'

Environment='JAVA_OPTS=-Djava.awt.headless=true -Djava.security.egd=file:/dev/./urandom'

ExecStart=/opt/tomcat/bin/startup.sh

ExecStop=/opt/tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh

User=tomcat

Group=tomcat

UMask=0007

RestartSec=10

Restart=always

[Install]

WantedBy=multi-user.target

Next, reload the system daemon

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

1	sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Start the Tomcat service

sudo systemctl start tomcat

1	sudo systemctl start tomcat

Check that it started without errors

sudo systemctl status tomcat

1	sudo systemctl status tomcat

Deploy Your Java Application

Manual Deployment

Your WAR file should be uploaded to the Tomcat webapps directory:

sudo cp /path/to/your/application.war /usr/share/tomcat/webapps/

1	sudo cp /path/to/your/application.war /usr/share/tomcat/webapps/

2. Automatic Deployment

Edit the server.xml file:

sudo nano /etc/tomcat/server.xml

1	sudo nano /etc/tomcat/server.xml

Add the following lines inside the <Host> element:

<Host name="localhost" appBase="webapps" unpackWARs="true" autoDeploy="true"> <Context path="" docBase="your-application-name" reloadable="true"/> </Host>

1	<Host name="localhost" appBase="webapps" unpackWARs="true" autoDeploy="true"> <Context path="" docBase="your-application-name" reloadable="true"/> </Host>

Replace your-application-name with the desired context path for your application.

Access Your Java Application

Go to your Amazon EC2 instance’s public IP address:

http://your-instance-ip:8080/your-application-name

1	http://your-instance-ip:8080/your-application-name

Conclusion

Deploying a Java web application on an Amazon EC2 server is a straightforward process that offers scalability, cost-effectiveness, and ease of management. Amazon EC2’s flexibility and variety of instance types make it ideal for hosting a wide range of applications. Following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly set up your Java application on an Amazon EC2 instance and leverage the benefits of cloud computing.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Amazon EC2 and we will get back to you quickly.

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FAQs

1. Can I deploy multiple Java web applications on the same Amazon EC2 instance using Tomcat?

ANS: – Yes, Tomcat supports deploying multiple applications on the same instance. You can configure multiple contexts within the server.xml file to achieve this.

2. What security considerations should I keep in mind when deploying on Amazon EC2?

ANS: – Ensure that your security groups only allow necessary inbound traffic, and regularly update and patch your instance to address any security vulnerabilities.

3. How can I scale my Java application on Amazon EC2 to handle increased traffic?

ANS: – You can use Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) to distribute incoming traffic across multiple Amazon EC2 instances, ensuring high availability and scalability.

WRITTEN BY Rohit Kumar

Rohit Kumar works as a Research Associate (Infra, Migration, and Security Team) at CloudThat. He is focused on gaining knowledge of the Cloud environment. He has a keen interest in learning and researching emerging technologies.