Roll your own Continuous Integration System (C.I.S.): Install Tomcat

Roll your own Continuous Integration System (C.I.S.)

Content:

Abstract

Install Tomcat

Basic Tomcat configuration - Memory

Basic Tomcat configuration - JMX

Basic Tomcat configuration - Application Manager and permissions

Apache and uSVN

Installing Artifactory from WAR

Configure Artifactory and MySQL

Configuring Artifactory security and repositories

As we said in the previous post, we are building our C.I.S. in the top of a Tomcat 6.x, it is not the best server in the world, but it is open, free and widely supported by a vast community and thousand of different running project all over the world, so, it is not that bad either.

There is no point to explain deeply how to install Tomcat, I will write my own installation in order to reproduce all steps in the future if necessary. You may also use this for a easy set-up of your system.

Pre-Requisites: Java JRE 1.5 (No matter what implementation, I have proofed both Sun and OpenJDK virtual machines with the same problems :P ).


For Windows XP:
Download: http://apache.rediris.es/tomcat/tomcat-6/v6.0.30/bin/apache-tomcat-6.0.30.exe
Execute it!

1) Accept Welcome
2) Accept License
3) Minimum installation: Tomcat and Manager
4) Select execution port (8080 in my case), user and pass manager (tomcat/tomcat, of course), and role (let manager-gui).
5) Select your JRE 1.5 installation path.
6) Select your desired installation path for Tomcat.
7) Confirm install.

If you want to see your Tomcat running, you have to get "Apache Tomcat 6.0" menu. (Start->Applications in Windows XP), then execute "Configure Tomcat".

And press "Start" button. Then you will be able to see Tomcat running at http://localhost:8080
Change "Startup type" from "Manual" to "Automatic" in order to get it as a service. Windows will run Tomcat every time you boot Windows.


For CentOS 5.5
Easier than Windows :P

(log as root)
cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
wget http://www.jpackage.org/jpackage50.repo
yum --disablerepo=jpackage* install jpackage-utils
yum install tomcat6 tomcat6-webapps tomcat6-admin-webapps

Beware with permissions, due to your TOMCAT_HOME will be /usr/share/tomcat6, so you will need to change the owner of that directory if you want to write into, next post I will explain a good configuration.

For OpenSuse 11.3
Easier impossible:

(log as root)
zypper install tomcat6 tomcat6-admin-webapps tomcat6-webapps.

Beware with permissions, due to your TOMCAT_HOME will be /usr/share/tomcat6, so you will need to change the owner of that directory if you want to write into, next post I will explain a good configuration.


We will use and modify this installation a few times before finishing this tutorial. Be patient, the result will be worthy it.

Roll your own Continuous Integration System (C.I.S.): Abstract.

Roll your own Continuous Integration System (C.I.S.)


Content:

Abstract

Install Tomcat

Basic Tomcat configuration - Memory

Basic Tomcat configuration - JMX

Basic Tomcat configuration - Application Manager and permissions

Apache and uSVN

Installing Artifactory from WAR

Configure Artifactory and MySQL

Configuring Artifactory security and repositories

http://looking4q.blogspot.com/2011/01/roll-your-own-continuous-integration.html

This is the very first goal for the followers of this blog.

For those who doesn't know what a Continuous Integration System is, you could take a look at wikipedia, but, summarizing with an example, is a software that every night downloads your code, compiles it, executes unitary testing and deploys it in your server or in your dependency repository.

That's not all. It could pass several control checks like code style, testing code coverage, code quality, it makes a report and send it to your email, and other for the guilty developer that wrote some code that generates lots of warnings.

This information is processed for cyclic dependencies, copied&pasted code, percent of commented code, percent of tested code... reports and more reports.

Some of this reports are also postprocessed in order to evaluate each developer independently. Then it creates a dashboard with scores for each participant, trying to motivate the team for a better code.

Appealing enough?

I have selected some tools that I use in my company. This list might be modified in near future:

Code Repository: We are using Subversion
Dependencies manager: Maven
Dependencies repository: Artifactory, which understands Maven among others.
C.I.S Manager: Hudson: which understands Maven and SVN among others.
Extra: Sonar as quality of code reporter.
Extra: Wiki or CMS

And Tomcat6 as the container of everything or almost everything.

In next articles, I will try to explain how to install and deploy each tool in order to get something similar to my example in your own company or at home.

See you soon!