How to deploy AutoVue on Apache Tomcat

By default, the AutoVue servlet runs on a Java application server named Jetty. The Connector that connects Meridian PowerUser to the AutoVue server also runs on the Jetty server. Jetty is adequate for desktop deployments and small client/server deployments. In larger deployments, the Jetty server may be less stable and the Connector may occasionally stop working and documents cannot be viewed.

Description

We recommend that you deploy the Connector on the Apache Tomcat Java server instead in such environments. The Tomcat server doesn't replace Jetty but supplements it with a dedicated server for the Connector to handle the greater workload.

Following are instructions to configure the BC Connector Service to run on Tomcat. It is not necessary to change the default AutoVue configuration.

Before you begin

Verify that all of the following prerequisites have been met. They should be performed in the order listed.

Install both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Java. Download links can be found on the Java website. For Java 8 with Meridian Enterprise 2014, contact Accruent Technical Support. For Java 8 with Meridian Enterprise 2015, install the Meridian Enterprise 2015.0.3 server update or later.
If users in your organization routinely view very large documents, consider Increasing memory allocation for large documents.
Install a version of Tomcat that is supported by the Java version that is installed on the server. In the installation wizard, set the HTTP/1.1 Connector Port option to 8900.

In the Services list in Control Panel, set the Java options of the Apache Tomcat service using the descriptions in the following table.

Java options
Option	Description
Use default	Disabled
Java Virtual Machine	Path to the 32-bit Java virtual machine installed in step 1.
Java Options	Add the following parameters as new lines after the existing parameters: -XX:PermSize=256m -XX:MaxPermSize=256m See Performance Tuning the JVM for Running Apache Tomcat.
Initial memory pool	Size in MB. See Performance Tuning the JVM for Running Apache Tomcat.
Maximum memory pool	Size in MB. See Performance Tuning the JVM for Running Apache Tomcat.
Thread stack size	Size in KB. See Performance Tuning the JVM for Running Apache Tomcat.

Install AutoVue as described in the Meridian Enterprise Server Administrator's Guide.
Increase the AutoVue server cache size by setting the jvueserver.cache.size setting to 10240 in the file C:\Oracle\AutoVue\bin\jvueserver.properties.
In Windows Control Panel, restart the Meridian Enterprise setup program and verify that the AutoVue Client/Server integration component was installed during Meridian Enterprise Server installation.

Note:

Only one of the following methods should be used to start the BC Connector:

The AutoVue StartDMS.bat file
BCConnectorService automatic startup
Apache Tomcat startup (wsclient.war as described below)

In Internet Information Services Manager, verify that all the Meridian Enterprise web sites are set to use Windows Authentication.
In Internet Information Services Manager, verify that all the Meridian Enterprise application pools are set to use the same service account.
In the Services list in Control Panel, set the logon account of the BCConnectorService service to the same service account as the Meridian Enterprise application pools. If you change the account, restart the service.

To deploy the BC Connector on Apache Tomcat:

Stop the BC Connector Service process if it is running.
1. If it was started by startDMS.bat, close the corresponding Command Prompt console window.
2. If it was started by StartServers.bat, stop all java.exe and javaw.exe processes (this will also stop the AutoVue Server process).
In the Services list in Control Panel, stop and disable the BC Connector Service from automatically restarting or set its startup type to manual.
Copy the BC Connector module wsclient.war from C:\Oracle\AutoVue\bin\jetty\dms to C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 7.0\webapps.
If you accepted the default port number during Tomcat installation but would like to use a different port:
1. Open C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 7.0\conf\server.xml in any text editor.
2. Change the Connector port setting from 8080 to 8900 and save the file. The entire line should look like this:
```
<Connector port="8900" maxHttpHeaderSize="8192" maxThreads="150"
minSpareThreads="25" maxSpareThreads="75" enableLookups="false" redirectPort="8443"
acceptCount="100" connectionTimeout="20000" disableUploadTimeout="true" />
```
Start the Apache Tomcat service, which starts the BC Connector.
Check whether the BC Connector module is working:
- Open a web browser window to the following URL:
```
http://<ServerName>:8900/wsclient/servlet/DMS
```
A page titled VueLink for ISDK Web Services should appear.
Check whether the AutoVue servlet is working:
- Open a web browser window to the following URL:
```
http://<ServerName>:5098/servlet/VueServlet
```
  A page titled VueServlet for AutoVue <Version> should appear.
To use AutoVue with Meridian Explorer, configure the Meridian Enterprise Server viewer options as described in the Meridian Enteprise Server Administrator's Guide.
To use AutoVue with the Meridian Web Client, enable it as described in the Meridian Enteprise User's Guide.
To use AutoVue with Meridian Enterprise PowerUser, set the AutoVueViewer viewer first in priority in the viewer options it as described in the Meridian Enteprise User's Guide.
Start the Apache Tomcat service with the service account if it is not already running.
Test AutoVue in the intended client application, for example, Explorer or the Meridian Web Client.
To run the AutoVue server as a service, see the Meridian Enteprise Server Administrator's Guide.

If the error occurs Failed to get property after switching from Jetty to Tomcat 8:

Confirm that the BC Connector Service and the Apache Tomcat Service (that hosts the BC Connector module) are not launched simultaneously. Otherwise, they can conflict with one another.
Confirm that the Apache Tomcat Service runs under the same account as BC Enterprise Services.

For more information about integrating AutoVue with Meridian Enterprise, see the Accruent Meridian Enterprise Administrator's Guide or Accruent Meridian Enterprise Server Administrator's Guide.