Tomcat optional in DSpace 8?

[Chris Clawson]

I am reading that DS 8 includes a runnable JAR (which includes Tomcat) and using this option ends the requirement to install Tomcat as a separate prerequisite. Is this now the preferred method?

My small server hosts both my Front and Backend. I have limited memory and the repository is slow to respond. Does this new embedded JAR run more efficiently or better conserve resources?

Please explain more or point me to a discussion..

[DSpace Technical Support]

Hi Chris,

Yes, that's accurate.  As of DSpace 8, we are able to build the backend (REST API) with Tomcat *embedded*.  This was achieved via Spring Boot (which is the technology that the backend uses) in this PR: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/8797   Spring Boot has had this feature for some time, but we've only now figured out how to allow DSpace to utilize it.

At this point in time, this is a *brand new* option. It is still *one of two options* for installing the backend.  You can choose whether to install Tomcat or not.  There's not a specific recommended approach at this time.

We also do not yet know if it will be more efficient or conserve resources. It was added as a way to make the installation process easier, but we do not have anyone (that I'm aware of) who has tested this option in terms of efficiency, etc.  In the future, we may make a stronger recommendation for which approach to use. But as of 8.0, we likely will just say "use whichever approach you feel is best for your scenario". 

Tim

[euler]

Dear Tim,

About this, if for example, I am going to use the embedded Tomcat in a production server, what would you suggest as the best practice for starting the server-boot.jar automatically? Should it be run via crontab at reboot? Or as a service? Can you point us to some examples of how to start the embedded tomcat upon reboot?

Thanks in advance.

euler