Externalize Oasis Properties for Tomcat in Linux

This article outlines the procedure for externalizing Oasis configuration properties in a Linux environment. The goal is to move critical configurations outside the application’s packaged directory, allowing for easier management, environment-specific overrides, and improved maintainability. The steps include setting up an external configuration directory, modifying the oasis.properties file, and configuring Tomcat to recognize these externalized properties using a custom setenv.sh script.

Prerequisites

• Tomcat is installed and located under /home/ovaledge/apache-tomcat-10.1.40

• The application (Oasis) is deployed and functional

• The user has sudo/root access or sufficient permissions to modify files and restart Tomcat

• JAVA_HOME is set and correctly configured

Configuration Steps

1. Create extprop Directory

   • Create an external properties directory inside the ovaledge home folder:

     mkdir -p /home/ovaledge/extprop

   • Copy the oasis.properties file from the deployed application into this directory:

     cp /home/ovaledge/apache-tomcat-10.1.40/webapps/ovaledge/WEB-INF/classes/oasis.properties /home/ovaledge/extprop/

     Reference Screenshot 01:

     

     Reference Screenshot 02:

     

     ✅ Result: External properties directory /home/ovaledge/extprop is created and contains the oasis.properties file.

2. Edit oasis.properties

   • Open the file with a text editor:

     vi /home/ovaledge/extprop/oasis.properties

   • Update the following configurations:

     • MySQL Connection Settings Verify hostname, port, username, and password

     • Elasticsearch Configuration Set the appropriate cluster name and host

     • Third-party JAR References Specify required external JAR paths if applicable

     ⚠️ Ensure sensitive values (like passwords or keys) are encrypted if required.

     ✅ Result: The oasis.properties file is updated with environment-specific values.

3. Create setenv.sh in Tomcat

   • Navigate to the Tomcat bin directory:

     cd /home/ovaledge/apache-tomcat-10.1.40/bin

   • Create or edit the setenv.sh file:

     vi setenv.sh

   • Add the following content:

     export CATALINA_OPTS="\
     -Duse.http=true \
     -DOVALEDGE_SECURITY_TYPE=db \
     -DOVALEDGE_ENCRYPT_DECRYPT_KEY=ovaledge2021 \
     -Dext.properties.dir=file:/home/ovaledge/extprop/ \
     -Dlog4j.configuration=file:/home/ovaledge/extprop/log4j.properties \
     -Xms4g -Xmx8g \
     --add-opens java.base/jdk.internal.loader=ALL-UNNAMED \
     --add-opens jdk.zipfs/jdk.nio.zipfs=ALL-UNNAMED \
     --add-opens java.base/java.net=ALL-UNNAMED \
     --add-opens java.base/java.time=ALL-UNNAMED \
     --add-opens=java.base/java.nio=ALL-UNNAMED"

     Ensure the file is executable:

     chmod +x setenv.sh

     ✅ Result: Tomcat is configured to load external properties and custom memory settings during startup.

4. Restart Tomcat Service

   • Restart Tomcat to apply the changes:

     cd /home/ovaledge/apache-tomcat-10.1.40/bin
     ./shutdown.sh
     ./startup.sh

     ✅ Result: Tomcat starts using the externalized oasis.properties and log4j.properties.

Validation

• Check Tomcat logs: /home/ovaledge/apache-tomcat-10.1.40/logs/catalina.out

• Ensure no FileNotFoundException for oasis.properties or log4j.properties

• Validate application behavior (database connection, Elasticsearch integration)

Rollback Instructions

To rollback to default (packaged) configurations:

• Remove or rename setenv.sh:

  mv setenv.sh setenv.sh.bak

• Restart Tomcat:

  ./shutdown.sh && ./startup.sh

  ⚠️ This will cause the application to revert to internal property files packaged inside the WAR.

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