Can I run my Tomcat app on Bluemix?

Question

We have a simple app that runs on tomcat7 and has been working for about a year. We're planning to kick the tires on Bluemix and we would like to know if there's any information that can assist us in this effort. I saw a post that discussed migrating apps from WebSphere Application Server v7 to the Liberty profile but I didn't see any reference to Tomcat. Any documentation or samples you could provide would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Yup. You can use the community Java buildpack to use Tomcat as your Java runtime.

cf push -b https://github.com/cloudfoundry/java-buildpack.git

Edit:

cf push <appname> -b java_buildpack

Doc for Tomcat buildpack: https://github.com/cloudfoundry/java-buildpack

The pre-installed buildpack name or external url after -b option is the open source java Tomcat buildpack. When pushing a Java application, if you don't specify a buildpack name or url, the default Java buildpack will be chosen. In Bluemix, the default buildpack is the WebSphere Liberty buildpack.

Doc for Liberty buildpack: https://www.ng.bluemix.net/docs/#starters/liberty/index.html#optionsforpushinglibertyapplications

Answer 2

Yes, you can run your application on Bluemix, however, due to config information spread out in a few different xml files (server, content & web come to mind) on Tomcat, I suggest you take a staggered approach to moving your app. You first need to get your app working on the WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Liberty Profile, then you can push a server package to Bluemix.

Essentially, you want to do the following:

1) Migrate your Tomcat application and server config to the Liberty profile using the WebSphere Application Server Migration Toolkit - Competitive Migration. The article below provides details on the usage of this tool:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/downloads/migtoolkit/compmig.html

2) Test your app on the Liberty Profile

3) Push the Liberty Server package to bluemix. I've found the article below useful for pushing server packages:

https://developer.ibm.com/bluemix/2015/01/06/modify-liberty-server-xml-configurations-ibm-bluemix/#