How do I increase memory on Tomcat 7 when running as a Windows Service?

Question

I am trying to run Tomcat 7 as a Windows Service (XP and Windows 7).

I see places to set the -Xmx and -Xms jvm args in catalina.bat, but I'm not sure how to do it when using $CATALINA_HOME/bin/service.bat install service-name. I looked around but the best I could find was that I needed to update windows registry key, though I'm not sure which one to edit.

I'm hoping there's an easier way, is there?

Update: I'm not using the windows installer mainly because I'm running multiple instances of tomcat on the same machine but with different ports (for reasons I'd rather not go into here). If I can use the installer with multiple instances using different ports, then I'd like to know how, but regardless, is it possible to do increase the memory on a tomcat windows service without the UI tools that come with the installer?

Answer 1

Assuming that you've downloaded and installed Tomcat as Windows Service Installer exe file from the Tomcat homepage, then check the Apache feather icon in the systray (or when absent, run Monitor Tomcat from the start menu). Doubleclick the feather icon and go to the Java tab. There you can configure the memory.

Restart the service to let the changes take effect.

Answer 2

The answer to my own question is, I think, to use tomcat7.exe:

cd $CATALINA_HOME .\bin\service.bat install tomcat .\bin\tomcat7.exe //US//tomcat7 --JvmMs=512 --JvmMx=1024 --JvmSs=1024 

Also, you can launch the UI tool mentioned by BalusC without the system tray or using the installer with tomcat7w.exe

.\bin\tomcat7w.exe //ES//tomcat 

An additional note to this:

Setting the --JvmXX parameters (through the UI tool or the command line) may not be enough. You may also need to specify the JVM memory values explicitly. From the command line it may look like this:

bin\tomcat7w.exe //US//tomcat7 --JavaOptions=-Xmx=1024;-Xms=512;.. 

Be careful not to override the other JavaOption values. You can try updating bin\service.bat or use the UI tool and append the java options (separate each value with a new line).