When you create an instance of a Progress Application Server, the default directory for the deployment of web applications is $CATALINA_BASE/webapps. In some cases, however, you may want to deploy web applications to a directory that is external to the server and all of its instances' directory trees. Configuring multiple instances to point to a single, common web application folder instead of having a separate copy for each instance reduces the amount of administration required to maintain and configure the web applications.
Figure 6. Four instances sharing a common directory of web applications
To configure an instance to use an external application folder, use the -W option with the tcman.sh create command to specify the external folder.
Note: The syntax below shows the bare minimum for creating an instance with an external web application directory. For the full list of options available with tcman.sh create, see the TCMAN Reference.
Syntax
tcman.sh create [-W pathname]base_path
Parameters
–W pathname
Specify the directory where web applications will be deployed. The path to the folder can be fully qualified or relative to the instance directory (CATALINA_BASE).
base_path
Specify the pathname where you will create the instance.
There are important restrictions that a web application in a common folder must adhere to:
The web applications cannot create files in the common folder, including log files.
The web applications should not rely on or use any information that is specific to a particular runtime.
The web applications cannot create files in the common folder, including log files.