updating tomcat and Java versions on server

[Sean Cormican]

Would anyone have any idea where I would begin to upgrade the version of java and tomcat (only if necessary) on a server which only has terminal access using a VNC?

I'm looking to upgrade to java 1.6 as I am having a number of issues with the current version 1.4.
would anyone have an idea or maybe even know where I should ask to carry out the task ?

It's a Linux server

Thanks in advance!

[William P O'Sullivan]

What OS is the server?

Pat.

[Sean Cormican]

it's a linux server

[Rob Spoor]

Which distribution? Is it RedHat, SuSE, Debian, Ubuntu, something else? Most distributions have a package manager that allows you to update using command line (e.g. RPM on RedHat, dpkg on Debian / Ubuntu), but if we don't know which distribution you're using we can't tell you which commands to use.

[Sean Cormican]

This might nullify my previous question but java 1.6 is actually installed elsewhere on the server, as I have tomcat version 5.5 is there any way that I can point the tomcat server to 1.6 java?
would this cause compatibility issues with the older 5.5 tomcat ?

[Rob Spoor]

I've had Tomcat 5.5 running with Java 1.6 before, that shouldn't be a problem. That was on Windows so I wouldn't know how to change this in Linux. I still suggest updating to Tomcat 7 though.

[Tim Holloway]

Java is designed to permit multiple brands/flavors/versions to be installed and used concurrently on a single machine. In other words, it's the exact opposite of Internet (There Can Be Only One) Explorer.

Tomcat will employ the JAVA_HOME environment setting that is in currently effect for the shell that launches it. So moving from JDK 1.5 to JDK 1.6 would be as simple as setting JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jdk1.6.x for that shell. If Tomcat is being managed by an init script, examine the script to see how JAVA_HOME is being set.

I don't think Java6 is a problem for Tomcat 5.5, although it would be for Tomcat 5.0. However, it's better to upgrade to at least Tomcat6 just for support reasons.