How to set-up and start Process Engine on Tomcat

WEB-INF/web.xml: load-on-startup

For the Process Engine to launch automatically on webserver startup, modify "WEB-INF/web.xml": uncomment "load-on-startup" for servlet "cxf". Process Engine will thus be loaded when the servlet container starts.

<servlet>
            <servlet-name>cxf</servlet-name>
            <display-name>cxf</display-name>
            <description>Apache CXF Endpoint</description>
            <servlet-class>org.apache.cxf.transport.servlet.CXFServlet</servlet-class>
            <load-on-startup>3</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

Note that "cxf" servlet must be loaded after servlet "vmweb", which is specified by the value "3".

WEB-INF/classes/ProcessEngineConfiguration.json: url

Define URL by which one access services available on a server.

Node definition in configuration file

E.g. when url to login is http://localhost:8080/vm/vmweb then node url to be in configuration is http://localhost:8080/vm/services

Node url returns available services:

Available services

Start tomcat and login

1. Start tomcat
2. Login to the URL used in the setup, e.g. http://localhost:8080/vm/vmweb
3. Switch to the 'Business Process Manager' view
4. Add the Info Object 'Process Engine' on the view

   
   InfoObject Process Engines is in VM Administration category

5. Open the catalog 'Sessions of Process Engines' from the Monitoring folder in the sidebar

   
   Catalog Sessions of Process Engine displays only sessions related engines and WatchDog

6. Press the Start buttons in the Info Object to start the Process Interpreter and the Task Executor.

   

The Process engine console shows that there are 2 engines: PROCESSINTERPRETER and TASKEXECUTOR01.
Both engines should now be running, which is indicated by green up-arrows.

The catalog shows sessions corresponding to engines. A running engine updates its session after it finishes each step. The interval in which the engine performs steps is defined in cxf-servlet.xml.

Note: This configuration guide is valid for Valuemation 4.3 HF1 and newer.

The above described default configuration is set up for easy use by the customizer to test processes on his/her own tomcat. However, it is recommended to use a dedicated servlet container for the process engine. In a cluster environment the same process engine configuration file is used on all nodes. It has to list all nodes where the engine can run.