This documentation assumes you already have a working installation of Apache (from http://www.apache.org/httpd.html) and a working installation of Java (from http://java.sun.com/). It is also heavily linux biased - I make no apology for that!

Firstly, you will need the Tomcat servlet engine for Apache. Notes on configuring Tomcat and Apache to work together can be found elsewhere on this site.

Next, it will help if you have a working Cocoon site on http://127.0.0.1:8080/ -- otherwise it will be difficult to tell if virtual hosting is working correctly or not! See the Cocoon quick-start guide for more information on how to do this.

You need to configure Tomcat to tell it about the virtual hosts. Edit the jakarta-tomcat/conf/server.xml file and add the following:

Now you need to tell Apache about the virtual host. Edit the apache/httpd.conf file and add the following:

If you do not already have an appropriate DNS entry or line in your /etc/hosts file, now would be a good time to add one. The following in /etc/hosts should work:

Finally, restart Tomcat and then Apache. Visit the virtual host at http://host1.yourdomain/ and you should see the site up and running.

If you notice any errors or omissions or have any comments about this quickstart guide, please get in touch. Email info@luminas.co.uk or see the Contacts page for other ways of getting in touch.