hello,
i'm back with a little more info this time...
The way i read the manual, it seems that the CATALINA_HOME/BASE issue is for multiple users having their own server on the same machine. If you're like me then you want a single user to have multiple instances of Tomcat on the same machine.
First, i eliminated the %CATALINA_HOME% and %JAVA_HOME% environment variables (System->Advanced->Environment). Next, i removed the references to those values from all of the files in [tomcat]\bin (where [tomcat] is the directory you choose to install the web server). Thank God for TextPad 'Find/Replace All'
Finally, the ports in [tomcat]\conf\server.xml must be set so that they are dissimilar between installations (no overlap). Below are the specific values to look for (they can be any number up to 64000, i think, that isn't already used by your system):
one for the http connector (default 8080)
one for the ajp connector (8009)
one for the shutdown port (8005)
props =
http://www.jguru.com/faq/view.jsp?EID=1060243 my values = http, ajp, shut: (1) 4445, 4005, 4009 (2) 7777, 5005, 5009
note: i'm skeptical about the stability of software that's been modified in this fashion since there may be some unforeseen conflict down the road. Use at your own risk...
havagood1,
D