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5. Apache Tomcat
Apache Tomcat is a web container that allows you to serve Java Servlets and JSP (Java Server Pages) web applications.
Ubuntu has supported packages for both Tomcat 6 and 7. Tomcat 6 is the legacy version, and Tomcat 7 is the current version where new features are implemented. Both are considered stable. This guide will focus on Tomcat 7, but most configuration details are valid for both versions.
The Tomcat packages in Ubuntu support two different ways of running Tomcat. You can install them as a classic unique system-wide instance, that will be started at boot time will run as the tomcat7 (or tomcat6) unprivileged user. But you can also deploy private instances that will run with your own user rights, and that you should start and stop by yourself. This second way is particularly useful in a development server context where multiple users need to test on their own private Tomcat instances.