I wish there was more to say right here or to link to something. On to the questions...
When I run ps (on Linux), why do I see my java process a bazillion times! How do I run without an X server and still get graphics? Tomcat dies after I log out!
When I run ps (on Linux), why do I see my java process a bazillion times! Linux implemented threads as processes. Due to other gory details that is beyond the scope of this FAQ - the ps command doesn't work correctly with respect to threads. You can get more gory details here and here . How do I run without an X server and still get graphics? You either need to run headless or run an alternate X-server. Some more information can be found here , here , or here . Tomcat dies after I log out! This is common complaint in Solaris. Make sure you use nohup and see this thread
nohup