Apache Tomcat

Tomcat focuses on the servlet/JSP web container and does not provide the complete set of Jakarta EE application server services out of the box. Capabilities such as full EJB support, some enterprise messaging patterns, and broader platform integrations typically require additional components or alternative runtimes. Teams building applications that assume a full Jakarta EE environment may need to refactor or add supporting infrastructure. This can increase architecture and integration work for enterprise-style deployments.

High availability and horizontal scaling often depend on external session management, load balancing, and careful application design. While Tomcat includes session replication options, many production setups rely on external data stores or platform services for state management. Operational responsibility for topology, failover behavior, and traffic management typically sits outside Tomcat itself. This can add complexity compared with more integrated platforms.

Performance and stability depend heavily on JVM configuration, garbage collection choices, thread and connector settings, and application behavior. Troubleshooting memory leaks, thread contention, or slow requests often requires JVM-level diagnostics and disciplined observability practices. Secure configuration also requires attention to TLS setup, headers, and hardening of management interfaces. Teams without Java operations experience may face a steeper learning curve.