Apache Friends Support Forum

Does Tomcat require a Dos-window (catalina_start.bat) to be open?

Probably only if you DO NOT run it as a service. A service can be started without keeping the Dos Windows open, a non-Service (i.e. a normal program) stops execution if you close the parent Dos Windows. I dont know the contents of catalina_start.bat, simply open it with an editor and look, how the start is implemented.