What's the best way to bring down an apache2/tomcat6 setup for maintenance? Specifically, apache2 can stay running, but tomcat needs to restart to accomplish a number of tasks. My initial thought is to change the root directory in the httpd.conf VirtualHost entry to point to a new location, then issue a force-reload command to direct traffic away from the actual tomcat application. After some period of time, I perform tomcat maintenance, switch the VirtualHost entry, and force-reload to begin directing traffic back.

Is there a better way to do this? I'm looking to start work on a rather extensive web application, and my deployment procedure right now involves shutting everything down and bringing everything back up. Is there a better way to do this than what I've proposed?