How do I properly set the permgen size?

You have to change the values in the CATALINA_OPTS option defined in the Tomcat Catalina start file. To increase the PermGen memory change the value of the MaxPermSize variable, otherwise change the value of the Xmx variable.

Linux & Mac OS: Open or create setenv.sh file placed in the “bin” directory. You have to apply the changes to this line:

export CATALINA_OPTS="$CATALINA_OPTS -server -Xms256m -Xmx1024m -XX:PermSize=512m -XX:MaxPermSize=512m"

Windows:

Open or create the setenv.bat file placed in the “bin” directory:

set CATALINA_OPTS=-server -Xms256m -Xmx1024m -XX:PermSize=512m -XX:MaxPermSize=512m