How to install Tomcat 7 + JDK 7

This how-to will show you how to install Tomcat 7.x and JDK 7.x (Java Development Kit) on a CentOS VPS.

You could get one of our Java Hosting plans and have everything already installed and configured but if you want to do it yourself just follow the tutorial below.

1. Install JDK
Choose the correct version for your OS and download the latest JDK release from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

Create a new ‘/usr/java’ directory, move the downloaded ‘jdk’ file to ‘/usr/java’ and change to the created directory:

# mkdir /usr/java && mv jdk-7u4-linux-i586.tar.gz /usr/java/ && cd /usr/java/

Unpack jdk-7u4-linux-i586.tar.gz file:

# tar -xzf jdk-7u4-linux-i586.tar.gz

This will create directory, in our case it’s ‘jdk1.7.0_04’

To set the ‘JAVA_HOME’ path add the lines below to your ‘.bash_profile’ file:

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jdk1.7.0_04/
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin

For the changes to take effect execute:

# source .bash_profile

Check if the ‘JAVA_HOME’ is set correctly:

# echo $JAVA_HOME
# /usr/java/jdk1.7.0_04/

2. Install Tomcat 7

Download the latest Tomcat release (currently 7.0.27) from http://tomcat.apache.org/download-70.cgi

# wget http://mirror.metrocast.net/apache/tomcat/tomcat-7/v7.0.27/bin/apache-tomcat-7.0.27.tar.gz

Move the file and change to the ‘/usr/share/’ directory:

# mv apache-tomcat-7.0.27.tar.gz /usr/share/ && cd /usr/share/

Unpack ‘apache-tomcat-7.0.27.tar.gz’ file:

# tar -xzf apache-tomcat-7.0.27.tar.gz

This will create ‘/usr/share/apache-tomcat-7.0.27’ directory. Optionally, you can rename this directory to ‘tomcat7’:

# mv /usr/share/apache-tomcat-7.0.27/ /usr/share/tomcat7

To configure Tomcat 7 to run as a service, change to the ‘/etc/init.d/’:

# cd /etc/init.d/

Using your favorite text editor, create a script called ‘tomcat’ with the following text:

#!/bin/bash
# description: Tomcat Start - Stop - Restart
# processname: tomcat
# chkconfig: 234 20 80
JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/jdk1.7.0_04
export JAVA_HOME
PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
export PATH
CATALINA_HOME=/usr/share/tomcat7 

case $1 in
start)
echo "Starting Tomcat"
sh $CATALINA_HOME/bin/startup.sh
;;
stop)
echo "Stopping Tomcat"
sh $CATALINA_HOME/bin/shutdown.sh
;;
restart)
echo "Restarting Tomcat"
sh $CATALINA_HOME/bin/shutdown.sh
sh $CATALINA_HOME/bin/startup.sh
;;
*)
echo $"Usage: $0 {start|stop}"
exit 1
;;
esac
exit 0

Make your script executable:

# chmod +x tomcat

Make your Tomcat to start at boot time:

# chkconfig --add tomcat
# chkconfig --level 3 tomcat on

Check if it is setup correctly:

# chkconfig --list tomcat

The default Tomcat port is 8080, so you can try to access it at http://domain.com:8080 where you should see Tomcat’s default home page.

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