In this article we will learn how to install tomcat on Linux (CentOS,Fedora and RedHat). For example we will install the tomcat 7 on CentOS operating system. Before starting tomcat installation, be sure that java should be installed on your system. I will show you in a sort, how to install java on linux. So first we will go through the steps of installing the JDK and than Tomat.

Installing JDK on Linux :

In my case, I am installing java and tomcat on the root directory's etc folder.

Step 1:

Go to your directory where you want to install the Java.

# cd /etc

create folder under etlzen using mkdir :

# mkdir java

Change directory to new directory:

# cd /etc/java/

Step 2: Download the JDK using command line

For 64 bit Linux use following command :

# wget --no-cookies --no-check-certificate --header "Cookie: gpw_e24=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oracle.com%2F; oraclelicense=accept-securebackup-cookie" "http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/java/jdk/7u72-b14/jdk-7u72-linux-x64.tar.gz"

For 32 bit Linux use following command :

 # wget --no-cookies --no-check-certificate --header "Cookie: gpw_e24=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oracle.com%2F; oraclelicense=accept-securebackup-cookie" "http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/java/jdk/7u72-b14/jdk-7u72-linux-i586.tar.gz"

Step 3:

After downloading, Extract archive using following command.

# tar xzf jdk-7u72-linux-x64.tar.gz

Step 5: Installing JAVA

After extracting java archive file, we can now set JAVA_HOME and PATH system variables. To set it for your system, you can issue the following commands from the Command line:

JAVA_HOME=/etc/java/jdk1.7.0_72

export JAVA_HOME

PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

export PATH

You can also set the path permanently, open the .bashrc file and edit it as follows:

vi ~/.bashrc

add the following lines in this file

export JAVA_HOME=/etc/java/jdk1.7.0_72

export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin

Now whenever you access the java from command prompt it will set the classpath automatically.

Step 6: Check JAVA Version

# java -version

If you found following output, it means java is installed and ready to use:

java version "1.7.0_72"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_72-b14)

Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 24.72-b04, mixed mode)

Installing Tomcat :

Step 1:

Go to your directory where you want to install the tomcat.

# cd /etc

Step 2:

Download the tomcat v7.0.57 using command

# wget http://www.us.apache.org/dist/tomcat/tomcat-7/v7.0.57/bin/apache-tomcat-7.0.57.tar.gz

Step 3:

After completing download, Extract archive using following command. Use archive file as per your system configuration.

# tar xzf apache-tomcat-7.0.57.tar.gz

Step 4: Start Tomcat

# cd /etc/apache-tomcat-7.0.57
 # ./bin/startup.sh

Output :

Using CATALINA_BASE: /etc/apache-tomcat-7.0.57

Using CATALINA_HOME: /etc/apache-tomcat-7.0.57

Using CATALINA_TMPDIR: /etc/apache-tomcat-7.0.57/temp

Using JRE_HOME: /etc/java/jdk1.7.0_72

Using CLASSPATH: /etc/apache-tomcat- 7.0.57/bin/bootstrap.jar:/etc/apache-tomcat-7.0.57/bin/tomcat-juli.ja r

Tomcat started.

If above message shown on the command line, it means tomcat is started successfully

Step 5: Access Tomcat in Browser

http://localhost:8080

Step 6: Stop Tomcat

# cd /etc/apache-tomcat-7.0.57
# ./bin/shutdown.sh