Metacat

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<div class="header1">Table of Contents</div>

<div class="toc">

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#Overview">Overview</a></div>

      <div class="toc2"><a href="#MetacatConfiguration">Metacat Configuration</a></div> 

      <div class="toc2"><a href="#ConfigurationRules">Configuration Rules</a></div>

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#LdapConfig">LDAP Configuration</a></div>

      <div class="toc2"><a href="#LdapOverview">LDAP Overview</a></div> 

      <div class="toc2"><a href="#GetToLdapConfig">Getting to the LDAP Configuration</a></div> 

      <div class="toc2"><a href="#ConfigLdapNoAuth">Changing LDAP Configuration Without Authentication</a></div>

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#AdminLogin">Admin Log In</a></div>

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#MainConfig">Main Configuration Page</a></div>

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#PropertiesConfig">Main Properties Configuration</a></div>

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#DatabaseConfig">Database Configuration</a></div>

  <div class="toc1"><a href="#GeoserverConfig">Geoserver Configuration</a></div>

</div> 

<a name="Overview"></a><div class="header1">Overview</div>

<a name="MetacatConfiguration"></a><div class="header2">Metacat Configuration</div>

  <p>As of version 1.9.0, Metacat configuration is done internally by the application.  When

  Metacat (Tomcat) is started, it will check to see if it is configured.  If not, you will be 

  automatically sent to the configuration pages. </p>

  <p>If the installation is new, or the previous version is before 1.9.0, you will 

  need to pay close attention to the configuration values.  If you have upgraded 

  Metacat, and the previous version is 1.9.0 or later, Metacat will pull existing 

  values from a backup location.  You should still verify that the values are

  correct.</p>

  <p>Get to Metacat on your server by entering into the browser:</p>

  <div class="code">http://&lt;your_context_url&gt;</div>

  <p>Where &lt;your_context_url&gt is the url where Metacat will be served followed

  by the name of the war file(application context) that you installed.  For instance, 

  the KNB production Metacat url is:</p>

  <div class="code">http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb</div>

  <p>You can always go to the configuration screen from within Metacat by typing:

  <div class="code">&lt;your_context_url&gt;/admin</div>

<a name="ConfigurationRules"></a><div class="header2">Configuration Rules</div>   

  <p>The system will follow these rules in order to determine the order

  that the configuration will occur:</p>

      Are main properties, skins or database unconfigured?  If so, show 

      Note that you will not be able to select the database configuration utility 

      until main properties have been configured.

    </li>  

      Are all sections configured?  If so, show 

      <a HREF="metacatconfigure.html#main-config">Main Configuration Page</a> which

      include instructions for going to Metacat server (or restarting Metacat if you 

      are reconfiguring a running server).

<a name="LdapConfig"></a><div class="header1">LDAP Configuration</div>

<a name="LdapOverview"></a><div class="header2">Overview</div>

  <p>Metacat uses LDAP as it's primary authentication mechanism.  The three main

  values needed are LDAP URL, LDAP Secure URL and Metacat Administrators.  You need 

  to verify that the the LDAP URL and LDAP Secure URL are correct (fig 1).  

  <span class="emphasis">You need to make sure that your LDAP user 

  account is entered into the MetaCat Administrators field.  You will not be allowed

  to continue with configuration if this is missing.</span>

  <div class="fig-text"> fig 1 </div>

<a name="GetToLdapConfig"></a><div class="header2">Getting to the LDAP Configuration</div>

  <p>You will automatically be sent to the LDAP Configuration page if this is a new

  installation or upgrade.</p>

  <p>You can also get to the LDAP configuration from a running Metacat by typing:</p>

  <div class="code">&lt;your_context_url&gt;/admin</div>

  <p>You will be required to log in as an administrator and restart Metacat once you

  make changes.</p>

  <a name="ConfigLdapNoAuth"></a><div class="header2">Changing LDAP Configuration Without Authentication</div>

  <p>There is one exception to the log in rule.  That is when you need to change or add 

  LDAP information, but you can't authenticate using the existing setup.  For example:</p>

  <ul>

    <li>The existing Metacat administrator is no longer available</li>

    <li>You forgot the administrator password.</li>

    <li>The configured LDAP urls are unavailable and you need to configure new ones.</li>  

  </ul>

  <p>In this case, you will need to edit the Metacat configuration file by hand and

  make the changes.  This insures that only a person who has access to the Metacat

  server and the configuration files on that server will be able to change the

  administrator accounts</p>

  <p>Stop Tomcat and edit the Metacat properties file at:</p>

  <div class="code">&lt;webapp_dir&gt;/&lt;context_dir&gt;/WEB-INF/metacat.properties</div>

  <p>where &lt;webapp_dir&gt; is the place that Tomcat looks for applications and 

  <context_dir> is the name of the Metacat application (usually knb).  Change the 

  following properties appropriately:</p>

  <ul>

    <li>ldap.administrators - a colon separated list of administrators</li>

    <li>ldap.url - the LDAP server url</li>

    <li>ldap.surl - the LDAP secure server url</li>  

  </ul>

  <p>Save the metacat.properties file and start Tomcat.</p>