Project

General

Profile

1
<!-- 
2
  *   '$RCSfile$'
3
  *     Purpose: web page describing the installation of Metacat
4
  *   Copyright: 2008 Regents of the University of California and the
5
  *               National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
6
  *     Authors: Chad Berkley
7
  *
8
  *    '$Author: daigle $'
9
  *    '$Date: 2008-11-19 16:48:24 -0800 (Wed, 19 Nov 2008) $'
10
  *    '$Revision: 4597 $'
11
  *
12
  *
13
  -->
14
  
15
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD html 4.0//EN">
16
<html>
17

    
18
<head>
19
  <title>Metacat Configuration Instructions</title>
20
  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./common.css">
21
  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./default.css">
22
</head>
23

    
24
<body>
25

    
26
<table class="tabledefault" width="100%">
27
<tr><td rowspan="2"><img src="./images/KNBLogo.gif"></td>
28
<td colspan="7">
29
<div class="title">Metacat Configuration</div>
30
</td>
31
</tr>
32
<tr>
33
  <td><a href="/" class="toollink"> KNB Home </a></td>
34
  <td><a href="/data.html" class="toollink"> Data </a></td>
35
  <td><a href="/people.html" class="toollink"> People </a></td>
36
  <td><a href="/informatics" class="toollink"> Informatics </a></td>
37
  <td><a href="/biodiversity" class="toollink"> Biocomplexity </a></td>
38
  <td><a href="/education" class="toollink"> Education </a></td>
39
  <td><a href="/software" class="toollink"> Software </a></td>
40
</tr>
41
</table>
42
<hr>
43

    
44
<div class="header1">Table of Contents</div>
45
<div class="toc">
46
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#Overview">Overview</a></div>
47
      <div class="toc2"><a href="#MetacatConfiguration">Metacat Configuration</a></div> 
48
      <div class="toc2"><a href="#ConfigurationRules">Configuration Rules</a></div>
49
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#authConfig">Authentication Configuration</a></div>
50
      <div class="toc2"><a href="#AuthOverview">Authentication Overview</a></div> 
51
      <div class="toc2"><a href="#GetToAuthConfig">Getting to the Authentication Configuration</a></div> 
52
      <div class="toc2"><a href="#ConfigAuthNoAuth">Changing Authentication Configuration Without Authentication</a></div>
53
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#AdminLogin">Admin Log In</a></div>
54
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#AdminLoginOverview">Admin Log In</a></div>
55
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#LoggingIn">Logging In</a></div>
56
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#MainConfig">Main Configuration Page</a></div>
57
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#MainConfigOverview">Main Configuration Overview</a></div>
58
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#GlobalConfig">Global Properties Configuration</a></div>
59
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#GlobalConfigOverview">Global Properties Overview</a></div>
60
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#AutoDetection">Property Auto-Detection</a></div>
61
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#GlobalConfigBackup">Global Property Backup</a></div>  
62
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#SkinsConfig">Skins Configuration</a></div>  
63
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#SkinsConfigOverview">Skins Overview</a></div>
64
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#ChoosingDefaultSkin">Choosing a Default Skin</a></div>
65
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#ConfigOnlineRegistry">Configuring Online Registry</a></div>
66
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#DatabaseConfig">Database Configuration</a></div>
67
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#DatabaseConfigOverview">Database Configuration Overview</a></div>
68
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#DatabaseNewInstall">New Database Installation</a></div>
69
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#DatabaseUpgrade">Database Upgrade</a></div>
70
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#GeoserverConfig">Geoserver Configuration</a></div>
71
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#GeoserverUpdatePassword">Geoserver Password Update</a></div>
72
    <div class="toc2"><a href="#GeoserverManualUpdate">Geoserver Manual Update</a></div>  
73
  <div class="toc1"><a href="#CompleteConfig">Complete the Metacat Configuration</a></div>
74
</div> 
75

    
76
<a name="Overview"></a><div class="header1">Overview</div>
77
<a name="MetacatConfiguration"></a><div class="header2">Metacat Configuration</div>
78
  <p>As of version 1.9.0, Metacat configuration is done internally by the application.  When
79
  Metacat (Tomcat) is started, it will check to see if it is configured.  If not, you will be 
80
  automatically sent to the configuration pages. </p>
81
  
82
  <p>If the installation is new, or the previous version is before 1.9.0, you will 
83
  need to pay close attention to the configuration values.  If you have upgraded 
84
  Metacat, and the previous version is 1.9.0 or later, Metacat will pull existing 
85
  values from a backup location.  You should still verify that the values are
86
  correct.</p>
87
  
88
  <p>Get to Metacat on your server by entering into the browser:</p>
89
  <div class="code">http://&lt;your_context_url&gt;</div>
90
  <p>Where &lt;your_context_url&gt is the url where Metacat will be served followed
91
  by the name of the war file(application context) that you installed.  For instance, 
92
  the KNB production Metacat url is:</p>
93
  <div class="code">http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb</div>
94
  
95
  <p>You can always go to the configuration screen from within Metacat by typing:
96
  <div class="code">&lt;your_context_url&gt;/admin</div>
97
  
98
<a name="ConfigurationRules"></a><div class="header2">Configuration Rules</div>   
99
  <p>The system will follow these rules in order to determine the order
100
  that the configuration will occur:</p>
101
  
102
  <ul>
103
    <li>
104
      Is Authentication Configured? If not, show 
105
      <a HREF="metacatconfigure.html#auth-config">Authentication Configuration Section</a>.  
106
      You will need to have authorizaiton configured in order to define administrative accounts
107
      and authenticate as one of these users.
108
    </li>
109
    <li>
110
      Are you logged in as an administrative user?  If not, show 
111
      <a HREF="metacatconfigure.html#admin-login">Administrator Login Page</a>.
112
      You can only configure Metacat as an administrator.
113
    </li>
114
    <li>
115
      Are main properties, skins or database unconfigured?  If so, show 
116
      <a HREF="metacatconfigure.html#main-config">Main Configuration Page</a>
117
      Note that you will not be able to select the database configuration utility 
118
      until main properties have been configured.
119
    </li>  
120
    <li>
121
      Are all sections configured?  If so, show 
122
      <a HREF="metacatconfigure.html#main-config">Main Configuration Page</a> which
123
      include instructions for going to Metacat server (or restarting Metacat if you 
124
      are reconfiguring a running server).
125
    </li> 
126
  </ul>
127
  
128
  <p> See the following sections for descriptions of how each of these work.  For more
129
  information on each field, click on the blue question mark icon to the right.</p>
130

    
131
<a name="AuthConfig"></a><div class="header1">Authentication Configuration</div>
132
<a name="AuthOverview"></a><div class="header2">Authentication Overview</div>
133
  <p>Metacat uses LDAP as it's primary authentication mechanism, but you can define
134
  your own mechanism by creating a java class that implements 
135
  AuthInterface. The configuration values needed are Authentication Class, Authentication URL, 
136
  Authentication Secure URL and Metacat Administrators.  You need 
137
  to verify that the the Authentication URL and Authentication Secure URL are correct (fig 1).  
138
  <span class="emphasis">You need to make sure that your user 
139
  account is entered into the Metacat Administrators field.  You will not be allowed
140
  to continue with configuration if this is missing.</span>
141

    
142
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/auth-config.png"/>
143
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 1 </div>
144

    
145
<a name="GetToAdminConfig"></a><div class="header2">Getting to the Authentication Configuration</div>
146
  <p>You will automatically be sent to the Authentication Configuration page if this is a new
147
  installation or upgrade.</p>
148
  
149
  <p>You can also get to the Administrative configuration from a running Metacat by typing:</p>
150
  <div class="code">&lt;your_context_url&gt;/admin</div>
151
  <p>You will be required to log in as an administrator and restart Metacat once you
152
  make changes.</p>
153
  
154
  <a name="ConfigAuthNoAuth"></a><div class="header2">Changing Authentication Configuration Without Authentication</div>
155
  <p>There is one exception to the log in rule.  That is when you need to change or add 
156
  authentication information, but you can't authenticate using the existing setup.  For example:</p>
157
  
158
  <ul>
159
    <li>The existing Metacat administrator is no longer available</li>
160
    <li>You forgot the administrator password.</li>
161
    <li>The configured authentication urls are unavailable and you need to configure new ones.</li>  
162
  </ul>
163
  
164
  <p>In this case, you will need to edit the Metacat configuration file by hand and
165
  make the changes.  This insures that only a person who has access to the Metacat
166
  server and the configuration files on that server will be able to change the
167
  administrator accounts</p>
168

    
169
  <p>Stop Tomcat and edit the Metacat properties file at:</p>
170
  <div class="code">&lt;webapp_dir&gt;/&lt;context_dir&gt;/WEB-INF/metacat.properties</div>
171
  <p>where &lt;webapp_dir&gt; is the place that Tomcat looks for applications and 
172
  &lt;context_dir&gt; is the name of the Metacat application (usually knb).  Change the 
173
  following properties appropriately:</p>
174
  
175
  <ul>
176
    <li>auth.administrators - a colon separated list of administrators</li>
177
    <li>auth.url - the authenication server url</li>
178
    <li>auth.surl - the authentication secure server url</li>  
179
  </ul>
180
  
181
  <p>Save the metacat.properties file and start Tomcat.</p>
182
  
183
<a name="AdminLogin"></a><div class="header1">Admin Log In</div>
184
<a name="AdminLoginOverview"></a><div class="header2">Admin Log In Overview</div>
185
  <p>Once authentication has been configured, you will be required to login as an 
186
  administrative user if you haven't already.  You will be taken to 
187
  the administrator login screen (fig 2).  You can also get to the login
188
  screen by choosing the "log in as different user" link at the bottom of
189
  any configuration screen.</p>
190
  
191
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/admin-login.png"/>
192
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 2 </div>
193

    
194
<a name="LoggingIn"></a><div class="header2">Logging In</div>
195
<p>You need to log in with an account that was configured as an administrative
196
user in the authentication configuration section.  If you did not set up the correct user 
197
there, you will need to go through the 
198
<a href="#ConfigAuthNoAuth">Changing Authentication Configuration Without Authentication</a>
199
instructions to set up the user.</p>
200

    
201
<p>Enter your user name.  This is one of the Metacat administrators that you 
202
entered in authenticationuthentication configuration.  Enter your password and
203
hit the "Login" button.  You should successfully log in.</p>
204

    
205
<a name="MainConfig"></a><div class="header1">Main Configuration Page</div>
206
<a name="MainConfigOverview"></a><div class="header2">Main Configuration Overview</div>
207
  <p>The main configuration screen acts as a gateway into individual configuration
208
  sections (fig 3).  You should see that the authentication is already configured.</p>  
209
  
210
  <p>Each section is listed with a status to the left which can be one of:</p>
211
  <ul>
212
    <li><font color="red">[unconfigured]</font> - the section has yet to be configured</li>
213
    <li><font color="green">[configured]</font> - the section has been configured</li>
214
    <li>
215
      <font color="green">[bypassed]</font> - this is currently only used for Geoserver 
216
      configuration.  The administrator can choose not to configure the Geoserver user/password.
217
      In essence, the bypass status acts like the configured status.
218
    </li>  
219
  </ul>
220
  
221
  <p>To the right of each section is an option which can be one of:
222
  <ul>
223
    <li>Configure Now - click on this link to configure that section</li>
224
    <li>Reconfigure Now - the section was already configured, but you can choose to reconfigure it.</li>
225
    <li>
226
      Configure Global Properties First - this section has a dependency on the global
227
      properties section.  Once global properties is configured, the option to configure
228
      this section should become available.
229
    </li>  
230
    <li>Version: X.X.X - this is used for the Database Installation/Upgrade section.  The system
231
      detects the database schema version.  If that version is the same as the application version,
232
      that version will be displayed (i.e. 1.9.0) and no further database configuration is
233
      required.
234
    </li>
235
  </ul>
236
  
237
  <p>All sections must be in a configured or bypassed state in order to run Metacat.</p>
238
  
239
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/main-config.png"/>
240
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 3 </div>
241
  
242
<a name="GlobalConfig"></a><div class="header1">Global Properties Configuration</div>
243
<a name="GlobalConfigOverview"></a><div class="header2">Global Properties Overview</div>
244
  <p>Metacat global properties are the bulk of the core properties needed to run Metacat 
245
  (fig 4).  For detailed instructions on setting these properties, refer to the blue 
246
  question mark icon to the right of each property.  Be sure that each of these are set
247
  appropriately.</p>
248
  
249
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/global-config.png"/>
250
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 4 </div>
251

    
252
<a name="AutoDetection"></a><div class="header2">Property Auto-Detection</div> 
253
   <p>The first time you install Metacat, the system will attempt to auto-detect
254
   some values.  These are:</p>
255
   
256
  <ul>
257
    <li>Metacat Context - Name of the context under which Metacat will run. This is the name 
258
        of the Metacat war file that was deployed (minus the .war extension).</li>
259
    <li>Server Name - The DNS name of the server where Metacat will be available, not including
260
        port numbers or the http:// header.</li>
261
    <li>HTTP Port - The non-secure port where Metacat will be available. </li>  
262
    <li>HTTP SSL Port - The secure port where Metacat will be available.</li>
263
    <li>Deploy Location - The directory where the application is deployed.</li>
264
  </ul>
265
  
266
  <p>You should be extra careful that these were detected correctly.</p>
267
  
268
<a name="GlobalConfigBackup"></a><div class="header2">Global Property Backup</div>
269
  <p>When you save global properties, they are saved in a backup file that is 
270
  located in the following directory:</p>
271
  <div class="code">/var/metacat/.metacat</div>
272
  <p>When you update Metacat, the system will look for these backed up properties
273
  so you won't have to re-enter all the information from previous installs.</p>
274
  
275
<a name="SkinsConfig"></a><div class="header1">Skins Configuration</div>
276
<a name="SkinsConfigOverview"></a><div class="header2">Skins Overview</div>
277
  <p>Metacat allows for a customized look and feel for the Metacat front end and for the 
278
  online data registry services.  There are two major functions provided by the
279
  skins configuration.  The first is to choose which skin will be the default.  The
280
  second will be to configure the look and feel of the online data registry pages.  For
281
  more information on the online data registry option, refer to the 
282
  <a href="./registry_installation.html">Metacat Registry Installation</a> documentation.</p>
283
  
284
  <p>Note that if you are not using the online registry, and you don't have a custom skin,
285
  you can just save the default skins configuration and move on to the next configuration
286
  section.</p>
287
  
288
<a name="ChoosingDefaultSkin"></a><div class="header2">Choosing a Default Skin</div> 
289
  <p>There are several skins available to choose from in Metacat (fig 5).  If you have a 
290
  skin that has been developed specifically for your instance of Metacat, you should
291
  select the checkbox next to that skin.  When you do, the form will open up with 
292
  several options for that skin (fig 6).  choose the 'Make "skin_name" default" radio selection.
293
  You should see "(default)" appear next to that skin name.  Save the configuration
294
  and that skin will be the one that appears when users visit your Metacat site.  Note
295
  that if you do not have a custom skin, you should leave your skin as the "default" skin.</p>
296
  
297
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/skins-config.png"/>
298
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 5 </div>  
299

    
300
<a name="ConfigOnlineRegistry"></a><div class="header2">Configuring Online Registry</div> 
301
  <p>The online registry code provides a web interface for entering data into Metacat.  The
302
  screens are somewhat configurable as far as which fields show up and which are required.
303
  You should select each for which you want to activate the registry and then select the
304
  appropriate fields for that skin.</p> 
305
   
306
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/skins-config-2.png"/>
307
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 6 </div>  
308
  
309
<a name="DatabaseConfig"></a><div class="header1">Database Configuration</div>
310
<a name="DatabaseConfigOverview"></a><div class="header2">Database Configuration Overview</div>
311
  <p>Metacat will detect the schema version of your database, and upgrade it if necessary.  Once the
312
  global Metacat properties have been configured, the Database Installation/Upgrade link 
313
  will become active on the main Metacat configuration page (see fig 3).</p>
314

    
315
<a name="DatabaseNewInstall"></a><div class="header2">New Database Installation</div>
316
  <p>If this is a installation of Metacat, the database install/upgrade utility will
317
  inform you of this (fig 7).  It will list the sql scripts that will get run in order
318
  to create a database schema for the version of Metacat that you are installing.  If
319
  there is any question as to whether the database is new, you should choose to cancel.
320
  When you choose to continue, the server will run the scripts you saw earlier.</p>
321
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/database-config.png"/>
322
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 7 </div> 
323
 
324
<a name="DatabaseUpgrade"></a><div class="header2">Database Upgrade</div> 
325
  <p>If this is an upgrade of Metacat, the database install/upgrade utility will
326
  inform you of the current version of the database (fig 7).  It will list the sql scripts 
327
  that will get run in order to update the database schema to the upgraded version of 
328
  Metacat.  If there is any question as to whether the detected database schema version is 
329
  correct, you should choose to cancel. When you choose to continue, the server will run 
330
  the scripts you saw earlier.</p>
331
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/database-config-2.png"/>
332
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 8 </div> 
333
 
334
<a name="GeoserverConfig"></a><div class="header1">Geoserver Configuration</div>
335
<a name="GeoserverOverview"></a><div class="header2">Geoserver Configuration Overview</div> 
336
  <p>Metacat comes bundled with a Web Mapping Service called Geoserver which 
337
  converts spatial data into web-deliverable map images.  For more information, see the
338
  <a href="./spatial_option.html">Metacat Spatial Option documentation</a>.  Geoserver 
339
  installs with a default admin username and password.  You should change these so that
340
  only local administrators can make changes to Geoserver.</p>
341
<a name="GeoserverUpdatePassword"></a><div class="header2">Geoserver Password Update</div>
342
  <p>When you choose the Geoserver Configuration link on the main configuratio page, you
343
  will go to a page that will prompt you for a user name and password (fig 9).  When you 
344
  enter a user name and password, the metacat server will contact the embedded Geoserver
345
  server and change the login credentails.</p>
346
  <p>You also have the option of choosing "bypass".  This will leave Geoserver configured
347
  with the default user name and password.  The main configuration screen will show the 
348
  bypassed status.  The system will interpret the bypassed status the same as the configured
349
  status.</p>
350
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/geoserver-config.png"/>
351
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 9 </div> 
352
<a name="GeoserverManualUpdate"></a><div class="header2">Geoserver Manual Update</div>
353
  <p>You also have the option of changeing the Geoserver username and password by logging
354
  in directly to the Geoserver.  For more information on changing the credentials directly,
355
  refer to the <a href="./geoserver-manual-configure.html">Geoserver Password Change documentation</a>.
356
  Note that once you change the credentails manually, you will not be able to use the 
357
  Metacat admin tool to change it again (until a new Metacat Upgrade or installation).
358
<a name="CompleteConfig"></a><div class="header1">Complete the Metacat Configuration</div>  
359
  At this point, all the sections of the main configuration should be in a configured or
360
  bypassed state (fig 10).  If you are configuring because of a Metacat install or upgrade,
361
  you will have the option to click on the "go to metacat" link and you should get taken
362
  directly to the running version of Metacat.  Note that this may take some time depending
363
  on the amount of data in your database, since Metacat goes through an indexing process
364
  at start-up time.</p>
365
  
366
  <p>If you are reconfiguring an already running version of Metacat, you will not have the
367
  option to go directly back to Metacat.  You will need to restart the server (Tomcat).</p>
368
  <img class="screenshot" src="./images/main-config-2.png"/>
369
  <div class="fig-text"> fig 10 </div> 
(25-25/59)