Metacat

Configuring Metacat

===================

.. contents::

When Metacat (Tomcat) is started, the Metacat servlet checks to see if it is 

configured. If not, Metacat will automatically send you to the configuration 

pages. 

If the installation is new, or the previous version is before 1.9.0, 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 configuration 

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

correct.

To access your Metacat, open a Web browser and type::

  http://<your_context_url>

Where <your_context_url> is the URL of the server hosting the Metacat followed 

by the name of the WAR file (i.e., the application context) that you installed.

For instance, the context URL for the KNB Metacat is: http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb

You can always open the configuration screen from within Metacat by typing::

  http://<your_context_url>/admin

Initial Configuration

---------------------

Before you can log in to the Metacat and configure it, you are required to 

confirm Metacat's back-up location and authentication configuration (if not 

already configured). Metacat will automatically attempt to locate an existing 

back-up directory, but you may need to correct the value or specify a directory 

(if the installation is new, or if Metacat was unable to determine the location 

of an existing back-up directory). The authentication configuration is required 

for logging in to the Metacat and for defining administrative accounts. 

Instructions for `Changing Authentication Configuration without Authentication`_ 

are included at the end of this section.

Back-up Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To preserve its configuration settings, Metacat backs up crucial configuration details to 

a directory outside the application directories. Because a new installation/upgrade 

does not know where this external directory is, Metacat uses a discovery 

algorithm to locate it. If Metacat cannot identify a backup directory, you will 

see the Backup Directory Configuration screen.

NOTE: If the metacat.properties file has many custom settings, it should be manually 

backed up before any Metacat upgrade as deploying a new Metacat war file will overwrite

the existing file.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image011.png

   :align: center

   Configuring the Backup Directory.

Authentication Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whether you are installing or upgrading the Metacat servlet, you will 

automatically be sent to the Authentication Configuration page. You can also 

reach the Authentication Configuration page from a running Metacat by typing::

  http://<your_context_url>/admin

Metacat uses LDAP as its primary authentication mechanism, but you can define 

your own authentication mechanism by creating a Java class that implements 

``AuthInterface``. Required configuration values are: Authentication Class, 

Authentication URL, Authentication Secure URL, and Metacat Administrators. 

Make sure that your user account information is entered into the Metacat 

Administrators field (e.g., uid=daigle,o=nceas,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org). You 

will not be allowed to continue with configuration if this is missing. 

NOTE: To create an LDAP account on the KNB LDAP server (specified as the 

default LDAP server), go to http://knb.ecoinformatics.org and select the 

"create a new user account" link.

If you make changes to the authentication settings, you must restart Tomcat to 

put them into effect.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image009.png

   :align: center

   Configuring Authentication Values.

Changing Authentication Configuration without Authentication

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you need to change or add authentication information and cannot authenticate 

using the existing authentication settings (e.g., the existing Metacat 

administrator is no longer available or you forgot the administrator password), 

you must edit the Metacat configuration file by hand. This ensures 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.

To edit the authentication configuration file:

1. Stop Tomcat and edit the Metacat properties (``metacat.properties``) file in the

   Metacat context directory inside the Tomcat application directory. The 

   Metacat context directory is the name of the application (usually knb):

  ::

    <tomcat_app_dir>/<context_dir>/WEB-INF/metacat.properties

2. Change the following properties appropriately:

  ::

    auth.administrators - a colon separated list of administrators 

    auth.url - the authentication server URL 

    auth.surl - the authentication secure server URL

3. Save the ``metacat.properties`` file and start Tomcat.

Logging in to Metacat

---------------------

In order to configure Metacat, you must log in with an administrative account 

that has been configured in the Authentication Configuration settings. If you 

did not set up the correct administrative user there, you must change the 

authentication configuration by hand before you can log in.

In the log-in screen enter your user name and password and click 

the "Login" button.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image015.png

   :align: center

   Logging into Metacat.

Required Configuration

----------------------

All required Metacat settings can be accessed from the Metacat Configuration 

utility, which becomes available after the initial configurations 

have been specified and an authorized administrator logs in. 

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image017.png

   :align: center

   Metacat configuration menu, showing each configuration section.  Once all

   sections are marked as green ``configured``, metacat can be accessed.

The configuration settings are grouped into five sections (Metacat Global 

Properties, Authentication Configuration, Skins Specific Properties, Database 

Installation/Upgrade, Geoserver, DataONE, and Replication Configuration), 

each of which is listed with its current status (see table).

==============  =============================================================

Status          Description

==============  =============================================================

[unconfigured]  The section has yet to be configured 

[configured]    The section has been configured. 

[bypassed]      The administrator 

                can choose not to configure or skip the section.

==============  =============================================================

To the right of each configuration section is one of the following options: 

Configure Now, Reconfigure Now, Configure Global Properties First, or 

Version:X.X.X. If the option is linked (e.g., Configure Now or Reconfigure Now), 

you can select the link to open the associated configuration settings and edit them. 

If the option is not linked (e.g., Configure Global 

Properties First), the settings cannot be specified until the global properties 

are set. Once the global properties are configured, the option to configure this 

section becomes available. The Version:X.X.X option is used only for the 

Database Installation/Upgrade section. If the database schema version detected 

by Metacat matches the application version (eg, 1.9.0), then no further database 

configuration is required.

All settings must be in a configured or bypassed state in order to run Metacat. 

For new installations or upgrades, click the "go to metacat" link that appears 

after configuration is complete to go directly to Metacat. Note that Metacat 

indexes at start-up time, so the initial start-up may take some time depending 

on the amount of data in your database and wheter or not you have opted to regenerate the spatial cache. 

If you are reconfiguring a running 

version of Metacat, you must restart the Tomcat server for the changes to 

take effect.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image019.png

   :align: center

   The Metacat settings as they appear after having been configured.

Global Properties (server, ports, etc)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Metacat configurations included under Global Properties represent the bulk 

of the settings required to run Metacat. Click a blue question-mark 

icon beside any setting for detailed instructions. More information about each 

property is also included in the :doc:`metacat-properties`.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image021.png

   :align: center

   The Metacat Global Properties editing screen.

When you save global properties, Metacat also saves a back-up file that is 

located in ``/var/metacat/.metacat`` (on Linux) or 

``C:\Program Files\metacat\.metacat`` (on Windows). When you update Metacat, 

the system automatically locates the back-up file so you do not have to re-enter 

the configuration settings.

The first time you install Metacat, the system attempts to automatically detect 

the values for a number of settings (see table). It is important to ensure that 

these values are correct.

================  ============================================================

Property          Description

================  ============================================================

Metacat Context   The name of the deployed Metacat WAR file (minus the .war 

                  extension). E.g., "knb"

Server Name       The DNS name of the server hosting Metacat, not including 

                  port numbers or the protocol ("http://"). 

HTTP Port         The non-secure port where Metacat will be available.

HTTP SSL Port     The secure port where Metacat will be available. 

Deploy Location   The directory where the application is deployed. 

================  ============================================================

Authentication Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because you must specify the Authentication settings before you can access the 

main configuration page, the settings will always be configured when you view 

them in the admin interface. If you wish to change the authentication settings, 

you must restart Metacat to put the changes into effect. For more information 

about the Authentication configurations, please see Initial Configurations.

Skins Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Customizing the look and feel of Metacat's Web interface is done via skins, 

which are applied in the Skins Configuration section. If you have installed 

the optional Registry, which provides a Web interface for creating, editing, 

and submitting content to the Metacat, you can also choose which form fields 

appear in that interface and which are required. Note that if you do not have 

a custom skin AND you are not using the Registry, you can simply save the 

default configuration.

If your Metacat has a customized skin, it will appear as a choice in the 

Skins Configuration settings (see below screenshot). You can create your own skins as 

well. For more information about creating skins, please see the section called

`Creating a Custom Skin`_.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image023.png

   :align: center

   Configuring Metacat skins.

Select the checkbox next to your customized skin and click the 

``Make <skin_name> default`` radio button. If you do not have a custom skin, 

select the ``default`` skin. Once you have selected a skin, Metacat will open 

a list of options that apply to the Registry interface.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image025.png

   :align: center

   Configuring Metacat skins.

Select the lists and modules that you would like to appear in the Registry 

form-interface by checking the box beside each. When you save the configuration, 

the customized interface will appear to site visitors.

Database Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because the Database Configuration is dependent on values specified in the 

Global Properties section, the link to these settings does not become active 

until after the global settings have been saved. Once the global settings have 

been saved, Metacat automatically detects the database schema version and 

upgrades it if necessary (and with your permission). 

* New Installation

* Upgrade

New Installation

................

If Metacat determines that your database is new, the Database Install/Upgrade 

utility lists the SQL scripts that will run in order to create a database 

schema for the new version of Metacat.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image027.png

   :align: center

   Database installation creates tables needed for Metacat.

If the database is not new, or if you have any questions about whether it is 

new or not, choose Cancel and contact support at knb-help@nceas.ucsb.edu. 

When you choose Continue, Metacat runs the listed scripts and creates the 

database schema.

Upgrade

.......

If Metacat identifies a previous database schema, the Database Install/Upgrade 

utility notes the existing version and lists the SQL scripts that will run in 

order to update the schema for the new version of Metacat.

If the detected schema version is incorrect, or if you have any questions about 

whether it is correct or not, click the Cancel button and contact support at 

knb-help@nceas.ucsb.edu.When you choose to continue, Metacat runs the listed 

scripts and updates the database schema.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image029.png

   :align: center

   Upgrading an existing database.

Additional upgrade tasks may also run after the database upgrade is complete.

For systems hosting large amounts of data, these upgrade routines can take time to complete.

It is important to let the process complete before using Metacat otherwise your deployment may become unstable.

Geoserver Configuration (Highly Recommended)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. sidebar:: Manual Geoserver Update

  Alternatively, you can change the Geoserver username and password manually by 

  directly logging in to the Geoserver. To configure the credentials manually: 

  1. Go to the Geoserver admin page: http://<your_context_url>/geoserver/ 

  2. Log in using the default username and password ( admin / geoserver ) 

  3. Navigate to the Password Change Page.  Enter a new user and password and click Submit. 

  4. Click Apply then Save to save your new password. 

Metacat comes bundled with a Web Mapping Service called Geoserver, which 

converts spatial data into Web-deliverable map images. Geoserver installs with 

a default administrative username and password. *We highly recommend that you 

change the default credentials so that only local administrators can make 

changes to your Geoserver.* For more information about Geoserver, 

see :doc:`geoserver`.

When you choose the Geoserver Configuration link from the main configuration 

screen, Metacat will prompt you for a few important details about your Geoserver 

installation. The data directory and context settings allow Geoserver and 

Metacat to share the same spatial data store and render maps within Metacat skins. 

The security configuration prompts for a new admin password. After you enter 

the new settings, Metacat writes the information to the Geoserver deployment.

The default settings are typically appropriate for most Metacat deployments, 

but if you wish to skip the Geoserver configuration, click the Bypass button. 

Geoserver (if deployed) will remain with a default configuration and the main 

Metacat configuration screen will display the "bypassed" status beside the 

Geoserver settings. You will be able to run Metacat, but maps will not be 

rendered.

.. figure:: images/screenshots/image031.png

   :align: center

   Configuring Geoserver.

DataONE Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Metacat can be configured to operate as a Member Node within the DataONE

federation of data repositories.  See :doc:`dataone` for background and details

on DataONE and details about configuring Metacat to act as a DataONE Member Node.

Replication Configuration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Metacat can be configured to replicate its metadata and/or data content to another

Metacat instance for backup and redundancy purposes, as well as to share data across

sites.  This feature has been used to create the Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity

(KNB), as well as other networks.  See :doc:`replication` for details on

the replication system and how to configure Metacat to replicate with another node.

.. Note:: 

  Note that much of the functionality provided by the replication subsystem in Metacat

  has now been generalized and standardized by DataONE, so consider utilizing the

  DataONE services for replication as it is a more general and standardized approach

  than this Metacat-specific replication system.  The Metacat replication system

  will be supported for a while longer, but will likely be deprecated in a future

  release in favor of using the DataONE replication approach. 

Additional Configuration

------------------------

The most dynamic Metacat properties are managed and modified with the 

form-based Metacat Configuration utility. These configuration properties can 

also be accessed directly (along with additional static properties) via 

Metacat's property files: ``metacat.properties`` (which contains global 

properties, e.g., authorization and database values) and 

``<SKIN_NAME>.properties`` (which contains skin-specific properties). Each of 

these property files is discussed in more depth in this section.

The ``metacat.properties`` file

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Metacat's ``metacat.properties`` file contains all of Metacat's global 

properties, both the dynamic properties, which are managed with the 

Configuration utility, as well as the more static properties, which can only 

be modified manually in this file. The ``metacat.properties`` file also contains 

optional properties that are only relevant when optional Metacat features 

(such as the harvester or replication) are enabled. The `

`metacat.properties file`` is found here::

  <CONTEXT_DIR>/WEB_INF/metacat.properties

Where ``<CONTEXT_DIR>`` is the directory in which the Metacat application code 

lives (e.g., ``/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/knb``). The path is a combination 

of the Web application directory (e.g., ``/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/``) and 

the Metacat context directory (e.g., ``knb``). Both values depend upon how your 

system was set up during installation.

For information about each property and default or example settings, please 

see the :doc:`metacat-properties`. Properties that can only be edited manually 

in the metacat.properties file are highlighted in the appendix.

<SKIN_NAME>.properties

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ``<SKIN_NAME>.properties`` file contains skin-specific properties 

(e.g., template information). For each skin, the skin-specific properties are 

found here::

  <CONTEXT_DIR>/style/skins/<SKIN_NAME>/<SKIN_NAME>.properties

Where ``<CONTEXT_DIR>`` is the directory in which the Metacat application code 

lives (described above) and ``<SKIN_NAME>`` is the name of the skin 

(e.g., ``default`` or ``nceas``).

Creating a custom skin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skins are used in Metacat to customize the appearance of the search and display

web interface that is presented by Metacat.  Skins can be used to make a Metacat

instance exactly integrate into an existing web site, and are fully customizable.

To create and customize your own Metacat skin, you must first create a skin 

directory. This is most easily accomplished by copying one of the existing skin 

directories. Step-by-step directions for creating and installing a custom skin 

are included below:

1. Copy an exisiting skin directory. We recommend using the "default" directory.

  ::

    sudo cp -r <CONTEXT_DIR>/style/skins/default/ <CONTEXT_DIR>/style/skins/[yourSkin]/

  Where ``<CONTEXT_DIR>`` is the directory in which the Metacat application 

  code lives  and ``[yourSkin]`` is the name you wish to apply to your skin.

2. In ``[yourSkin]`` directory, change all files named ``default.xxx`` to 

   ``yourSkin.xxx``. The following files should be changed:

  ::

    default.css

    default.js

    default.properties

    default.properties.metadata.xml

    default.xml

3. In the metacat.properties file(``<CONTEXT_DIR>/WEB_INF/metacat.properties``), 

   add ``[yourSkin]`` to the value of the skin.names property.

4. Restart Tomcat. Log in as the user that runs your Tomcat server (often "tomcat") and type:

  ::

    /etc/init.d/tomcat6 restart

Navigate to Metacat's Configuration utility  and select the Configure Skins 

option. Your custom skin should appear as a choice in the skins list. Change 

the layout and style by modifying the header, footer, css, and other files in 

your new skin directory.

It is important to note that all customized skins will be overwritten when 

Metacat is reinstalled or upgraded. Please remember to back up your skins before

reinstalling or upgrading Metacat.