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Replication
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===========
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.. Note:: 
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  Note that much of the functionality provided by the replication subsystem in Metacat
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  has now been generalized and standardized by DataONE, so consider utilizing the
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  DataONE services for replication as it is a more general and standardized approach
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  than this Metacat-specific replication system.  The Metacat replication system
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  will be supported for a while longer, but will likely be deprecated in a future
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  release in favor of using the DataONE replication approach. 
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Metacat has a built-in replication feature that allows different Metacat servers 
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to share data (both XML documents and data files) between each other. Metacat 
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can replicate not only its home server's original documents, but also those 
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that were replicated from partner Metacat servers. When changes are made to 
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one server in a replication network, the changes are automatically propogated 
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to the network, even if the network is down.
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Replication allows users to manage their data locally and (by replicating them 
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to a shared Metacat repository) to make those data available to the greater 
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scientific community via a centralized search. In other words, your Metacat can 
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be part of a broader network, but you retain control over the local repository 
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and how it is managed.
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For example, the KNB Network (Figure 6.1), which currently consists of ten 
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different Metacat servers from around the world, uses replication to "join" 
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the disperate servers to form a single robust and searchable data 
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repository--facilitating data discovery, while leaving the data ownership and 
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management with the local administrators.
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.. figure:: images/screenshots/image059.jpg
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   :align: center
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   A map of the KNB Metacat network.
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When properly configured, Metacat's replication mechanism can be triggered by 
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several types of events that occur on either the home or partner server: a 
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document insertion, an update, or an automatic replication (i.e., Delta-T 
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monitoring), which is set at a user-specified time interval.
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+----------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
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| Replication Triggers | Description                                              |
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+======================+==========================================================+
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| Insert               | Whenever a document is inserted into Metacat, the server |
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|                      | notifies each server in its replication list             |
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|                      | that it has a new file available.                        |
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+----------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
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| Update               | Whenever a document is updated, the server notifies      |
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|                      | each server in its replication list of the update.       |
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+----------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
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| Delta-T monitoring   | At a user-specified time interval, Metacat checks each   |
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|                      | of the servers in its replication list                   |
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|                      | for updated documents.                                   |
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+----------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
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Configuring Replication
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-----------------------
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To configure replication, you must configure both the home and partner servers:
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1. Create a list of partner servers on your home server using the Replication Control Panel
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2. Create certificate files for the home server
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3. Create certificate files for the partner server
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4. Import partner certificate files to the home server
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5. Import home certificate to the partner server
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6. Update your Metacat database 
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Each step is discussed in more detail in the following sections.
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Using the Replication Control Panel
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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To add, remove, or alter servers on your home server's Replication list, or to 
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activate and customize the Delta-T handler, use the Replication control panel, 
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which is accessed via the Metacat Administration interface at the following URL::
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   http://somehost.somelocation.edu/context/admin
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"http://somehost.somelocation.edu/context" should be replaced with the name 
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of your Metacat server and context (e.g., http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb/). 
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You must be logged in to Metacat as an administrator.
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.. figure:: images/screenshots/image061.jpg
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   :align: center
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   Replication control panel.
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Note that currently, you cannot use the Replication Control Panel to remove a 
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server after a replication has occurred. To stop replication between two servers,
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update the flags that control whether metadata and/or data are replicated.
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Generating and Exchanging Security Certificates
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Before you can take advantage of Metacat's replication feature, you must 
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generate security certificates on both the replication partner and home servers. 
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Depending on how the certificates are generated, the certificates may need to be
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exchanged so that each machine "trusts" that the other has replication access.
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Certificates that are purchased from a commercial and well-recognized 
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Certificate Authority do not need to be exchanged with the other replication
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partner before replication takes place.  Metacat replication relies on SSL with
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client certificate authentication enabled.  When a replication partner server 
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communicates with another replication partner, it presents a certificate that
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serves to verify and authenticate that the server is trusted.
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If you must generate a self-signed certificate, the partner replication server 
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will need that public certificate (or the certificate of the signing CA) added 
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to its existing Certificate Authorities. 
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Generate Certificates for Metacat running under Apache/Tomcat
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.............................................................
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Note: Instructions are for Ubuntu/Debian systems.
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1. Generate a private key using openssl. The key will be named 
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   ``<hostname>-apache.key``, where ``<hostname>`` is the name of your Metacat 
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   server. Example values for the individual key fields are included in the
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   table below.
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   ::
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     openssl req -new -out REQ.pem -keyout <hostname>-apache.key
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | Key Field                | Description and Example Value                                           |
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   +==========================+=========================================================================+
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   | Country Name             | Two letter country code  (e.g., US)                                     |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | State or Province Name   | The name of your state or province spelled in full (e.g., California)   |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | Locality Name            | The name of your city (e.g., Santa Barbara)                             |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | Organization Name        | The company or organization name (e.g., UCSB)                           |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | Organizational Unit Name | The department or section name (e.g., NCEAS)                            |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | Common Name              | The host server name without port numbers (e.g., myserver.mydomain.edu) |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | Email Address            | Administrator's contact email (e.g., administrator@mydomain.edu)        |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | A challenge password     | --leave this field blank--                                              |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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   | An optional company name | --leave this field blank--                                              |
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   +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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2. Create the local certificate file by running the command:
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   ::
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     openssl req -x509 -days 800 -in REQ.pem -key <hostname>-apache.key -out <hostname>-apache.crt
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   Use the same ``<hostname>`` you used when you generated the key. A file named 
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   ``<hostname>-apache.crt`` will be created in the directory from which you 
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   ran the openssl command. Note: You can name the certificate file anything 
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   you'd like, but keep in mind that the file will be sent to the partner 
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   machine used for replication. The certificate name should have enough 
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   meaning that someone who sees it on that machine can figure out where it 
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   came from and for what purpose it should be used. 
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3. Enter the certificate into Apache's security configuration. This will
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   be used to identify your server to a replication partner. You must 
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   register the certificate in the local Apache instance. Note that the 
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   security files may be in a different directory from the one used in the 
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   instructions depending on how you installed Apache. Copy the certificate and 
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   key file using the following commands:
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   ::
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     sudo cp <hostname>-apache.crt /etc/ssl/certs 
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     sudo cp <hostname>-apache.key /etc/ssl/private 
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4. Apache needs to be configured to request a client certificate when the 
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   replication API is utilized. The helper file named "metacat-site-ssl" has default 
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   rules that configure Apache for SSL and client certificate authentication. 
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   Set up these SSL settings by copying the metacat-site-ssl file into the ``sites-available`` 
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   directory, editing pertinent values to match your system and running 
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   ``a2ensite`` to enable the site. (Note: some settings in metacat-site-ssl need to be 
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   changed to match the specifics of your system and Metacat deployment.) 
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   ::
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     sudo cp <metacat_helper_dir>/metacat-site-ssl <apache_install_dir>/sites-available
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     sudo a2ensite metacat-site-ssl
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5. Enable the ssl module: 
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   ::
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     sudo a2enmod ssl
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6. Restart Apache to bring in changes by typing: 
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   ::
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     sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
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7. If using a self-signed certificate, SCP ``<hostname>-apache.crt`` to the 
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   replication partner machine where it will be added as an additional 
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   Certificate Authority.
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If using self-signed certificates, after you have created and SCP'd a 
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certificate file to each replication partner, and received a certificate file 
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from each partner in return, both home and partner servers must add the 
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respective partner certificates as Certificate Authorities.
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To import a certificate
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.......................
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1. Copy it into the Apache directory
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   ::
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     sudo cp <remotehostfilename> /etc/ssl/certs/
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2. Rehash the certificates for Apache by running: 
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   ::
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     cd /etc/ssl/certs
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     sudo c_rehash
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   where the ``<remotehostfilename>`` is the name of the certificate file 
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   created on the remote partner machine and SCP'd to the home machine. 
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To import a certificate into Java keystore (for self-signed certificates)
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1. Use Java's keytool to import to the default Java keystore
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   ::
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     sudo keytool -import -alias <remotehostname_alias> -file <remotehostfilename> -keystore $JAVA_HOME/lib/security/cacerts
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2. Restart Tomcat 
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   ::
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     sudo /etc/init.d/tomcat6 restart
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   where the ``<remotehostfilename>`` is the name of the certificate file 
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   created on the remote partner machine and SCP'd to the home machine and
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   <remotehostname_alias> is a short memorable alias for this certificate and 
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   $JAVA_HOME is the same as configured for running Tomcat. NOTE: the cacerts path may be different
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   depending on your exact Java installation.
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Update Metacat properties
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Metacat needs to be configured with the path to both the server certificate and the private key.
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1. Edit metacat.properties, modifying these properties to match your specific deployment.
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   ::
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     replication.certificate.file=/etc/ssl/certs/<hostname>-apache.crt
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     replication.privatekey.file=/etc/ssl/private/<hostname>-apache.key
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     replication.privatekey.password=<password, or blank if not protected>
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Update your Metacat database
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The simplest way to update the Metacat database to use replication is to use 
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the Replication Control Panel. You can also update the database using SQL. 
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Instructions for both options are included in this section.
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.. figure:: images/screenshots/image063.jpg
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   :align: center
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   Using the Replication Control Panel to update the Metacat database.
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To update your Metacat database to use replication, select the "Add this server" 
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radio button from the Replication Control Panel, enter the partner server name, 
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and specify how the replication should occur (whether to replicate xml, data, 
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or use the local machine as a hub).
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To update the database using SQL
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1. Log in to the database
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   ::
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     psql -U metacat -W -h localhost metacat
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2. Select all rows from the replication table
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   ::
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     select * from xml_replication;  
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3. Insert the partner server. 
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   ::
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     INSERT INTO xml_replication (server,last_checked,replicate,datareplicate,hub) VALUES ('<partner.server/context>/servlet/replication',NULL,1,1,0);
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   Where ``<partner.server/context>`` is the name of the partner server and 
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   context. The values 'NULL, 1,1,0' indicate (respectively) the last time 
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   replication occurred, that XML docs should be replicated to the partner 
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   server, that data files should be replicated to the partner server, and 
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   that the local server should not act as a hub. Set a value of 'NULL,0,0,0' 
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   if your Metacat is only receiving documents from the partner site and not 
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   replicating to that site.
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4. Exit the database 
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5. Restart Apache and Tomcat on both home and partner replication machines 
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