Server Installation of Shibboleth Identity Provider (IdP): Clean Install

Although all Linux servers managed by UA OIT, Technical Services are RHEL, most of the instructions below are appropriate VMWare CentOS 6 and for Virtual Box CentOS 6. I have noted differences in installation for Virtual Box CentOS 6 where appropriate.

Install Web Server

Although other web servers can manage Shibboleth, at UA the server is implemented via Tomcat. As of 8 January 2014, Shibboleth IdP is restricted to Tomcat versions no higher than Tomcat 6. RHEL Tomcat is not an option due to the necessary location and configuration choices. The following link provides instructions for Tomcat 6 download/install as

​Tomcat 6 Download
​Tomcat 6 Documentation

Instructions specific to Shibboleth IdP versions 7 and higher can be found at:

​Preparing Apache Tomcat for the Shibboleth Identity Provider

Install Compatible JDK - Open JDK

RHEL Java installations are not compatible with Shibboleth IdP. Tomcat must also be configured to use Open JDK rather than RHEL. The following instructions guide users through determining which Open JDK java versions are appropriate for your server and then making the installation.

Determine the OpenJDK Version

RHEL Response

[root@anaconda]# yum makecache && yum search openjdk

...
=============================== N/S Matched: openjdk ===============================
java-1.6.0-openjdk.x86_64 : OpenJDK Runtime Environment
java-1.6.0-openjdk-demo.x86_64 : OpenJDK Demos
java-1.6.0-openjdk-devel.x86_64 : OpenJDK Development Environment
java-1.6.0-openjdk-javadoc.x86_64 : OpenJDK API Documentation
java-1.6.0-openjdk-plugin.x86_64 : OpenJDK Web Browser Plugin
java-1.6.0-openjdk-src.x86_64 : OpenJDK Source Bundle
java-1.7.0-openjdk.x86_64 : OpenJDK Runtime Environment
java-1.7.0-openjdk-demo.x86_64 : OpenJDK Demos
java-1.7.0-openjdk-devel.x86_64 : OpenJDK Development Environment
java-1.7.0-openjdk-javadoc.noarch : OpenJDK API Documentation
java-1.7.0-openjdk-src.x86_64 : OpenJDK Source Bundle
icedtea-web.x86_64 : Additional Java components for OpenJDK

Virtual Box CentOS 6

[root@localhost ~]# yum makecache && yum search openjdk

...

=============================== N/S Matched: openjdk ===============================
java-1.6.0-openjdk.i686 : OpenJDK Runtime Environment
java-1.6.0-openjdk-demo.i686 : OpenJDK Demos
java-1.6.0-openjdk-devel.i686 : OpenJDK Development Environment
java-1.6.0-openjdk-javadoc.i686 : OpenJDK API Documentation
java-1.6.0-openjdk-src.i686 : OpenJDK Source Bundle
java-1.7.0-openjdk.i686 : OpenJDK Runtime Environment
java-1.7.0-openjdk-demo.i686 : OpenJDK Demos
java-1.7.0-openjdk-devel.i686 : OpenJDK Development Environment
java-1.7.0-openjdk-javadoc.noarch : OpenJDK API Documentation
java-1.7.0-openjdk-src.i686 : OpenJDK Source Bundle
icedtea-web.i686 : Additional Java components for OpenJDK - Java browser plug-in and
                 : Web Start implementation

Install Selected OpenJDK Version

The following command installs the desired java version of OpenJDK. The version will vary based on the results of the command above.

[root@localhost ~]# su -c "yum install java-1.7.0-openjdk"

Install ntpd

First determine if ntpd is installed on the server. If it is not, install it.

[root@localost ~]# chkconfig ntpd on