How to Install Apache Tomcat 9 on CentOS/RHEL 7/6 and Fedora 27/26/25

Tomcat is developed by Apache Foundations. Apache Tomcat is an open source web server for a Java-based web application. Tomcat is licensed under Apache License version 2. Apache Tomcat team has announced its latest Tomcat 9.0.4 release on Jan 18, 2018.

This article will help you to Install Tomcat 9 on CentOS, Red Hat and Fedora systems. To install other version of tomcat visit Tomcat 8 on CentOS & Red Hat.

Step 1 – Verify JAVA

Tomcat 9 is designed to run on Java SE 8 and later. So make sure you have installed correct version on your system.

java -version

java version "1.8.0_144"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_144-b01)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.144-b01, mixed mode)

If you don’t have Java installed on your system or installed lower version, use one of the following link to install Java first.

• Install Java 8 CentOS/RHEL & Fedora

Step 2 – Download Tomcat Archive

Download Apache Tomcat 9 archive file using following commands or you can visit Tomcat 9 official download page for download most recent available version. After downloading extract archive file in /opt directory. You may change this location as per your setup.

cd /usr/local
wget wget http://www-us.apache.org/dist/tomcat/tomcat-9/v9.0.4/bin/apache-tomcat-9.0.4.tar.gz
tar xzf apache-tomcat-9.0.4.tar.gz
mv apache-tomcat-9.0.4 tomcat9

Step 3 – Configure Environment Variables

Let’s configure CATALINA_HOME environment variable in your system using following commands. Its required to run Tomcat server.

echo "export CATALINA_HOME="/usr/local/tomcat9"" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Step 4 – Setup User Accounts

Finally we need to create user accounts to secure and access admin/manager pages. Edit conf/tomcat-users.xml file in your editor and paste inside <tomcat-users> </tomcat-users> tags.

vim /usr/local/tomcat9/conf/tomcat-users.xml

<!-- user manager can access only manager section -->
<role rolename="manager-gui" />
<user username="manager" password="_SECRET_PASSWORD_" roles="manager-gui" />

<!-- user admin can access manager and admin section both -->
<role rolename="admin-gui" />
<user username="admin" password="_SECRET_PASSWORD_" roles="manager-gui,admin-gui" />

Step 5 – Start Tomcat Service

Tomcat is very easy to use, There is no need to compile its source. You simply extract the archive and start the tomcat server. Tomcat by default start on port 8080, So make sure no other application using the same port.

cd /usr/local/tomcat9
./bin/startup.sh

[Sample Output]

Using CATALINA_BASE:   /usr/local/tomcat9
Using CATALINA_HOME:   /usr/local/tomcat9
Using CATALINA_TMPDIR: /usr/local/tomcat9/temp
Using JRE_HOME:        /opt/jdk1.8.0_144
Using CLASSPATH:       /usr/local/tomcat9/bin/bootstrap.jar:/usr/local/tomcat9/bin/tomcat-juli.jar
Tomcat started.

Step 6 – Access Tomcat in Browser

Tomcat server default works on port 8080. Access tomcat on a web browser by connecting your server on port 8080.

Access Tomcat Home:- This is default tomcat home page. There are no authentication required to access this page..

http://localhost:8080 

Access Manager App Page:- Click on Manager App button on home page.This page is allowed for Admin and Manager access both.

http://localhost:8080/manager/html 

Access Host Manager Page:- Click on Host Manager button on home page.This page is allowed for Admin access only.

http://localhost:8080/host-manager/html