Server

Taverna Server 2.x

Download the Taverna 2 Server Release 1 and follow the installation instructions below. Also check out the Server’s release notes and documentation.

The Server currently only runs on Linux and Mac OS. If you wish to run Taverna 2 Server Release 1 on a Windows or other operating system, then you should install it as a virtual machine (see below).

The Web Demonstrator client interface and the Taverna 2 Server Release 1 Virtual Machine (including the Demonstrator interface) are also available.

The Web Demonstrator represents a simple Web-based interface for accessing some of the Server’s functionalities, such as uploading and running workflows, and viewing workflow results. It uses a Ruby gem for accessing the Server’s REST interface.

The Server Virtual Machine enables you to quickly set everything up without installing the individual software components yourself. You will, however, need some virtualization software to run the VM in.

System Requirements

Operating system

The Server can currently be installed on Linux and MAC OS.

Java

You will need a Java 6 installation. You can download Java from Sun Microsystems.

WebApp container

You will need a suitable servlet container.

The Server has been developed using Tomcat 6.0.26 as the servlet container, but other versions of Tomcat are known to work (back to at least 6.0.20) and other containers may also function correctly as no Tomcat-specific APIs are used in the deployable code. We welcome feedback on which containers work, as well as on how to configure them (if they are not Tomcat versions).

Installation into Tomcat

Note that these instructions are Tomcat-specific.

Step 1. Configure Tomcat for JMX
If you are going to use JMX to administer the Server (good for demos; jvisualvm is recommended if you have got the JMX support plugin, and jconsole is acceptable) then you need to edit Tomcat’s /bin/startup.sh script to include the setting:

export CATALINA_OPTS=-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote

This works around a minor bug in Spring which prevents correct registration of management beans in the default internal management service. You should also add additional options there to ensure that the JMX management layer is secure; see the Java JMX documentation for a discussion of how to do this.

Users on Windows should edit /bin/startup.bat instead, adding the line:

set CATALINA_OPTS=-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote

Step 2. Configure Tomcat for General Management
Add a user entry in <TOMCATDIR>/conf/tomcat-users.xml so that the manager WebApp can know who you are and that you have permission to deploy WebApps (i.e. the “manager” role).

If you want to configure Tomcat to support HTTPS (recommended!) then this is the point to do it. Follow the instructions on the Tomcat site. Note that this only enables private communication with the Taverna Server, it does not enforce it and it does not guarantee that access controls will be enforced. These issues will be addressed in future releases of the Taverna Server.

Now start Tomcat (or restart it).

Step 3. Prepare for Taverna Server 2 WebApp installation
Save the text below as context.xml on the machine where you are going to install the Server, updating the bold part to say where your Taverna’s executeworkflow.sh script is located. This is currently the only required configuration step.

<Context path="/taverna-server">
    <Parameter name="executeWorkflowScript" override="false"
           value="/usr/local/taverna-2.2/executeworkflow.sh"/>
</Context>

Step 4. Download the WebApp archive
Make sure that the .war file is also saved to the machine on which you will be installing the Server.

Step 5. Install the WebApp
Navigate to http://<SERVER:PORT>/manager/html and go to the Deploy box. Fill it in with:

Field Value
Context Path (required) /taverna-server
XML Configuration file URL file:/path/to/context.xml
WAR or Directory URL file:/path/to/TavernaServer.war

Press the Deploy button; after a few seconds, Tomcat should respond with OK (at the top of the reloaded page) and you will have the Taverna Server WebApp installed at http://<SERVER:PORT>/taverna-server.

Taverna Server 1.7.x

Taverna Server 1.7.x is the latest in the previous generation of the Server and is using the Taverna 1.x codebase. It combines a Remote Execution Service with the Remote Execution plugin for Taverna 1.7.x to users the possibility to set up a dedicated server for executing workflows remotely. The user can submit workflows from Taverna 1.7.x, detach, and check their execution status later either from Taverna Workbench 1.7.x or from a Web page.

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