When working with CentOS, you'll encounter security mechanisms designed to prevent running services directly as root. The error env: /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite: Permission denied typically indicates one of these scenarios:

# Common causes:
1. Missing execute permission on init script
2. SELinux context issues
3. Improper file ownership

First check the basic permissions of your init script:

ls -l /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite
# Should show: -rwxr-xr-x

If execute permission is missing, fix it with:

chmod +x /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite

Even as root, the script might need proper ownership settings. For a service running as user 'supersite':

chown supersite:supersite /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite
chown -R supersite:supersite /path/to/tomcat7

On CentOS, SELinux often blocks execution of scripts in /etc/init.d. Check the context:

ls -Z /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite
# Should show: system_u:object_r:initrc_exec_t:s0

To restore the proper context:

restorecon -v /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite

Instead of running as root, configure systemd (modern CentOS versions):

# Create service file
cat << EOF > /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service
[Unit]
Description=Apache Tomcat
After=syslog.target network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=supersite
Group=supersite
Environment=CATALINA_PID=/opt/tomcat/temp/tomcat.pid
Environment=CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat
Environment=CATALINA_BASE=/opt/tomcat
ExecStart=/opt/tomcat/bin/startup.sh
ExecStop=/opt/tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

After making changes:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start tomcat
journalctl -xe  # Check for errors

For traditional init scripts, you can also test with:

sudo -u supersite /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite start

---

When trying to start Tomcat as root on CentOS, you might encounter the error:

env: /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite: Permission denied

This typically occurs due to incorrect file permissions or SELinux restrictions.

First, verify the permissions of your init script:

ls -l /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite

The output should show executable permissions (-rwxr-xr-x). If not, run:

chmod 755 /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite

On CentOS, SELinux might be blocking execution. Check the status:

sestatus

If enabled, try temporarily disabling it for testing:

setenforce 0

For a permanent solution, adjust the SELinux context:

chcon -t initrc_exec_t /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite

It's recommended to run Tomcat under a dedicated user (not root). Here's a complete setup example:

# Create tomcat user
useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin tomcat

# Set ownership
chown -R tomcat:tomcat /opt/tomcat7

# Update init script to use tomcat user
sed -i 's/USER=root/USER=tomcat/g' /etc/init.d/tomcat7-supersite

For modern CentOS versions, consider using systemd:

cat > /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service << EOF
[Unit]
Description=Apache Tomcat
After=syslog.target network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=tomcat
Group=tomcat
Environment=JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/jre
Environment=CATALINA_PID=/opt/tomcat/temp/tomcat.pid
Environment=CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat
Environment=CATALINA_BASE=/opt/tomcat
ExecStart=/opt/tomcat/bin/startup.sh
ExecStop=/opt/tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start tomcat

After making changes, verify Tomcat is running:

ps aux | grep tomcat
curl -I http://localhost:8080

If issues persist, check logs:

journalctl -xe
tail -f /opt/tomcat/logs/catalina.out