Copy the download file into the directory where you wish to install Tomcat. Do this by typing "cp jakarta-tomcat.tar.gz <install-dir>" where <install-dir> is the directory under which you want to place tomcat.
Change directory to <install-dir>. Do this by typing "cd <install-dir>"
Uncompress the file. Do this by typing "gunzip jakarta-tomcat.tar.gz" .
Do a directory listing by typing 'ls'. You should now see a file named "jakarta-tomcat.tar". This file is a single archive file that holds all the files needed to install Tomcat. This file can be expanded to create all the files for Tomcat.
Expand the file. Do this by typing "tar -xvf jakarta-tomcat.tar". You should see a list of all the files being created. It will scroll by pretty quickly.
Do a directory listing by typing "ls". You should see a directory called "jakarta-tomcat"
Are you already logged in as the Tomcat user? If not switch to that user. Do this by typing "su - <username>" where username is the username you want to use.
Go to the home directory of the user who will run Tomcat - Do this by typing "cd".
Determine which shell that user is using - Do this by typing "env | grep SHELL". The computer should output a line beginning with "SHELL=".
If "SHELL=/bin/bash" - Edit the .bash_profile
If "SHELL=/bin/tcsh" - Edit the .cshrc file

Start the server -

Checkout the server's default web page - Do this by typing "http://<hostname>:8080" in the location bar of your web browser. <hostname> is the name of the computer the web server is installed on. OR Click here if your web browser is running on the same machine as Tomcat. You should see a page with a cool Yellow Tomcat in the upper left corner. Next to that you should see a heading. The first line of the heading simply reads "Tomcat". The second line of the heading is the version number. The first sentence of the paragraph below the heading reads, "This is the default Tomcat home page."
Did you see the default web page? If Yes Congratulations. Tomcat seems to be working, but lets be sure. Click on the "Servlet Examples" link on the default Tomcat page. Execute a couple of the servlets that you find there. These servlets show some very basic functionality of the servlet API. If they do not function properly there is a very good chance that Tomcat is not installed properly. Retrace the installation steps to see if any were not executed properly. If this fails to resolve the problem post a message to the jakarta user mailing list
If you did not see the servers default webpage - Its time for some trouble shooting.