diff --git a/.project b/.project
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a30e836
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.project
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<projectDescription>
+	<name>smartgears-distribution</name>
+	<comment></comment>
+	<projects>
+	</projects>
+	<buildSpec>
+		<buildCommand>
+			<name>org.eclipse.m2e.core.maven2Builder</name>
+			<arguments>
+			</arguments>
+		</buildCommand>
+	</buildSpec>
+	<natures>
+		<nature>org.eclipse.m2e.core.maven2Nature</nature>
+	</natures>
+</projectDescription>
diff --git a/.settings/org.eclipse.m2e.core.prefs b/.settings/org.eclipse.m2e.core.prefs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7bf809
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.settings/org.eclipse.m2e.core.prefs
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+#Wed Sep 25 11:08:37 CEST 2013
+activeProfiles=
+eclipse.preferences.version=1
+resolveWorkspaceProjects=true
+version=1
diff --git a/distro/LICENSE b/distro/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..630ba97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+gCube System - License
+------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The gCube/gCore software is licensed as Free Open Source software conveying to the EUPL (http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/eupl).
+The software and documentation is provided by its authors/distributors "as is" and no expressed or 
+implied warranty is given for its use, quality or fitness for a particular case.
diff --git a/distro/MAINTAINERS b/distro/MAINTAINERS
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e8aa8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/MAINTAINERS
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+* Fabio Simeoni (fabio.simeoni@fao.org), FAO of the UN, Italy
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/README b/distro/README
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b73e693
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/README
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+The gCube System - ${name} 
+----------------------
+
+This work has been partially supported by the following European projects: DILIGENT (FP6-2003-IST-2), D4Science (FP7-INFRA-2007-1.2.2), 
+D4Science-II (FP7-INFRA-2008-1.2.2), iMarine (FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES-2011-2), and EUBrazilOpenBio (FP7-ICT-2011-EU-Brazil).
+
+Authors
+-------
+
+* Fabio Simeoni (fabio.simeoni@fao.org), FAO of the UN, Italy.
+
+Version and Release Date
+------------------------
+${version}
+
+Description
+-----------
+${description}
+
+Download information
+--------------------
+
+Source code is available from SVN:
+${scm.url}
+
+Binaries can be downloaded from:
+
+
+Documentation 
+-------------
+Documentation is available on-line from the Projects Documentation Wiki:
+https://gcube.wiki.gcube-system.org/gcube/index.php/....
+
+
+Licensing
+---------
+
+This software is licensed under the terms you may find in the file named "LICENSE" in this directory.
diff --git a/distro/changelog.xml b/distro/changelog.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc6e67b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/changelog.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<ReleaseNotes>
+	<Changeset component="${build.finalName}" date="">
+		<Change>First Release</Change>
+	</Changeset>
+</ReleaseNotes>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/contents/install b/distro/contents/install
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..34b0d20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/contents/install
@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+
+#set distro to script's parent directory
+distro=$(cd ${0%/*} && echo $PWD/${0##*/})
+distro=$(dirname $distro)
+
+echo "distro:$distro"
+
+distrolibs=$distro/libs
+distroapps=$distro/apps
+distroscripts=$distro/scripts
+liblist=smartgears.list
+
+
+function showhelp {
+  			   echo -e "\nusage:  install [-d <distro directory>] -s tomcat|<lib directory> -a [app directory] [-g gHN directory] [-x|-h] \n" 
+			   echo    "  <distro directory> = the directory with the distribution of SmartGears ${project.version}."
+			   echo    "                       By default, this is the parent directory of this script."
+			   echo    "  <lib directory>    = the directory with libraries shared by all applications in the target container."
+	    	   echo    "  <app directory>    = the directory with all the applications in the target container."
+			   echo    "  <gHN directory>    = the directory with logs and files related to the gCube Hosting Node."
+			   echo    "                       By default, this is value of the GHN_HOME env var."
+			   echo    "  tomcat             = Sets <lib directory> and <app directory> for a target Tomcat container."
+			   echo    "  x                  = dry run."
+		       echo -e "  h                  = shows this help.\n"
+}
+
+while getopts ":d:s:g:a:xh" opt; do
+  case $opt in
+	d) distro=$OPTARG;;
+    s) shared=$OPTARG;;
+    g) ghnhome=$OPTARG;;
+	a) apps=$OPTARG;;
+    x) dryrun="true";;
+    h) showhelp
+exit 0 ;;
+	:)  echo -e "\nERROR:option -$OPTARG requires an argument." >&2 ; 
+				showhelp; 
+				echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+				exit 1;;
+	\?) echo -e "\nERROR:invalid option: -$OPTARG"; 
+			showhelp; 
+			echo -e "\naborting.\n" 
+			exit 1 >&2 ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [ -z "$ghnhome" ]; then 
+	if [ -z "$GHN_HOME" ]; then 
+		echo -e "\nERROR:please specify the gHN directory (-g) or define the GHN_HOME env var." >&2
+		showhelp
+		echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+		exit 1
+	else
+		ghnhome=$GHN_HOME
+	fi
+fi
+if [ ! -d "$ghnhome" ]; then
+	if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+  		mkdir $ghnhome
+	fi
+fi
+
+ 
+#tomcat target
+if [ "$shared" = "tomcat" ]; then 
+	if [ -z "$CATALINA_HOME" ]; then 
+		echo -e "\nERROR: env var CATALINA_HOME is undefined." >&2
+		showhelp
+		echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+		exit 1
+	fi
+	shared=$CATALINA_HOME/lib
+	apps=$CATALINA_HOME/webapps
+fi
+
+#shared is set
+if [ -z "$shared" ]; then 
+	echo -e "\nERROR: shared directory is undefined (-s)." >&2
+	showhelp
+	echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+#shared exists and is a directory
+if [ ! -d "$shared" ]; then
+	echo -e "\nERROR: $shared does not exist or is not a directory, aborting." >&2
+	exit 1;
+fi
+
+#shared exists and is a directory
+if [ ! -d "$apps" ]; then
+	echo -e "\nERROR: $apps does not exist or is not a directory, aborting." >&2
+	exit 1;
+fi
+
+#distrolibs exists and is a directory
+if [ ! -d "$distrolibs" ]; then
+	echo -e "\nERROR: $distrolibs does not exist or is not a directory, aborting."  
+	exit 1;
+fi
+
+#distroapps exists and is a directory
+if [ ! -d "$distroapps" ]; then
+	echo -e "\nERROR: $distroapps does not exist or is not a directory, aborting."  
+	exit 1;
+fi
+
+echo -e "\nInstalling SmartGears ${project.version}\n"
+echo -e " target gHN directory    = $(cd $(dirname $ghnhome); pwd)/$(basename $ghnhome)"
+echo -e " target shared directory = $(cd $(dirname $shared); pwd)/$(basename $shared)"
+echo -e " target app directory    = $(cd $(dirname $apps); pwd)/$(basename $apps)"
+
+shopt -s nullglob
+
+#uninstall libraries
+if [ -f $shared/$liblist ]; then 
+	echo -e "\nuninstalling existing components \c"
+	while read line; do
+		if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	  		rm $shared/$line 
+		fi
+	 echo -n "."
+	 sleep .01
+
+     done < $shared/$liblist  	
+	 if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	  		rm $shared/$liblist
+	 fi	 
+	
+fi
+
+#install libraries
+echo -e "\ninstalling components            \c"
+for f in $distrolibs/*.*;
+	do
+	  if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+			cp $f $shared/ 	
+			basename $f >> $shared/$liblist
+		fi
+	  echo -n "."
+      sleep .01
+     done
+	
+	
+#install apps
+echo -e "\ninstalling applications          \c"
+for f in $distroapps/*;
+	do
+	  if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	  		cp $f $apps/
+		fi
+	  echo -n "."
+    sleep .01
+	done
+	
+#install scripts
+echo -e "\ninstalling scripts               \c"
+if [ ! -d "$ghnhome/scripts" ]; then
+	if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	  	mkdir $ghnhome/scripts
+	fi
+fi
+
+for f in $distroscripts/*;
+	do
+	  if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	  		cp $f $ghnhome/scripts/
+		fi
+	echo -n "."
+    sleep .01
+	done
+
+#install config
+echo -e "\ninstalling configuration         \c"
+if [ ! -d "$ghnhome/container.xml" ]; then
+	if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	  	cp $distro/container.xml $ghnhome/
+	fi
+	echo -n "."
+    sleep .01
+fi
+if [ -z "$dryrun" ]; then 
+	 cat $distro/logback.xml | sed "s|\${LOGFILE}|$ghnhome|" > $shared/logback.xml
+	 echo -n "."
+    sleep .01
+fi
+
+echo -e "\ndone.\n"
diff --git a/distro/contents/logback.xml b/distro/contents/logback.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..156620f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/contents/logback.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+
+<configuration>
+
+   <appender name="FILE" class="ch.qos.logback.core.FileAppender">
+    <file>${LOGFILE}/ghn.log</file>
+    <append>true</append>
+    <encoder>
+      <pattern>%d{HH:mm:ss.SSS} [%thread] %-5level %logger{0}: %msg%n</pattern>
+    </encoder>
+  </appender>
+  
+  <logger name="org.gcube" level="INFO" />
+  <logger name="org.gcube.smartgears" level="TRACE" />
+  <logger name="org.gcube.common.events" level="TRACE" />
+  
+  <root level="WARN">
+    <appender-ref ref="FILE" />
+  </root>
+</configuration>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/contents/samplecontainer.xml b/distro/contents/samplecontainer.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf21e1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/contents/samplecontainer.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<container mode='offline'>
+	
+	<hostname>localhost</hostname>
+	<port>8080</port>
+	<infrastructure>gcube</infrastructure>
+	<vo>devsec</vo>
+
+	<site>
+		<country>it</country>
+		<location>rome</location>
+		<latitude>41.9000</latitude>
+		<longitude>12.5000</longitude>
+	</site>
+	
+	<!--
+		<property name='prop1' value='val1' /> 
+		<property name='prop2' value='val2' /> 
+	 -->
+
+	<publication-frequency>60</publication-frequency>
+
+</container>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/contents/scripts/download b/distro/contents/scripts/download
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2bd011
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/contents/scripts/download
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+
+group=org.gcube.core
+artifact=common-smartgears
+repo=gcube-releases
+
+function showhelp {
+  			   echo -e "\nusage:  download [-v <version>] [-s|-h] \n" 
+               echo    "  <version>          = the version to download."
+               echo    "                     = By default, this is the latest known version."
+			   echo    "  s                  = download a snapshot version."
+			   echo    "  x                  = dry run."
+		       echo -e "  h                  = shows this help.\n"
+}
+
+while getopts ":v:sh" opt; do
+  case $opt in
+	v) version=$OPTARG;;
+	s) repo=gcube-snapshots;;
+    h) showhelp
+       exit 0 ;;
+	:)  echo -e "\nERROR:option -$OPTARG requires an argument." >&2 ; 
+				showhelp; 
+				echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+				exit 1;;
+	\?) echo -e "\nERROR:invalid option: -$OPTARG"; 
+			showhelp; 
+			echo -e "\naborting.\n" 
+			exit 1 >&2 ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+#######find latest version in target repo. could use LATEST but would not know how to reflect version in file name
+
+
+version_regexp=".*<baseVersion>\(.*\)</baseVersion>.*" 
+
+
+if [ -z "$version" ]; then 
+	version=`curl -silent -L "maven.research-infrastructures.eu/nexus/service/local/artifact/maven/resolve?r=$repo&g=$group&a=$artifact&v=LATEST&e=tar.gz&c=distro" \
+		| grep "$version_regexp" | sed "s|$version_regexp|\1|"` #(first extract matching line, then extract matching group)
+		
+		if [ -z "$version" ]; then 
+			echo -e "\nERROR: cannot find a version to download in $repo." >&2
+			echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+			exit 1
+		fi
+fi
+
+
+
+echo -e "\ndownloading common-smartgears-$version.tar.gz...\c" 
+
+
+http_code=`curl -s -o "common-smartgears-$version.tar.gz" -w "%{http_code}" -L "maven.research-infrastructures.eu/nexus/service/local/artifact/maven/redirect?r=$repo&g=$group&a=$artifact&v=$version&e=tar.gz&c=distro"`
+
+if [ ! "$http_code" = "200" ]; then 
+	echo -e "\n\nERROR: cannot download version $version from $repo." >&2
+	echo -e "\naborting.\n"
+	rm "common-smartgears-$version.tar.gz"
+	exit 1
+fi
+                         
+echo -e "done.\n"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/standalone.xml b/distro/standalone.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5a86f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/standalone.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+<assembly
+	xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/plugins/maven-assembly-plugin/assembly/1.1.0"
+	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/plugins/maven-assembly-plugin/assembly/1.1.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/assembly-1.1.0.xsd">
+	<id>distro</id>
+	<formats>
+		<format>tar.gz</format>
+	</formats>
+	<baseDirectory>${artifact.artifactId}-${project.version}</baseDirectory>
+	<fileSets>
+		<fileSet>
+			<outputDirectory>scripts</outputDirectory>
+			<directory>${distroDirectory}/contents/scripts</directory>
+			<useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
+			<includes>
+				<include>download</include>
+			</includes>
+			<fileMode>755</fileMode>
+			<filtered>true</filtered>
+		</fileSet>
+		<fileSet>
+			<directory>${distroDirectory}/contents</directory>
+			<outputDirectory>/</outputDirectory>
+			<useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
+			<includes>
+				<include>install</include>
+				<include>logback.xml</include>
+			</includes>
+			<fileMode>755</fileMode>
+			<filtered>true</filtered>
+		</fileSet>
+		<fileSet>
+			<directory>libs</directory>
+			<outputDirectory>libs</outputDirectory>
+			<useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
+			<fileMode>755</fileMode>
+		</fileSet>
+			<fileSet>
+			<directory>war</directory>
+			<outputDirectory>apps</outputDirectory>
+			<useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
+			<fileMode>755</fileMode>
+		</fileSet>
+	</fileSets>
+	<files>
+		<file>
+			<source>${distroDirectory}/contents/samplecontainer.xml</source>
+			<destName>container.xml</destName>
+			<filtered>true</filtered>
+		</file>
+	</files>
+</assembly>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/distro/svnpath.txt b/distro/svnpath.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f416f9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/svnpath.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+${scm.url} 
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e4e2dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+	<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+	<parent>
+		<artifactId>maven-parent</artifactId>
+		<groupId>org.gcube.tools</groupId>
+		<version>1.0.0</version>
+	</parent>
+	<groupId>org.gcube.distribution</groupId>
+	<artifactId>smartgears-distribution</artifactId>
+	<version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+	<packaging>pom</packaging>
+	<name>A distribution for the Smartgears Framework</name>
+
+	<properties>
+		<distroDirectory>distro</distroDirectory>
+	</properties>
+
+	<scm>
+		<connection>scm:svn:http://svn.d4science.research-infrastructures.eu/gcube/trunk/distributions/${project.artifactId}</connection>
+		<developerConnection>scm:svn:https://svn.d4science.research-infrastructures.eu/gcube/trunk/distributions/${project.artifactId}</developerConnection>
+		<url>http://svn.d4science.research-infrastructures.eu/gcube/trunk/distributions/${project.artifactId}</url>
+	</scm>
+	
+
+	<dependencyManagement>
+		<dependencies>
+			<dependency>
+				<groupId>org.gcube.distribution</groupId>
+				<artifactId>maven-smartgears-bom</artifactId>
+				<version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+				<type>pom</type>
+				<scope>import</scope>
+			</dependency>
+		</dependencies>
+	</dependencyManagement>
+
+	<dependencies>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.gcube.core</groupId>
+			<artifactId>common-smartgears</artifactId>
+		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.gcube.core</groupId>
+			<artifactId>common-smartgears</artifactId>
+			<version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+			<classifier>probe</classifier>
+			<type>war</type>
+		</dependency>
+	</dependencies>
+	<build>
+		<plugins>
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+				<artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
+				<version>2.5.1</version>
+				<executions>
+					<execution>
+						<id>copy-dependencies</id>
+						<phase>compile</phase>
+						<goals>
+							<goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
+						</goals>
+						<configuration>
+							<outputDirectory>${basedir}/libs</outputDirectory>
+							<overWriteReleases>false</overWriteReleases>
+							<overWriteSnapshots>false</overWriteSnapshots>
+							<overWriteIfNewer>true</overWriteIfNewer>
+							<excludeTypes>war</excludeTypes>
+							<stripVersion>true</stripVersion>
+						</configuration>
+					</execution>
+					<execution>
+						<id>copy-probe</id>
+						<phase>compile</phase>
+						<goals>
+							<goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
+						</goals>
+						<configuration>
+							<outputDirectory>${basedir}/war</outputDirectory>
+							<overWriteReleases>false</overWriteReleases>
+							<overWriteSnapshots>false</overWriteSnapshots>
+							<overWriteIfNewer>true</overWriteIfNewer>
+							<includeTypes>war</includeTypes>
+							<stripVersion>true</stripVersion>
+						</configuration>
+					</execution>
+
+
+				</executions>
+			</plugin>
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+				<artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
+				<executions>
+					<execution>
+						<id>standalone</id>
+						<configuration>
+							<appendAssemblyId>false</appendAssemblyId>
+							<descriptors>
+								<descriptor>${distroDirectory}/standalone.xml</descriptor>
+							</descriptors>
+						</configuration>
+						<phase>install</phase>
+						<goals>
+							<goal>single</goal>
+						</goals>
+					</execution>
+				</executions>
+			</plugin>
+		</plugins>
+	</build>
+</project>
\ No newline at end of file