JAVA_HOME /usr/local/jdk not found

I am having trouble with the JAVA_HOME variable set in the VPS. I yum installed Java which had no problem. I install Solr which also had no problem other than when trying to start. It is looking in JAVA_HOME (/usr/local/jdk) which is the variable that is set but does not exist.

I am worried about changing settings like JAVA_HOME within the VPS - I don't want to break any ability to work with the standard VPS support or fuyure program installations.

I tried a symlink no success.

Being new to VPS, I am wondering ...
How much I can do within the VPS without causing problems?
Can I treat the VPS like my home server?
How do I fix this problem without creating bigger problems?


Additional info follow regarding the current problem -

root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# service solr status
The currently defined JAVA_HOME (/usr/local/jdk) refers
to a location where Java could not be found. Aborting.
Either fix the JAVA_HOME variable or remove it from the
environment so that the system PATH will be searched.

root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# which java
/usr/bin/java

root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# ls -l /usr/bin/java
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 Jul 10 10:08 /usr/bin/java -> /etc/alternatives/java/

root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# ls -l /etc/alternatives/java
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 60 Jul 10 13:07 /etc/alternatives/java -> /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.45-28.b13.el6_6.x86_64/

root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# ls -l /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.45-28.b13.el6_6.x86_64/
total 12
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 ./
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 ../
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 jre/

root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# ls -l /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.45-28.b13.el6_6.x86_64/jre
total 16
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 ./
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 ../
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jul 10 13:36 bin/
drwxr-xr-x 10 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 lib/

I tried adding a symlink to point to the "which java" result still getting the same message -> "The currently defined JAVA_HOME (/usr/local/jdk) refers to a location where Java could not be found." This is what I tried

ln -s /usr/bin/java /usr/local/jdk/java
with the reuslt
root@vpsxxxx [/opt]# ls -l /usr/local/jdk/
total 8
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jul 10 13:26 ./
drwxr-xr-x 22 root root 4096 Jul 10 13:26 ../
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Jul 10 13:26 java -> /usr/bin/java/

Same message given when trying to start Solr.

One last piece of info

root@vpsxxx [~]# ls -l /usr/lib/jvm
total 12
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 ./
drwxr-xr-x 29 root root 4096 Jul 10 10:08 ../
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Jul 10 14:57 java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.45-28.b13.el6_6.x86_64/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Jul 10 10:08 jre -> /etc/alternatives/jre/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Jul 10 10:08 jre-1.8.0 -> /etc/alternatives/jre_1.8.0/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 35 Jul 10 10:08 jre-1.8.0-openjdk -> /etc/alternatives/jre_1.8.0_openjdk/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 51 Jul 10 10:08 jre-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.45-28.b13.el6_6.x86_64 -> java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.45-28.b13.el6_6.x86_64/jre/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 29 Jul 10 10:08 jre-openjdk -> /etc/alternatives/jre_openjdk/

Any help is appreciated.