Annotation of doc/build/centos8_install.frag, revision 1.6
1.1 raeburn 1: <h1>Installing LON-CAPA on a minimal CentOS Linux 8 System</h1>
2: <p>
3: This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA
4: server or virtual machine running CentOS Linux 8 with a minimum of packages installed.
5: The server or virtual machine will be configured solely as a LON-CAPA server and will be
6: expected to have no other services running. Your server or virtual machine is expected to have
7: a fast connection to the internet.
8: </p><p>
9: More information is available at
10: <a href="http://install.lon-capa.org/">http://install.lon-capa.org/</a>.
11: </p>
12:
13: <h2>Before you begin</h2>
14: <p>
15: Installing Linux is straightforward.
16: You will be required to log in to the machine and execute
17: some routine Unix commands. Familiarity with the Apache web server, mod_perl,
18: perl, and MySQL are not required to install and run LON-CAPA.
19: </p>
20:
21: <h2>Installation Overview</h2>
22: <p>
23: The installation process takes the following steps:
24: </p>
25: <ol>
26: <li><a href="#obt">Obtain CentOS Linux 8 installation iso file</a></li>
27: <li><a href="#net">Determine Network Settings</a></li>
28: <li><a href="#lin">Install CentOS Linux 8</a></li>
29: <li><a href="#upd">Update your system</a></li>
30: <li><a href="#ilc">Install LON-CAPA</a></li>
31: <li><a href="#cdc">Create a Domain Coordinator</a></li>
32: <li><a href="#sts">Start/Restart services</a></li>
33: <li><a href="#log">Log in to LON-CAPA</a></li>
34: </ol>
35:
36: <hr />
1.2 raeburn 37: <h2>1. <a id="obt">Obtain CentOS Linux 8</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 38: <p>
39: CentOS 8 isos can be obtained from links included on the
40: <a href="http://mirror.centos.org/centos/8/isos/x86_64">CentOS download page</a>.
41: Either download the Boot ISO or the CentOS 8 DVD1 ISO.
42: </p>
43:
1.2 raeburn 44: <h2>2. <a id="net">Determine Network Settings</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 45: <p>
46: You will need to know the following network settings for your installation.
1.2 raeburn 47: <b>Note: </b>You must have a static IP address to use LON-CAPA.
1.1 raeburn 48: DHCP is <em>not</em> supported.
49:
50: <ul>
51: <li>ip address </li>
52: <li>netmask </li>
53: <li>hostname </li>
54: <li>gateway </li>
55: <li>domain name server(s) </li>
56: </ul>
57:
1.2 raeburn 58: <h2>3. <a id="lin">Minimal CentOS Linux 8 Install</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 59: <p>
60: Documentation is available from
61: <a href="https://docs.centos.org/en-US/8-docs/">
62: https://docs.centos.org/en-US/8-docs/</a>
63: Most of the installation screens are self explanatory.
64: There are a few steps that require comment and are dealt with below.
65: </p>
66: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
67: <dt>Installation Language</dt>
68: <dd>Use English as your installation language.</dd>
69: <dt>Installation Destination</dt>
70: <dd>For a fresh install may want to use the automatic partitioning feature of the installer.
71: If you want to customize partitioning check the "I will configure partitioning" radio button.
72: LON-CAPA resource files are stored in the /home directory, so the
73: majority of the disk space should be allocated here. If you have 20 GB
74: of space for CentOS, /home should receive at least 10 to 12 GB.
75: Since Mariadb uses the /var filesystem to store its databases you should
76: have at least 4 GB of space available on /var. Be sure to
77: include adequate swap space. A minimum is 512 MB, but you should
78: typically have 1 or 2x as much swap space as you do physical RAM.</dd>
79: <dt>Network and Hostname</dt>
80: <dd>LON-CAPA will <b>not</b> work with a machine set up to use a dynamic
81: IP address. When configuring your network card, be sure to unselect
82: the DHCP option and enter your network information. Enter your hostname</dd>
83: <dt>Software Selection</dt>
84: <dd>Check the "Minimal Install" radio button in the "Base Environment" panel,
85: and check the "Standard" checkbox in the "Add-Ons for Selected Environment" panel.</dd>
86: </dl>
87: <p>
88: Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in as root.
89: </p>
90: <h3>Firewall Configuration</h3>
91: <p>
92: LON-CAPA can use Firewalld, available by default for CentOS 8. Enable access to standard
93: web server ports (i.e., http and https):
94: </p>
95: <pre>
96: systemctl enable firewalld
97: systemctl start firewalld
1.4 raeburn 98: firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=http
99: firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=https
100: firewall-cmd --reload
1.1 raeburn 101: </pre>
102:
1.2 raeburn 103: <h2>4. <a id="upd">Update your system</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 104: <p>
105: Update your system to the latest versions of the system software using dnf.
106: </p>
107: <pre>
108: dnf update
109: </pre>
110: <p>
111: If the kernel was updated, reboot your system before continuing with the installation.
112: </p>
113:
114: <h3>Set up access to package repositories</h3>
115: <p>
116: Enable access to the EPEL repository
117: </p>
118: <pre>
1.4 raeburn 119: dnf install epel-release
1.1 raeburn 120: </pre>
121: <p>
122: Enable the CentOS-PowerTools repository
123: </p>
124: <pre>
1.5 raeburn 125: dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools
1.1 raeburn 126: </pre>
1.2 raeburn 127: <p>
1.3 raeburn 128: Install the loncapa.repo file from the LON-CAPA install site:
129: </p>
130: <pre>
131: wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/loncapa.repo http://install.loncapa.org/versions/centos/8/loncapa.repo
132: </pre>
133: <p>
134: Verify the required repositories are enabled:
1.2 raeburn 135: </p>
136: <pre>
137: dnf repolist enabled
138: </pre>
139: <p>
140: The list of enabled repos should be as follows:
141: </p>
142: <table style="border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse;">
143: <tr><th>repo id</th><th>repo name</th></tr>
144: <tr><td>AppStream</td><td>CentOS-8 - AppStream</td></tr>
145: <tr><td>BaseOS</td><td>CentOS-8 - Base</td></tr>
146: <tr><td>PowerTools</td><td>CentOS-8 - PowerTools</td></tr>
1.3 raeburn 147: <tr><td>*epel</td><td>Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 8 - x86_64</td></tr>
1.2 raeburn 148: <tr><td>extras</td><td>CentOS-8 - Extras</td></tr>
149: <tr><td>loncapa-updates-basearch</td><td>CentOS 8 LON-CAPA x86_64 Updates</td></tr>
150: <tr><td>loncapa-updates-noarch</td><td>CentOS 8 LON-CAPA noarch Updates</td></tr>
151: </table>
1.1 raeburn 152:
153: <h3>Install and enable a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA), e.g., postfix</h3>
154: <pre>
155: dnf install postfix
156: systemctl enable postfix
157: systemctl start postfix
158: </pre>
159:
160: <h3>Configure SELinux</h3>
161: <p>
162: The default CentOS 8 installation includes SELinux enabled. Until such time as an SELinux security policy has been created for LON-CAPA, SELinux should be disabled.
163: Retrieve the loncapa_selinux_config file from the LON-CAPA install site:
164: </p>
165: <pre>
166: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/centos/8/loncapa_selinux_config
167: </pre>
168: <p>
169: Install the selinux config file
170: </p>
171: <pre>
172: mv /etc/selinux/config /etc/selinux/config.backup
173: mv loncapa_selinux_config /etc/selinux/config
174: reboot
175: </pre>
176:
1.2 raeburn 177: <h2>5. <a id="ilc">Installing LON-CAPA</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 178: <h3>Install prerequisites</h3>
179: <p> Execute: </p>
180: <pre>
181: dnf install LONCAPA-prerequisites
182: </pre><p>
183: This may take some minutes due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
184: </p>
185: <h3>Retrieve and execute LON-CAPA setup program</h3>
186: <p>
187: Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup with the following command:
188: </p>
189: <pre>
190: wget http://install.loncapa.org/linux/install.tar
191: </pre>
192: <p>
193: Extract the archive with the following command:
194: </p>
195: <pre>
196: tar xf install.tar
197: </pre>
198: <p>
1.2 raeburn 199: This creates a directory named <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console','Menlo','Monaco','Courier', monospace;">installation</span>.
200: Change to it and execute the setup script with the following commands:
1.1 raeburn 201: </p>
202: <pre>
203: cd installation
204: ./install.pl
205: </pre>
206: <p>
207: The script is used to prepare a Linux system to run LON-CAPA, and can also be
208: used to check the configuration of a system on which LON-CAPA has already been installed. Typically, though, you will run this script only once, when you first install LON-CAPA.
209: </p>
210: <p>
211: The script will analyze your system to determine which actions are recommended. The script will then prompt you to choose the actions you would like taken.
1.6 ! raeburn 212: Once a choice has been entered for all ten possible actions, required changes will be made.
1.1 raeburn 213: </p>
214: <p>The possible actions are:</p>
215: <ul>
216: <li>Create the www user/group</li>
217: <li>Install the package LON-CAPA uses to authenticate users.</li>
218: <li>Set-up the MySQL (Mariadb) database</li>
219: <li>Set-up MySQL (Mariadb) permissions</li>
220: <li>Configure Apache web server</li>
1.6 ! raeburn 221: <li>Configure systemd security settings for Apache web server</li>
1.1 raeburn 222: <li>Configure start-up of services</li>
223: <li>Check firewall settings</li>
224: <li>Stop services not used by LON-CAPA, e.g., services for a print server: cups daemon</li>
225: <li>Download LON-CAPA source code in readiness for installation</li>
226: </ul>
227: <h3>Determine LON-CAPA Settings</h3>
228: <p>
229: LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order
230: for it to function at all. Below is a list with descriptions.
231: </p>
232: <dl>
233: <dt>Host Type (library or access)</dt>
234: <dd>The server must be designated a 'library' or an 'access' server. In
235: general you should have a library server for your instructors to create
236: their course content on and run their courses. Students should connect
237: to access servers. If you are doing the first install of LON-CAPA at
238: your site, or if you are playing with it for your own edification you
239: should make your machine a 'library' server.</dd>
240: <dt>LON-CAPA domain</dt>
241: <dd>Each site or school which installs LON-CAPA needs its own domain.
242: Here at MSU we use 'msu'. You should choose something short but
1.2 raeburn 243: meaningful. <i>Restriction: One word, no underscores, and no special
244: characters except . or -</i> .<br />Domain names which include a departmental
1.1 raeburn 245: abbreviation are not recommended as although LON-CAPA may start in
246: a single department, other departments frequently join subsequently.
247: For a domain name: 'msu' is a superior choice to 'msuphys' for example.
248: </dd>
249: <dt>LON-CAPA host id</dt>
250: <dd>Each LON-CAPA server requires a unique internal name. We use names
251: such as "msul1" for the first library server. <i>Restriction: One word,
1.2 raeburn 252: no underscores, and no special characters except -</i> .
1.1 raeburn 253: </dd>
254: <dt>Domain's Primary Library Server ID</dt>
255: <dd>If you are setting up a domain with a single library server, then the domain's primary library server ID will be the LON-CAPA host id of that server (e.g., msul1). Once your domain grows and you need to add more servers, one of the library servers in the domain should be assigned as the domain's primary library server. This will be where domain-wide settings will be stored.<dd>
256: <dt>Host administrator email</dt>
257: <dd>The amount of email sent to this address is relatively minimal. Messages
258: are sent every time the system starts up, or if the system is in
1.2 raeburn 259: serious trouble. If you are installing a LON-CAPA instance on a laptop,
260: because you are planning to contribute to LON-CAPA development,
261: make this <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console','Menlo','Monaco','Courier', monospace;">
262: root@localhost</span>.
1.1 raeburn 263: </dd>
264: <dt>Support email address</dt>
1.2 raeburn 265: <dd>Enter an e-mail address here, so users of the system
1.1 raeburn 266: will be able to click an "Ask Helpdesk" link in the system to
267: display a web form which they will complete to request support from
268: your institution's helpdesk. On form submission the contents
269: will be sent to the e-mail address you specify.
270: </dd>
271: </dl>
272:
273: <h3>Configuring LON-CAPA</h3>
274: <p>
275: To configure and install LON-CAPA, execute the following commands:
276: </p>
277: <pre>
278: cd /root/loncapa-X.Y.Z (X.Y.Z should correspond to a version number like '2.11.3')
279: ./UPDATE
280: </pre>
281: <p>
282: You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined
283: in the previous section.
284: </p>
285:
1.2 raeburn 286: <h2>6. <a id="cdc">Creating a Domain Coordinator</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 287: <p>
288: You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of
289: 'domain coordinator'. This user creates accounts for other users and
290: grants them additional privileges. The make_domain_coordinator.pl script
291: invoked below requires that you enter the user's password.
292: Feel free to use the "passwd username" command to change it later.
293: Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an appropriate user name and your domain.
294: If installing a library server and an access server on separate machines or VMs
295: you need only run make_domain_coordinator.pl on the library server.
296: </p>
297: <pre>
298: cd /root/loncapa-X.Y.Z/loncom/build
299: perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN
300: </pre>
301:
1.2 raeburn 302: <h2>7. <a id="sts">Start/Restart Services</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 303: <p>
304: The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start. Most misconfigurations
305: will be apparent at this step.
306: </p>
307: <pre>
1.5 raeburn 308: /home/httpd/perl/loncontrol start
1.2 raeburn 309: systemctl start httpd
1.1 raeburn 310: </pre>
311: <p>
312: If you receive warnings about missing perl modules, when starting the httpd service
313: please make sure that the LONCAPA-prerequisites rpm is installed using this command:
1.2 raeburn 314: </p>
1.1 raeburn 315: <pre>
316: rpm -q LONCAPA-prerequisites rpm
317: </pre>
1.2 raeburn 318: <p>
319: If it is not installed, ensure that the required Linux repositories are enabled (see
320: the "Set up access to package repositories" section above), then install it:
321: </p>
1.1 raeburn 322: <pre>
323: dnf install LONCAPA-prerequisites
324: </pre>
1.2 raeburn 325: <p>
1.1 raeburn 326: If you still have errors, please contact the LON-CAPA Helpdesk: helpdesk at loncapa.org
327: </p>
1.2 raeburn 328: <p>Ensure that LON-CAPA network services and the httpd service are set to start on boot:
329: <pre>
330: systemctl enable loncontrol
331: systemctl enable httpd
332: </pre>
1.1 raeburn 333:
1.2 raeburn 334: <h2>8. <a id="log">Log in to your LON-CAPA Machine</a></h2>
1.1 raeburn 335: <p>
336: Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain
337: coordinator. Congratulations!
338: </p>
339:
340: <hr>
341: <h2>If things aren't working right</h2>
342: <p>
343: If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think
344: there's something wrong, please contact the LON-CAPA helpdesk.
345: Installation/update support is available from: helpdesk at loncapa.org
346: (replace " at " with @).
347: If there were errors in installation of the dependency RPMs or errors during the
348: automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible.
349: If some part of this document is unclear please let us know.
350: </p>
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