Annotation of doc/build/oracle8_install.frag, revision 1.6
1.1 raeburn 1: <h1>Installing LON-CAPA on a minimal Oracle 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 Oracle 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 Oracle Linux 8 installation iso file</a></li>
27: <li><a href="#net">Determine Network Settings</a></li>
28: <li><a href="#lin">Install Oracle 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 />
37: <h2>1. <a id="obt">Obtain Oracle Linux 8</a></h2>
38: <p>
39: Oracle Linux 8 isos can be obtained from links included on the
40: <a href="https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/linux/downloads/index.html">Oracle Linux download page</a>.
41: You only need download either the Boot ISO or the Oracle Linux Release 8 x86 (64 bit) ISO.
42: </p>
43:
44: <h2>2. <a id="net">Determine Network Settings</a></h2>
45: <p>
46: You will need to know the following network settings for your installation.
47: <b>Note: </b>You must have a static IP address to use LON-CAPA.
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:
58: <h2>3. <a id="lin">Minimal Oracle Linux 8 Install</a></h2>
59: <p>
60: Documentation is available from
61: <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/8/">
62: https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/8/</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 "Custom" radio button in the Storage
72: Configuration section, and push the "Done" button. You will then be prompted to create
73: mount points.
74: LON-CAPA resource files are stored in the /home directory, so the
75: majority of the disk space should be allocated here. If you have 20 GB
76: of space for Oracle Linux, /home should receive at least 10 to 12 GB.
77: Since Mariadb uses the /var filesystem to store its databases you should
78: have at least 4 GB of space available on /var. Be sure to
79: include adequate swap space. A minimum is 512 MB, but you should
80: typically have 1 or 2x as much swap space as you do physical RAM.</dd>
81: <dt>Network and Hostname</dt>
82: <dd>LON-CAPA will <b>not</b> work with a machine set up to use a dynamic
83: IP address. When configuring your network card, be sure to unselect
84: the DHCP option and enter your network information. Enter your hostname</dd>
85: <dt>Software Selection</dt>
86: <dd>Check the "Minimal Install" radio button in the "Base Environment" panel,
87: and check the "Standard" checkbox in the "Add-Ons for Selected Environment" panel.</dd>
88: </dl>
89: <p>
90: Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in as root.
91: </p>
92: <h3>Firewall Configuration</h3>
93: <p>
94: LON-CAPA can use Firewalld, available by default for Oracle Linux 8. Enable access to standard
95: web server ports (i.e., http and https):
96: </p>
97: <pre>
98: systemctl enable firewalld
99: systemctl start firewalld
1.3 raeburn 100: firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=http
101: firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=https
102: firewall-cmd --reload
1.1 raeburn 103: </pre>
104:
105: <h2>4. <a id="upd">Update your system</a></h2>
106: <p>
107: Update your system to the latest versions of the system software using dnf.
108: </p>
109: <pre>
110: dnf update
111: </pre>
112: <p>
113: If the kernel was updated, reboot your system before continuing with the installation.
114: </p>
115:
116: <h3>Set up access to package repositories</h3>
117: <p>
118: Enable access to the EPEL repository
119: </p>
120: <pre>
121: dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
122: </pre>
123: <p>
124: Enable the Oracle Linux 8 CodeReady Builder repository
125: </p>
126: <pre>
1.4 raeburn 127: dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol8_codeready_builder
1.1 raeburn 128: </pre>
129: <p>
1.5 raeburn 130: <p>
131: Install wget and then the loncapa.repo file from the LON-CAPA install site:
1.1 raeburn 132: </p>
133: <pre>
1.5 raeburn 134: dnf install wget
1.2 raeburn 135: wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/loncapa.repo http://install.loncapa.org/versions/oracle/8/loncapa.repo
1.1 raeburn 136: </pre>
137: <p>
138: Verify the required repositories are enabled:
139: </p>
140: <pre>
141: dnf repolist enabled
142: </pre>
143: <p>
144: The list of enabled repos should be as follows:
145: </p>
146: <table style="border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse;">
147: <tr><th>repo id</th><th>repo name</th></tr>
148: <tr><td>*epel</td><td>Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 8 - x86_64</td></tr>
149: <tr><td>loncapa-updates-basearch</td><td>Oracle Linux 8 LON-CAPA x86_64 Updates</td></tr>
150: <tr><td>loncapa-updates-noarch</td><td>Oracle Linux 8 LON-CAPA noarch Updates</td></tr>
151: <tr><td>ol8_appstream</td><td>Oracle Linux 8 Application Stream (x86_64)</td></tr>
152: <tr><td>ol8_baseos_latest</td><td>Oracle Linux 8 BaseOS Latest (x86_64)</td></tr>
153: <tr><td>ol8_codeready_builder</td><td>Oracle Linux 8 CodeReady Builder (x86_64) - Unsupported</td></tr>
154: </table>
155:
156: <h3>Install and enable a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA), e.g., postfix</h3>
157: <pre>
158: dnf install postfix
159: systemctl enable postfix
160: systemctl start postfix
161: </pre>
162:
163: <h3>Configure SELinux</h3>
164: <p>
165: The default Oracle Linux 8 installation includes SELinux enabled. Until such time as an SELinux security policy has been created for LON-CAPA, SELinux should be disabled.
166: Retrieve the loncapa_selinux_config file from the LON-CAPA install site:
167: </p>
168: <pre>
1.2 raeburn 169: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/oracle/8/loncapa_selinux_config
1.1 raeburn 170: </pre>
171: <p>
172: Install the selinux config file
173: </p>
174: <pre>
175: mv /etc/selinux/config /etc/selinux/config.backup
176: mv loncapa_selinux_config /etc/selinux/config
177: reboot
178: </pre>
179:
180: <h2>5. <a id="ilc">Installing LON-CAPA</a></h2>
181: <h3>Install prerequisites</h3>
182: <p> Execute: </p>
183: <pre>
184: dnf install LONCAPA-prerequisites
185: </pre><p>
186: This may take some minutes due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
187: </p>
188: <h3>Retrieve and execute LON-CAPA setup program</h3>
189: <p>
190: Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup with the following command:
191: </p>
192: <pre>
193: wget http://install.loncapa.org/linux/install.tar
194: </pre>
195: <p>
196: Extract the archive with the following command:
197: </p>
198: <pre>
199: tar xf install.tar
200: </pre>
201: <p>
202: This creates a directory named <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console','Menlo','Monaco','Courier', monospace;">installation</span>.
203: Change to it and execute the setup script with the following commands:
204: </p>
205: <pre>
206: cd installation
207: ./install.pl
208: </pre>
209: <p>
210: The script is used to prepare a Linux system to run LON-CAPA, and can also be
211: 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.
212: </p>
213: <p>
214: 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 215: Once a choice has been entered for all ten possible actions, required changes will be made.
1.1 raeburn 216: </p>
217: <p>The possible actions are:</p>
218: <ul>
219: <li>Create the www user/group</li>
220: <li>Install the package LON-CAPA uses to authenticate users.</li>
221: <li>Set-up the MySQL (Mariadb) database</li>
222: <li>Set-up MySQL (Mariadb) permissions</li>
223: <li>Configure Apache web server</li>
1.6 ! raeburn 224: <li>Configure systemd security settings for Apache web server</li>
1.1 raeburn 225: <li>Configure start-up of services</li>
226: <li>Check firewall settings</li>
227: <li>Stop services not used by LON-CAPA, e.g., services for a print server: cups daemon</li>
228: <li>Download LON-CAPA source code in readiness for installation</li>
229: </ul>
230: <h3>Determine LON-CAPA Settings</h3>
231: <p>
232: LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order
233: for it to function at all. Below is a list with descriptions.
234: </p>
235: <dl>
236: <dt>Host Type (library or access)</dt>
237: <dd>The server must be designated a 'library' or an 'access' server. In
238: general you should have a library server for your instructors to create
239: their course content on and run their courses. Students should connect
240: to access servers. If you are doing the first install of LON-CAPA at
241: your site, or if you are playing with it for your own edification you
242: should make your machine a 'library' server.</dd>
243: <dt>LON-CAPA domain</dt>
244: <dd>Each site or school which installs LON-CAPA needs its own domain.
245: Here at MSU we use 'msu'. You should choose something short but
246: meaningful. <i>Restriction: One word, no underscores, and no special
247: characters except . or -</i> .<br />Domain names which include a departmental
248: abbreviation are not recommended as although LON-CAPA may start in
249: a single department, other departments frequently join subsequently.
250: For a domain name: 'msu' is a superior choice to 'msuphys' for example.
251: </dd>
252: <dt>LON-CAPA host id</dt>
253: <dd>Each LON-CAPA server requires a unique internal name. We use names
254: such as "msul1" for the first library server. <i>Restriction: One word,
255: no underscores, and no special characters except -</i> .
256: </dd>
257: <dt>Domain's Primary Library Server ID</dt>
258: <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>
259: <dt>Host administrator email</dt>
260: <dd>The amount of email sent to this address is relatively minimal. Messages
261: are sent every time the system starts up, or if the system is in
262: serious trouble. If you are installing a LON-CAPA instance on a laptop,
263: because you are planning to contribute to LON-CAPA development,
264: make this <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console','Menlo','Monaco','Courier', monospace;">
265: root@localhost</span>.
266: </dd>
267: <dt>Support email address</dt>
268: <dd>Enter an e-mail address here, so users of the system
269: will be able to click an "Ask Helpdesk" link in the system to
270: display a web form which they will complete to request support from
271: your institution's helpdesk. On form submission the contents
272: will be sent to the e-mail address you specify.
273: </dd>
274: </dl>
275:
276: <h3>Configuring LON-CAPA</h3>
277: <p>
278: To configure and install LON-CAPA, execute the following commands:
279: </p>
280: <pre>
281: cd /root/loncapa-X.Y.Z (X.Y.Z should correspond to a version number like '2.11.3')
282: ./UPDATE
283: </pre>
284: <p>
285: You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined
286: in the previous section.
287: </p>
288:
289: <h2>6. <a id="cdc">Creating a Domain Coordinator</a></h2>
290: <p>
291: You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of
292: 'domain coordinator'. This user creates accounts for other users and
293: grants them additional privileges. The make_domain_coordinator.pl script
294: invoked below requires that you enter the user's password.
295: Feel free to use the "passwd username" command to change it later.
296: Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an appropriate user name and your domain.
297: If installing a library server and an access server on separate machines or VMs
298: you need only run make_domain_coordinator.pl on the library server.
299: </p>
300: <pre>
301: cd /root/loncapa-X.Y.Z/loncom/build
302: perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN
303: </pre>
304:
305: <h2>7. <a id="sts">Start/Restart Services</a></h2>
306: <p>
307: The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start. Most misconfigurations
308: will be apparent at this step.
309: </p>
310: <pre>
1.4 raeburn 311: /home/httpd/perl/loncontrol start
1.1 raeburn 312: systemctl start httpd
313: </pre>
314: <p>
315: If you receive warnings about missing perl modules, when starting the httpd service
316: please make sure that the LONCAPA-prerequisites rpm is installed using this command:
317: </p>
318: <pre>
319: rpm -q LONCAPA-prerequisites rpm
320: </pre>
321: <p>
322: If it is not installed, ensure that the required Linux repositories are enabled (see
323: the "Set up access to package repositories" section above), then install it:
324: </p>
325: <pre>
326: dnf install LONCAPA-prerequisites
327: </pre>
328: <p>
329: If you still have errors, please contact the LON-CAPA Helpdesk: helpdesk at loncapa.org
330: </p>
331: <p>Ensure that LON-CAPA network services and the httpd service are set to start on boot:
332: <pre>
333: systemctl enable loncontrol
334: systemctl enable httpd
335: </pre>
336:
337: <h2>8. <a id="log">Log in to your LON-CAPA Machine</a></h2>
338: <p>
339: Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain
340: coordinator. Congratulations!
341: </p>
342:
343: <hr>
344: <h2>If things aren't working right</h2>
345: <p>
346: If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think
347: there's something wrong, please contact the LON-CAPA helpdesk.
348: Installation/update support is available from: helpdesk at loncapa.org
349: (replace " at " with @).
350: If there were errors in installation of the dependency RPMs or errors during the
351: automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible.
352: If some part of this document is unclear please let us know.
353: </p>
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