Annotation of doc/build/ubuntu12LTS_install.frag, revision 1.4
1.1 raeburn 1: <h1>Installing LON-CAPA on a basic Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server</h1>
2: <p>
3: This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA
4: server running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server with only the base set of packages installed.
5: The computer will be configured solely as a LON-CAPA server and will be
6: expected to have no other services running. Your server is expected to have
7: a reasonably 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 getting easier and easier.
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 Ubuntu 12.04 LTS .iso</a></li>
27: <li><a href="#net">Determine Network Settings</a></li>
28: <li><a href="#lin">Install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS</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:
1.2 bisitz 36: <hr>
1.1 raeburn 37: <h2>1. <a name="obt">Obtain Ubuntu 12.04 LTS .iso file</a></h2>
38: <p>
1.2 bisitz 39: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (server install) isos can be obtained from the <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server/download">Ubuntu Server download</a> page<br>
1.1 raeburn 40: An .iso file (either 32 bit or 64 bit) can be burned to a CD.
41: </p>
42:
43: <h2>2. <a name="net">Determine Network Settings</a></h2>
44: <p>
45: You will need to know the following network settings for your installation.
46: <b>Note:</b>You must have a static IP address to use LON-CAPA.
47: DHCP is <em>not</em> supported.
48:
49: <ul>
50: <li>ip address </li>
51: <li>netmask </li>
52: <li>hostname </li>
53: <li>gateway </li>
54: <li>domain name server(s) </li>
55: </ul>
56:
57: <h2>3. <a name="lin">Ubuntu 12.04 LTS installation</a></h2>
58: <p>
1.3 raeburn 59: Installing Ubuntu Linux is straightforward.
1.1 raeburn 60: Documentation is available from
61: <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/</a>
62: Most of the installation screens are self explanatory.
63: There are a few steps that require comment and are dealt with below.
64: </p>
65: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
66: <dt>Installation Language</dt>
67: <dd>Use English as your installation language.</dd>
68: <dt>Installation Type</dt>
69: <dd>If this is a fresh install choose "Install Ubuntu Server".</dd>
70: <dt>Partitioning your Drive</dt>
71: <dd>For a fresh install you may want to use the automatic partitioning feature of the installer.
72: If you decide to customize partitioning, the following may be useful to know.
73: LON-CAPA resource files are stored in the /home directory, so the
74: majority of the disk space should be allocated here. If you have 20 GB
75: of space for Ubuntu, /home should receive at least 10 to 12 gigs.
76: Since MySQL uses the /var filesystem to store its databases you should
77: have at least 4 gigs of space available on /var. Be sure to
78: include adequate swap space. A minimum is 512 Megs, but you should
79: typically have 1 or 2x as much swap space as you do physical RAM.</dd>
80:
81: <dt>Network Configuration</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 in your network information.</dd>
85: <dt>Software Selection</dt>
86: <dd>The base system will be installed. Once that is complete you will have the option to select additional software collections. Leave all unselected.</dd>
87: </dl>
88: <p>
89: Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in with the username you created during installation.
1.2 bisitz 90: </p>
91: <h3>Firewall Configuration</h3>
92: <p>
93: Use ufw to allow incoming traffic for the following services:
94: ssh, www, https
95: </p>
1.1 raeburn 96: <pre>
1.4 ! raeburn 97: sudo apt-get install ufw
1.1 raeburn 98: sudo ufw default deny
99: sudo ufw enable
100: sudo ufw allow ssh
101: sudo ufw allow www
102: sudo ufw allow https
103: </pre>
1.2 bisitz 104: <h3>E-mail: Postfix Installation</h3>
105: <p>
106: Configure to "Internet Site" to allow LON-CAPA to send e-mail to users.
107: </p>
1.1 raeburn 108: <pre>
109: sudo apt-get install postfix
110: </pre>
1.2 bisitz 111: <h3>E-mail: Postfix Configuration</h3>
112: <p>
113: If you need to change the postfix configuration in the future use:
114: </p>
1.1 raeburn 115: <pre>
116: sudo dpkg-reconfigure postfix
117: </pre>
118:
119: <h2>4. <a name="upd">Update your system</a></h2>
120: <p>
121: Update your system to the latest versions of the system software using apt-get
122: </p>
123: <pre>
124: sudo apt-get update
125: sudo apt-get upgrade
126: </pre>
127: <p>
128: If kernel packages were updated, reboot your system before continuing with the installation.
129: </p>
130: <h2>5. <a name="ilc">Installing LON-CAPA</a></h2>
131: <h3>Import the LON-CAPA encryption key</h3>
132: <pre>
133: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/ubuntu/APT-GPG-KEY-loncapa.asc
134: sudo apt-key add APT-GPG-KEY-loncapa.asc
135: sudo apt-get update
136: </pre>
1.3 raeburn 137: <h3>Add LON-CAPA ubuntu repository to /etc/apt/sources.list</h3>
138: <p> Execute: </p>
139: <pre>
140: sudo apt-get install python-software-properties
141: sudo apt-add-repository 'deb http://install.loncapa.org/ubuntu precise main'
142: </pre>
143: <p>
144: You can display which repositories are currently enabled by using:
145: </p>
146: <pre>
147: sudo apt-cache policy
148: </pre>
1.1 raeburn 149: <h3>Install prerequisites</h3>
150: <p> Execute: </p>
151: <pre>
152: sudo apt-get install loncapa-prerequisites
153: </pre><p>
154: This may take some minutes due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
155: </p>
1.4 ! raeburn 156: <h3>Secure MySQL</h3>
! 157: <p> Execute: </p>
! 158: <pre>
! 159: sudo mysql_secure_installation
! 160: </pre><p>
! 161: Answer “Y” (yes) to the prompts to:
! 162: (a) remove anonymous users,
! 163: (b) restrict root user access to the local machine,
! 164: and (c) remove the test database.</p>
1.1 raeburn 165: <h3>Retrieve and execute LON-CAPA setup program</h3>
166: <p>
167: Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup script and dependencies with the following command:
168: </p>
169: <pre>
170: wget http://install.loncapa.org/linux/install.tar
171: </pre>
172: <p>
173: Extract the archive with the following command:
174: </p>
175: <pre>
176: tar xf install.tar
177: </pre>
178: <p>
179: This creates a directory named <tt>installation</tt>. Change to it and
180: execute the setup script with the following commands:
181: </p>
182: <pre>
183: cd installation
184: sudo ./install.pl
185:
186: </pre>
187: <p>
188: The script is used to prepare a Linux system to run LON-CAPA, and can also be
189: 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.
190: </p>
191: <p>
192: 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.
193: Once a choice has been entered for all nine possible actions, required changes will be made.
194: </p>
195: <p>The possible actions are:
196: <ul>
197: <li>Create the www user/group</li>
198: <li>Install the package LON-CAPA uses to authenticate users.</li>
199: <li>Set-up the MySQL database</li>
200: <li>Set-up MySQL permissions</li>
201: <li>Configure Apache web server</li>
202: <li>Configure start-up of services</li>
203: <li>Check firewall settings</li>
1.2 bisitz 204: <li>Stop services not used by LON-CAPA,<br>
1.1 raeburn 205: e.g., services for a print server: cups daemon</li>
206: <li>Download LON-CAPA source code in readiness for installation</li>
207: </ul>
208: </p>
209:
210: <h3>Determine LON-CAPA Settings</h3>
211: <p>
212: LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order
213: for it to function at all. Below is a list with descriptions.
214: </p>
215: <dl>
216: <dt>Host Type (library or access)</dt>
217: <dd>The server must be designated a 'library' or an 'access' server. In
218: general you should have a library server for your instructors to create
219: their course content on and run their courses. Students should connect
220: to access servers. If you are doing the first install of LON-CAPA at
221: your site, or if you are playing with it for your own edification you
222: should make your machine a 'library' server.</dd>
223: <dt>LON-CAPA domain</dt>
224: <dd>Each site or school which installs LON-CAPA needs its own domain.
225: Here at MSU we use 'msu'. You should choose something short but
226: meaningful. <i>Restriction: One word, no hyphens, underscores, or
1.2 bisitz 227: special characters.</i><br>Domain names which include a departmental
1.1 raeburn 228: abbreviation are not recommended as although LON-CAPA may start in
229: a single department, other departments frequently join subsequently.
230: For a domain name: 'msu' is a superior choice to 'msuphys' for example.
231: </dd>
232: <dt>LON-CAPA host id</dt>
233: <dd>Each LON-CAPA server requires a unique internal name. We use names
234: such as "msul1" for the first library server. <i>Restriction: One word,
235: no hyphens, underscores, or special characters.</i>
236: </dd>
237: <dt>Domain's Primary Library Server ID</dt>
238: <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>
239: <dt>Host administrator email</dt>
240: <dd>The amount of email sent to this address is relatively minimal. Messages
241: are sent every time the system starts up, or if the system is in
242: serious trouble. On a laptop, make this <tt>root@localhost</tt>.
243: </dd>
244: <dt>Support email address</dt>
245: <dd>If you enter an e-mail address here, then users of the system
246: will be able to click an "Ask Helpdesk" link in the system to
247: display a web form which they will complete to request support from
248: your institution's helpdesk. On form submission the contents
249: will be sent to the e-mail address you specify.
250: </dd>
251: </dl>
252:
253: <h3>Configuring LON-CAPA</h3>
254: <p>
1.4 ! raeburn 255: To configure and install LON-CAPA execute the following commands:
1.1 raeburn 256: </p>
257: <pre>
1.4 ! raeburn 258: cd ../loncapa-X.Y.Z (X.Y.Z should correspond to a version number like '2.11.0')
! 259: sudo ./UPDATE
1.1 raeburn 260: </pre>
261: <p>
262: You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined
263: in the previous section.
264: </p>
265:
266: <h2>6. <a name="cdc">Creating a Domain Coordinator</a></h2>
267: <p>
268: You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of
269: 'domain coordinator'. This user creates accounts for other users and
270: grants them additional privileges. The make_domain_coordinator.pl script
271: invoked below requires that you enter the user's password.
272: Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an appropriate username and your domain.
273: </p>
274: <pre>
1.4 ! raeburn 275: cd loncom/build
! 276: sudo perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN
! 277: cd
1.1 raeburn 278: </pre>
279:
280: <h2>7. <a name="sts">Start/Restart Services</a></h2>
281: <p>
282: The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start. Most misconfigurations
1.4 ! raeburn 283: will be apparent at this step.
1.1 raeburn 284: </p>
285: <pre>
1.4 ! raeburn 286: sudo /etc/init.d/loncontrol start
! 287: sudo service apache2 restart
1.1 raeburn 288: exit
289: </pre>
290: <p>
291: If you receive warnings about missing perl modules when starting Apache,
292: please make sure you followed the instructions in
293: <b>Installing prerequisites</b>. If you still have errors, please
294: contact the MSU LON-CAPA group.
295: </p>
296:
297: <h2>8. <a name="log">Log in to your LON-CAPA Machine</a></h2>
298: <p>
299: Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain
300: coordinator. Congratulations!
301: </p>
302:
1.2 bisitz 303: <hr>
1.1 raeburn 304: <h2>If things aren't working right</h2>
305: <p>
306: If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think
307: there's something wrong, please send a <a href="http://help.loncapa.org/help">help request</a> to the MSU LON-CAPA group. If there were errors in installation of the dependency .deb packages or errors during the
308: automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible.
309: If some part of this document is unclear please let us know.
310: </p>
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