Annotation of doc/build/centos5_install.frag, revision 1.6

1.1       raeburn     1: <h1>Installing LON-CAPA on a minimal CentOS Linux 5 System</h1>
                      2: <p>
                      3: This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA
                      4: server running CentOS Linux 5 with a minimum 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>
1.2       bisitz     26:   <li><a href="#obt">Obtain CentOS Linux 5 installation CDs</a></li>
                     27:   <li><a href="#net">Determine Network Settings</a></li>
                     28:   <li><a href="#lin">Install CentOS Linux 5</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>
1.1       raeburn    34: </ol>
                     35: 
1.5       bisitz     36: <hr>
1.2       bisitz     37: <h2>1. <a name="obt">Obtain CentOS Linux 5 CDs</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn    38: <p>
1.5       bisitz     39: CentOS isos can be obtained from links included on the <a href="http://mirror.centos.org/centos/5/isos/">CentOS download page</a><br>
1.1       raeburn    40: For the minimal install on 32-bit architecture you will need only the first CD.
                     41: For the minimal install on 64-bit architecture you will need CDs 1, 2, and 4.
                     42: 
1.2       bisitz     43: </p>
1.1       raeburn    44: 
1.2       bisitz     45: <h2>2. <a name="net">Determine Network Settings</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn    46: <p>
1.2       bisitz     47: You will need to know the following network settings for your installation.
1.1       raeburn    48: <b>Note:</b>You must have a static IP address to use LON-CAPA.
                     49: DHCP is <em>not</em> supported.
                     50: 
                     51: <ul>
                     52:   <li>ip address </li>
                     53:   <li>netmask </li>
                     54:   <li>hostname </li>
                     55:   <li>gateway </li>
                     56:   <li>domain name server(s) </li>
                     57: </ul>
                     58: 
1.2       bisitz     59: <h2>3. <a name="lin">Minimal CentOS Linux 5 Install</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn    60: <p>
                     61: Installing CentOS Linux is quite easy, particularly if you've installed any of the Red Hat, Fedora or CentOS Linux distributions before.
                     62: Documentation is available from
                     63: <a href="http://wiki.centos.org/">http://wiki.centos.org/</a>
1.2       bisitz     64: Most of the installation screens are self explanatory.
1.1       raeburn    65: There are a few steps that require comment and are dealt with below.
                     66: </p>
                     67: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
                     68:    <dt>Installation Language</dt>
                     69:    <dd>Use English as your installation language.</dd>
                     70:    <dt>Installation Type</dt>
                     71:    <dd>If this is a fresh install choose "Install CentOS Linux Server". If updating from a previous LON-CAPA installation on an earlier Redhat or Fedora version you may prefer to choose the upgrade option, although if you established a separate partition for /home it will be faster to perform an install instead of an upgrade, and use "Create Custom Layout" to set up partitions - making sure to select the "unchanged data" option for the /home partition, in order to preserve your existing LON-CAPA data. A full back-up to tape or some external system is also strongly advised when updating the operating system in use on an existing LON-CAPA server.</dd>
                     72: 
                     73:    <dt>Partitioning your Drive</dt>
                     74:    <dd>For a fresh install may want to use the automatic partitioning feature of the installer,
                     75:        however you should review the results and be prepared to modify them.  If you want to customize partitioning use "Create Custom Layout".
                     76:        LON-CAPA resource files are stored in the /home directory, so the
                     77:        majority of the disk space should be allocated here.  If you have 20 GB 
                     78:        of space for CentOS, /home should receive at least 10 to 12 gigs.  
                     79:        Since MySQL uses the /var filesystem to store its databases you should
                     80:        have at least 4 gigs of space available on /var.  Be sure to 
                     81:        include adequate swap space.  A minimum is 512 Megs, but you should
                     82:        typically have 1 or 2x as much swap space as you do physical RAM.</dd>
                     83: 
                     84:    <dt>Network Configuration</dt>
                     85:    <dd>LON-CAPA will <b>not</b> work with a machine set up to use a dynamic 
                     86:        IP address.  When configuring your network card, be sure to unselect
                     87:        the DHCP option and enter in your network information.</dd>
                     88:    <dt>Software</dt>
                     89:    <dd>Click the "Customize Now" radio button and for a minimal install uncheck all packages except "Base" in the Base System category.  If you leave other packages checked in any of the other categories, you'll need additional ISO CDs.</dd>
                     90: </dl>
1.5       bisitz     91: 
1.1       raeburn    92: <p>
1.5       bisitz     93: Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in as root.
                     94: </p>
1.1       raeburn    95: 
1.5       bisitz     96: <h3>Firewall and SELinux Configuration</h3>
                     97: <p>
                     98: The first time you log-in, the Setup Agent will be displayed.
                     99: If you exit it early you can enter it again buy running the command
                    100: </p>
                    101: <pre>setup</pre>
                    102: <p>
                    103: This tool should be used to configure the Firewall and SELinux.
                    104: </p>
1.1       raeburn   105: 
1.5       bisitz    106: <ol>
                    107:    <li>Select Security Level: Enabled, and Customize, to allow
1.1       raeburn   108:        incoming: SSH (remote login), WWW (HTTP) and secure WWW
1.4       raeburn   109:        (HTTPS).
1.5       bisitz    110:    </li>
                    111:    <li> Set SELinux to Disabled.</li>
                    112:    <li> Select OK, and then Quit</li>
                    113: </ol>
                    114: 
1.1       raeburn   115: 
1.2       bisitz    116: <h2>4. <a name="upd">Update your system</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn   117: <p>
                    118: Update your system to the latest versions of the system software using yum.
                    119: </p>
                    120: <pre>
                    121: yum update
                    122: </pre>
                    123: <p>
                    124: Reboot your system before continuing with the installation.
                    125: </p>
                    126: <p>
1.6     ! bisitz    127: Retrieve the centos5_loncapa_yum file from the LON-CAPA install site:
1.1       raeburn   128: </p>
                    129: <pre>
                    130: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/centos/5/centos5_loncapa_yum.conf
                    131: </pre>
                    132: <p>
                    133: Install the centos5_loncapa_yum.conf
                    134: </p>
                    135: <pre>
                    136: mv /etc/yum.conf /etc/yum.conf.backup
                    137: cp centos5_loncapa_yum.conf /etc/yum.conf
                    138: yum update
                    139: </pre>
1.5       bisitz    140: 
                    141: 
1.2       bisitz    142: <h2>5. <a name="ilc">Installing LON-CAPA</a></h2>
1.3       raeburn   143: <h3>Import the LON-CAPA encryption key</h3>
                    144: <pre>rpm --import http://install.loncapa.org/versions/centos/RPM-GPG-KEY-loncapa</pre>
1.1       raeburn   145: <h3>Install prerequisites</h3>
                    146: <p> Execute: </p>
                    147: <pre>
                    148: yum install LONCAPA-prerequisites
                    149: </pre><p>
                    150: This may take a moment due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
                    151: </p>
                    152: <h3>Retrieve and execute LON-CAPA setup program</h3>
                    153: <p>
                    154: Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup with the following command:
                    155: </p>
                    156: <pre>
                    157: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/centos/5/centos5_install.tar
                    158: </pre>
                    159: <p>
                    160: Extract the archive with the following command:
                    161: </p>
                    162: <pre>
                    163: tar xf centos5_install.tar
                    164: </pre>
                    165: <p>
                    166: This creates a directory named <tt>installation</tt>.  Change to it and
                    167: execute the setup script with the following commands:
                    168: </p>
                    169: <pre>
                    170: cd installation
                    171: ./install.pl
                    172: </pre>
                    173: <p>
1.5       bisitz    174: This script will prompt you for the MySQL root password and will download the latest LON-CAPA release.<br>
                    175: You can safely ignore the following warnings from gcc 4 when compiling pwauth:<br>
                    176: </p>
                    177: <div style="font-family:monospace;">
1.1       raeburn   178: pwauth.c: In function ‘lastlog’:
                    179: <ul>
                    180: <li>pwauth.c:541: warning: incompatible implicit declaration of built-in function ‘strncpy’</li>
                    181: <li>pwauth.c:543: warning: incompatible implicit declaration of built-in function ‘strlen’</li>
                    182: </ul>
                    183: pwauth.c: In function ‘main’:
                    184: <ul>
                    185: <li>pwauth.c:692: warning: incompatible implicit declaration of built-in function ‘strlen’</li>
                    186: </ul>
1.5       bisitz    187: </div>
1.1       raeburn   188: 
                    189: 
                    190: <h3>Determine LON-CAPA Settings</h3>
                    191: <p>
                    192: LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order
                    193: for it to function at all.  Below is a list with descriptions.
                    194: </p>
                    195: <dl>
                    196:   <dt>Host Type (library or access)</dt>
                    197:   <dd>The server must be designated a 'library' or an 'access' server.  In
                    198:       general you should have a library server for your instructors to create
                    199:       their course content on and run their courses.  Students should connect
                    200:       to access servers.  If you are doing the first install of LON-CAPA at 
                    201:       your site, or if you are playing with it for your own edification you
                    202:       should make your machine a 'library' server.</dd>
                    203:   <dt>LON-CAPA domain</dt>
                    204:   <dd>Each site or school which installs LON-CAPA needs its own domain.
                    205:       Here at MSU we use 'msu'.  You should choose something short but
                    206:       meaningful.  <i>Restriction: One word, no hyphens, underscores, or 
1.5       bisitz    207:       special characters.</i><br>Domain names which include a departmental 
1.1       raeburn   208:       abbreviation are not recommended as although LON-CAPA may start in
                    209:       a single department, other departments frequently join subsequently.
                    210:       For a domain name: 'msu' is a superior choice to 'msuphys' for example.
                    211:   </dd>
                    212:   <dt>LON-CAPA host id</dt>
                    213:   <dd>Each LON-CAPA server requires a unique internal name.  We use names
                    214:       such as "msul1" for the first library server. <i>Restriction: One word, 
                    215:       no hyphens, underscores, or special characters.</i>
                    216:   </dd>
                    217:   <dt>Domain's Primary Library Server ID</dt>
                    218:    <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>
                    219:   <dt>Host administrator email</dt>
                    220:   <dd>The amount of email sent to this address is relatively minimal.  Messages
                    221:       are sent every time the system starts up, or if the system is in 
                    222:       serious trouble. On a laptop, make this <tt>root@localhost</tt>.
                    223:   </dd>
                    224:   <dt>Support email address</dt>
                    225:   <dd>If you enter an e-mail address here, then users of the system  
                    226:       will be able to click an "Ask Helpdesk" link in the system to 
                    227:       display a web form which they will complete to request support from
                    228:       your institution's helpdesk. On form submission the contents 
                    229:       will be sent to the e-mail address you specify. 
                    230:   </dd>
                    231: </dl>
                    232: 
                    233: <h3>Configuring LON-CAPA</h3>
                    234: <p>
                    235: To configure and install LON-CAPA, execute the following commands:
                    236: </p>
                    237: <pre>
                    238: cd /root/loncapa-N.N     (N.N should correspond to a version number like '1.3')
                    239: ./UPDATE
                    240: </pre>
                    241: <p>
                    242: You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined 
1.2       bisitz    243: in the previous section.
1.1       raeburn   244: </p>
                    245: 
1.2       bisitz    246: <h2>6. <a name="cdc">Creating a Domain Coordinator</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn   247: <p>
                    248: You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of
                    249: 'domain coordinator'.  This user creates accounts for other users and
                    250: grants them additional privileges.  The make_domain_coordinator.pl script
                    251: invoked below requires that you enter the users password.  The password will
                    252: show in plaintext as you type it.  Feel free to use the "passwd username"
                    253: command to change it later.  Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an 
                    254: appropriate user name and your domain.
                    255: </p>
                    256: <pre>
                    257: cd /root/loncapa-N.N/loncom/build
                    258: perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN
                    259: (WILL PROMPT FOR PASSWORD HERE)
                    260: </pre>
                    261: 
1.2       bisitz    262: <h2>7. <a name="sts">Start/Restart Services</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn   263: <p>
                    264: The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start.  Most misconfigurations
                    265: will be apparent at this step.
                    266: </p>
                    267: <pre>
                    268: /etc/init.d/loncontrol start
                    269: /etc/init.d/httpd start
                    270: </pre>
                    271: <p>
                    272: If you receive warnings when starting the httpd about missing perl modules,
                    273: please make sure you followed the instructions in 
                    274: <b>Installing LON-CAPA Dependencies</b>.  If you still have errors, please
                    275: contact the MSU LON-CAPA group.
                    276: </p>
1.2       bisitz    277: 
                    278: <h2>8. <a name="log">Log in to your LON-CAPA Machine</a></h2>
1.1       raeburn   279: <p>
                    280: Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain
                    281: coordinator.  Congratulations!
                    282: </p>
                    283: 
1.5       bisitz    284: <hr>
1.1       raeburn   285: <h2>If things aren't working right</h2>
                    286: <p>
                    287: If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think 
                    288: 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 RPMs or errors during the
                    289: automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible.
                    290: If some part of this document is unclear please let us know.
                    291: </p>

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