Annotation of doc/build/suse10.3_install.frag, revision 1.1

1.1     ! raeburn     1: <h1>Installing LON-CAPA on a minimal SuSE Linux 10.3 System</h1>
        !             2: <p>
        !             3: This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA
        !             4: server running SuSE Linux 10.3 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 a reasonably fast connection to the internet.
        !             7: </p><p>
        !             8: More information is available at 
        !             9: <a href="http://install.lon-capa.org/">http://install.lon-capa.org/</a>.
        !            10: </p>
        !            11: <h2>Before you begin</h2>
        !            12: <p>
        !            13: Installing Linux is getting easier and easier. You will be required to log in to the machine and execute some routine Unix commands.  Familiarity with the Apache web server, mod_perl, perl, and MySQL are not required to install and run LON-CAPA.
        !            14: </p>
        !            15: <h2>Installation Overview</h2>
        !            16: <p>
        !            17: The installation process takes the following steps:
        !            18: </p>
        !            19: <ol>
        !            20:   <li> Obtain SuSE 10.3 installation media (DVD, or CD)</li>
        !            21:   <li> Determine Network Settings</li>
        !            22:   <li> Install Suse 10.3</li>
        !            23:   <li> Update your system</li>
        !            24:   <li> Install LON-CAPA</li>
        !            25:   <li> Create a Domain Coordinator</li>
        !            26:   <li> Start/Restart services</li>
        !            27:   <li> Log in to LON-CAPA</li>
        !            28: </ol>
        !            29: <h2>Obtain SuSE Linux 10.3</h2>
        !            30: <p>
        !            31: A SuSE 10.3 iso for burning to DVD can be obtained from the opensuse download site: <a href="http://software.opensuse.org/">http://http://software.opensuse.org/</a>, or from an opensuse mirror site - <a href="http://en.opensuse.org/Mirrors_Released_Version">http://en.opensuse.org/Mirrors_Released_Version</a>.  You will also find links there to sites with iso files for burning a Start-CD-Image (a mini.iso) used in a network install, if burning a CD is more convenient for you.
        !            32: </p> 
        !            33: <h2>Determine Network Settings</h2>
        !            34: <p>
        !            35: You will need to know the following network settings for your installation.
        !            36: <b>Note:</b>You must have a static IP address to use LON-CAPA.
        !            37: DHCP is <em>not</em> supported.
        !            38: </p>
        !            39: <ul>
        !            40:   <li>ip address </li>
        !            41:   <li>netmask </li>
        !            42:   <li>hostname </li>
        !            43:   <li>gateway </li>
        !            44:   <li>domain name server(s) </li>
        !            45: </ul>
        !            46: <h2>Minimal SuSE 10.3 Install</h2>
        !            47: <p>
        !            48: Installing SuSE 10.3 is quite easy if you've installed Linux products
        !            49: before.  Some documentation is available from 
        !            50: <a href="http://en.opensuse.org/INSTALL_Local">
        !            51: http://en.opensuse.org/INSTALL_Local</a> for installations from DVD and
        !            52: <a href="http://en.opensuse.org/INSTALL_Internet">http://en.opensuse.org/INSTALL_Internet</a> for installations via the network, booting from the mini.iso CD.<br /><br />
        !            53: Most of the subsequent installation screens are self explanatory.
        !            54: There are a few steps that require comment and are dealt with below.
        !            55: </p>
        !            56: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
        !            57:    <dt>Desktop Selection</dt>
        !            58:    <dd>Click <i>Other</i> and choose <i>Text Mode</i></dd>
        !            59:    <dt>Software Selection</dt>
        !            60:    <dd>Choose Expert Mode and for Software enable Base System, Yast Installation Packages and Software Management</dd>
        !            61:    <dt>Partitioning your Drive</dt>
        !            62:    <dd>For a LON-CAPA library server (i.e., the main server used 
        !            63:        for permanent storage of course and user data), 
        !            64:        a separate partition is recommended for /home, as this    
        !            65:        simplifies future upgrades of the operating system.
        !            66:        If you are adding an additional access server to an 
        !            67:        existing LON-CAPA domain, this does not apply as no 
        !            68:        permenent data are stored on an access server.
        !            69:        As LON-CAPA resource files are stored in the /home directory,
        !            70:        the majority of the disk space should be allocated here.
        !            71:        If you have 20 GB of space for SuSE 10.3, /home should 
        !            72:        receive at least 10 to 12 gigs. Since MySQL uses the /var 
        !            73:        filesystem to store its databases you should have as least 
        !            74:        4 gigs of space available on /var.  Be sure to 
        !            75:        include adequate swap space.  A minimum is 512 Megs, but you should
        !            76:        typically have 1 or 2x as much swap space as you do physical RAM.
        !            77:        </dd>
        !            78: </dl>
        !            79: <p>Once you system has rebooted, you will use yast to complete the configuration. Change the following settings:
        !            80: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
        !            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, you should include host name information (e.g., host name = tmp1, domain = lite.msu.edu), as well as name server. Other settings (ip address, gateway, netmask will have been set when you included them in the boot configuration).
        !            84:    </dd>
        !            85:    <dt>Firewall</dt>
        !            86:    <dd>Enable the firewall, and allow the following services: web services (http and https) and login services (SSH). Use the "Advanced..." option to open the following ports for TCP services: 8080 5663.</dd>
        !            87:    <dt>Online Update Configuration</dt>
        !            88:    <dd>It is recommended that you register your server with Novell for future updates during the installation process, and then run the online update.</dd>
        !            89:    </dt>
        !            90: </dl>
        !            91: <p>
        !            92: After finishing the online update, the system should reboot, and
        !            93: proceed to have you create a user account, show you the Release Notes,
        !            94: and let you configure any extra hardware, and then finish up the boot
        !            95: process. At the prompt login as root.
        !            96: </p>
        !            97: <h2>Change software sources for your system</h2>
        !            98: <p>If you do not already have a SuSE 10.3 installation source at your location, you may want to consider creating one from the iso file for the DVD. Proceed as follows (e.g., for 32 bit):</p>
        !            99: <pre>
        !           100: mkdir -p suse103/DVD
        !           101: mount -o ro,loop SUSE-Linux-10.3-GM-i386-DVD.iso /mnt
        !           102: cp -rv /mnt/* suse103/DVD
        !           103: umount /mnt
        !           104: </pre>
        !           105: Next you will use yast to import packages required for LON-CAPA.<br />
        !           106: Execute:
        !           107: </p>
        !           108: <pre>
        !           109: yast
        !           110: </pre>
        !           111: <p>
        !           112: Select "Installation Source" and change to point at OSS and non-OSS repositories: (http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/10.3/repo/oss and http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/10.3/repo/non-oss) or alternatively at iternet installation repositories close to your location (see <a href="http://en.opensuse.org/Mirrors_Released_Version">http://en.opensuse.org/Mirrors_Released_Version</a>), or a local institutional source you have built from the SuSE 10.3 DVD, or you may prefer to continue to point at the installation DVD.
        !           113: </p>
        !           114: <h3>Add an additional installation source</h3>
        !           115: <p>Add the LON-CAPA SuSE 10.3 repository as an additional installation source. Once this is done, software installation in yast should then have access to a minimum of three repositories - a YUM source for SuSE updates (established when you run online update from yast), an installation source (for OSS packages included in the standard distribution) and the LON-CAPA repository (for extra packages needed to run LON-CAPA). For the LON-CAPA source you will use:
        !           116: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
        !           117: <dd>Media Type</dd>
        !           118: <dt>HTTP</dt>
        !           119: <dd>Protocol</dd>
        !           120: <dt>HTTP</dt>
        !           121: <dd>Server Name</dd>
        !           122: <dt>install.loncapa.org</dt>
        !           123: <dd>Directory on server</dd>
        !           124: <dt>suse/10.3/</dt>
        !           125: <dd>Authentication</dd>
        !           126: <dt>Anonymous</dt>
        !           127: </dl>
        !           128: After saving this configuration information for the LON-CAPA repository, you will need to import a public LON-CAPA key, before the catalog is read, and the repository is available to you. Quit yast.    
        !           129: </p>
        !           130: <h2>Installing LON-CAPA</h2>
        !           131: <h3>Install prerequisites</h3>
        !           132: <p> Execute: </p>
        !           133: <pre>
        !           134: yast -i LONCAPA-prerequisites
        !           135: </pre><p>
        !           136: This may take a moment due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
        !           137: </p>
        !           138: <h3>Retrieve and execute LON-CAPA setup program</h3>
        !           139: <p>
        !           140: Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup with the following command:
        !           141: </p>
        !           142: <pre>
        !           143: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/suse/10.3/suse10.3_install.tar
        !           144: </pre>
        !           145: <p>
        !           146: Extract the archive with the following command:
        !           147: </p>
        !           148: <pre>
        !           149: tar xf suse10.3_install.tar
        !           150: </pre>
        !           151: <p>
        !           152: This creates a directory named <tt>installation</tt>.  Change to it and
        !           153: execute the setup script with the following commands:
        !           154: </p>
        !           155: <pre>
        !           156: cd installation
        !           157: ./install.pl
        !           158: </pre>
        !           159: <p>
        !           160: This script will prompt you for the MySQL root password and will download the latest LON-CAPA release.
        !           161: </p>
        !           162: <h3>Determine LON-CAPA Settings</h3>
        !           163: <p>
        !           164: LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order
        !           165: for it to function at all.  Below is a list with descriptions.
        !           166: </p>
        !           167: <dl>
        !           168:   <dt>Host Type (library or access)</dt>
        !           169:   <dd>The server must be designated a 'library' or an 'access' server.  In
        !           170:       general you should have a library server for your instructors to create
        !           171:       their course content on and run their courses.  Students should connect
        !           172:       to access servers.  If you are doing the first install of LON-CAPA at 
        !           173:       your site, or if you are playing with it for your own edification you
        !           174:       should make your machine a 'library' server.</dd>
        !           175:   <dt>LON-CAPA domain</dt>
        !           176:   <dd>Each site or school which installs LON-CAPA needs its own domain.
        !           177:       Here at MSU we use 'msu'.  You should choose something short but
        !           178:       meaningful.  <i>Restriction: One word, no hyphens, underscores, or 
        !           179:       special characters.</i>
        !           180:   </dd>
        !           181:   <dt>LON-CAPA host id</dt>
        !           182:   <dd>Each LON-CAPA server requires a unique internal name.  We use names
        !           183:       such as "msul1" for the first library server. <i>Restriction: One word, 
        !           184:       no hyphens, underscores, or special characters.</i>
        !           185:   </dd>
        !           186:   <dt>Host administrator email</dt>
        !           187:   <dd>The amount of email sent to this address is relatively minimal.  Messages
        !           188:       are sent every time the system starts up, or if the system is in 
        !           189:       serious trouble. On a laptop, make this <tt>root@localhost</tt>.
        !           190:   </dd>
        !           191: </dl>
        !           192: 
        !           193: <h3>Configuring LON-CAPA</h3>
        !           194: <p>
        !           195: To configure and install LON-CAPA, execute the following commands:
        !           196: </p>
        !           197: <pre>
        !           198: cd /root/loncapa-N.N     (N.N should correspond to a version number like '2.2.2')
        !           199: ./UPDATE
        !           200: </pre>
        !           201: <p>
        !           202: You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined 
        !           203: in the previous section.  
        !           204: </p>
        !           205: <h2>Creating a Domain Coordinator</h2>
        !           206: <p>
        !           207: You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of
        !           208: 'domain coordinator'.  This user creates accounts for other users and
        !           209: grants them additional privileges.  The make_domain_coordinator.pl script
        !           210: invoked below requires that you enter the users password.  The password will
        !           211: show in plaintext as you type it.  Feel free to use the "passwd username"
        !           212: command to change it later.  Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an 
        !           213: appropriate user name and your domain.
        !           214: </p>
        !           215: <pre>
        !           216: cd /root/loncapa-N.N/loncom/build
        !           217: perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN
        !           218: (WILL PROMPT FOR PASSWORD HERE)
        !           219: </pre>
        !           220: <h2>Start/Restart Services</h2>
        !           221: <p>
        !           222: The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start.  Most misconfigurations
        !           223: will be apparent at this step.
        !           224: </p>
        !           225: <pre>
        !           226: /etc/init.d/loncontrol start
        !           227: /etc/init.d/apache2 start
        !           228: </pre>
        !           229: <p>
        !           230: If you receive warnings about missing perl modules when starting apache2,
        !           231: please make sure you followed the instructions in 
        !           232: <b>Installing LON-CAPA Dependencies</b>.  If you still have errors, please
        !           233: contact the LON-CAPA support team.
        !           234: </p>
        !           235: <h2>Log in to your LON-CAPA Machine</h2>
        !           236: <p>
        !           237: Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain
        !           238: coordinator.  Congratulations!
        !           239: </p>
        !           240: <h2>If things aren't working right</h2>
        !           241: <p>
        !           242: If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think
        !           243: there's something wrong, please get in touch with the LON-CAPA support team.
        !           244: You can submit a help request using our web form:<br />
        !           245: <a href="http://support.loncapa.org/help/">http://support.loncapa.org/help/</a><br />
        !           246: If there were errors in installation of the dependency RPMs or during the
        !           247: automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible. 
        !           248: Please let us know if any parts of this document are unclear.
        !           249: </p>

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