File:  [LON-CAPA] / doc / build / suse10.3_install.frag
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Thu May 22 21:39:15 2008 UTC (15 years, 10 months ago) by www
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CVS tags: version_2_7_X, version_2_7_1, version_2_7_0, version_2_6_99_1, version_2_6_99_0, HEAD
Use English as installation language.

    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>Installation Language</dt>
   58:    <dd>Use English as your installation language.</dd>
   59:    <dt>Desktop Selection</dt>
   60:    <dd>Click <i>Other</i> and choose <i>Text Mode</i></dd>
   61:    <dt>Software Selection</dt>
   62:    <dd>Choose Expert Mode and for Software enable Base System, Yast Installation Packages and Software Management</dd>
   63:    <dt>Partitioning your Drive</dt>
   64:    <dd>For a LON-CAPA library server (i.e., the main server used 
   65:        for permanent storage of course and user data), 
   66:        a separate partition is recommended for /home, as this    
   67:        simplifies future upgrades of the operating system.
   68:        If you are adding an additional access server to an 
   69:        existing LON-CAPA domain, this does not apply as no 
   70:        permenent data are stored on an access server.
   71:        As LON-CAPA resource files are stored in the /home directory,
   72:        the majority of the disk space should be allocated here.
   73:        If you have 20 GB of space for SuSE 10.3, /home should 
   74:        receive at least 10 to 12 gigs. Since MySQL uses the /var 
   75:        filesystem to store its databases you should have as least 
   76:        4 gigs of space available on /var.  Be sure to 
   77:        include adequate swap space.  A minimum is 512 Megs, but you should
   78:        typically have 1 or 2x as much swap space as you do physical RAM.
   79:        </dd>
   80: </dl>
   81: <p>Once you system has rebooted, you will use yast to complete the configuration. Change the following settings:
   82: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
   83:    <dt>Network Configuration</dt>
   84:    <dd>LON-CAPA will <b>not</b> work with a machine set up to use a dynamic
   85:        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).
   86:    </dd>
   87:    <dt>Firewall</dt>
   88:    <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>
   89:    <dt>Online Update Configuration</dt>
   90:    <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>
   91:    </dt>
   92: </dl>
   93: <p>
   94: After finishing the online update, the system should reboot, and
   95: proceed to have you create a user account, show you the Release Notes,
   96: and let you configure any extra hardware, and then finish up the boot
   97: process. At the prompt login as root.
   98: </p>
   99: <h2>Change software sources for your system</h2>
  100: <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>
  101: <pre>
  102: mkdir -p suse103/DVD
  103: mount -o ro,loop SUSE-Linux-10.3-GM-i386-DVD.iso /mnt
  104: cp -rv /mnt/* suse103/DVD
  105: umount /mnt
  106: </pre>
  107: Next you will use yast to import packages required for LON-CAPA.<br />
  108: Execute:
  109: </p>
  110: <pre>
  111: yast
  112: </pre>
  113: <p>
  114: 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.
  115: </p>
  116: <h3>Add an additional installation source</h3>
  117: <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:
  118: <dl style="list-style:square outside none">
  119: <dd>Media Type</dd>
  120: <dt>HTTP</dt>
  121: <dd>Protocol</dd>
  122: <dt>HTTP</dt>
  123: <dd>Server Name</dd>
  124: <dt>install.loncapa.org</dt>
  125: <dd>Directory on server</dd>
  126: <dt>suse/10.3/</dt>
  127: <dd>Authentication</dd>
  128: <dt>Anonymous</dt>
  129: </dl>
  130: 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.    
  131: </p>
  132: <h2>Installing LON-CAPA</h2>
  133: <h3>Install prerequisites</h3>
  134: <p> Execute: </p>
  135: <pre>
  136: yast -i LONCAPA-prerequisites
  137: </pre><p>
  138: This may take a moment due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
  139: </p>
  140: <h3>Retrieve and execute LON-CAPA setup program</h3>
  141: <p>
  142: Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup with the following command:
  143: </p>
  144: <pre>
  145: wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/suse/10.3/suse10.3_install.tar
  146: </pre>
  147: <p>
  148: Extract the archive with the following command:
  149: </p>
  150: <pre>
  151: tar xf suse10.3_install.tar
  152: </pre>
  153: <p>
  154: This creates a directory named <tt>installation</tt>.  Change to it and
  155: execute the setup script with the following commands:
  156: </p>
  157: <pre>
  158: cd installation
  159: ./install.pl
  160: </pre>
  161: <p>
  162: This script will prompt you for the MySQL root password and will download the latest LON-CAPA release.
  163: </p>
  164: <h3>Determine LON-CAPA Settings</h3>
  165: <p>
  166: LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order
  167: for it to function at all.  Below is a list with descriptions.
  168: </p>
  169: <dl>
  170:   <dt>Host Type (library or access)</dt>
  171:   <dd>The server must be designated a 'library' or an 'access' server.  In
  172:       general you should have a library server for your instructors to create
  173:       their course content on and run their courses.  Students should connect
  174:       to access servers.  If you are doing the first install of LON-CAPA at 
  175:       your site, or if you are playing with it for your own edification you
  176:       should make your machine a 'library' server.</dd>
  177:   <dt>LON-CAPA domain</dt>
  178:   <dd>Each site or school which installs LON-CAPA needs its own domain.
  179:       Here at MSU we use 'msu'.  You should choose something short but
  180:       meaningful.  <i>Restriction: One word, no hyphens, underscores, or 
  181:       special characters.</i>
  182:   </dd>
  183:   <dt>LON-CAPA host id</dt>
  184:   <dd>Each LON-CAPA server requires a unique internal name.  We use names
  185:       such as "msul1" for the first library server. <i>Restriction: One word, 
  186:       no hyphens, underscores, or special characters.</i>
  187:   </dd>
  188:   <dt>Host administrator email</dt>
  189:   <dd>The amount of email sent to this address is relatively minimal.  Messages
  190:       are sent every time the system starts up, or if the system is in 
  191:       serious trouble. On a laptop, make this <tt>root@localhost</tt>.
  192:   </dd>
  193: </dl>
  194: 
  195: <h3>Configuring LON-CAPA</h3>
  196: <p>
  197: To configure and install LON-CAPA, execute the following commands:
  198: </p>
  199: <pre>
  200: cd /root/loncapa-N.N     (N.N should correspond to a version number like '2.2.2')
  201: ./UPDATE
  202: </pre>
  203: <p>
  204: You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined 
  205: in the previous section.  
  206: </p>
  207: <h2>Creating a Domain Coordinator</h2>
  208: <p>
  209: You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of
  210: 'domain coordinator'.  This user creates accounts for other users and
  211: grants them additional privileges.  The make_domain_coordinator.pl script
  212: invoked below requires that you enter the users password.  The password will
  213: show in plaintext as you type it.  Feel free to use the "passwd username"
  214: command to change it later.  Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an 
  215: appropriate user name and your domain.
  216: </p>
  217: <pre>
  218: cd /root/loncapa-N.N/loncom/build
  219: perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN
  220: (WILL PROMPT FOR PASSWORD HERE)
  221: </pre>
  222: <h2>Start/Restart Services</h2>
  223: <p>
  224: The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start.  Most misconfigurations
  225: will be apparent at this step.
  226: </p>
  227: <pre>
  228: /etc/init.d/loncontrol start
  229: /etc/init.d/apache2 start
  230: </pre>
  231: <p>
  232: If you receive warnings about missing perl modules when starting apache2,
  233: please make sure you followed the instructions in 
  234: <b>Installing LON-CAPA Dependencies</b>.  If you still have errors, please
  235: contact the LON-CAPA support team.
  236: </p>
  237: <h2>Log in to your LON-CAPA Machine</h2>
  238: <p>
  239: Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain
  240: coordinator.  Congratulations!
  241: </p>
  242: <h2>If things aren't working right</h2>
  243: <p>
  244: If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think
  245: there's something wrong, please get in touch with the LON-CAPA support team.
  246: You can submit a help request using our web form:<br />
  247: <a href="http://support.loncapa.org/help/">http://support.loncapa.org/help/</a><br />
  248: If there were errors in installation of the dependency RPMs or during the
  249: automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible. 
  250: Please let us know if any parts of this document are unclear.
  251: </p>

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