This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA server running Red Hat Enterpise Linux 4 (ES) with a minimum of packages installed. The computer will be configured solely as a LON-CAPA server and will be expected to have no other services running. Your server is expected to have a reasonably fast connection to the internet.
More information is available at http://install.lon-capa.org/.
Installing Linux is getting easier and easier. However, it is still a non-trivial undertaking and experience with Red Hat Linux will make this process 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.
The installation process takes the following steps:
RHEL4 ES CDs can be purchased from Red Hat: http://redhat.com/. For the minimal install on 32-bit architecture you will need only the first two CDs.
You will need to know the following network settings for your installation. Note:You must have a static IP address to use LON-CAPA. DHCP is not supported.
Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux is quite easy if you've installed any of the Red Hat products before. Documentation is available from http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/ Specific comment is provided for some of the installation steps below.
Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in as root.
Import the GPG key for use in verifying packages retrieved from the Red Hat Network.
rpm --import /usr/share/rhn/RPM-GPG-KEYNext you will need to register your server with the Red Hat Network.
Information about registration for the Red Hat Network can be found at: http://www.redhat.com/software/rhn/. You can register directly from the server where you will be installing LON-CAPA using:
up2date --registerOnce you have registered your system so it has access to Red Hat package updates, you should first check the up2date configuration, and make any necessary changes (e.g., disable skipping of kernel updates).
up2date-configNext update your system to the latest versions of the system software using up2date.
up2date -u
Reboot your system before continuing with the installation.
Retrieve the RHEL4_loncapa_rhnsources file from the LON-CAPA install site:
wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/redhat/RHEL4_loncapa_rhnsources
Install the RHEL4_loncapa_rhnsources
mv /etc/sysconfig/rhn/sources /etc/sysconfig/rhn/sources.backup cp RHEL4_loncapa_rhnsources /etc/sysconfig/rhn/sources up2date
Import the GPG key for use in verifying LON-CAPA packages retrieved from the LON-CAPA installation site.
rpm --import http://install.loncapa.org/versions/redhat/RHEL/RPM-GPG-KEY-loncapa
Execute the installation
up2date install LONCAPA-prerequisitesThis may take a moment due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup with the following command:
wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/redhat/RHEL/redhat_install.tar
Extract the archive with the following command:
tar xf redhat_install.tar
This creates a directory named installation. Change to it and execute the setup script with the following commands:
cd installation ./install.pl
This script will prompt you for the MySQL root password and will download the latest LON-CAPA release.
LON-CAPA requires a number of identifying parameters to be set in order for it to function at all. Below is a list with descriptions.
To configure and install LON-CAPA, execute the following commands:
cd /root/loncapa-N.N (N.N should correspond to a version number like '2.0') ./UPDATE
You will need to enter the LON-CAPA configuration information you determined in the previous section.
You will need at least one user at your site who has the role of 'domain coordinator'. This user creates accounts for other users and grants them additional privileges. The make_domain_coordinator.pl script invoked below requires that you enter the users password. The password will show in plaintext as you type it. Feel free to use the "passwd username" command to change it later. Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an appropriate user name and your domain.
cd /root/loncapa-N.N/loncom/build perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN (WILL PROMPT FOR PASSWORD HERE) mkdir ~USERNAME/public_html chown USERNAME:www ~USERNAME/public_html chmod 0775 ~USERNAME/public_html chmod a+x ~USERNAME
The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start. Most misconfigurations will be appearant at this step.
/etc/init.d/loncontrol start /etc/init.d/httpd start
If you receive warnings when starting the httpd about missing perl modules, please make sure you followed the instructions in Installing LON-CAPA Dependencies. If you still have errors, please contact the LON-CAPA development team.
Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain coordinator. Congratulations!
If you've followed the steps above and the server doesn't start or you think
there's something wrong, please get in touch with the LON-CAPA support team.
You can submit a help request using our web form:
http://support.loncapa.org/help/
If there were errors in installation of the dependency RPMs or during the
automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible.
If some part of this document is unclear please let us know.