This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA server running Fedora Core 2 (FC2) 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. Some familiarity with Linux is assumed. 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:
FC2 ISO files can be obtained from the projects main site, http://fedora.redhat.com/. You will need only the first ISO image for the minimal install.
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 Fedora is quite easy if you've installed any of the Red Hat products before. Some documentation is available from http://fedora.redhat.com/projects/anaconda-installer/. There are a few sections that require comment.
Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in as root.
Retrieve the loncapa_yum.conf file from the LON-CAPA install site:
wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/fedora/loncapa_yum.conf
Copy the loncapa_yum.conf file to /etc/yum.conf:
mv /etc/yum.conf /etc/yum.conf.backup cp loncapa_yum.conf /etc/yum.conf
Update your system to the latest versions of the system software:
yum update
You will need to reboot your system after yum finishes. Reboot your system before proceeding with the LON-CAPA install.
Installating the LON-CAPA prerequisites is pretty straightforward. Execute:
yum install LONCAPA-prerequisites ntp
This 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/fedora/fedora_install.tar
Extract the archive with the following command:
tar xf fedora_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 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 '1.2') ./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 developers. 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.