This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA server/VM running Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Server with only the base set of packages installed. The machine (virtual or real) will be configured solely as a LON-CAPA server and will be expected to have no other services running. Your server/VM 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. 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:
An Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (server install) 64 bit iso can be obtained from the Ubuntu Server download page. The .iso file can be burned to a DVD.
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 Ubuntu Linux is straightforward. Documentation is available from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/ Most of the installation screens are self explanatory. There are a few steps that require comment and are dealt with below.
Finish installing your server, reboot it, and log in with the username you created during installation.
Use ufw to allow incoming traffic for the following services: ssh, www, https
sudo apt-get install ufw sudo ufw default deny sudo ufw enable sudo ufw allow ssh sudo ufw allow www sudo ufw allow https
Configure to "Internet Site" to allow LON-CAPA to send e-mail to users.
sudo apt-get install postfix
If you need to change the postfix configuration in the future use:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure postfix
Update your system to the latest versions of the system software using apt-get
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade
If kernel packages were updated, reboot your system before continuing with the installation.
wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/ubuntu/APT-GPG-KEY-loncapa.asc sudo apt-get install add-apt-key gpg sudo apt-key add APT-GPG-KEY-loncapa.asc
Execute:
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository 'deb http://install.loncapa.org/ubuntu focal main'
You can display which repositories are currently enabled by using:
grep '^deb ' /etc/apt/sources.list |grep ' focal '
The output should contain:
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal universe deb http://install.loncapa.org/ubuntu focal main
If the Ubuntu universe repository is absent it can be added using:
sudo add-apt-repository universe
If other Ubuntu repositories, e.g., restricted and multiverse are enabled, you can disable them, as they are not needed for LON-CAPA, by using:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove restricted sudo add-apt-repository --remove multiverse
Execute:
sudo apt-get install loncapa-prerequisites
This may take some minutes due to LON-CAPA's large number of dependencies.
Execute:
sudo a2dismod mpm_event sudo a2enmod mpm_prefork sudo a2enmod cgi sudo a2enmod dav sudo a2enmod dav_fs
Retrieve the LON-CAPA setup script and dependencies with the following command:
wget http://install.loncapa.org/linux/install.tar
Extract the archive with the following command:
tar xf install.tar
This creates a directory named installation. Change to it and execute the setup script with the following commands:
cd installation sudo ./install.pl
The script is used to prepare a Linux system to run LON-CAPA, and can also be used to check the configuration of a system on which LON-CAPA has already been installed. Typically, though, you will run this script only once, when you first install LON-CAPA.
The script will analyze your system to determine which actions are recommended. The script will then prompt you to choose the actions you would like taken. Once a choice has been entered for all nine possible actions, required changes will be made.
The possible actions are:
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 ../loncapa-X.Y.Z (X.Y.Z should correspond to a version number like '2.11.3') sudo ./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 user's password. Replace USERNAME and DOMAIN with an appropriate username and your domain.
cd loncom/build sudo perl make_domain_coordinator.pl USERNAME DOMAIN cd
The LON-CAPA network services take a moment to start. Most misconfigurations will be apparent at this step.
sudo /home/httpd/perl/loncontrol start sudo systemctl restart apache2 exit
If you receive warnings about missing perl modules when starting Apache, please make sure you followed the instructions in Installing prerequisites. If you still have errors, please contact the MSU LON-CAPA group.
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 send a help request to the MSU LON-CAPA group. If there were errors in installation of the dependency .deb packages or errors during the automatic setup, please send us as much information as possible. If some part of this document is unclear please let us know.