This document guides you through the process of setting up a new LON-CAPA server running Fedora Linux. The computer will be configured solely as a LON-CAPA server and will be expected to have no other services running on it.
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:
Fedora linux ISO files can be obtained from the projects main site, http://fedora.redhat.com/.
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.
Execute the following command:
wget http://install.loncapa.org/versions/fedora/fedora_install.tar
This will retrieve from the LON-CAPA website all the packages needed to get LON-CAPA running on your system, except for the LON-CAPA source itself.
Extract the archive with the following command:
tar xf fedora_install.tar
This creates a directory named installation.
This section walks you through installing the packages which LON-CAPA requires. There are a lot of dependencies. They have been grouped in a somewhat logical fashion to make them easier to deal with. When installing the rpms you should watch for errors.
The quick instructions are:
cd installation cd mysql rpm -Uvh *rpm cd ../apache rpm -Uvh *rpm cd ../mod_perl rpm -Uvh *rpm cd ../perl_dependencies rpm -Uvh *rpm cd ../GD rpm -Uvh *rpm cd ../gnuplot rpm --install --oldpackage readline-2.2.1-6.i386.rpm rpm --install --oldpackage --excludedocs libpng-1.0.12-2.i386.rpm rpm -Uvh gnuplot-3.7.1-5.i386.rpm libgd-1.3-4.i386.rpm ncurses4-5.0-5.i386.rpm cd ../misc rpm -Uvh *rpm cd ..
Notes:
We have prepared a script which takes care of most of the configuration that must be done to get the newly installed packages working with LON-CAPA. This script will retrieve the latest LON-CAPA release from http://install.loncapa.org. You will be prompted for a root password for your MySQL server. You will need to remember this password in case you should ever need to make changes the the server.
Execute the script as follows:
cd setup; ./install.pl
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 '1.1') ./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)
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
Point a web browser at your new machine and log in as the domain coordinator. Congratulations!