Server Installation How-To

The CommunityBanker application suite requires LAMP to be installed which is very easy to achieve with most Ubuntu distributions. These instructions are for Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty but should work equally well for most versions since 8.10.

Installation of a development server

Preparation of a test or development environment for Common Ubuntu 9.04 or later is really very straight forward and consists of the following steps:

• Installation of LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) stack
• Installation of openssl and generation of a test certificate for use with the https server
• Installation of suggested development tools
• Configuration for development

Installation of LAMP

The LAMP stack is very easily installed on any default installation of Ubuntu Workstation as follows:

Install MySQL

Firstly we install MySQL as follows:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client

You will be asked to provide a password for the MySQL root user - this password is valid for the user root@localhost

New password for the MySQL "root" user: <-- //yourrootsqlpassword//
Repeat password for the MySQL "root" user: <-- //yourrootsqlpassword//

To test type the following at the command line and login as root:

> mysql -u root -p //yourrootsqlpassword//

If you logged in without trouble you may move on to the next step.

+ Troubleshooting MySQL Password

If you entered no password when installing then try the following at a command prompt:

mysql -u root

Following that copy/paste this line:

mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'@'localhost' = PASSWORD('//yourrootsqlpassword//');

(Make sure to change yourrootsqlpassword to a password of your choice.)

Try login again using the password you have set. If this does not work or you have forgotten your password then refer to the advice at MySQL Password Reset

Install Apache2

Secondly we install a local apache2 webserver as follows:

sudo apt-get install apache2

We test the installation by typing the server address in the web browser:

http://localhost

Apache's default document root is /var/www on Ubuntu, and the configuration file is /etc/apache2/apache2.conf.
Additional configurations are stored in subdirectories of the /etc/apache2 directory such as /etc/apache2/mods-enabled (for Apache modules), /etc/apache2/sites-enabled (for virtual hosts), and /etc/apache2/conf.d.

Install PHP

Lastly we install PHP5 and the Apache PHP5 module as follows:

sudo apt-get install php5 libapache2-mod-php5 php5-mysq

And we must restart Apache afterwards:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

To test that PHP is as it should be create test.php as follows:

sudo gedit /var/www/test.php

then enter the following lines of code and save your test.php file:

<?php
    phpinfo();
?>

Now just go to http://localhost/test.php and you should get the phpinfo page.
Thats it for a basic LAMP which is all that cubanker requires to work.

Installation of openssl for secure server

…..insert instructions here for :

• installation of openssl
• creation of root cert
• exporting cert to file
• loading cert/SSL keys into Apache
• trouble shooting etc. if logging in v ia SSH etc

Installation of a production/live environment

Basics needed to contribute to development

In order to have the basics (unless your preferences dictate otherwise) required to aid in the development of cubanker the following tools are suggested:

• Bluefish editor
• MySQL Administrator
• MySQL Query Browser
• //what is needed for package creation //

Install as follows :

sudo apt-get install bluefish
sudo apt-get install mysql-admin mysql-query-browser

Differences between development and production

get a live SSL Certificate

hardening the web server

.htaccess and non-secure vs secure web access

ip address issues/configuration

+ Deprecated Installation Instruction

These instructions were developed on a Pentium II 300Mhz system with a 4GB harddisk drive and 256MB of RAM. I first did a clean install of Xubuntu (that is, Ubuntu with the Xfce rather than the Gnome desktop) and then removed the bulkier surplus software like the Gimp and Abiword processor. Having got things running as detailed below, I installed the openssh server. I run the system without a monitor, mouse or keyboard, and login to it across my network from my main desktop machine using putty. This gives full command line access to the system.

If you installing or testing on a remote machine you will need to replace localhost where it appears in these instructions with the hostname of the remote machine.

Once the system is running the various bits and pieces will not need restarting after a reboot, except for JBoss. Instructions for starting this from the command line interface are given at the end of 5) below.

0) Set the repository list

The following lines, or their equivalent for your location, should appear in /etc/apt/sources.list.

deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy main restricted
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy-updates main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu gutsy-security main restricted

deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy universe
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy-updates universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu gutsy-security universe

deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy multiverse
deb-http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy-updates multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu gutsy-security multiverse

1) Install Sun Java release 6 revision 3

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk sun-java6-plugin

To test it point your browser at …
http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml

Also, try these commands in a terminal. You should get something similar to the responses shown.

> java -version
java version "1.6.0_03"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_03-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.6.0_03-b05, mixed mode, sharing)

> javac -version
javac 1.6.0_03

> echo $JAVA_HOME
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun

> echo $JDK_HOME
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun

If necessary, the JAVA and JDK environmental variables can be set by adding the following lines to the top of the /etc/profile file.

pathmunge () {
        if ! echo $PATH | /bin/egrep -q "(^|:)$1($|:)" ; then
           if [ "$2" = "after" ] ; then
              PATH=$PATH:$1
           else
              PATH=$1:$PATH
           fi
        fi
}

JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun
pathmunge $JAVA_HOME/bin after
export JAVA_HOME
unset pathmunge
JDK_HOME="${JAVA_HOME}"
export JDK_HOME

To get the /etc/profile to refresh the environmental variables without logging out, just use the following command:

source /etc/profile

2) Install Apache 2.2.4

sudo apt-get install apache2

To test this, point your browser at …
http://localhost

Also, try these commands in a terminal …

> man apachectl
(displays manual page)

> sudo apache2ctl fullstatus
(displays the ful status of the apache webserver)

> sudo apache2ctl start
(starts the apache webserver)

> sudo apache2ctl stop
(stops the apache webserver)

> sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start
(another way to start the apache webserver)

> sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 stop
(and another way to stop it again)

3) Install MySQL 5.0.X

sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client

To test the installation, try these commands in a terminal.

> ps aux | grep mysql
(shows running processes with "mysql" in their name)

> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start
(starts the myql server)

> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
(stops the myql server)

> mysql -u root -p
(requests to log in to running server as sqlroot, with the password given during installation)

mysql> show databases;
(shows that there is a 'test' database to play with; and the 'mysql' internal administrative database)

mysql> quit;
(leaves sql session)

> mysqladmin -u root shutdown
(shuts down the mysql server)

Note that typing …
> mysqladmin -u root password <password>
… will set or change the sqlroot password.

4) Install JBOSS 4.2.2.GA

First download jems-installer-1.2.0.GA.jar from the sourceforge page.

In the download directory type …

sudo java -jar jems-installer-1.2.0.GA.jar

After you've given your ubuntu password a graphic installer will start. You can accept most of the defaults; but these notes assume you install the jboss directory (not into /usr/local but into) into /opt. Also, after choosing your target installation directory, make sure you select "tomcat" on the next screen. The installation will inform you that Tomcat is a Servet 2.4 container profile, and that it is not J2EE 1.4 compatible. Don't worry; select "tomcat" then click "next". On the next screen, leave all the installation packs selected and click "next" to proceed, then accept the default of a standard installation on the screen that follows (the "standard" option just results in a simpler configuration which is fine for now).

The installation program will show that you're about to install into …
/opt/jboss-4.0.5.GA
and that you've chosen the installation packs …
jmx-core docs tomcat-client minimal xmlresolver jmx-console invokers-service jta-service usertx-service naming security war-deployer jboss-remoting xmlservice

On completion the terminal window will show …

PackageListener, install.log=/tmp/jems-install.log

calltarget:

chmod-bin:
     [echo] Updating script executable modes
     [echo] bin dir is /usr/local/jboss-4.0.5.GA/bin

calltarget:

jbossws14-post-install:
     [echo] Unpacking wstools to bin...
    [unzip] Expanding: /usr/local/jboss-4.0.5.GA/client/jbossws14-client.jar into /opt/jboss-4.0.5.GA/bin
     [echo] jbossws14 done

You've now installed JBoss along with its built-in Tomcat servlet container. You can verify this by pointing your browser at …
http://localhost:8080/

You'll see a webpage giving links to JBoss Online Resources, and to various JBoss Management facilities on your local server …
* Tomcat status (full) (XML)
* JMX Console
* JBoss Web Console
Don't be alarmed that the last of these isn't yet installed ;)

Some handy commands are …

> ps ax | grep jboss
(shows whether jboss is running OK)

> sudo su -
switch to root
> cd /opt/jboss-4.0.5.GA/bin
change to the jboss binaries directory
> ./run.sh &
start jboss when root in /opt/jboss-4.0.5.GA/bin
> ./shutdown.sh -S
similarly, shutdown jboss

Note that this installation of JBoss will need to be restarted after a reboot.

6) Install Struts

First obtain struts-2.0.11-lib.zip

To develop applications with Struts, you can usually just add the Struts JAR file to your Java development environment. You can then start using the Struts classes as part of your own application.

The simplest way to install Struts is to copy a small Struts application, packed in "struts2-blank-2.0.11.war", from the download file to your Servlet container (that's /opt/jboss-4.0.5.GA/server/default/deploy if you've followed these instructions), then restart the Tomcat server.