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Debian GNU/Linux#

In this article we explain in just a few steps which packages need to be installed and configured.

System Requirements#

The general system requirements apply.

This article refers to Debian GNU/Linux 11 "bullseye". In order to find out which Debian version is used you can carry out the following command:

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cat /etc/debian_version

As system architecture you should use a x86 in 64bit:

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uname -m

x86_64 means 64bit, i386 or i686 only 32bit.

Installation of the Packages#

The default package repositories of Debian GNU/Linux already supply the necessary packages to install:

  • the Apache web server 2.4
  • the script language PHP 7.4
  • the database management system MariaDB 10.5 and
  • the caching server memcached
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sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2 libapache2-mod-php mariadb-client mariadb-server php php-bcmath php-cli php-common php-curl php-gd php-imagick php-json php-ldap php-mbstring php-memcached php-mysql php-pgsql php-soap php-xml php-zip memcached unzip sudo moreutils

Configuration#

The installed packages for Apache web server, PHP and MariaDB already supply configuration files. It is recommended to save changed settings in separate files instead of adjusting the already existing configuration files. Otherwise, any differences to the existing files would be pointed out or even overwritten during each package upgrade. The settings of the default configuration are supplemented or overwritten by user-defined settings.

PHP#

First of all, a new file is created and filled with the required settings:

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sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/mods-available/i-doit.ini

This file has the following contents:

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allow_url_fopen = Yes
file_uploads = On
magic_quotes_gpc = Off
max_execution_time = 300
max_file_uploads = 42
max_input_time = 60
max_input_vars = 10000
memory_limit = 256M
post_max_size = 128M
register_argc_argv = On
register_globals = Off
short_open_tag = On
upload_max_filesize = 128M
display_errors = Off
display_startup_errors = Off
error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT
log_errors = On
default_charset = "UTF-8"
default_socket_timeout = 60
date.timezone = Europe/Berlin
session.gc_maxlifetime = 604800
session.cookie_lifetime = 0
mysqli.default_socket = /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

The value (in seconds) of session.gc_maxlifetime should be the same or greater than the Session Timeout in the system settings of i-doit.

The date.timezone parameter should be adjusted to the local time zone (see List of supported time zones).

Afterwards, the required PHP modules are activated and the Apache web server is restarted:

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sudo phpenmod i-doit
sudo phpenmod memcached
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Apache Webserver#

The default VHost is deactivated and a new one is created:

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sudo a2dissite 000-default
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/i-doit.conf

The new VHost configuration is saved in this file:

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<VirtualHost *:80>
        ServerAdmin i-doit@example.net

        DocumentRoot /var/www/html/
        <Directory /var/www/html/>
                AllowOverride All
                Require all granted
        </Directory>

        LogLevel warn
        ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
        CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

i-doit includes differing Apache settings in files with the name .htaccess. The setting AllowOverride All is required so that these settings are taken into account.
With the next step you activate the new VHost and the necessary Apache module rewrite and the Apache web server is restarted:

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sudo a2ensite i-doit
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

MariaDB#

Only a few steps are necessary to guarantee that MariaDB provides a good performance and safe operation. However, you should pay meticulous attention to details and carry out these steps precisely. This starts with a secure installation and you should follow the recommendations accordingly. The root user should receive a secure password:

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sudo mysql_secure_installation

Activate the MariaDB shell so that i-doit is enabled to apply the root user during setup:

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sudo mysql -uroot

Password for MariaDB root user

If the MariaDB root user does not have a password yet, the database access will not work after executing the ALTER USER statement. Therefore, the MariaDB root user should be assigned a password beforehand:

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SET PASSWORD for 'root'@'localhost' = PASSWORD ('passwort');

The following SQL statements are now carried out in the MariaDB shell (The 'password' must be replaced by the current password of the 'root' user):

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ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED VIA mysql_native_password USING PASSWORD('password');
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Use of MariaDB 10.3 and downwards

Up to MariaDB version 10.3, the UPDATE statement is supported in the user table.

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UPDATE mysql.user SET plugin = 'mysql_native_password' WHERE User = 'root';

Afterwards, MariaDB is stopped. Now it is important to move files which are not required, otherwise the result would be a significant loss of performance:

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mysql -uroot -p -e"SET GLOBAL innodb_fast_shutdown = 0"
sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo mv /var/lib/mysql/ib_logfile[01] /tmp

A new file is created for the deviating settings:

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sudo nano /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/99-i-doit.cnf

This file contains the new configuration settings. For an optimal performance you should adapt these settings to the (virtual) hardware:

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[mysqld]
# This is the number 1 setting to look at for any performance optimization
# It is where the data and indexes are cached: having it as large as possible will
# ensure MySQL uses memory and not disks for most read operations.
#
# Typical values are 1G (1-2GB RAM), 5-6G (8GB RAM), 20-25G (32GB RAM), 100-120G (128GB RAM).
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 1G
# Use multiple instances if you have innodb_buffer_pool_size > 10G, 1 every 4GB
innodb_buffer_pool_instances = 1
# Redo log file size, the higher the better.
# MySQL/MariaDB writes two ofe these log files in a default installation.
innodb_log_file_size = 512M
innodb_sort_buffer_size = 64M
sort_buffer_size = 262144 # default
join_buffer_size = 262144 # default
max_allowed_packet = 128M
max_heap_table_size = 32M
query_cache_min_res_unit = 4096
query_cache_type = 1
query_cache_limit = 5M
query_cache_size = 80M
tmp_table_size = 32M
max_connections = 200
innodb_file_per_table = 1
# Disable this (= 0) if you have only one to two CPU cores, change it to 4 for a quad core.
innodb_thread_concurrency = 0
# Disable this (= 0) if you have slow harddisks
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 1
innodb_flush_method = O_DIRECT
innodb_lru_scan_depth = 2048
table_definition_cache = 1024
table_open_cache = 2048
# Only if your have MySQL 5.6 or higher, do not use with MariaDB!
#table_open_cache_instances = 4
innodb_stats_on_metadata = 0
sql-mode = ""

Finally, MariaDB is started:

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sudo systemctl start mysql.service

Next Step#

Now the operating system is prepared and i-doit can be installed.

Proceed with Setup