How do I set up iFolder3.6 on Opensuse10.3?

Jeremy Pavlov May 2, 2008 3 Comments

Here is my version of a “cheat-sheet” for installing iFolder3.6 on Opensuse10.3. This cheat-sheet kinda’ leaves you out on your own once you get to the part about running the configuration script (see below), but I don’t want to over-do it here and try to help you with every option you could possibly choose. Other than that, I pretty much cover all the needed setups and caveats… I hope… Good luck!

First, install Opensuse10.3, mostly with the defaults. I noticed that when installing Opensuse10.3, if you chose to do a Gnome-based system, then you’ll already have the mono-core and some other needed mono modules, so I’m recommending you do that here for simplicity. Also, you might want to be mindful of partitioning (beyond your usual method or the defaults), and perhaps allow for a special iFolder data store. No need to set up ownership or permissions for the special store, as the configuration script will handle that later.

Host naming is pretty critical with iFolder. You need to plan for what name the iFolder server will be known by, both inside and outside of your internal network. Make sure the server and clients are able to resolve this/these name(s)!

Now, install some other pre-req’s for ifolder:
yast -i apache2
(…you may want to set chkconfig apache2 on)
yast -i mod_mono

…and any other packages necessary (like mono-core, if needed) to satisfy the requirements for the following packages, especially if you did a restricted/limited install…

Now get and install the main ifolder packages (sorry, original link deprecated and retired), (thanks, martijn!) in order:
rpm -Uvh log4net-1.2.9-70.1.noarch.rpm
rpm -Uvh libflaim-4.9.1046-17.1.i586.rpm
rpm -Uvh libflaim-devel-4.9.1046-17.1.i586.rpm
rpm -Uvh simias-svn-1.6.7303.1dl9pf-7.2.i586.rpm
rpm -Uvh ifolder3-server-svn-3.6.7318.1dl9pf-2.1.i586.rpm

Run /usr/bin/simias-server-setup (as instructed by the ifolder3-server rpm install), and follow the prompts. This setup script will allow you to set the storage point, the admin password, the authentication source (ldap, local, etc), etc.

If you are setting this up for the first time, I encourage you to choose local authentication (instead of ldap) and learn how the system works. The only caveat there is that if you intend to setup more than one iFolder server in a master/slave configuration, you must use LDAP for authentication; so be prepared if that applies to you.

One important thing to be aware of while running the script is that you must enter valid hostnames when prompted for internal and external addresses/names. If you don’t have appropriate DNS names for the system (like if it’s a lab server or something), make sure you use valid IP addresses. You’ll know that you did it wrong if you cannot reach it later… 😉

***After using the simias-server-setup configuration script, if you had chosen the “Configure Apache” option, you may need to fix a few things (I did) like this:
vi /etc/apache2/conf.d/simias.conf
(change the first line to accurately point to:
/etc/apache2/conf.d/mod_mono.conf)

cd /etc/simias/apache/default/
mv simias_server.conf simias_server.conf.dontuse

cd /etc/simias/apache/
cp ifolder_apache.conf /etc/apache2/conf.d/

Now, make sure to modify the firewall configuration file:
vi /etc/sysconfig/SuSEfirewall2
…to allow for http port(s) 80 and 443, and restart the firewall with rcSuSEfirewall restart. Or use the Yast2 firewall module instead, if you want to do it graphically. Either way, you *do* want people to be able to reach your new service, right?

Finally, restart or start apache:
rcapache2 restart

Now the server is done! You can administer it at the following URL:
http://servername/admin
…or access it as a user (after you configure one) at:
http://servername/ifolder

Maybe in a later post I’ll go over getting and installing the client, or maybe I’ll cover LDAP configuration and usage, or backups and DR… let me know if any of that interests you…

Enjoy!
🙂