How to Install Opensource Social Network on Ubuntu Linux with Apache

This article describes steps one can take to install Opensource Social Network on Ubuntu Linux with Apache support.

Opensource Social Network (OSSN) is a social networking engine that makes it easy for you to build and maintain social networking websites for any purpose.  It can be configured to create groups, photos, files, messages and more.

This open-source CMS enables you to will help you build robust social networking websites for your school, company or for any group looking to collaborate around the same ideas or issues.

Whether you’re creating a personal or company social networking platform, OSSN can help you build and manage your content on every device with its intuitive and powerful user and admin dashboard.

For more on OSSN social platform , please vist its home page

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it, since OSSN needs it.

To install Apache2 HTTP on Ubuntu server, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

To test Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.


apache2 ubuntu install

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open source database servers to use with Magento. To install MariaDB run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.

Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

  • Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
  • Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
  • New password: Enter password
  • Re-enter new password: Repeat password
  • Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
  • Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
  • Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
  • Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server

To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon to MariaDB server

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

mariadb welcome

Install PHP 7.1 and Related Modules

PHP 7.1 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. in order to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt update

Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.1 libapache2-mod-php7.1 php7.1-common php7.1-sqlite3 php7.1-curl php7.1-intl php7.1-mbstring php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-xmlrpc php7.1-mysql php7.1-gd php7.1-xml php7.1-cli php7.1-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open PHP default config file for Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini

Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below are great settings to apply in your environments.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

After making the change above, save the file and close out.

After installing PHP and related modules, all you have to do is restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.

To restart Apache2, run the commands below

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in Apache2 root directory by running the commands below

sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Then type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php

/phpinfo.php

You should see PHP default test page.

PHP 7.2 ubuntu nginx

Create OSSN Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for OSSN to function, continue below to start configuring the servers.

First run the commands below to create a blank OSSN database.

To logon to MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called ossn

CREATE DATABASE ossn;

Create a database user called ossnuser with new password

CREATE USER 'ossnuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON ossn.* TO 'ossnuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download and Install OSSN

Run the commands below to download OSSN latest content. then unzip the download file and move the content to Apache2 default root directory.

cd /tmp && wget 
unzip build.zip
sudo mv ossn /var/www/html/ossn

Create OSSN data directory by running the commands below.

sudo mkdir /var/www/html/ossn_data

Next, run the commands below to change the root folder permissions.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/ossn/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/ossn/
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/ossn_data

Configure Apache2 OSSN Site

Finally, configure Apache2 configuration file for OSSN . This file will control how users access OSSN content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called ossn.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/ossn.conf

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin [email protected]
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/ossn
     ServerName example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/ossn/>
          Options FollowSymlinks
          AllowOverride All
          Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

Enable the OSSN Site

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below, then restart Apache2 server.

sudo a2ensite ossn.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Next, open your brwoser and go to the URL. and continue with the installation.


You should see OSSN installatioin wizard page. Confirm that all requirements are met. then continue to the database config page. add the database info you created above and continue.,.

OSSN Ubuntu install

Next, create an admin account and continue.

After that, OSSN should be installed and ready to use.

OSSN Ubuntu install

Enjoy!

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