This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install and configure YetiForce CRM platform on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with Apache2 HTTP servers.
For the uninitiated, YetiForce is an open source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software forked from Vtiger CRM that can serve as a strong alternative to the popular CRM systems in use today.
If you currently run Vtiger CRM platform and feel like it’s lacking in some areas, you might want to try YetiForce. It comes with intuitive mechanisms that allow to easily migrate from Vtiger to YetiForce.
YetiForce helps you manage relations with customers, suppliers, partners and can easily be integrated with maps, social portals, LDAP, DAV, PBX, and other web services.
This free CRM is built on the LAMP / LEMP stack and offers features that will help you run your business and collaborate with your customers, employees and partners.
For more about YetiForce, please check its homepage.
To get started with installing YetiForce, follow the steps below:
Install Apache2 HTTP Server
YetiForce requires a web server and Apache2 HTTP server is the most popular open source web server available today.
To install Apache2 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
Now that Apache2 is installed. to test whether the web server is working, open your browser and browse to the URL below.
If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed.
Install MariaDB Database Server
YetiForce also requires a database server to store its content. If you’re looking for a truly open source database server, then MariaDB is a great place to start.
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 18.10 and 18.04 LTS
sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service sudo systemctl start mariadb.service sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service
Next, run the commands below to secure the database server with a root password if you were not prompted to do so during the installation.
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
Now that MariaDB is installed, to test whether the database server was successfully installed, run the commands below.
sudo mysql -u root -p
type the root password when prompted.
If you see a similar screen as shown above, then the server was successfully installed.
Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules
YetiForce is a PHP based platform and for now, only PHP 7.2. PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To run PHP 7.2 on Ubuntu 14.04, you may need to run the commands below:
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2
sudo apt update
Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.
sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-bcmath php7.2-soap php7.2-ldap php7.2-imap php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip
After installing PHP 7.1, run the commands below to open PHP default configuration file for Apache2.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini
The lines below is a good settings for most PHP based CMS. Update the configuration file with these and save.
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
Everytime you make changes to PHP configuration file, you should also restart Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below:
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Now that PHP is installed, to test whether it’s functioning, create a test file called phpinfo.php in Apache2 default root directory. ( /var/www/html/)
sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php
Then type the content below and save the file.
<?php phpinfo( ); ?>
Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address followed by phpinfo.php
/phpinfo.php
You should see PHP default test page.
Create YetiForce Database
Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for YetiForce to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create a blank YetiForce database.
To logon to MariaDB database server, run the commands below.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then create a database called yetiforce
CREATE DATABASE yetiforce;
Create a database user called yetiforceuser with a new password
CREATE USER 'yetiforceuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON yetiforce.* TO 'yetiforceuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Download YetiForce Latest Release
YetiForce community edition can be downloaded from its download page here.
On Ubuntu terminal, run the commands below to download, then extract to its root directory.
cd /tmp wget sudo mkdir /var/www/yetiforce sudo unzip YetiForceCRM-5.1.0-complete.zip -d /var/www/yetiforce
Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for YetiForce root directory and give Apache2 control.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/yetiforce/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/yetiforce/
Configure Apache2
Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for YetiForce. This file will control how users access YetiForce content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called yetiforce.conf
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/yetiforce.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/yetiforce
ServerName example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
<Directory /var/www/yetiforce/>
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.
Enable the YetiForce and Rewrite Module
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below
sudo a2ensite yetiforce.conf sudo a2enmod rewrite sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see YetiForce setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.
Then follow the on-screen instruction to complete the setup
Next, type in the database name, username and password. then create a backend admin account and continue.
The YetiForce system has strictly defined requirements for the server on which it will be installed. The verification of requirements at an early stage of the installation process ensures that the next steps and subsequent use of the system will run without problems.
Enter your company details and continue
After that, your environment should be installed and ready to use.
Conclusion:
You have successfully learned how to install YetiForce CRM platform on Ubuntu. You may need to configure additional settings, but the steps above give you a basic starting point.
If you find errors with the steps above, please comment below:
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