For the uninitiated, OCS-NG is a free asset management platform that is easy to install, set up, and manage and can run in almost any network environment. With SNMP protocol scans, you’ll be able to gather information about your network hardware: printers, switches, computers, etc. These devices don’t need to have an OCS client installed to be discovered. Simply install the OCS Inventory server and begin scanning your network. In no time, you should begin to see devices appearing in your dashboard. For some devices, OCS Inventory includes the package deployment feature that can be installed to on supported devices to gather even more information about the device name, address, location, and more. If you’re looking for an IT hardware inventory system for your business, then OCS Inventory is a great place to start. For more about OCS Inventory, please check their Homepage To get started with installing OCS CMS, follow the steps below:
Install Required Packages
Before setting up the OCS server on Ubuntu, you must first install the required packages to enable the server to function. To do that, run the commands below to install the below packages.
Install Apache2 HTTP Server
OCS works great with the Apache2 HTTP server. To install the Apache2 web server and other modules, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. 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
OCS 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: After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service always to start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 18.10 and 18.04 LTS 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. 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. 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
OCS-NG is a PHP and Perl-based platform. However, PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu’s default repositories. To run PHP 7.2 on Ubuntu 16.04 and previous, you may need to run the commands below: Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2 Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default configuration file for Apache2. The lines below are a good setting for most PHP-based apps. Update the configuration file with these and save. Every time you make changes to the PHP configuration file, you should also restart the Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below: Now that PHP is installed, to test whether it’s functioning, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Apache2 default root directory. ( /var/www/html/) Then type the content below and save the file. Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address followed by phpinfo.php You should see the PHP default test page.
Create OCS-NG Database
Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for OCS-NG to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank OCS database. To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below. Then create a database called OCS Create a database user called ocsuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.
Install Perl and Modules
Perl is required for OCS_NG. To install Perl and the required modules, run the commands below: After installing the above, run the commands below to enable Perl modules.
Download OCS-NG Latest Release
When you’re all done with installing the packages above, continue below to clone the OCS-NG package from Github and installed it. Then change into the OCSInventory-Server folder, clone the ocsreport project, and edit its setup.sh script and begin the installation. After cloning the ocsreports project, change into it, then install Composer and update the ocsreports packages After that go back to the OCSInventory-Server folder, then edit the setup.sh file and type in the database username and password. then save and exit. Edit the highlighted lines and save the file. When you’re done, run the commands below to begin the installation. During the installation, you’ll get numeral prompts. Choose the default settings and select y for all. When you’re done, you should see similar lines as below:
Enable the OCS Portal
To enable OCS Portal, run the commands below each line at a time. After running the commands above, open your browser and browse to the server domain name or IP address. Next type in the database username and password created above, then click Send Next, click the OCS-NG GUI link. Then click the link to Perform the update. After that, the installation should be done. Log in with the username admin and password admin Rename the install folder for security reasons. Enjoy~ Congratulation! You have successfully installed OCS Inventory Server on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04. You may also like the post below:
