Basic Steps

The basic steps to getting OpenACS up and running are:

  1. Install an OS (Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Appendix A, Install Red Hat 8.0, Section , “OpenACS Installation Guide for Mac OS X”, Section , “OpenACS Installation Guide for Windows2000”).

  2. Install a database (Oracle or PostgreSQL).

  3. Install the AOLserver webserver.

  4. Create a unique database and system user. Install the OpenACS tarball, start and AOLserver instance, and use the OpenACS web pages to complete installation (Install OpenACS 5.0.0a4).

Binaries and other shortcuts

  1. The patched version of AOLserver we use is not currently available in a precompiled binary.

  2. The packaged version of PostGreSQL in Debian and Red Hat and FreeBSD ports works fine.

  3. Jonathan Marsden has created RPMs (at http://www.xc.org) for OpenACS 4.5 but there are not yet any for version 5.0.0a4.

  4. An experimental script automating OpenACS checkout and installation is in the openacs cvs tree at /etc/install.sh.

Requirements

You will need a PC (or equivalent) with at least these minimum requirements:

  • Pentium processor

  • 128 MB RAM (much more if you want Oracle)

  • 4 GB hard drive

  • A Unix-like operating system with tcl, tdom, and a mail transport agent. (Section , “Individual Programs”)

All of the software that you will need is free and open-source, except for Oracle. You can obtain a free copy of Oracle for development purposes. This is described in the Acquire Oracle section.

Figure 2.1. Compatibility Matrix

OpenACS Version3.2.54.54.64.6.14.6.24.6.35.0.0
AolServer3Verified      
3.3+ad13 Verified
3.3oacs1    Verified
3.4.2    No
3.4.2oacs1    Verified
3.5.5    Verified
4Verified but not for production
PostGreSQL7.0Verified     
7.2.x Verified
7.3.2 - 7.3.4NoVerified
Oracle8.1.6 Verified 
8.1.7 Verified
9iNoUntested
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