How to Install OCS Inventory Server on Ubuntu Linux

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The tutorial guides through the installation of OCS-NG (Open Computers and Software Inventory Next Generation) on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with an Apache2 HTTP server. This free asset management platform allows monitoring of network hardware without needing an OCS client installed on the devices. The guide covers the installation of necessary packages, Apache2 HTTP Server,…

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install OCS-NG (Open Computers and Software Inventory Next Generation) on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with an Apache2 HTTP server.

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 can 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 see devices appearing in your dashboard.

For some devices, OCS Inventory includes the package deployment feature that can be installed 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, 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 install the required packages to enable the server to function. To do that, run the commands below to install the below packages.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install make cmake gcc make

Install Apache2 HTTP Server

OCS works great with the Apache2 HTTP server. Run the commands below to install the Apache2 web server and other modules.

sudo apt install apache2 libapache2-mod-perl2 libapache-dbi-perl libapache-db-perl libapache2-mod-php

After installing Apache2, the commands below can stop, start, and enable the 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 has been installed browse your browser to the URL below to test whether the web server works.

http://localhost

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. MariaDB is a great place to start if you’re looking for a truly open-source database server.

To install MariaDB, run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can stop and start the service and enable it to start 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

Once MariaDB is installed, run the commands below to test whether the database server was installed.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Type the root password when prompted.

The server was successfully installed if you see a similar screen.

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:

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-sqlite3 php7.2-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-gd php7.2-cli php7.2-xml php7.2-zip php7.2-soap php7.2-json php-pclzip

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

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

The lines below are a good setting for most PHP-based apps. 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

Every time you change the PHP configuration file, you should restart the Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Apache2 default root directory to test whether it’s functioning. ( /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

http://localhost/phpinfo.php

You should see the PHP default test page.

Create OCS-NG Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages 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.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called OCS

CREATE DATABASE ocs;

Create a database user called ocsuser with a new password

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

Then, grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON ocs.* TO 'ocsuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Install Perl and Modules

Perl is required for OCS_NG. To install Perl and the required modules, run the commands below:

sudo apt -y install perl libxml-simple-perl libcompress-zlib-perl libdbi-perl libdbd-mysql-perl libnet-ip-perl libsoap-lite-perl libio-compress-perl libapache-dbi-perl  libapache2-mod-perl2 libapache2-mod-perl2-dev

After installing the above, run the commands below to enable Perl modules.

sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Apache2::SOAP'
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install XML::Entities'
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Net::IP'
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Apache::DBI'
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Mojolicious'
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Switch'
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Plack::Handler'

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 install it.

sudo apt install git curl
cd /tmp
git clone https://github.com/OCSInventory-NG/OCSInventory-Server.git

Then, change into the OCSInventory-Server folder, clone the ocsreport project, and edit its setup.sh script and begin the installation.

cd OCSInventory-Server
git clone https://github.com/OCSInventory-NG/OCSInventory-ocsreports.git ocsreports

After cloning the ocsreports project, change into it, install Composer, and update the ocsreports packages.

cd /tmp/OCSInventory-Server/ocsreports
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer
sudo composer install

Afterward, go back to the OCSInventory-Server folder and edit the setup.sh file and type in the database username and password. Then save and exit.

cd . 
nano setup.sh

Edit the highlighted lines and save the file.

 This code is open source and may be copied and modified as long as the source
# code is always made freely available.
# Please refer to the General Public Licence http://www.gnu.org/ or Licence.txt
################################################################################
#
# Which host run database server
DB_SERVER_HOST="localhost"
# On which port run database server
DB_SERVER_PORT="3306"
# Database server credentials
DB_SERVER_USER="ocsuser"
DB_SERVER_PWD="ocsuser_password_here"
# Where is Apache daemon binary (if empty, will try to find it)
APACHE_BIN=""
# Where is Apache configuration file (if empty, will try to find it)

When you’re done, run the commands below to begin the installation.

sudo ./setup.sh

During the installation, you’ll get numerous prompts. Choose the default settings and select y for all. When you’re done, you should see similar lines as below:

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|        OK, Administration server installation finished ;-)           |
|                                                                      |
| Please, review /etc/apache2/conf-available/ocsinventory-reports.conf
|          to ensure all is good and restart Apache daemon.            |
|                                                                      |
| Then, point your browser to http://server//ocsreports
|        to configure database server and create/update schema.        |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Setup has created a log file /tmp/OCSInventory-Server/ocs_server_setup.log. Please, save this file.
If you encounter error while running OCS Inventory NG Management server,
we can ask you to show us its content !

DON'T FORGET TO RESTART APACHE DAEMON !

Enjoy OCS Inventory NG ;-)

Enable the OCS Portal

To enable the OCS Portal, run the commands below each line simultaneously.

sudo ln -s /etc/apache2/conf-available/ocsinventory-reports.conf /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/ocsinventory-reports.conf
sudo ln -s /etc/apache2/conf-available/z-ocsinventory-server.conf /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/z-ocsinventory-server.conf
sudo ln -s /etc/apache2/conf-available/zz-ocsinventory-restapi.conf /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/zz-ocsinventory-restapi.conf
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/lib/ocsinventory-reports
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

After running the commands above, open your browser and browse to the server domain name or IP address.

http://ocs.example.com/ocsreports/install.php

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.

sudo mv /usr/share/ocsinventory-reports/ocsreports/install.php /usr/share/ocsinventory-reports/ocsreports/install.php.bak

Enjoy~

Congratulation! You have successfully installed the OCS Inventory Server on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04.

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41 responses to “How to Install OCS Inventory Server on Ubuntu Linux”

  1. Delta Avatar
    Delta

    Would almost have been great if i didn’t get an error 500 after clicking on “Click here to enter OCS-NG GUI” part

    1. Viktor Avatar
      Viktor

      You must grant rights to http://www.data – chown -R www-data:www-data /var/lib/ocsinventory-reports

  2. Viktor Avatar
    Viktor

    Thanks! In accordance with this guide I installed OCS on Debian 10

  3. Adam Avatar
    Adam

    Awesome, I have been looking for a guide like this for a LONG time. Everything worked perfectly, thanks!

  4. ahmed Avatar
    ahmed

    I have this error error 500 when I try to access to http://myip/ocsreports/install.php

  5. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Forbidden
    You don’t have permission to access this resource.
    Apache/2.4.29 (Ubuntu) Server at 192.168.1.6 Port 80
    Help pls

    1. Hulk Banner Avatar
      Hulk Banner

      i have the same issue

      1. nicolas talvasson Avatar
        nicolas talvasson

        me too

        1. nicolas talvasson Avatar
          nicolas talvasson

          try this
          https://forum.ubuntu-fr.org/viewtopic.php?id=1990921
          php-mbstring

          plus
          restart setup
          It help me to access the page

  6. Wallison Gomes Avatar
    Wallison Gomes

    Excellent tutorial, worked perfectly on Ubuntu 18.

    A question, after installation, what is the path of the OCS installation folder?

    Thanks.

    1. Diego Neto Avatar
      Diego Neto

      I don1t now too

    2. Fex Avatar
      Fex

      /usr/share/ocsinventory-reports/

  7. Alonso Avatar
    Alonso

    Gracias gran ayuda, corriendo en ubuntu 18.04

  8. Santosh Mule Avatar
    Santosh Mule

    Bingo ..

    Looks all good,

    how we can install ocsinventory-agent

  9. Diego Neto Avatar
    Diego Neto

    Hey, Thank you very.

    You saved my life with this tutorial.

    greetings from Brazil.

  10. Santhosh Avatar
    Santhosh

    Worked perfectly… Deployment tutorial is required

  11. Nil Avatar
    Nil

    Thank you very much, the first guide that works!!!

  12. nicolas talvasson Avatar
    nicolas talvasson

    try this
    https://forum.ubuntu-fr.org/viewtopic.php?id=1990921
    php-mbstring

    plus
    restart setup
    It help me to access the page

  13. Yogesh Avatar
    Yogesh

    http://localhost/ocsreports/install.php
    not working only blank page appears
    please provide solution

    1. btp94 Avatar
      btp94

      same problem

    2. turkmarclem Avatar
      turkmarclem

      what is the error displayed? Http 500?

  14. Antomio Avatar
    Antomio

    http://localhost/ocsreports/install.php
    Forbidden

    You don’t have permission to access this resource.
    Apache/2.4.41 (Ubuntu) Server at localhost Port 80
    Please help

    1. turkmarclem Avatar
      turkmarclem

      did you run sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/lib/ocsinventory-reports

      1. TruongGiang Avatar
        TruongGiang

        Hi Bro !! I also it same this issue, can you help me to solve it ?
        The requested URL was not found on this server.
        Apache/2.4.41 (Ubuntu) Server at 10.30.2.33 Port 80

  15. Konate Mamadou Avatar
    Konate Mamadou

    Thanks you very much! Its work !!

  16. turkmarclem Avatar
    turkmarclem

    Hi all,

    I run into HTTP 500 (blank page ) after installation and after a little digging around this how I got ocsinventory working.

    1 installed the following missing dependencies php-mbstring php-common php-mysqlnd
    2 chmod 777 -R /usr/share/ocsinventory-reports/ocsreports
    3 apt install composer
    4 cd usr/share/ocsinventory-reports/ocsreports
    5 composer update – (**without sudo**)

    Success!!

    P.S Read error log in /var/log/apache2/error.log for further information if issues persists.

    1. Diogo Santos Avatar
      Diogo Santos

      Thanks a lot!

  17. Diego Avatar
    Diego

    Thank you very much!
    It worked perfectly 🙂

  18. Richard Avatar
    Richard

    Buen día, no se logran inventariar mis equipos. He llegado hasta el final de todo el tutorial pero al momento de generar el agente no muestra data en el panel administrativo.

  19. Cesar Parra Avatar
    Cesar Parra

    It does not register the computers, this is my access.log

    192.168.1.213 – – [Oct / 08/2020: 17: 20: 11 -0500] “POST / ocsreports / HTTP / 1.1” 200 6656 “-” “OCS-NG_WINDOWS_AGENT_v2.8.0.0”

    and my confi.ini

    [OCS Inventory Agent]
    ComProvider = ComHTTP.dll
    Debug = 1
    Local =
    NoSoftware = 0
    HKCU = 0
    NoTAG = 0
    IpDisc =
    [HTTP]
    Server = http: //192.168.1.174/ocsreports/
    SSL = 1
    CaBundle = cacert.pem
    AuthRequired = 1
    User = jZnah9vkdL + dE7dtBrAZvg == ||| ndFCiE0HpY6tghEFdIabxA ==
    Pwd = LM7NlT5d2ZFpJwzmQXRVUg == ||| 41ulrxibbX + V85i + 8XtmOA ==
    ProxyType = 0
    Proxy =
    ProxyPort = 0
    ProxyAuthRequired = 0
    ProxyUser =
    ProxyPwd =
    [OCS Inventory Service]
    TTO_WAIT = 36000
    INVENTORY_ON_STARTUP = 0
    PROLOG_FREQ = 10
    OLD_PROLOG_FREQ = 10

  20. jjr Avatar
    jjr

    Installed on Ubuntu Server 20.04 sucessfully following these instructions

  21. Ibrahim Gol Avatar
    Ibrahim Gol

    Hi;
    I tried the installition but cannot find ocsinventory-reports file in /var/lib and /usr/share
    Could you help me about it?

  22. Juan Daniel Polo Alba Avatar
    Juan Daniel Polo Alba

    I get this errors when I try to use the agent

    Mon Nov 30 12:14:13 2020;3350;521;NA;10.0.0.216;OCS-NG_WINDOWS_AGENT_v2.8.0.0;database_connect;Access denied for user ‘ocs’@’localhost’
    Mon Nov 30 12:14:13 2020;3350;505;NA;10.0.0.216;OCS-NG_WINDOWS_AGENT_v2.8.0.0;handler;Database connection

  23. Juan Daniel Polo Alba Avatar
    Juan Daniel Polo Alba

    and whe I configured it using the tutorial, u used ocsuser@localhost

  24. crewer Avatar
    crewer

    For all who got ERROR 500 after install.php, my problem was in sudo composer install

  25. axeltomi Avatar
    axeltomi

    Great job bro, greetings from Bogota Colombia.

    1. TruongGiang Avatar
      TruongGiang

      Hi Bro !! can you help me to solve it ? The requested URL was not found on this server. Apache/2.4.41 (Ubuntu) Server at 10.30.2.33 Port 80

  26. TruongGiang Avatar
    TruongGiang

    Hi Every One!!
    I am from VietNam .
    Can you help me to solve it ? Iam tried so many times to solve , but not success.
    The requested URL was not found on this server. Apache/2.4.41 (Ubuntu) Server at 10.30.2.33 Port 80

  27. growing fang Avatar
    growing fang

    why the portal only showing OCS-NG Inventory Installation but there are no database username and password to sent?

  28. Paulo Avatar
    Paulo

    Hello!
    Thank you, works perfecly!

    but now, how i install/configure the Agents?
    i tried here but dosent show in the server

  29. sagar Avatar
    sagar

    Hello,
    For us, after accessing http://localhost/ocsreports/index.php this page we are getting blank page and there is no error showing.
    We tried with given permission for sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/lib/ocsinventory-reports
    Also, chmod 777 -R /usr/share/ocsinventory-reports/ocsreports

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