This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install GLPI IT Service Management (ITSM) software on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with the Nginx HTTP server.
GLPI is a free, open-source ITSM platform built with PHP that allows IT decision-makers with large IT infrastructures to solve problems efficiently when they emerge while getting insights into every IT asset in the company with automated inventory discovery.
Setting up GLPI with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux is a great way to get an open-source, easy-to-use ITSM platform up and running quickly and efficiently. Nginx is a popular web server with high performance and low resource usage, making it an excellent choice for hosting GLPI.
Additionally, Ubuntu Linux is a widely used operating system well-suited for hosting web applications like GLPI. By following the steps outlined in the tutorial, you can easily install Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP 7.2-FPM, create a database for GLPI, download the latest release of GLPI, and configure Nginx to host the GLPI installation.
Setting up GLPI with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux is a powerful and flexible solution for IT teams looking for a reliable and customizable ITSM platform.
For more on GLPI, please visit its homepage
To get started with installing GLPI, follow the steps below:
Install Nginx HTTP
Nginx HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. Install it since GLPI needs it.
To install Nginx HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below.
sudo apt update sudo apt install nginx
After installing Nginx, the commands below can be used to stop, start, and enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.
sudo systemctl stop nginx.service sudo systemctl start nginx.service sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
To determine if the Nginx HTTP server is installed, simply open your web browser and type in the server’s IP or hostname.
Nginx is installed and working when you see a page like the one below.
http://localhost
Install MariaDB Database Server
GLPI also needs a database server to store its content. The MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with GLPI.
To install MariaDB, run the commands below.
sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client
After installing MariaDB, the commands below can stop, start, and enable the service to start when the server boots.
Run these on Ubuntu
sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service sudo systemctl start mariadb.service sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service
After that, run the commands below to secure the 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 log on to the MariaDB server.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then, type the password you created above to sign on. If successful, you should see a MariaDB welcome message.
Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules.
PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. 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 7.2-FPM
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-FPM and related modules.
sudo apt install php7.2-fpm php7.2-common php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql php7.2-gd php7.2-imap php7.2-ldap php-cas php7.2-bcmath php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip php7.2-sqlite3
After installing PHP 7.2-FPM, run the commands below to open Nginx’s PHP default config file.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/php.ini
Then, save the changes on the following lines below in the file. The value below is an ideal setting to apply in your environment.
file_uploads = On allow_url_fopen = On short_open_tag = On memory_limit = 256M cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0 upload_max_filesize = 100M max_execution_time = 360 max_input_vars = 1500 date.timezone = America/Chicago
After making the change above, please save the file and close it.
Create GLPI Database
Now that you’ve installed all the required packages continue below to start configuring the servers. First, create a blank database for GLPI to use.
To do that, run the commands below to log on to MariaDB. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then, create a database called glpi
CREATE DATABASE glpi;
Create a database user called glpiuser with a new password
CREATE USER 'glpiuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Next, grant the user full access to the glpiuser database.
GRANT ALL ON glpi.* TO 'glpiuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Download GLPI’s Latest Release
To get the latest version of GLPI, go to its download page.
You can use the commands below to download the current latest version. At the time of this writing, the current version is at 9.4.5.
cd /tmp wget https://github.com/glpi-project/glpi/releases/download/9.4.5/glpi-9.4.5.tgz tar -xvf glpi-9.4.5.tgz sudo mv glpi /var/www/glpi
Since you just ran the web server as root, you should ensure the www-data user and group own any newly created files.
To do that, run the commands below:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/glpi/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/glpi/
Configure Nginx
Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for GLPI. This file will control how users access GLPI content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called glpi
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/glpi
Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location.
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
root /var/www/glpi;
index index.php;
access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;
client_max_body_size 100M;
autoindex off;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ index.php;;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
}
}
Save the file and exit.
Enable the GLPI
After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below.
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/glpi /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name or hostname. This is often localhost but can be a hostname or IP address. Your server admin or hosting company will have this information available.
http://example.com/
Select the language and continue.
After that, click Install to begin the installation.
Next, type in the server hostname, database user, and password.
Select the database you created earlier and continue
After a brief moment, the platform should be installed and ready to use.
Login and begin managing your platform.
Admin Username: pi Password: glpi
Finally, run the commands below to delete the install directory.
sudo rm -rf /var/www/glpi/install/
Conclusion:
You have learned how to install the GLPI ITSM platform on Ubuntu with the Nginx HTTP server. If you find any errors above, please leave a comment below.
Thanks,
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