How to Setup ICE HRM on Ubuntu 24.04 with Nginx

Install Nginx HTTP server on Ubuntu

To run ICE HRM, you’ll need a web server, and we’ll use Nginx for this guide on Ubuntu 24.04. Installing Nginx is straightforward using a simple command in your terminal. This step ensures your server is ready to host the ICE HRM application.

To do that, open the Ubuntu terminal and run the commands below to install the Nginx web server.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Once Nginx is installed, the commands below can start, stop, and enable the Nginx web server to start automatically when your server boots up.

sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

You can test the Nginx web server is running by opening your web browser and browsing to the server’s localhost or IP address.

http://localhost

When you see the Welcome to nginx!, it means the Nginx HTTP server is successfully installed.

Additional help on installing Nginx on Ubuntu is in the link below.

How to install Nginx on Ubuntu

Install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

ICE HRM needs a database to store its information, and we’ll set up MariaDB on Ubuntu for this. Installing the MariaDB database server is done with a quick command in the terminal. This prepares the database system needed for ICE HRM.

To install and use the MariaDB database server, use the instructions below.

Open the Ubuntu terminal and run the commands below to install the MariaDB database server.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

Once the MariaDB database server is installed, use the commands below to stop, start, and enable the MariaDB server to start automatically when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Run the following commands to validate and test if the MariaDB database server is installed successfully.

sudo mariadb

Once you run the commands above, it will log you onto the MariaDB console and display a message similar to the one below.

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 32
Server version: 10.11.2-MariaDB-1 Ubuntu 23.04

Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> 

The message tells you that the server is installed successfully.

Additional help on installing MariaDB.

• How to install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux
• MariaDB without password prompt

Create an ICE HRM database

After installing MariaDB, you need to create a specific database for ICE HRM to use. We’ll create a database named ‘icehrmdb’ and a user called ‘icehrmdbuser’ to manage it. This step ensures ICE HRM has a dedicated place for all its data.

As part of the setup, we will create an icehrmdb database and a user account called icehrmdbuser.

Finally, we’ll grant the icehrmdbuser full access to the icehrmdb database.

All the database steps above can be done using the commands below:

But first, log on to the MariaDB database server:

sudo mariadb

Then run the commands below to complete the steps:

CREATE DATABASE icehrmdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER icehrmdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON icehrmdb.* TO icehrmdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

ICE HRM is built using PHP, so you need to install it on your Ubuntu system. We’ll install the latest PHP version along with necessary extensions using a simple command. This ensures your server has the required software to run ICE HRM.

Then, run the commands below to install the latest PHP version.

sudo apt install php-fpm php-intl php-mysql php-curl php-cli php-zip php-xml php-gd php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-bcmath php-json php-sqlite3 php-soap php-zip php-ldap php-imap

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Download ICE HRM files

Now it’s time to get the ICE HRM application files onto your Ubuntu server. You can find the latest version on the ICE HRM download page; grab the link and download the package. We’ll then extract these files to the correct folder to start setting up ICE HRM.

To always install the latest version, check the download page for ICE HRM. Get the download link and download the archived package to your computer. Then, extract it.

First, navigate to the /tmp/ directory and download the ICE HRM files. Next, extract the content into the ICE HRM folder in the Nginx root directory.

The final step is to change the permissions. This will allow the Nginx web server to interact safely with the files, ensuring a secure environment for your ICE HRM installation.

Next, run the commands below to change Nginx root folder permissions so the ICE HRM app can function correctly.

cd /tmp
wget https://phoenixnap.dl.sourceforge.net/project/icehrm/icehrm_v33.5.0.OS.zip
unzip icehrm_*.zip
sudo cp -rf icehrm_v33.5.0.OS /var/www/icehrm
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/icehrm/

Once you have completed all the above steps, continue configuring the Nginx web server below to serve the ICE HRM content.

Run the commands below to create a Nginx virtual host file for ICE HRM.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/icehrm.conf

Then, copy and paste the content block below into the Nginx server block.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/icehrm;
    index  index.php;
    server_name  icehrm.example.com;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;   

  # For Rest API
    location /app/api/ {
        try_files $uri /app/api/index.php?/$uri&$args;
    }

    # Prevent access to data directory
    location /app/data/ {
        deny all;
        return 404;
    }
    
    # prevent access to the core directory
    location /core/ {
        deny all;
        return 404;
    }

    location ~ .php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }


}

Save the file.

Then, run the commands below to enable the virtual host and restart the Nginx server.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/icehrm.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for ICE HRM

To make your ICE HRM site secure with HTTPS, we’ll set up a free Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate using Nginx on Ubuntu. This process encrypts the data between your visitors and your server. Following this guide will help you secure your ICE HRM installation.

Please read the post below for additional resources on installing and creating Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for Nginx.

How to set up Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

Once you have restarted the Nginx web server, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address defined in the Nginx server block.

http://icehrm.example.com

The ICE HRM installation wizard should appear.

Type in the database name, account name, and password created above. Then, click the Test Database Connectivity button.

If successful, click the Install Application button to begin.

Login with the default username and password.

• admin
• admin

ICE HRM should be ready to use.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

In summary, installing ICE HRM on Ubuntu using Nginx involves several key steps:

• Install Nginx: Set up the Nginx web server to handle web traffic efficiently.
• Install MariaDB: Implement the MariaDB database server to manage your application’s data.
• Create ICE HRM Database: Establish a dedicated database for ICE HRM and configure user access.
• Install PHP: Ensure that the necessary PHP components are available for the application to function.
• Download ICE HRM: Obtain the ICE HRM application files and place them in the designated web directory.
• Configure Nginx: Set up a virtual ICE HRM host to properly manage site requests.
• Secure with SSL: Implement Let’s Encrypt to provide a secure HTTPS connection.
• Run the Installation Wizard: Complete the setup by entering your database credentials and finalizing the installation.

These steps will ensure a successful deployment of ICE HRM, providing you with a robust platform for managing HR tasks effectively.