VMware

• System Requirements - please check minimum hardware/software requirements
• Do­wnload and Install VMware - obtain and install the VMware player or VMware server application
  
• Download Project-Open VMware Applicance - obtain the ]project-open[ virtual machine with all files
  
• VMware Installation README - install the ]project-open[ appliance
  
• Configure external internet - configure external Internet access to your ]project-open[
  

People with different technical backgrounds use and evaluate ]project-open[. This tutorial assumes that you are not the typical computer nerd and therefore not necessarily familiar with VMware and other virtualization technology.

Download and Install VMware

All you have to understand about using this technology is that your computer serves simply as a host to run another (virtual) computer that is represented by a couple of files. So when you download the VMware image you are actually downloading an entire computer as a piece of software. When download is finished, unzip the file to a local folder. Please make sure that you have sufficient disk space available. The VMware might require up to 5 GB. If some files don't get unzipped you won't be able to start the VMware.

In order to run this virtual computer, you need another piece of software. We recommend for beginners, after verifying that your system complies with the above requirements, proceed to download and install either "VMware Server 2.X" or "VMware Player" from the VMware website .  Both applications are free.

If you wish to run the virtual image of ]project-open[ using VMware ESX 3.5, there have been reported cases of successful installations although the VMware image provided by ]project-open[ is not designed for use with this VMware.  For installation tips/help we reccomend that you consult the VMware section of the Installation FAQ. 

After download and install, the next step is to load the ]po[ Virtual Machine by navigating to the *.vmx file. Give the VMware player a few minutes time so that your new computer can start up. In case it takes too much time and you have enough memory available, update the memory allocation for this VMware. In VMware Player you do this by choosing from the top menu bar Troubleshoot/Change Memory Allocation. Default is 284MB or so, go ahead and give it 512 MB in case your PC has more 1 GB RAM or more.

Dowloand ]po[ VMware Appliance

Now that the VMware is all set up and ready to go, download  the virtual machine appliance containing ]project-open[.  This link points to 1.6 GB zipped-file containing a virtual machine image of ]project-open[ V3.4.

After unzipping the file contents, further instructions can be found in the README file, which also has been directly copied below.

VMware Installation README

The text below is a direct copy of the README file found in the download of "project-open-VMware-3.3.2-1.zip" from [Source Forge]

]project-open[ VMware README
  Frank Bergmann (frank.bergmann@project-open.com)
  Version V3.2.5, 2006-11-26
  Copyright (c) 2006 ]project-open[

  This is the ]project-open[ VMware README.
  This document describes how to run and operate the VMware based
  releases of ]project-open[.



  ______________________________________________________________________

  1. Licensing

  The files contained in this Virtual Machine have been developed by
  various authors and are covered by various licenses.

  Novell/SuSE 		http://www.novell.com/licensing/eula/suse_pro_93.pdf
  ]project-open[	http://www.project-open.com/license/
  AOLserver 		http://www.aolserver.com/license/
  OpenACS 		http://openacs.org/about/licensing/
  VMware Tools		http://www.vmware.com/support/

  You need to agree with the license terms of ALL of these authors
  prior to using the software.


  ______________________________________________________________________

  2. Prerequisites

  In order to run ]project-open[ from this installer you need
  for a "Minimum Environment":

  - A computer running Windows or Linux
  - At least 1GHz AMD or Intel processor
  - At least 512MByte RAM
  - At least 3GByte of free disk space

  However, we recommend:

  - A computer running Windows or Linux
  - 2GHz AMD or Intel processor
  - 1Gyte RAM
  - 5GByte of free disk space
  - aDSL Internet connection


 ______________________________________________________________________

  2. Virtual Machine Installer Contents

  The "project-open-v32Beta2.zip" file contains the zipped files of
  a virtual machine. All files are located in a single subdirectory:

  \project-open-v32Beta2.README.txt	-- This README
  \project-open-v32\
	  SUSE Linux.vmsd
	  SUSE Linux.vmx
	  nvram
	  project-open-v32.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s001.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s002.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s003.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s004.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s005.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s006.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s007.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s008.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s009.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s010.vmdk
	  project-open-v32-s011.vmdk


  ______________________________________________________________________

  3. Starting the Virtual Machine

  The "project-open-v32Beta2.zip" has been created for the
  free "VMware Server" (http://www.vmware.com/products/server/).
  We have chosen the "VMware Server" platform (at the moment)
  because it is a stable product, it is cross-platform (available
  for Windows and Linux) and because it is licenses at no cost.
  However, VMware Server is not open-source software, so we can't
  include it in our installer.

  To run the Virtual Machine please:


  - Download and install the VMware Server from
    http://www.vmware.com/products/server/


  - Extract the contents of the "project-open-v32Beta2.zip" file
    into the VMware Server "Virtual Machines" directory.


  - Add the Virtual Machine to list of virtual machines in the
    VMware "Console".


  - Modify the settings of the Virtual Machine.
    We have configured the VM to occupy only 256MByte RAM.
    We have checked that the VM works with this configuration.
    However, we recommend increasing the amount to 386MByte
    or 512MByte for more fluid operations.
    Increasing the memory beyond this amount will not provider
    further performance improvements.


  - Start the Virtual Machine.
    You should get a login screen after some 3-5 minutes.


  - Login to the Virtual Machine

  	User	"root"
  	Passwd	"root"

    It is usually not recommended to logon to a server as
    "root". However, the only purpose of this VM is to run
    ]project-open[, so we think that it is OK for this VM.
    We have configured the "root" Gnome Desktop with ]po[
    quick links and online manuals.


  - Start the VMware "Firefox" browser:
    We have preconfigured a preinstalled Firefox browser with
    the localhost ]po[ login screen as home page. So you should see
    ]po[ working immediately, even if you computer isn't
    connected to a network.


  - Logon to ]project-open[:
    We have loaded a sample company into your ]project-open[
    installation called "Tigerpond". You can logon with any
    of the accounts of the login page. However, we recommend
    you to start as a system administrator:

  	Email	"sysadmin@tigerpond.com"
  	Passwd	"system"

    You should now be able to access the application.



  ______________________________________________________________________

  4. Using ]project-open[

  The Virtual Machine contains a ]project-open[ configuration
  ready for productive use in companies of 2-20 employees.
  Please go through the following steps for a production
  configuration:


  - Consult the following manuals (available as shortcuts in
    the VMware "root" Gnome desktop):
    	- PO-Rollout-Methodology:
    	  Explains how to rollout ]po[ in larger (>10 employees)
    	  organizations
    	
    	- PO-Configuration-Guide:
    	  Explains you how to change important ]po[ parameters
    	
    	- PO-Operations-Maintenance-Guide:
    	  Explains how to backup/restore/operate ]po[.


  - Determine the "Browser-URL" of the Virtual Machine:
    You need to find out the IP-address of the Virtual Machine
    in order to be able to access it from a normal desktop browser.

    The VMware is configured to obtain its IP-address automatically
    (via DHCP). In order to find out the IP-address please visit
    the http://localhost/ page and check the "Browser URL" section
    below the "Intranet Login" section. You should see something like:

	http://192.168.0.65/

    Please enter this URL into your local browser.


  - Configure a fixed IP-address for your server:
    Please use System -> YaST -> Network Devices -> Network Card ->
    "Change" -> "Edit" (AMD PCnet Fast) -> Set a "static" IP-address
    from your address range (for example: "192.168.0.2").


  - Delete the "Tigerpond" demo data:
    Admin -> "Delete Demo Data" allows you to delete all demo data.


  - Go step-by step through the "PO-Configuration-Guide.061026.pdf"
    (available as a shortcut on the desktop of the user "projop").


  - Backup:
    Please backup the directories /web/projop/filestorage/ and
    /home/backup/ to another computer for backup.


  ______________________________________________________________________

  5. Using VNC to connect to the Virtual Machine

  VNC (http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/ or http://www.realvnc.com/)
  is a popular way to access a remote desktop from a Windows machine.
  We have configured our Virtual Machine with VNC by default.

  To access the server please start UltraVNC and enter (using the
  values from the example above):

  	192.168.0.65:1
  	
  into your VNC client. Please note the ":1" behind the IP-address,
  this is necessary.


  ______________________________________________________________________

  6. Please Read the Manuals!

  We have included a number of manuals in the ]project-open[
  installation in /web/projop/filestorage/home:

    	PO-Configuration-Guide.061026.pdf
	PO-Dev-Data-Model-Cookbook.060927.pdf
	PO-Dev-Data-Model.061126.pdf
	PO-Dev-Expense-Module-Example.061126.pdf
	PO-Dev-OpenACS-Developer-Guide.060927.pdf
	PO-Filestorage-User-Guide.061126.pdf
	PO-Finance-User-Guide.060912.pdf
	PO-Forum-User-Guide.061126.pdf
	PO-OTP-Guide.060820.pdf
	PO-Operations-Maintenance-Guide.061126.pdf
	PO-Trans-Freelance-User-Guide.061126.pdf
	PO-Trans-Workflow-User-Guide.061126.pdf
	PO-Unix-Installation-Guide.060321.pdf
	PO-Unix-Maintenance-Guide.060120.pdf
	PO-Wiki-Guide.061126.pdf

  You don't need to read all of these manuals in detail.
  However, we strongly recommend that you print out these manuals
  if you want to use ]project-open[ in production use for your
  company.

  We recommend to read atleast:

	PO-Operations-Maintenance-Guide.061126.pdf
    	PO-Configuration-Guide.061026.pdf


  ______________________________________________________________________

  7. Extension Packages and Professional Services

  The ]project-open[ software on this installer is free software.
  However, we (the ]project-open[ core team) need an income stream
  in order to maintain the the software development process.

  We are offering:

  - Professional Services:
    We offer configuration, consulting, customization and other
    services around ]project-open[

  - Extension Packages:
    We have developed several "extension packages" tailored for the
    needs of larger companies and corporations that are not included
    in the free software. These extension packages are commercial
    software (but delivered with source code). Please contact us
    for the list of available packages and their price.



Have Fun!
Frank

http://www.project-open.com/
mailto:frank.bergmann@project-open.com

References

• Installation Overview
• Installation FAQ