The guide aims to help install Deskpro manually using Apache as the Webserver. If you are looking to install Deskpro with Nginx please use this link.

Run these commands to install PHP 7.1, MySQL, Apache, and some dependencies.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get -y install wget unzip mlocate apache2 wget php7.1 php7.1-gd php7.1-mysql php7.1-curl php7.1-cli php7.1-cgi php7.1-dev php7.1-ldap php7.1-gd php7.1-json php7.0-apcu php7.1-xml php7.1-mbstring php7.1-soap php7.1-intl php7.1-zip php7.1-fpm libapache2-mod-php7.1 mysql-server mysql-client
 copy

You will be asked to set a root password for mySQL. Remember this password. If you are not prompted for a new mysql root password, run the following command:

sudo mysql_secure_installation
 copy

If you plan to use an IMAP email account with Deskpro, install and enable the PHP IMAP extension:

sudo apt-get install -y php7.1-imap
sudo phpenmod imap
 copy

Update Apache config

Install Apach2 mod fastcgi and update some configuration files.

cd /tmp && wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/multiverse/liba/libapache-mod-fastcgi/libapache2-mod-fastcgi_2.4.7~0910052141-1.2_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i libapache2-mod-fastcgi_2.4.7~0910052141-1.2_amd64.deb; sudo apt install -f
sudo a2enmod rewrite && sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif && sudo a2enconf php7.1-fpm
 copy

Now is time to update the apache configuration file to reflect the path to deskpro.

sudo sed -i 's#DocumentRoot /var/www/html#DocumentRoot /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/www#g' /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

Edit the file /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

and add the following block of text after the line DocumentRoot /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/www

<Directory /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/www>
  AllowOverride All
</Directory>
 copy

Define the correct timezone

Run the following commands to set the correct timezone

sudo sed -i 's/;date.timezone =/date.timezone = UTC/g' /etc/php/7.1/cli/php.ini
sudo sed -i 's/;date.timezone =/date.timezone = UTC/g' /etc/php/7.1/fpm/php.ini
sudo sed -i 's/;date.timezone =/date.timezone = UTC/g' /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini
 copy

Restart Apache:

sudo service apache2 restart
sudo service php7.1-fpm restart
 copy

Install Deskpro

1. Download the latest version of Deskpro:

sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro
sudo wget http://www.deskpro.com/downloads/deskpro.zip -O /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/deskpro.zip
cd /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro
 copy

1. Extract the zipped Deskpro files:

sudo unzip deskpro.zip 
sudo rm deskpro.zip
 copy

1. Run the installer:

 sudo bin/install
 copy

1. After you start the installer, you will have to enter your name and your email address

   

2. The installer checks the file integrity, the server requirements and the paths to a few utilities

   

3. Select the address that suits the best your organization

   

4. Select the preferred database location. The most comon is localhost

   

5. Enter MySQL details: Username, Password and Database.

   

6. After the database schema is installed, your system is ready. You can cancel the cron at this time.

   

Set up cron job

Set a cron job to run your PHP CLI executable using the cron.php file in the install folder as an argument:

sudo echo "* * * * * deskpro /usr/bin/php7.1 /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/bin/cron" | sudo tee /etc/cron.d/deskpro
sudo service cron restart
 copy

This makes the cron job run once per minute to carry out tasks like processing email.

Complete installation

Your Deskpro helpdesk is now installed. You should open Deskpro in your web browser at the relevant URL (or IP address) for the server and follow the final steps.

For production use, you should change ownership of the installed files so they are owned by the web server user or by a dedicated DeskPRO user account:

e.g. sudo chown -R deskpro:deskpro /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/

You should also have DeskPRO access the database through a MySQL user with more limited privileges than the root user.

After installation, you will have a MySQL client installed on your system. Type:

sudo mysql -uroot -p 
 copy

Execute the following MySQL commands, replacing password1 with a secure password:

CREATE USER 'deskpro'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password1';
 copy

(replacing “password1” with a more complex password of your choice).

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON deskpro.* TO  'deskpro'@'localhost';
 copy

(this assumes the default database name ‘deskpro’ is being used: if you have changed the DeskPRO database, you should replace ‘deskpro’ in the deskpro.* part above with whatever name you used).

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
 copy

Now edit the configuration file using the command sudo nano /usr/share/nginx/html/deskpro/config/config.database.php to reference the new MySQL user.

Install Elasticsearch

You should now install Elasticsearch to greatly improve the search features of your helpdesk. This is optional, but strongly recommended.

::: info Note

Without Elasticsearch, Deskpro search will still function, but searching will only match certain helpdesk content (e.g ticket titles instead of the full text of a ticket) and it will be slower. :::

For best performance, you should run Elasticsearch on a local server (the same server where you installed Deskpro, or one on the same network). You can also use a third-party hosted Elasticsearch service - see  Using hosted Elasticsearch with Deskpro for an example of how to set this up.

To install Elasticsearch on the same server and connect it to your helpdesk:

1. Install OpenJDK

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openjdk-r/ppa && sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre-headless
 copy

2. Check that Java is working

`java -version`
 copy

3. Install required dependencies

sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
 copy

4. Add keys and repository

sudo apt-key adv --fetch-keys https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch

sudo add-apt-repository "deb https://packages.elastic.co/elasticsearch/2.x/debian stable main"

sudo apt-get -y install elasticsearch

sudo service elasticsearch restart
 copy

5. To check that Elasticsearch is running correctly

curl -X GET http://localhost:9200/

You should get output similar to this:
 copy

{
  "name" : "Scott Summers",
  "cluster_name" : "elasticsearch",
  "cluster_uuid" : "6LniY0VoTKOoh4rLT6h50A",
  "version" : {
    "number" : "2.4.6",
    "build_hash" : "5376dca9f70f3abef96a77f4bb22720ace8240fd",
    "build_timestamp" : "2017-07-18T12:17:44Z",
    "build_snapshot" : false,
    "lucene_version" : "5.5.4"
  },
  "tagline" : "You Know, for Search"
}
 copy

6. Configure ElasticSearch in Deskpro

In the Deskpro admin interface, go to Server > Elasticsearch, check Enable Elasticsearch and enter the URL of the service (e.g. http://localhost if it is running on the same server).

Warning

Depending on the Elasticsearch configuration, you may need to specify the port to connect to as well, e.g. `http://my-es-host:80/` or `https://my-es-host:443/`.
 copy

7. Confirm that Elasticsearch is working

Click Test Settings to check that your DeskPRO installation can connect to Elasticsearch, then Save Settings.

For production use, we recommend that you consult the Elasticsearch documentation for more information about configuration and running Elasticsearch as a service on Linux.