CentOS

Preparing the server

Before the installation can begin, the following requirements must be met:

  • CentOS Operating System is up to date with the latest security updates
  • A Static IP Address must be assigned to the server
  • Ports 80 and 443 for HTTP and HTTPS should be opened and pointed to the server for Web Access
  • If you have SELinux enabled on your server, it is recommended at this time to turn it off.

Installing Tech Bech

  • Download the install.sh script to the CentOS server with the following command:
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/butcherman/Tech_Bench_Installer/master/src/CentOS/install.sh -o install.sh

  • If you wish to install a specific Tech Bench installation package, place the zipped installation files in the same directory as the install script

    Note: Leave the files in zipped format. They will be extraced by the installation script.

Navigate to the folder containing the installation script. To completely automate the process and have the script take care of all prerequisites, run the following commands:

sudo chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

Tech Bench Installer is built to be run on a dedicated server that will only be used for the Tech Bench application. However, if your CentOS installation is not a standard default installation, or you indend to host multiple applications on your server, you can run the installer with the -m or –manual argument. If you chose to run the installer this way, the installer will fail if any prerequisites are not met.

If you wish to download a specific Tech Bench version, or from one of the existing branches, includ the -b or –branch tag followed by the branch name or version tag.

Example:

sudo ./install.sh -b master   #  This will download the files directly from the Master branch

During the installation process, the following information will be required:

  • The full URL that will be used to access the Tech Bench Application (example: techbench.demo)

    Note: Do not include the http or https in the URL

  • If you would like to use http or https access for the Tech Bench website

If you opt for a manual installation, the following additional information will be needed:

  • The Root Directory the web files are served from (Default is /var/www/html)

  • The name of the Database that will be used to store the Tech Bench data (note: this database must already exist)

  • The username and password of the user that will be used by the Tech Bench to access the Tech Bench database

    Note: The Database need to have all permissions with the grant option for the Tech Bench database, and must have the select ability on the ‘information_schema’ virtual database.

  • If you would like to remove any existing virtual directories and create new directory specifically for the Tech Bench

After Installation is Completed

Log into the Tech Bench by browsing to the URL of the Tech Bench server, and use the following credentials for default access:

Username: admin Password: password

The installation log can be found in the storage/logs folder of the Web Root directory.

After logging in for the first time you will want to setup the following options:

  • Email Settings
  • Equipment categories and types
  • Users

Refer to the :ref: Tech Bench Documentation<https://tech-bench.readthedocs.io/en/latest/> for more information on configuring the Tech Bench settings and using the Tech Bench.

Loading SSL Certificates

The Tech Bench installer will create a self signed SSL certificate for intial access. If you wish to upload your own certificate, place it in the /keystore/cert directory of the Tech Bench root directory. Open the /etc/nginx/nginx.conf file and edit the following lines to reference the new files and their location:

ssl_certificate "/var/www/html/keystore/certs/server.crt"
ssl_certificate_key "/var/www/html/keystorel/certs/private/server.key"

After updating these files, reboot the server, or run the command systemctl restart nginx to start NGINX with the new SSL files.