Installing WeBWorK on a Red Hat Linux 7.1 System
Samuel Hathaway, <sh002i@math.rochester.edu>;
This document details the setup and configuration of Red Hat 7.1 for use with
WeBWorK. Use it along with the Installing WeBWorK on a Linux System
document. Before beginning the installation, you should also consult the Red Hat
7.1 Installation Guide at http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-
Manual/install-guide/.
Step 1: During the Red Hat installation
While installing Red Hat Linux, there are several options that are important
to WeBWorK. These are listed below with recommended settings.
Install Type: This affects which packages we will need to
install later. We recommend "Server System".
Firewall Configuration: If you choose to install a firewall,
keep in mind that WeBWorK requires incoming HTTP connections, and you may
benefit from allowing other types of inconming connections (such as telnet, SSH,
FTP, or SCP) for professors. SSH and SCP servers are installed by default on the
"Server System" install type, so opening those ports in your firewall
configuration will enable those services.
Account Configuration: Make sure you create at least one
user account, in addition to the root account. You an use this user account as
the "regular user account" in the setup of WeBWorK.
Package Group Selection: This option is only shown if you
choose the "Server System" install type. Select the "Web Server" package, the
"GNOME" package and also check "Select individual packages".
Step 2: Installing individual packages
Many administrative tasks are easier using linuxconf. The other packages are
required for WeBWorK to function properly.
Select the following packages.
| package | disc | directory | package names |
|---|
| Linuxconf | 1 | Applicaions->System | gnome-linuxconf, linuxconf |
| Dialog | 1 | Applicaions->System | dialog |
| TeTeX (and LaTeX2HTML) | 2 | Applicaions->Publishing | tetex, tetex-afm, tetex-dvilj, tetex-dvips, tetex-fonts, tetex-latex |
Also select any other packages you want to install at this time (e.g. your
favorite editor). When RedHat checks for dependencies, accept the default of
installing additional packages to resolve all dependencies (if any).
Step 3: linuxconf
To launch linuxconf, open a terminal and type the following:
> su -
Password: <type root password>
# linuxconf &
Now that linuxconf is installed, you can use it to replace several of the command-line operations in the Installing WeBWorK on a Linux System document:
| shell task | linuxconf panel |
|---|
useradd, usermod, userdel | Config: User acounts->Normal->User accounts |
groupadd, groupmod, groupdel | Config: User accounts->Normal->Group definitions |
/etc/init.d/httpd, adding apache to rc files | Control: Control panel->Control service activity |
linuxconf also has many other capabilities. Consult the Red Hat documentation
for more information.
Step 4: Starting apache
- Open linuxconf.
- Click the "Control" tab
- Click Control panel->Control service activity.
- Select
httpd from the list of services. A panel will appear detailing your apache status.
- Click "Start". It is at the bottom of the panel. After a moment, apache's status should be listed as "Running".
- Check the "Startup: Automatic" checkbox.
- Click "Accept".
- Close linuxconf
Apache is now started, and will start whenever the computer is rebooted. To
verify that apache is working, open Netscape and open
http://localhost/. You should see a page titled "Test Page".
Step 5: Read Installing WeBWorK on a Linux System
At this point, begin reading the Installing WeBWorK on a Linux
System document. Keep the following in mind:
- You still have to configure LaTeX2HTML. The configuration file is stored at:
/usr/share/latex2html/l2hconf.pm.
- You will need to install TTH.
- Apache on Red Hat 7.1 runs as the user
apache in the group apache. When the installaton instructions refer to the user wwserver and the group wwserver, you can substitute apache.
- Apache's configuration file
httpd.conf is located in the directory /etc/httpd/conf/ .
- Apache's DocumentRoot is
/var/www/html/ and cgi-bin directory is /var/www/cgi-bin/ .
- You will want to use the "ScriptAlias" method of linking WeBWorK's cgi directory to the web server, rather than the symlink method. Be careful to put the
ScriptAlias for WeBWorK before the ScriptAlias for cgi-bin in httpd.conf.
Good luck!
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