================== Installing Roundup ================== :Version: $Revision: 1.24 $ .. contents:: Overview ======== Broken out separately, there are several conceptual pieces to a Roundup installation: Roundup support code Installed into your Python install's lib directory Roundup scripts These include the email gateway, the roundup HTTP server, the roundup administration command-line interface, etc. Roundup trackers Trackers consist of core support files, issues (be they bug reports or otherwise), tracker configuration file(s), etc. Roundup trackers also adhere to a specific "Template" which defines the fields usable/assignable on a per-issue basis. A description of the provided templates follows. Classic Template ---------------- The classic template is the one defined in the `Roundup Specification`_. It holds issues which have priorities and statuses. Each issue may also have a set of messages which are disseminated to the issue's list of nosy users. Backends -------- The actual storage of Roundup tracker information is handled by backends. There's several to choose from, each with benefits and limitations: **anydbm** This backend is guaranteed to work on any system that Python runs on. It will generally choose the best *dbm backend that is available on your system (from the list dbhash, gdbm, dbm, dumbdbm). It is the least scaleable of all backends, but performs well enough for a smallish tracker (a couple of thousand issues, under fifty users, ...). **bsddb** This effectively the same as anydbm, but uses the bsddb backend. This allows it to gain some performance and scaling benefits. **bsddb3** Again, this effectively the same as anydbm, but uses the bsddb3 backend. This allows it to gain some performance and scaling benefits. **sqlite** This uses the SQLite embedded RDBMS to provide a fast, scaleable backend. There are no limitations. **gadfly** This is a proof-of-concept relational database backend, not really intended for actual production use, although it can be. It uses the Gadfly RDBMS to store data. It is unable to perform string searches due to gadfly not having a LIKE operation. It should scale well, assuming a client/server setup is used. **metakit** This backend is implemented over the metakit storage system, using Mk4Py as the interface. It scales much better than the *dbm backends, but has some missing features: - you may not unset properties once they are set - journal retrieval is not implemented Prerequisites ============= Python 2.1.1 or newer with a functioning anydbm or bsddb module. Download the latest version from http://www.python.org/. It is highly recommended that users install the latest patch version of python - 2.1.3 or 2.2.1 - as these contain many fixes to serious bugs. If you want to use Berkeley DB bsddb3 with Roundup, use version 3.3.0 or later. Download the latest version from http://pybsddb.sourceforge.net/. Getting Roundup =============== Download the latest version from http://roundup.sf.net/. Testing your Python ------------------- Once you've unpacked roundup's source, run ``python ./run_tests`` in the source directory and make sure there are no errors. If there are errors, please let us know! If the above fails, you may be using the wrong version of python. Try ``python2 ./run_tests``. If that works, you will need to substitute ``python2`` for ``python`` in all further commands you use in relation to Roundup -- from installation and scripts. Installation ============ Set aside 15-30 minutes. Please make sure you're using a supported version of Python -- see `testing your python`_. There's three sections to this installation guide: 1. `basic installation steps`_ that all installers must follow 2. `shared environment steps`_ to take if you're installing on a shared UNIX machine and want to restrict local access to roundup 3. `internet setup`_ steps to take if your tracker is to be used by the wider internet community Most users will only need to follow the first step, since the environment will be a trusted one. Basic Installation Steps ------------------------ 1. To install the Roundup support code into your Python tree and Roundup scripts into /usr/local/bin:: python setup.py install If you would like to place the Roundup scripts in a directory other than ``/usr/local/bin``, then specify the preferred location with ``--install-script``. For example, to install them in ``/opt/roundup/bin``:: python setup.py install --install-scripts=/opt/roundup/bin 2. To create a Roundup tracker (necessary to do before you can use the software in any real fashion): a. (Optional) If you intend to keep your roundup trackers under one top level directory which does not exist yet, you should create that directory now. Example: mkdir /opt/roundup/trackers b. Either add the Roundup script location to your ``PATH`` environment variable or specify the full path to the command in the next step. c. ``roundup-admin install`` You will be asked a series of questions. A description of the Roundup-provided templates can be found under the Overview_:: Enter tracker home: /opt/roundup/trackers/support Templates: classic, extended Select template [classic]: classic Back ends: anydbm, bsddb Select backend [anydbm]: anydbm You will now be directed to edit the tracker configuration and initial schema. See `Customising Roundup`_ for details on configuration and schema changes. Note that you may change any of the configuration after you've initialised the tracker - it's just better to have valid values for this stuff now. d. ``roundup-admin initialise`` This step initialises the tracker database. You will need to supply an admin password at this step. You will be prompted:: Admin Password: Confirm: Once this is done, the tracker has been created. 3. XXX Set up the CGI interface 4. XXX Set up the mail gateway Shared Environment Steps ------------------------ Each tracker ideally should have its own UNIX group, so create a UNIX group (edit ``/etc/group`` or your appropriate NIS map if you're using NIS). To continue with my examples so far, I would create the UNIX group 'support', although the name of the UNIX group does not have to be the same as the tracker name. To this 'support' group I then add all of the UNIX usernames who will be working with this Roundup tracker. In addition to 'real' users, the Roundup email gateway will need to have permissions to this area as well, so add the user your mail service runs as to the group. The UNIX group might then look like:: support:*:1002:jblaine,samh,geezer,mail If you intend to use the web interface (as most people do), you should also add the username your web server runs as to the group. My group now looks like this:: support:*:1002:jblaine,samh,geezer,mail,apache The tracker "db" directory should be chmod'ed g+sw so that the group can write to the database, and any new files created in the database will be owned by the group. An alternative to the above is to create a new user who has the sole responsibility of running roundup. This user: 1. runs the CGI interface daemon 2. runs regular polls for email 3. runs regular checks (using cron) to ensure the daemon is up 4. optionally has no login password so that nobody but the "root" user may actually login and play with the roundup setup. Internet Setup -------------- 1. There are two supported ways to get emailed issues into the Roundup tracker. You should pick ONE of the following, both of which will continue my example setup from above: a. Set up a mail alias called "support" as:: "|/opt/roundup/bin/roundup-mailgw /opt/roundup/trackers/support" If you use Sendmail's ``smrsh`` mechanism, please read the notes under 'Platform-Specific Notes' b. OR... Configure roundup-mailgw to run every 10 minutes or so via ``cron``. My cron job would be (these 2 lines all on one line):: 10 * * * * /opt/roundup/bin/roundup-mailgw /opt/roundup/trackers/support /var/mail/support If you don't want to use the email component of Roundup, then remove the "``nosyreator.py``" module from your tracker "``detectors``" directory. 2. Test the email gateway. Under most flavors of UNIX, this can be done by:: echo test | mail -s '[issue] test' support@YOUR_DOMAIN_HERE XXX mention HTTPS XXX mention Basic vs. cookie auth Upgrading ========= Read the separate `upgrading document`_, which describes the steps needed to upgrade existing tracker trackers for each version of Roundup that is released. ZRoundup ======== Install roundup as usual (see installation_). ZRoundup installs as a regular Zope product. Copy the ZRoundup directory to your Products directory either in an TRACKER_HOME/Products or the Zope code tree lib/python/Products. You will need to create the tracker using the roundup-admin tool (step 2 in installation_). When you next (re)start up Zope, you will be able to add a ZRoundup object that interfaces to your new tracker. Further Reading =============== If you intend to use Roundup with anything other than the defualt templates, if you would like to hack on Roundup, or if you would like implementation details, you should read `Customising Roundup`_. Platform-Specific Notes ======================= Sendmail smrsh -------------- If you use Sendmail's ``smrsh`` mechanism, you will need to tell smrsh that roundup-mailgw is a valid/trusted mail handler before it will work. This is usually done via the following 2 steps: 1. make a symlink in ``/etc/smrsh`` called ``roundup-mailgw`` which points to the full path of your actual ``roundup-mailgw`` script. 2. change your alias to ``"|roundup-mailgw "`` Linux ----- Python 2.1.1 as shipped with SuSE7.3 might be missing module ``_weakref``. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to `Table of Contents`_ Next: `Getting Started`_ .. _`table of contents`: index.html .. _`getting started`: getting_started.html .. _`roundup specification`: spec.html .. _`customising roundup`: customizing.html .. _`upgrading document`: upgrading.html