MoodleDocs - User contributions [en]

Favicon

2021-02-11T19:03:17Z

Rjerz:

The small icon shown in the browsers in front of the URL is called a favicon.

You can use your favicon by replacing the default favicon.ico icon with your own. Typically, the favicon.ico file is located in your theme's folder, for example, in ''../theme/(theme name)/pix/favicon.ico.'' Make sure to keep your favicon.ico file named "favicon.ico." If you are not using a standard theme, you will have to find the "favicon.ico" file that your custom theme uses.

*The change may not be noticeable because the previous image may be in the server or browser cache.
:''Tip:'' Favicon is not changing on your browser? Moodle cached the old one. ''Site Administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme settings > Theme designer mode'' check box and save. Then hit your browser's refresh button. You might want to uncheck the box after it works. You might also need to clear your Moodle's cache by going to Site Administration > Development > Purge caches > Purge all caches.

This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon Wikipedia article] explains how favicons work and has some useful links to software you can use to create one. It also mentions some online utilities that can be used to convert pictures to the right format for use as a favicon.

== See also ==
[[Category:Themes]]

[[es:Favicon]]
[[de:Favicon]]
[[fr:Favicon]]

Performance recommendations

2020-12-02T16:30:50Z

Rjerz: /* MySQL performance */

{{Performance}}
Moodle can be made to perform very well, at small usage levels or scaling up to many thousands of users. The factors involved in performance are basically the same as for any PHP-based database-driven system. When trying to optimize your server, try to focus on the factor which will make the most difference to the user. For example, if you have relatively more users browsing than accessing the database, look to improve the webserver performance.

==Obtain a baseline benchmark==

Before attempting any optimization, you should obtain a baseline benchmark of the component of the system you are trying to improve. For Linux try [http://lbs.sourceforge.net/ LBS] and for Windows use the Performance Monitor. Once you have quantitative data about how your system is performing currently, you'll be able to determine if the change you have made has had any real impact.

The overall aim of adjustments to improve performance is to use RAM (cacheing) and to reduce disk-based activity. It is especially important to try to eliminate swap file usage as much as you can. If your system starts swapping, this is a sign that you need more RAM.

The '''optimization order preference''' is usually: primary storage (more RAM), secondary storage (faster hard disks/improved hard disk configuration), processor (more and faster).

It can be interesting to install and use the [https://moodle.org/plugins/report_benchmark Benchmark plugin] in order to find the bottlenecks of your system that specifically affect Moodle.

==Scalability==

Moodle's design (with clear separation of application layers) allows for strongly scalable setups. (Please check the list of [[Large installations|large Moodle installations]].)

Large sites usually separate the web server and database onto separate servers, although for smaller installations this is typically not necessary.

It is possible to load-balance a Moodle installation, for example by using more than one webserver. The separate webservers should query the same database and refer to the same filestore and cache areas (see [[Caching]]), but otherwise the separation of the application layers is complete enough to make this kind of clustering feasible. Similarly, the database could be a cluster of servers (e.g. a MySQL cluster), but this is not an easy task and you should seek expert support, e.g. from a Moodle Partner.

On very large, load-balanced, systems the performance of the shared components become critical. It's important that your shared file areas are properly tuned and that you use an effective cache (Redis is highly recommended). A good understanding of these areas of system administration should be considered a minimum requirement.

===Server cluster===

Using Moodle forum discussions:

*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57202 Moodle clustering]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=44470 Software load balancing]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=49986 TCP load balancing]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=88214 Installation for 3000 simultaneous users]

==Hardware configuration==
'''Note''': The fastest and most effective change that you can make to improve performance is to '''increase the amount of RAM on your web server''' - get as much as possible (e.g. 4GB or more). Increasing primary memory will reduce the need for processes to swap to disk and will enable your server to handle more users.
* Better performance is gained by obtaining the best '''processor capability''' you can, i.e. dual or dual core processors. A modern BIOS should allow you to enable hyperthreading, but check if this makes a difference to the overall performance of the processors by using a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_PI CPU benchmarking tool].
* If you can afford them, use '''SCSI hard disks''' instead of SATA drives. SATA drives will increase your system's CPU utilization, whereas SCSI drives have their own integrated processors and come into their own when you have multiple drives. If you must have SATA drives, check that your motherboard and the drives themselves support NCQ (Native Command Queuing).
* Purchase hard disks with a '''low seek time'''. This will improve the overall speed of your system, especially when accessing Moodle's reports.
* Size your '''swap file''' correctly. The general advice is to set it to 4 x physical RAM.
* Use a '''RAID disk system'''. Although there are many different RAID configurations you can create, the following generally works best:
** install a hardware RAID controller (if you can)
** the operating system and swap drive on one set of disks configured as RAID-1.
** Moodle, Web server and Database server on another set of disks configured as RAID-5.
* If your 'moodledata' area is going to be on relatively slow storage (e.g. NFS mount on to a NAS device) you will have performance issues with the default cache configuration (which writes to this storage). See the page on [[Caching]] and choose an alternative. Redis is recommended. Using [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlusterFS GlusterFS] / [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCFS2 OCFS2] / [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFS2 GFS2] on a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Area_Network SAN] device and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre_Channel Fiber Channel] could improve performance (See more info on the Moodle [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=214680#p1123124 forum thread], [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=310501#p1242382 NFS performance tuing] )
* Use '''gigabit ethernet''' for improved latency and throughput. This is especially important when you have your webserver and database server separated out on different hosts.
* Check the settings on your '''network card'''. You may get an improvement in performance by increasing the use of buffers and transmit/receive descriptors (balance this with processor and memory overheads) and off-loading TCP checksum calculation onto the card instead of the OS.
* Read this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68579 Case Study] on a server stress test with 300 users.
* See this [http://elearning.sgu.ac.jp/doc/PT/ accompanying report] on network traffic and server loads.
* Also see this SFSU presentation at Educause (using VMWare): [http://www.educause.edu/Resources/AnOpenSourceLMSforaMissionCrit/162843]

==Operating System==
* You can use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Linux](recommended), Unix-based, Windows or Mac OS X for the server '''operating system'''. *nix operating systems generally require less memory than Mac OS X or Windows servers for doing the same task as the server is configured with just a shell interface. Additionally Linux does not have licensing fees attached, but can have a big learning curve if you're used to another operating system. If you have a large number of processors running SMP, you may also want to consider using a highly tuned OS such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_Operating_Environment Solaris].
* Check your own OS and '''vendor specific instructions''' for optimization steps.
** For Linux look at the [http://linuxperf.sourceforge.net/ Linux Performance Team] site.
** For Linux investigate the hdparm command, e.g. hdparm -m16 -d1 can be used to enable read/write on multiple sectors and DMA. Mount disks with the [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=310501#p1242382 "async" and "noatime"] options.
** For Windows set the sever to be optimized for network applications (Control Panel, Network Connections, LAN connection, Properties, File & Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, Properties, Optimization). You can also search the [http://technet.microsoft.com/ Microsoft TechNet site] for optimization documents.

==Web server performance==

Installing [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/ Firefox] and the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843 firebug] extension will allow you to watch the time it takes for each page component to load. Also, the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5369 Yslow] extension will evaluate your page against Yahoo's [http://www.skrenta.com/2007/05/14_rules_for_fast_web_pages_by_1.html 14 rules], full text [http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html Best Practices for Speeding Up Your Web Site], <strike>([http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1040890 video])</strike> for fast loading websites.

===PHP performance===
* PHP contains a built-in accelerator. Make sure it is enabled.
* Improvements in read/write performance can be improved by putting the cached PHP pages on a [[TMPFS]] filesystem - but remember that you'll lose the cache contents when there is a power failure or the server is rebooted.
* Performance of PHP is better when installed as an '''Apache/IIS6 ISAPI module''' (rather than a CGI). IIS 7.0/7.5 (Windows Server 2008/R2) users should choose a FastCGI installation for best performance.
* Also check the '''memory_limit''' in php.ini. The default value for the memory_limit directive is 128M. On some sites, it may need to be larger - especially for some backup operations.
* Also see [[PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version]]
* Use [http://blog.bitnami.com/2014/06/performance-enhacements-for-apache-and.html PHP-FPM] (with apache).

===Install HowTo===
==== APC ====
* [http://2bits.com/articles/installing-php-apc-gnulinux-centos-5.html APC on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [http://fplanque.com/dev/linux/install-apc-php-cache-debian-lenny APC on Debian (linux)]
==== eAccelerator ====
* [http://noveckg.blogspot.com/2010/02/installing-eaccelerator-cache-for-php.html Installing eAccelerator on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [https://docs.moodle.org/en/Installing_eAccelerator_In_Ubuntu_Server/ Installing eAccelerator on Ubuntu Server (linux)]
==== MemCached ====
Memcached server (daemon)
* [https://www.tecmint.com/install-memcached-on-centos-7/ Installing Memcached on CentOS 7.x (linux)] (as of php 7.x, only memcached is available)
* [https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-secure-memcached-on-centos-7 How To Install and Secure Memcached on CentOS 7]
* [https://wiki.zimbra.com/wiki/Blocking_Memcached_Attack#Iptables_rules_for_Redhat_based_servers Iptables rules for Redhat based servers]
Memcached PHP 7.1 extension
* [https://dl.iuscommunity.org/pub/ius/stable/CentOS/7/x86_64/repoview/php71u-pecl-memcached.html php71u-pecl-memcached] from IUS CentOS 7.x repository.

===Apache performance===
* If you are using Apache on a Windows server, use the build from [http://www.apachelounge.com Apache Lounge] which is reported to have [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=93358 performance and stability improvements] compared to the official Apache download. Note that this is an unofficial build, so may not keep up with official releases.
* Set the '''MaxRequestWorkers''' directive correctly ('''MaxClients''' before Apache 2.4). Use this formula to help (which uses 80% of available memory to leave room for spare):
MaxRequestWorkers = Total available memory * 80% / Max memory usage of apache process
:Memory usage of apache process is usually 10MB but Moodle can easily use up to 100MB per process, so a general rule of thumb is to divide your available memory in megabytes by 100 to get a conservative setting for MaxClients. You are quite likely to find yourself lowering the MaxRequestWorkers from its default of 150 on a Moodle server. To get a more accurate estimate read the value from the shell command:
#ps -ylC httpd --sort:rss

:If you need to increase the value of '''MaxRequestWorkers''' beyond 256, you will also need to set the '''ServerLimit''' directive.

:'''Warning''': Do not be tempted to set the value of MaxRequestWorkers higher than your available memory as your server will consume more RAM than available and start to swap to disk.
* Consider reducing the '''number of modules''' that Apache loads in the httpd.conf file to the minumum necessary to reduce the memory needed.
* Use the '''latest version of Apache''' - Apache 2 has an improved memory model which reduces memory usage further.
* For Unix/Linux systems, consider lowering '''MaxConnectionsPerChild''' ('''MaxRequestsPerChild''' before Apache 2.4) in httpd.conf to as low as 20-30 (if you set it any lower the overhead of forking begins to outweigh the benefits).
* For a heavily loaded server, consider setting '''KeepAlive Off''' (do this only if your Moodle pages do not contain links to resources or uploaded images) or lowering the '''KeepAliveTimeout''' to between 2 and 5. The default is 15 (seconds) - the higher the value the more server processes will be kept waiting for possibly idle connections. A more accurate value for KeepAliveTimeout is obtained by observing how long it takes your users to download a page. After altering any of the KeepAlive variables, monitor your CPU utilization as there may be an additional overhead in initiating more worker processes/threads.
* As an alternative to using KeepAlive Off, consider setting-up a '''Reverse Proxy server''' infront of the Moodle server to cache HTML files with images. You can then return Apache to using keep-alives on the Moodle server.
* If you do not use a .htaccess file, set the '''AllowOverride''' variable to AllowOverride None to prevent .htaccess lookups.
* Set '''DirectoryIndex''' correctly so as to avoid content-negotiation. Here's an example from a production server:
DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm
* Unless you are doing development work on the server, set '''ExtendedStatus Off''' and disable mod_info as well as mod_status.
* Leave '''HostnameLookups Off''' (as default) to reduce DNS latency.
* Consider reducing the value of '''TimeOut''' to between 30 to 60 (seconds).
* For the '''Options directive''', avoid Options Multiviews as this performs a directory scan. To reduce disk I/O further use
Options -Indexes FollowSymLinks

* Compression reduces response times by reducing the size of the HTTP response
# Install and enable mod_deflate - refer to documentation or man pages
# Add this code to the virtual server config file within the <directory> section for the root directory (or within the .htaccess file if AllowOverrides is On):
<ifModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/x-js text/javascript text/css application/javascript
</ifmodule>
* Use Apache [http://blog.bitnami.com/2014/06/performance-enhacements-for-apache-and.html event] [http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mpm.html MPM] (and not the default Prefork or Worker)

===IIS performance===
All alter this location in the registry:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Inetinfo\Parameters\
* The equivalent to KeepAliveTimeout is '''ListenBackLog''' (IIS - registry location is HKLM\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ Inetinfo\ Parameters). Set this to between 2 to 5.
*Change the '''MemCacheSize''' value to adjust the amount of memory (Mb) that IIS will use for its file cache (50% of available memory by default).
*Change the '''MaxCachedFileSize''' to adjust the maximum size of a file cached in the file cache in bytes. Default is 262,144 (256K).
*Create a new DWORD called '''ObjectCacheTTL''' to change the length of time (in milliseconds) that objects in the cache are held in memory. Default is 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).

===Lighttpd, NginX and Cherokee performance===
You can increase server performance by using a '''light-weight''' webserver like [http://www.lighttpd.net/ lighttpd], [http://nginx.net/ nginx] or [http://www.cherokee-project.com/ cherokee] in combination with PHP in FastCGI-mode. Lighttpd was originally created as a proof-of-concept[http://www.lighttpd.net/story] to address the [http://www.kegel.com/c10k.html C10k problem] and while primarily recommended for memory-limited servers, its design origins and asynchronous-IO model make it a suitable and proven[http://blog.lighttpd.net/articles/2006/12/28/lighttpd-powers-5-alexa-top-250-sites] alternative HTTP server for high-load websites and web apps, including Moodle. See the [[lighttpd | MoodleDocs Lighttpd page]] for additional information, configuration example and links.

Alternatively, both [http://www.lighttpd.net/ lighttpd] and [http://nginx.net/ nginx] are capable of performing as a load-balancer and/or reverse-proxy to alleviate load on back-end servers[http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/10108], providing benefit without requiring an actual software change on existing servers.

Do note that these are likely to be the least tested server environments of all particularly if you are using advanced features such as web services and/or Moodle Networking. They are probably best considered for heavily used Moodle sites with relatively simple configurations.

===X-Sendfile===

X-Sendfile modules improve performance when sending large files from Moodle. It is recommended to configure your web server and Moodle to use this feature of available.

Configure web server:
* Apache - https://tn123.org/mod_xsendfile/
* Lighttpd - http://redmine.lighttpd.net/projects/lighttpd/wiki/X-LIGHTTPD-send-file
* Nginx - http://wiki.nginx.org/XSendfile

Enable support in config.php (see config-dist.php):
<code php>
// $CFG->xsendfile = 'X-Sendfile'; // Apache {@see https://tn123.org/mod_xsendfile/}
// $CFG->xsendfile = 'X-LIGHTTPD-send-file'; // Lighttpd {@see http://redmine.lighttpd.net/projects/lighttpd/wiki/X-LIGHTTPD-send-file}
// $CFG->xsendfile = 'X-Accel-Redirect'; // Nginx {@see http://wiki.nginx.org/XSendfile}
</code>

Configure file location prefixes if your server implementation requires it:
<code php>
// $CFG->xsendfilealiases = array(
// '/dataroot/' => $CFG->dataroot,
// '/cachedir/' => '/var/www/moodle/cache', // for custom $CFG->cachedir locations
// '/localcachedir/' => '/var/local/cache', // for custom $CFG->localcachedir locations
// '/tempdir/' => '/var/www/moodle/temp', // for custom $CFG->tempdir locations
// '/filedir' => '/var/www/moodle/filedir', // for custom $CFG->filedir locations
// );
</code>

== Cron performance ==

Cron is a very important part of the overall performance of moodle as many asynchronous processes are offloaded to cron, so it needs to be running and have enough through put to handle the work being given to it by the front ends.

See [[Cron_with_Unix_or_Linux#High_performance_cron_tasks]]

==Database performance==

===MySQL performance===

The '''number one thing''' you can do to improve MySQL performance is to read, understand and implement the recommendations in the [https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/innodb-buffer-pool.html Innodb Buffer Pool] article.

The [https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/innodb-buffer-pool-resize.html buffer pool size] can safely be changed while your server is running, as long as your server has enough memory (RAM) to accommodate the value you set. On a machine that is dedicated to MySQL, you can safely set this value to 80% of available memory.

Consider setting [https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/innodb-parameters.html#sysvar_innodb_buffer_pool_instances innodb_buffer_pool_instances] to the number of cores, vCPUs, or chips you have available. Adjust this value in accordance with the recommendations in the [https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/innodb-buffer-pool-resize.html MySQL documentation].

The following are MySQL specific settings which can be adjusted for better performance in your my.cnf (my.ini in Windows). The file contains a list of settings and their values. To see the current values use these commands
SHOW STATUS;
SHOW VARIABLES;
'''Important''': You must make backups of your database before attempting to change any MySQL server configuration. After any change to the my.cnf, restart mysqld.

If you are able, the [http://mysqltuner.pl/ MySQLTuner] tool can be run against your MySQL server and will calculate appropriate configuration values for most of the following settings based on your current load, status and variables automatically.

* Enable the '''query cache''' with
query_cache_type = 1.
For most Moodle installs, set the following:
query_cache_size = 36M
query_cache_min_res_unit = 2K.
The query cache will improve performance if you are doing few updates on the database.
* Set the '''table cache''' correctly. For Moodle 1.6 set
table_cache = 256 #(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2)
(min), and for Moodle 1.7 set
table_cache = 512 #(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2)
(min). The table cache is used by all threads (connections), so monitor the value of opened_tables to further adjust - if opened_tables > 3 * table_cache(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2) then increase table_cache upto your OS limit. Note also that the figure for table_cache will also change depending on the number of modules and plugins you have installed. Find the number for your server by executing the mysql statement below. Look at the number returned and set table_cache to this value.
mysql>SELECT COUNT(table_name) FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema='yourmoodledbname';
* Set the '''thread cache''' correctly. Adjust the value so that your thread cache utilization is as close to 100% as possible by this formula:
thread cache utilization (%) = (threads_created / connections) * 100
* The '''key buffer''' can improve the access speed to Moodle's SELECT queries. The correct size depends on the size of the index files (.myi) and in Moodle 1.6 or later (without any additional modules and plugins), the recommendation for this value is key_buffer_size = 32M. Ideally you want the database to be reading once from the disk for every 100 requests so monitor that the value is suitable for your install by adjusting the value of key_buffer_size so that the following formulas are true:
key_read / key_read_requests < 0.01
key_write / key_write_requests <= 1.0
* Set the '''maximum number of connections''' so that your users will not see a "Too many connections" message. Be careful that this may have an impact on the total memory used. MySQL connections usually last for milliseconds, so it is unusual even for a heavily loaded server for this value to be over 200.
* Manage '''high burst activity'''. If your Moodle install uses a lot of quizzes and you are experiencing performance problems (check by monitoring the value of threads_connected - it should not be rising) consider increasing the value of back_log.
* '''Optimize your tables weekly and after upgrading Moodle'''. It is good practice to also optimize your tables after performing a large data deletion exercise, e.g. at the end of your semester or academic year. This will ensure that index files are up to date. Backup your database first and then use:
mysql>CHECK TABLE mdl_tablename;
mysql>OPTIMIZE TABLE mdl_tablename;
:The common tables in Moodle to check are mdl_course_sections, mdl_forum_posts, mdl_log and mdl_sessions (if using dbsessions). Any errors need to be corrected using REPAIR TABLE (see the [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/repair-table.html MySQL manual] and this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=58208#p279638 forum script]).
* '''Maintain the key distribution'''. Every month or so it is a good idea to stop the mysql server and run these myisamchk commands.
#myisamchk -a -S /pathtomysql/data/moodledir/*.MYI
:'''Warning''': You must stop the mysql database process (mysqld) before running any myisamchk command. If you do not, you risk data loss.
* Reduce the number of '''temporary tables saved to disk'''. Check this with the created_tmp_disk_tables value. If this is relatively large (>5%) increase tmp_table_size until you see a reduction. Note that this will have an impact on RAM usage.

===PostgreSQL performance===

There are some good papers around on tuning PostgreSQL (like [http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Tuning_Your_PostgreSQL_Server this one]), and Moodle's case does not seem to be different to the general case.

The first thing to recognise is that if you really need to worry about tuning you should be using a separate machine for the database server. If you are not using a separate machine then the answers to many performance questions are substantially muddied by the memory requirements of the rest of the application.

You should probably '''enable autovacuum''', unless you know what you are doing. Many e-learning sites have predictable periods of low use, so disabling autovacuum and running a specific vacuum at those times can be a good option. Or perhaps leave autovacuum running but do a full vacuum weekly in a quiet period.

Set '''shared_buffers''' to something reasonable. For versions up to 8.1 my testing has shown that peak performance is almost always obtained with buffers < 10000, so if you are using such a version, and have more than 512M of RAM just set shared_buffers to 10,000 (8MB).

The buffer management had a big overhaul in 8.2 and "reasonable" is now a much larger number. I have not conducted performance tests with 8.2, but the recommendations from others are generally that you should now scale shared_buffers much more with memory and may continue to reap benefits even up to values like 100,000 (80MB). Consider using 1-2% of system RAM.

PostgreSQL will also assume that the operating system is caching its files, so setting '''effective_cache_size''' to a reasonable value is also a good idea. A reasonable value will usually be (total RAM - RAM in use by programs). If you are running Linux and leave the system running for a day or two you can look at 'free' and under the 'cached' column you will see what it currently is. Consider taking that number (which is kB) and dividing it by 10 (i.e. allow 20% for other programs cache needs and then divide by 8 to get pages). If you are not using a dedicated database server you will need to decrease that value to account for usage by other programs.

Some other useful parameters that can have positive effects, and the values I would typically set them to on a machine with 4G RAM, are:

work_mem = 10240

That's 10M of RAM to use instead of on-disk sorting and so forth. That can give a big speed increase, but it is per connection and 200 connections * 10M is 2G, so it can theoretically chew up a lot of RAM.

maintenance_work_mem = 163840

That's 160M of RAM which will be used by (e.g.) VACUUM, index rebuild, cluster and so forth. This should only be used periodically and should be freed when those processes exit, so I believe it is well worth while.

wal_buffers = 64

These buffers are used for the write-ahead log, and there have been a number of reports on the PostgreSQL mailing lists of improvement from this level of increase.

This is a little out of date now (version 8.0) but still worth a read: http://www.powerpostgresql.com/Docs

And there is lots of good stuff here as well: http://www.varlena.com/GeneralBits/Tidbits/index.php

''Based on Andrew McMillan's post at [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68558 Tuning PostgreSQL] forum thread.''

* Splitting '''mdl_log''' to several tables and using a VIEW with UNION to read them as one. (See Tim Hunt [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=243531#p1104165 explanation] on the Moodle forums)

===Other database performance links===
* Consider using a '''distributed cacheing system''' like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memcached memcached] but note that memcached does not have any security features so it should be used behind a firewall.
* Consider using PostgreSQL. See [[Arguments in favour of PostgreSQL]] and [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=49195 how to migrate from MySQL to PostgreSQL] (forum discussion).
* [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/server-parameters.html General advice on tuning MySQL parameters] (advice from the MySQL manual)
* [http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2007/11/01/innodb-performance-optimization-basics/ InnoDB performance optimization] taken from the [http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/ MySQL performance blog] site.

==Performance of different Moodle modules==

Moodle's activity modules, filters, and other plugins can be activated/deactivated. If necessary, you may wish to deactivate some features (such as chat) if not required - but this isn't necessary. Some notes on the performance of certain modules:

* The '''Chat''' module is [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=37979&parent=175079 said] to be a hog in terms of frequent HTTP requests to the main server. This can be reduced by setting the module to use ''Streamed'' updates, or, if you're using a Unix-based webserver, by running the chat in daemon mode. When using the Chat module use the configuration settings to tune for your expected load. Pay particular attention to the ''chat_old_ping'' and ''chat_refresh'' parameters as these can have greatest impact on server load.
* The Moodle '''Cron''' task is triggered by calling the script ''cron.php''. If this is called over HTTP (e.g. using wget or curl) it can take a large amount of memory on large installations. If it is called by directly invoking the php command (e.g. ''php -f /path/to/moodle/directory/admin/cli/cron.php'') efficiency can be much improved.
* The '''Recent activities''' block is consuming too many resources if you have huge number of records <code>mdl_log</code>. This is being tested to optimize the SQL query.
* The '''Quiz''' module is known to stretch database performance. However, it has been getting better in recent versions, and we don't know of any good, up-to-date performance measurements. (Here is a [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68579 case study from 2007 with 300 quiz users].). The following suggestions were described by [https://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=94615&course=5 Al Rachels] in [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=347126 this forum thread]:
** make sure both Moodle, and the operating system, are installed on a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive solid state drive]
** upgrade to and use [https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Moodle_and_PHP7 PHP 7]
** run MySQLTuner and implement its recommendations

See [[Performance settings]] for more information on performance-related Moodle settings.

==See also==

*Using Moodle: [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and Performance] forum
*[http://opensourceelearning.blogspot.be/2012/10/why-your-moodle-site-is-slow-five.html Why Your Moodle Site is Slow: Five Simple Settings] blog post from Jonathan Moore
*I teach with Moodle perfomance testing: http://www.iteachwithmoodle.com/2012/11/17/moodle-2-4-beta-performance-test-comparison-with-moodle-2-3/
*[http://jfilip.ca/2013/08/20/moodle-2-4-5-vs-2-5-1-performance-and-muc-apc-cache-store/ Moodle 2.4.5 vs 2.5.2 performance and MUC APC cahe store]
*[http://jfilip.ca/2013/09/25/moodle-performance-testing-2-4-6-vs-2-5-2-vs-2-6dev/ Moodle performance testing 2.4.6 vs 2.5.2 vs 2.6dev]
*[http://jfilip.ca/2013/09/24/moodle-performance-analysis-revisted-now-with-mariadb/ Moodle performance analysis revisited (now with MariaDB)]
*[http://tjhunt.blogspot.ca/2013/05/performance-testing-moodle.html Tim Hunt's blog (May 2, 2013) on performance testing Moodle]
*[http://newrelic.com/ New Relic, Application Performance Monitoring]
*[http://blog.bitnami.com/2014/06/performance-enhacements-for-apache-and.html Performance enhacements for Apache and PHP (Apache Event MPM and PHP-FPM)]
*[https://scholarlms.net/performance-recommendations/ Performance recommendations]
*[https://enovation.ie/moodle-performance-investigation-using-performance-info/ Moodle performance investigation – using performance info ]

There have been a lot of discussions on moodle.org about performance, here are some of the more interesting and (potentially) useful ones:

* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=83057 Performance woes!]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028 Performance perspectives - a little script]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=88927 Comments on planned server hardware]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=102978#p461624 Moodle performance in a pil by Martin Langhoff]
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=240391#unread Advice on optimising php/db code in moodle2+]
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=243531 Moodle 2.5 performance testing at the OU]
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=273602 100 active users limit with 4vCPU]
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=336603#p1356423 Performance Tip ... shared...]

[[es:Recomendaciones sobre desempeño]]
[[fr:Recommandations_de_performance]]
[[ja:パフォーマンス]]
[[de:Geschwindigkeitsempfehlungen]]

Installing Moodle

2020-12-01T23:59:14Z

Rjerz: /* Download and copy files into place */

{{Template:Installing Moodle}}
''This page explains how to install Moodle. If you are an expert and/or in a hurry try [[Installation Quickstart]].''

If you just want to try Moodle on a standalone machine there are 'one-click' installers for Windows (see [[Complete install packages for Windows]]) and for OSX (see [[Complete Install Packages for Mac OS X]]) or [[ install on OS X]]. These are unsuitable for production servers.

If you want to avoid installing Moodle yourself completely, consider https://moodle.com/moodlecloud/

== Requirements ==

Moodle is primarily developed in Linux using [[Apache]], [[PostgreSQL]]/[[MySQL]]/[[MariaDB]] and [[PHP]] (sometimes known as the LAMP platform). Typically this is also how Moodle is run, although there are other options as long as the software requirements of the [{{Release notes}} release] are met.

If you are installing Moodle in a Windows server, note that from php5.5 onwards, you will also need to have the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2012 installed from:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30679 Visual C++] ( x86 or x64)

The basic requirements for Moodle are as follows:

=== Hardware ===
* Disk space: 200MB for the Moodle code, plus as much as you need to store content. 5GB is probably a realistic minimum.
* Processor: 1GHz (min), 2GHz dual core or more recommended.
* Memory: 512MB (min), 1GB or more is recommended. 8GB plus is likely on a large production server
* Consider separate servers for the web "front ends" and the database. It is much easier to "tune"

All the above requirements will vary depending on specific hardware and software combinations as well as the type of use and load; busy sites may well require additional resources. Further guidance can be found under [[Performance_recommendations|performance recommendations]]. Moodle scales easily by increasing hardware.

For very large sites, you are much better starting with a small pilot and gaining some experience and insight. A "what hardware do I need for 50,000 user?" style post in the forums is highly unlikely to get a useful answer.

=== Software ===

See the [{{Release notes}} release notes] in the dev docs for software requirements.

== Set up your server ==

Depending on the use case a Moodle server may be anything from a Desktop PC (e.g. for testing and evaluating) to a rackmounted or [[Server cluster|clustered]] solution to cloud VMs or other hosted solutions. As mentioned above there are lots of possibilities for installing the basic server software, some links and pointers are at [[Installing AMP]], [[Internet_Information_Services|IIS]], [[Nginx]].

It will help hugely, regardless of your deployment choices, if time is taken to understand how to configure the different parts of your software stack (HTTP daemon, database, PHP etc). Do not expect the standard server configuration to be optimal for Moodle. For example, the web server and database servers will almost certainly require tuning to get the best out of Moodle.

If a hosting provider is being used ensure that all Moodle [{{Release notes}}#Server_requirements requirements] (such as PHP version) are met by the hosting platform before attempting the installation. It will help to become familiar with changing settings within the hosting provider's platform (e.g. PHP file upload maximums) as the options and tools provided vary.

== Download and copy files into place ==

'''IMPORTANT: While there are now a number of places you can get the Moodle code (including host provided Moodle installers), you are strongly advised to only obtain Moodle from moodle.org. If you run into problems it will be a great deal easier to support you.'''

You have two options:
* Download your required version from http://moodle.org/downloads and unzip/unpack...
* '''OR''' Pull the code from the Git repository (recommended for developers and also makes upgrading very simple):
<pre>
$ git clone -b MOODLE_{{Version3}}_STABLE git://git.moodle.org/moodle.git
</pre>

For a fuller discussion see [[Git for Administrators]].

Either of the above should result in a directory called '''moodle''', containing a number of files and folders.

You can typically place the whole folder in your web server documents directory, in which case the site will be located at '''<nowiki>http://yourwebserver.com/moodle</nowiki>''', or you can copy all the contents straight into the main web server documents directory, in which case the site will be simply '''<nowiki>http://yourwebserver.com</nowiki>'''. See the documentation for your system and/or web server if you are unsure.

:''Tip:'' If you are downloading Moodle to your local computer and then uploading it to your hosted web site, it is usually better to upload the compressed Moodle file and then decompress on your hosted web site. If you decompress Moodle on your local computer, because Moodle is comprised of over 25,000 files, trying to upload over 25,000 files using an FTP client or your host's "file manager" can sometimes miss a file and cause errors.

* '''Secure the Moodle files:''' It is vital that the files are not writeable by the web server user. For example, on Unix/Linux (as root):
<pre>
chown -R root /path/to/moodle
chmod -R 0755 /path/to/moodle
</pre>
(files are owned by the administrator/superuser and are only writeable by them - readable by everyone else)

On test/dev sites you ''may'' want to make the files writeable in order to use the built-in plugin installer. This is discouraged for live sites (at least, revert to more secure settings if you do).

== Create an empty database ==

Next create a new, empty database for your installation. You need to find and make a note of following information for use during the final installation stage:
* '''dbhost''' - the database server hostname. Probably ''localhost'' if the database and web server are the same machine, otherwise the name of the database server
* '''dbname''' - the database name. Whatever you called it, e.g. ''moodle''
* '''dbuser''' - the username for the database. Whatever you assigned, e.g. ''moodleuser'' - do not use the root/superuser account. Create a proper account with the minimum permissions needed.
* '''dbpass''' - the password for the above user

If your site is hosted you should find a web-based administration page for databases as part of the control panel (or ask your administrator). For everyone else or for detailed instructions, see the page for your chosen database server:
* [[PostgreSQL]]
* [[MariaDB]]
* [[MySQL]]
* [[MSSQL]]
* [[Oracle]] (not recommended)

== Create the (''moodledata'') data directory ==

Moodle requires a directory to store all of its files (all your site's uploaded files, temporary data, cache, session data etc.). The web server needs to be able to write to this directory. On larger systems consider how much free space you are going to use when allocating this directory.

Due to the default way Moodle caches data you may have serious performance issues if you use relatively slow storage (e.g. NFS) for this directory. Read the [[Performance_recommendations]] carefully and consider using (e.g.) redis or memcached for [[Caching]].

'''IMPORTANT:''' This directory must '''NOT''' be accessible directly via the web. This would be a serious security hole. Do not try to place it inside your web root or inside your Moodle program files directory. Moodle will not install. It can go anywhere else convenient.

Here is an example (Unix/Linux) of creating the directory and setting the permissions for '''anyone''' on the server to write here. This is only appropriate for Moodle servers that are not shared. Discuss this with your server administrator for better permissions that just allow the web server user to access these files.

<pre>
# mkdir /path/to/moodledata
# chmod 0777 /path/to/moodledata
</pre>

==== Securing moodledata in a web directory ====

If you are using a hosted site and you have no option but to place 'moodledata' in a web accessible directory. You may be able to secure it by creating an .htaccess file in the 'moodledata' directory. This does not work on all systems - see your host/administrator. Create a file called .htaccess containing only the following lines:
<pre>
order deny,allow
deny from all
</pre>

== Start Moodle install ==
It's now time to run the installer to create the database tables and configure your new site. The recommended method is to use the command line installer. If you cannot do this for any reason (e.g. on a Windows server) the web-based installer is still available.

=== Command line installer ===

It's best to run the command line as your system's web user. You need to know what that is - see your system's documentation (e.g. Ubuntu/Debian is 'www-data', Centos is 'apache')

* Example of using the command-line (as root - substitute 'www-data' for your web user):
<pre>
# chown www-data /path/to/moodle
# cd /path/to/moodle/admin/cli
# sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php install.php
# chown -R root /path/to/moodle
</pre>
The chowns allow the script to write a new config.php file. More information about the options can be found using
<pre>
# php install.php --help
</pre>

You will be asked for other settings that have not been discussed on this page - if unsure just accept the defaults. For a full discussion see [[Administration via command line]]

=== Web based installer ===

For ease of use you can install Moodle via the web. We recommend configuring your web server so that the page is not publicly accessible until the installation is complete.

To run the web installer script, just go to your Moodle's main URL using a web browser.

The installation process will take you through a number of pages. You should be asked to confirm the copyright, see the database tables being created, supply administrator account details and supply the site details. The database creation can take some time - please be patient. You should eventually end up at the Moodle front page with an invitation to create a new course.

It is very likely that you will be asked to download the new config.php file and upload it to your Moodle installation - just follow the on-screen instructions.

==Final configuration==

=== Settings within Moodle ===
There are a number of options within the Moodle Site Administration screens (accessible from the 'Site administration' tab in the 'Administration' block (Classic theme) or the Site administration button in the navigation bar (Boost). Here are a few of the more important ones that you will probably want to check:
* ''Administration > Site administration > Server > Email > Outgoing mail configuration'': Set your smtp server and authentication if required (so your Moodle site can send emails). You can also set a norepy email on this page.
* ''Administration > Site administration > Server > Server > Support contact''. Set your support contact email.
* ''Administration > Site administration > Server > System paths'': Set the paths to du, dot and aspell binaries.
* ''Administration > Site administration > Server > HTTP'': If you are behind a firewall you may need to set your proxy credentials in the 'Web proxy' section.
* ''Administration > Site administration > Location > Update timezones'': Run this to make sure your timezone information is up to date. (more info [[Location]])
** [http://php.net/manual/en/timezones.php Set server's local timezone] inside <tt>php.ini</tt> (should probably be inside <tt>/etc/php.ini</tt> or <tt>/etc/php.d/date.ini</tt>, depending on the underlying OS):
<code php>
[Date]
; Defines the default timezone used by the date functions
date.timezone = "YOUR LOCAL TIMEZONE"
</code>

=== Remaining tasks ===

* '''Configure Cron''': Moodle's background tasks (e.g. sending out forum emails and performing course backups) are performed by a script which you can set to execute at specific times of the day. This is known as a cron script. Please refer to the [[Cron|Cron instructions]].
* '''Set up backups''': See [[Site backup]] and [[Automated course backup]].
* '''Secure your Moodle site''': Read the [[Security recommendations]].
*'''Increasing the maximum upload size''' See [[Installation FAQ]] Maximum upload file size - how to change it?
* '''Check mail works''' : From Site administration > Server > Test outgoing mail configuration, use the link to send yourself a test email. Don't be tempted to skip this step.

=== Installation is complete :) ===

* Create a new course: You can now access Moodle through your web browser (using the same URL as you set during the install process), log in as your admin user and creatse a new course. See [[Adding a new course|create a new course]].

=== If something goes wrong... ===

Here are some things you should try...

* Check the [[Installation FAQ]]
* Check your file permissions carefully. Can your web server read (but not write) the Moodle program files? Can your web server read and write your Moodle data directory? If you don't fully understand how file ownership and permissions work on your operating system it would be time very well spent to find out.
* Check your database permissions. Have you set up your database user with the correct rights and permissions for your configuration (especially if the web server and database server are different machines)?
* Create your [[Configuration file]] (config.php) by hand. Copy config-dist.php (in the root of the Moodle program directory) to config.php, edit it and set your database/site options there. Installation will continue from the right place.
* Once you have a config.php (see previous tip) you can edit it to turn on debugging (in section 8). This may give you extra information to help track down a problem. If you have access, check your web server error log(s).
* Re-check your php.ini / .htaccess settings. Are they appropriate (e.g. memory_limit), did you edit the correct php.ini / .htaccess file and (if required) did you re-start the web server after making changes?
* Did you include any non-core (optional) plugins, themes or other code before starting the installation script? If so, remove it and try again (it may be broken or incompatible).
* Explain your problem in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=28 Installation problems forum]. '''PLEASE''' list your software versions; explain what you did, what happened and what error messages you saw (if any); explain what you tried. There is no such thing as 'nothing', even a blank page is something!

== Platform specific instructions ==

'''Note:''' Much of this information is provided by the community. It may not have been checked and may be out of date. Please read in conjunction with the above installation instructions.

* [[Windows installation]]
** [[Installing Moodle on SmarterASP.NET]]
* [[Unix or Linux Installation]]
* [[Mac Installation]]
* [[Amazon EC2 Cloud Services Installation]]

== See also ==
* [http://www.slideshare.net/gb2048/my-own-moodle Slideshare presentation by Gareth Barnard on installing a local installation of Moodle] and accompanying [https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B17B0rYH2zERU21sQnVweUZCUFk&usp=sharing help guides]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=182086 New Video Tutorial- How to Install Moodle on Shared Hosting via cPanel (Not Fantastico)]
* [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=401983 Another one for cPanel using videos]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=199542 Video Tutorial - Install Moodle on a Virtual Box from scratch]

[[es:Instalaci%C3%B3n_de_moodle]]
[[de:Installation von Moodle]]
[[fr:Installation de Moodle]]
[[ja:Moodleのインストール]]

Video

2020-04-28T13:30:09Z

Rjerz:

{{Working with media}}

Video is a very powerful tool to use in a Moodle course, allowing students, for example, to catch up on lectures they missed, learn from a "how-to" screencast, or improve their language skills by watching native speakers interact.

==Where to host the videos==

If you upload your videos to your Moodle site, storing them on your own server, then you retain ultimate control. If you are worried about multiple copies of the same video taking up lots of space, then that is not a problem; the Moodle file system is clever enough to only store a single copy of a file, no matter how many times you upload it to your server.

When server space or upload limits are restricted, or if you are seeking some video player features not available within Moodle, it is convenient to upload videos to an online site like [http://www.youtube.com YouTube] or [http://vimeo.com Vimeo]. They can easily be embedded inside Moodle from such sites and privacy can still be maintained if you choose their private video sharing option.

==Ways of displaying video==

===Linking to a video online elsewhere===
*If your video is hosted elsewhere online (such as YouTube or Vimeo) you can simply link to the relevant page by choosing [[URL]] from 'Add an activity or resource' and pasting in the relevant link.
*Note that, in an establishment where certain video sharing sites might be banned, your students might not be able to access your video through Moodle.

===Uploading a video===

*If your browser allows resources to be dragged and dropped, then you can turn on the editing and drag the video directly onto the course page.
*A box will then appear for you to decide whether you want the video embedded in a label, or added as a clickable file resource.
*Alternatively, you can upload the video by turning the editing on and choosing ''Add an activity or resource > [[File]]''

===Embedding a video in its own player===
Moodle uses [[VideoJS player]] as its default player as it is responsive and displays video well across devices and browsers. With the [[Multimedia plugins filter]] enabled, videos may be embedded as follows:

====Using the Moodle media icon====

''(Note that these instructions are for the [[Atto editor]])''
*With your editing turned on, click into the Atto editor text box where you wish to embed your video.
*Click the Moodle media icon as in the following screenshot:
[[File:Addmedia.png]]
*If your video is online, paste its URL into the Source URL box.
*If your video is one you want to upload, click the Video tab.
[[File:DocsVideoInsertMedia.png]]
*Click the Browse repositories button to locate and upload your video from the repository where it is stored. (What you see depends on what the admin has enabled.) If you have it in more than one file type (such as .mov and .mp4) then you can upload an alternative video by clicking 'Add alternative source'.
*'''Display options''' allows you to specify a height and width for the video
*'''Advanced settings''' allows you to decide how the video will play
*'''Subtitles and captions''' allows you to add subtitle files (VTT) in different languages and/or caption files, with descriptions, chapters, and metadata. Subtitles, captions, chapters, and descriptions can be added to videos and audios using the [https://w3c.github.io/webvtt/ WebVTT file format]. These files can be created using caption making software or just a plain text editor. If the video is on YouTube, subtitles can be generated automatically then corrected. Software such as Camtasia enables subtitles to be easily added. '''NOTE:''' ''The files must be uploaded to Moodle; they will not display if they are linked from elsewhere.''
*Click the Insert media button when you are ready.
*Your video will appear a blue link until you save the changes.

[[File:DocsVideoVideoJS.png]]

====Using a hyperlink====
''(Note: this method has no advantage over using the media icon.)''
*With your editing turned on, click into the Atto editor where you wish to embed your video.
*Type some blank spaces (or some text) and select them.
*Click the hyperlink icon as in the following screenshot. (The icon will only be clickable if you have selected text or spaces.)
[[File:Hyperlinkicon.png]]
*Click 'Browse repositories'
*This takes you to the file picker. Follow the instructions for uploading/selecting your video as for using the Moodle media icon.
*When your video is chosen, it will appear in the link URL box as below. Click ''Insert:''
*'''''Don't panic!''''' You will now only get a blue line (if you selected blank spaces) or the actual text underlined in the Atto editor:
[[File:linklinkatto.png]]
*When you click ''save changes'' to return to the main course page, your video will display.

====Using embed code to display external videos====
*Go to your chosen video sharing site and find the embed code of the video you wish to display. Copy this code.
*With your editing turned on, click into the Atto editor where you wish to embed your video.
*Click the HTML code icon as in the following screenshot:
[[File:AttoEmbedCode.png]]
*Paste your embed code into the box:
*Save your changes
*Your video will display embedded in a player. Youtube videos by default play via the [[VideoJS player]].
[[File:VideoJSOfficialMusicVideo.png]]

==See also==
* [[Media FAQ]]
* [[Multimedia plugins filter]]
* [https://moodle.org/plugins/mod_jitsi Jitsi] - This module allows creating jitsi-meet videoconference sessions
* [https://moodle.org/plugins/mod_bigbluebuttonbn Big Blue Button] - Integrate BigBlueButton within Moodle - including record and playback of sessions

Forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=143478 Best video format]
*[https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=344662 download h5p interactive video in moodle]
*[https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=386059#p1556113 Workshop Module enhances American Sign Language classroom with Video Recordings]

[[Category: Language teaching]]

[[de:Video]]
[[es:Video]]

Installing AMP

2015-01-28T21:42:24Z

Rjerz: /* Mac OS X */

{{Installing Moodle}}
AMP, stands for '''A'''pache, '''M'''ySQL & '''P'''HP. This is not the only platform on which Moodle runs but is the most common and fine for basic installations.

'' 'All-in-one' Moodle installers for Windows and OSX are available at http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/install.html (not intended for 'production' sites). ''

== First a word about PostgreSQL ==

If you would prefer to use the PostgreSQL database (and you should consider it) you can - when using the package type installers - just install it instead of MySQL. MySQL tends to be the universal choice with the simpler 'one-click' installers. For a 'one-click' installer with PostgreSQL, Apache and PHP you can check [http://bitnami.com BitNami], it supports Windows ([http://bitnami.com/stack/wapp WAPP]), Linux ([http://bitnami.com/stack/lapp LAPP]) and Mac ([http://bitnami.com/stack/mapp MAPP]).

== Mac OS X ==

OSX comes with a suitable [[Apache]] web server and a not so suitable PHP (it doesn't have all the required extensions).

Here are some other possibilities (all are documented so this is not repeated here):
* Liip 'one click' installer from http://php-osx.liip.ch/. Note that it is primarily biased towards developers.
* [http://www.mamp.info/ MAMP]: One click installer - easy to use and well documented. Probably only suitable for personal use.
* [http://www.ampps.com/ Softaculous AMPPS]: Another one click installer - for both Windows and OSX this time.
* [http://www.macports.org/ MacPorts]: A complete Linux-style package repository. You will find the AMP components here. See [https://trac.macports.org/wiki/howto/MAMP Getting Apache, MySQL, and PHP Running under MacPorts]
* [http://www.finkproject.org/ Fink]: an alternative to MacPorts.
* [http://bitnami.com/stack/mamp BitNami MAMP Stack]: On 'one-click' installer with for MySQL, Apache and PHP which supports the BitNami applications modules to installed on top of it like the [http://bitnami.com/stack/mamp/modules#moodle BitNami Moodle module].

There might be some problems with the installation in Yosemite. You may need to go to Applications/MAMP/Library/bin (or use finder) and find the file envvars, and rename it to _envvars. Make sure your MAMP server is completely stopped before doing any of the ports change and/or renaming the envvars file.

== Linux ==
You should install the packages from your distribution's repository for [[Apache]], [[PHP]] and MySQL. You will almost certainly need additional extensions for [[PHP]] (e.g. the extension for the database). The packaged versions of Moodle are not recommended (it's not much harder to install from moodle.org download)

See (for example):
* Ubuntu - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ApacheMySQLPHP
* Debian - http://wiki.debian.org/LaMp
* RedHat / Centos - http://www.howtoforge.com/quick-n-easy-lamp-server-centos-rhel
* SuSE / OpenSuSE - http://www.susegeek.com/internet-browser/install-configure-lamp-apachemysqlphp-in-opensuse-110/

While one-click installers (e.g. XAMPP or BitNami LAMP Stack) exist for Linux, it is so simple to install the components the "right" way that they seem pointless. Using the standard method will make it much easier for you to obtain help and support.

Of course, if you wish to (or you need a particularly new version) you can compile all or some of the elements from source. All the elements have good documentation. The tricky one is PHP and some guidance for Debian/Ubuntu is here: [[Compiling PHP from source]]

== Windows ==

Windows has slightly more variations as you can use [[Apache]] or Microsoft's [[IIS]] Web Servers. The following one-click Web server installers include the Apache Web server, the MySQL database server, the PHP scripting language and the phpMyAdmin database (MySQL) manager. Some may include other components.

* [http://www.wampserver.com/en/ WampServer]: One of the best installers for Windows.
* [http://bitnami.com/stack/wamp BitNami WAMP Stack]: A very good installer that allows other [http://bitnami.com/stacks BitNami Stacks] to be installed on top, like the [http://bitnami.com/stack/moodle BitNami Moodle Stack].
* [http://www.easyphp.org/ EasyPHP]: A good and known popular alternative.
* [http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html XAMPP]: Probably the best known installer for Windows. It should only be used for development or as a personal web server.
* [http://php.net/manual/en/install.windows.php Official PHP Documentation]: Instructions to install PHP on all manner of Windows and Web server variations.
* [http://www.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/ MySQL]: Select Windows and download installer.
* [http://www.postgresql.org/download/windows/ PostgreSQL]: Download installer for Windows.

=== Installer packages and components ===

The following table lists the components and versions of each package (as of August 27, 2014):

{| style="width:75%; height:75px" border="0"
|-
| '''Product''' || '''Version''' || '''Httpd (Apache)''' || '''PHP''' || '''MySQL''' || '''PHPMyAdmin''' || '''Address'''
|-
| WampServer || 2.5 || 2.4.9 || 5.5.12 || 5.6.17 || 4.1.14 || [http://www.wampserver.com/en/ Web page]
|-
| || 2.4 || 2.4.4 || 5.4.16 || 5.6.12 || 4.0.4 ||
|-
| || 2.2e || 2.4.2 || 5.4.3 || 5.5.24 || 3.5.1 ||
|-
| BitNami WAMP Stack || 5.4.32-0 || 2.4.10 || 5.4.32 || 5.5.39 || 4.2.7.1 || [https://bitnami.com/stack/wamp Web page]
|-
| || 5.3.29-0 || 2.2.23 || 5.3.29 || 5.5.29 || 3.5.5 ||
|-
| EasyPHP (Wevserver) || 14.1 || 2.4.10 || 5.4.31 || 5.6.19 || 4.2.6 || [http://www.easyphp.org/ Web page]
|-
| EasyPHP(Devserver) || 14.1 VC11 || 2.4.7 VC11 || 5.[6-3].x || 5.6.15 || 4.2.0 ||
|-
| || 14.1 VC9 || 2.4.7 VC9 || 5.[4-2].x || 5.6.15 || 4.2.0 ||
|-
| XAMPP || 1.8.3 || 2.4.10 || 5.5.15 || 5.6.20 || 4.2.7.1 || [https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html Web page]
|-
| || 1.8.2 || 2.4.10 || 5.4.31 || 5.5.39 || 4.2.7.1 ||
|-
| ----------------- || --------- || ---------- || ------------- || ------ || ------- ||
|-
| XAMPP || 1.7.4 || 2.2.17 || 5.3.5 || 5.5.8 || 3.3.9 ||
|-
| || 1.7.1 || 2.2.11 || 5.2.9 || 5.1.33 || 3.1.3.1 ||
|}

'''Important Notes'''
* PHP 5.5.x versions are built with VC11 (Visual Studio 2012 compiler). These builds require you to have the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2012 [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30679/ x64/86] installed. These PHP versions '''do not''' work in windows XP nor in Windows Server 2003.

* PHP 5.4.x versions are built with VC9 (Visual Studio 2008 compiler). These builds require you to have the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5582/ x86] or [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15336/ x64] installed. These PHP versions '''are the last''' to support windows XP.

* XAMPP packages 1.7.4 and 1.7.1 were included in the table because those are the versions on which the [http://download.moodle.org/windows/ Windows Moodle Packages] are built: from Moodle 2.1.x to 2.5.x with XAMPP 1.7.4; and Moodle 1.9.19+ with XAMPP 1.7.1.

* Moodle version 2.0.x isn't available any more as a Windows Moodle Distribution.

==Vista and Windows 7==

Many people have trouble installing the stand alone local [http://download.moodle.org/windows/ Moodle for Windows] on Vista and Windows 7.

Here are some things you might want to try:

* A simple one is to use http://bitnami.org/stack/moodle
* Another solution is to look at these videos at [http://www.sebastiansulinski.co.uk/web_design_tutorials/tutorial/7/install_apache_php_and_mysql_on_windows_vista Sebastian Sulinski Design] for Windows Vista.
* For personal (evaluation) use - install XAMPP or EasyPHP and then Moodle using the normal installation instructions.

[[es:Instalación AMP]]
[[fr:Installation de AMP]]
[[ja:AMPのインストール]]
[[ru:Установка AMP]]
[[pl:Instalacja AMP]]
[[de:Installation von Apache, MySQL und PHP]]