RedHat Linux installation

Note : These instructions apply to RedHat version 8. They have also been found to work for RedHat 9.0 and for Fedora Core 1 and 2. Fedora Core 3 requires the php-gd package in addition to php. I see no reason why they should not work for later versions, but....

FIRST: RTFM!! Please read carefully the Moodle installation documentation at http://moodle.org/doc/?file=install.html

Redhat installation considerations: There are many installation options available when installing Redhat. I assume that you are installing on a server and will have selected a Server type install. There is however no reason why this should not work on a desktop or Workstation installation.

STEP 1: Make sure you have installed the following packages. (You will need to select the option to customize the default set of packages on installation OR bring up the package manager by putting disk 1 back in the drive for an existing system):

• X Windows System (not vital but easier)
• Gnome or KDE desktop environment (as above)
• Server Configuration Tools
• Web Server
  • Click "Details" and make sure all PHP modules are ticked (except ODBC and PGSQL, they're not neccesary)
  • make sure not to miss the MYSQL-PHP module (not installed by default)
• SQL Database
  • Click "Details" and tick MySQL server box
• Also make sure you set up the firewall. You probably only need to enable HTTP (and perhaps FTP and SSH) access to your server machine, unless you know different.

STEP 2: Download Moodle... (I will install under /usr/moodle, data in /usr/moodle_data)

• Download your favourite version of Moodle from moodle.org (.zip archive is easiest)
• as Root create folder under /usr and copy zip
  • su
  • mkdir /usr/moodle
  • mkdir /usr/moodle_data
  • cp moodle_111.zip /usr/moodle
• If you prefer you can install the CVS version directly for all the latest features. Instead of downloading and copying the zip file..
  • cd /usr/moodle
  • cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/moodle login
  • cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/moodle co moodle

STEP 3: Unpack and set file permission etc.

• Still as root we unpack moodle and rename to something appropiate (I have multiple moodle installs, hence this setup). I will call this install mymoodle.
  • cd /usr/moodle
  • unzip moodle_111.zip
  • mv moodle mymoodle
    • (optional step - I have more than one install under /usr/moodle)
  • mkdir /usr/moodle_data/mymoodle
    • (same name as the moodle install above)
  • chown -R apache:apache /usr/moodle
    • (! Giving Apache full rights to your Moodle programs is not secure. Check out the forums for recomendations on how to secure a production environment.)
  • chown -R apache:apache /usr/moodle_data