How to Install OpenOLAT on Debian Latest?

OpenOLAT is a open-source learning management system (LMS) that provides a wide range of tools to create, manage and deliver online courses, assessments and other e-learning resources. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install OpenOLAT on Debian latest version.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have the following:

• A fresh Debian latest version.
• A sudoer user with root privileges.
• Basic knowledge of the Linux command line.

Step 1 - Update System

Before installing any package, it's important to ensure your system is up-to-date. You can do this by running the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Step 2 - Install Java

OpenOLAT runs on Java, so you'll need to install the latest version. To check if Java is already installed on your system, run:

java -version

If it's not installed or it's an older version, you can install it using the following command:

sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

Verify that the installation was successful by running the following command:

java -version

Step 3 - Install Database

OpenOLAT requires a relational database to store data. In this tutorial, we will install and use MySQL as the database. To install MySQL on Debian, run:

sudo apt install mysql-server

After the installation is complete, start and enable the MySQL service:

sudo systemctl start mysql
sudo systemctl enable mysql

Then, secure your MySQL installation by running:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Step 4 - Install OpenOLAT

In this step, we will show you how to install OpenOLAT.

Step 4.1 - Download OpenOLAT

First, visit the OpenOLAT official website and download the latest version of the package from https://www.openolat.com/?lang=en.

You can download the package using the following command:

wget https://www.openolat.com/fileadmin/openolat/install/openolat-15.5.1.zip

Step 4.2 - Extract OpenOLAT

After downloading the package, extract it to the /opt directory:

sudo apt install unzip
sudo unzip openolat-15.5.1.zip -d /opt/

Step 4.3 - Configure OpenOLAT

After extracting OpenOLAT, you'll need to configure it by creating a configuration file in the /opt/openolat/conf/ directory:

sudo cp /opt/openolat/conf/OpenOLAT-dist.properties /opt/openolat/conf/OpenOLAT.properties
sudo nano /opt/openolat/conf/OpenOLAT.properties

In this file, you'll need to edit the following parameters to match your MySQL settings:

db.driver = com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver
db.url = jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/openolat
db.user = <db_user>
db.password = <db_password>

Save and exit the file.

Step 4.4 - Create a Systemd Service

To start and stop OpenOLAT easily, you can create a systemd service.

Create a new file at /etc/systemd/system/openolat.service with the following content:

[Unit]
Description=OpenOLAT Learning Management System
After=syslog.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -server -Xms512m -Xmx768m -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -Dopenolat.home=/opt/openolat -jar /opt/openolat/openolat.war
User=<openolat_user>
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Note: Update with the username of the user you want to run OpenOLAT as.

Then, reload the systemd daemon and start the OpenOLAT service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start openolat
sudo systemctl enable openolat

Step 5 - Access OpenOLAT

OpenOLAT is now installed and running, you can access the OpenOLAT web interface on your Debian system by navigating to your server's IP address or domain name followed by :8080.

http://your_server_ip_or_domain:8080

You should see the OpenOLAT login page.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to install OpenOLAT on Debian latest version. To ensure security, always remember to keep your system and OpenOLAT installation up-to-date.