How to Install edX on Fedora CoreOS

In this tutorial, we will discuss the steps to install edX on Fedora CoreOS. Before moving forward, let's understand what edX is.

Introduction to edX

edX is an open-source, online learning platform founded by Harvard University and MIT. It offers free online courses on a diverse range of subjects, including engineering, computer science, humanities, and much more.

Now, let's follow the step-by-step guide to installing edX on Fedora CoreOS.

Step 1: Install Docker

edX requires Docker to be installed in order to function properly. Perform the following steps to download and install Docker on Fedora CoreOS.

1. Open the terminal on your Fedora CoreOS.

2. Type the following command to download Docker:

   $ sudo dnf install docker
   

3. Once downloaded, start and enable the Docker container:

   $ sudo systemctl start docker
   $ sudo systemctl enable docker
   

4. To ensure Docker is running, you can run:

   $ sudo systemctl status docker
   

Step 2: Obtain the edX Docker Images

edX comes with various Docker images, and we will require a few of these to run the platform successfully. Perform the following steps to obtain the Docker images:

1. Open the terminal in your Fedora CoreOS.

2. Run the following command to download the Docker images:

   $ docker pull edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
   $ docker pull mongo:3.2.20-jessie
   $ docker pull nginx:1.19.0-alpine
   $ docker pull memcached:1.4.35-alpine
   $ docker pull rabbitmq:3.6.9-management-alpine
   $ docker pull edxops/ansible
   

   This command downloads all the required edX Docker images onto your Fedora CoreOS machine.

Step 3: Prepare the Docker Compose File

To start the edX platform, we need to create a Docker Compose file. This file specifies the services that we want to use for our edX platform. Follow the steps below to create the Docker Compose file:

1. Open the terminal in your Fedora CoreOS.

2. Create a new directory on your system:

   $ mkdir -p ~/docker/edx
   

3. Navigate to the directory you just created:

   $ cd ~/docker/edx
   

4. Create a file named docker-compose.yml with the following content:

   version: '2'
   services:
     lms:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_lms
       hostname: edx_lms
       environment:
         EDXAPP_LMS_BASE: "http://localhost:8000"
         EDXAPP_PREVIEW_LMS_BASE: "http://localhost:8010"
         EDXAPP_CMS_BASE: "http://localhost:18010"
       ports:
         - "8000:80"
         - "8010:80"
       links:
         - cms
         - discovery
         - forum
         - xqueue
         - notifier
         - analytics_api
         - credentials
       depends_on:
         - cms
         - discovery
         - forum
         - xqueue
         - notifier
         - analytics_api
         - credentials
   
     cms:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_cms
       hostname: edx_cms
       ports:
         - "18010:80"
       links:
         - memcached
       depends_on:
         - memcached
   
     memcached:
       image: memcached:1.4.35-alpine
       container_name: edx_memcached
       hostname: edx_memcached
   
     discovery:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_discovery
       hostname: edx_discovery
       ports:
         - "18381:80"
       depends_on:
         - cms
   
     forum:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_forum
       hostname: edx_forum
       ports:
         - "18140:80"
       links:
         - mongo
       depends_on:
         - mongo
   
     mongo:
       image: mongo:3.2.20-jessie
       container_name: edx_mongo
       hostname: edx_mongo
   
     xqueue:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_xqueue
       hostname: edx_xqueue
       ports:
         - "18081:80"
       depends_on:
         - cms
         - mongo
   
     notifier:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_notifier
       hostname: edx_notifier
       ports:
         - "18130:80"
       links:
         - mongo
       depends_on:
         - mongo
   
     analytics_api:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_analytics_api
       hostname: edx_analytics_api
       ports:
         - "18290:80"
       links:
         - discovery
         - notifier
         - cms
         - mongodb
       depends_on:
         - discovery
         - notifier
         - cms
         - mongo
   
     credentials:
       image: edxops/fullstack-cicd:latest
       container_name: edx_credentials
       hostname: edx_credentials
       ports:
         - "18180:80"
       links:
         - cms
         - discovery
         - mongodb
       depends_on:
         - cms
         - discovery
         - mongo
   

5. Save the file in the directory you created.

Step 4: Start the edX Platform

After creating the Docker Compose file, we can start the edX platform. Follow the steps below to do so:

1. Open the terminal in your Fedora CoreOS.

2. Navigate to the directory where you created the Docker Compose file with:

   $ cd ~/docker/edx
   

3. Start the edX platform by running:

   $ docker-compose up
   

4. This command starts the services specified in the Docker Compose file.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we discussed how to install edX on Fedora CoreOS. We covered the necessary steps to install Docker, obtain the required Docker images, prepare the Docker Compose file, and start the edX platform. With this guide, you should now be able to run the edX platform seamlessly on your Fedora CoreOS machine.