How to Install EGroupware on NetBSD

EGroupware is an open-source software suite that enables collaboration between teams in various tasks such as project management, email and calendar management, and contact management. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of installing EGroupware on NetBSD.

Prerequisites

Before installing EGroupware, you should have the following:

A server or computer running NetBSD
Root access to the system
Reliable internet connection

Step 1 – Installing Apache and PHP

EGroupware requires Apache web server and PHP to function correctly. You can install them using the command:

pkgin install apache php-Rp

The above command installs Apache web server and PHP runtime.

Step 2 – Installing Database

EGroupware can be used with PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB database systems. In this tutorial, we will use PostgreSQL. To install it, issue the following command:

pkgin install postgresql13-server

Once installed, initiate the database cluster and then activate PostgreSQL during system start using the commands:

/usr/pkg/bin/postgresql13-setup initdb
/etc/rc.d/postgresql13 start
echo postgresql=YES >> /etc/rc.conf

This will initialize the database cluster, start PostgreSQL service, and configure it to start automatically during system boot.

Step 3 – Installing SSL/TLS Certificate (Optional)

If you want to use secure HTTPS connections to access EGroupware, you will need to install an SSL/TLS certificate. To do so, first, install the Apache mod_ssl module using the following command:

pkgin install apache-modssl

Once the mod_ssl module is installed, you can create a self-signed certificate using the openssl command:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout /etc/httpd/ssl.key/server.key -out /etc/httpd/ssl.crt/server.crt -days 365 -nodes

In the above command, replace "server.key" and "server.crt" with the names of the key and certificate files you would like to create. You will be prompted to enter information about your organization, location, and other details when running this command.

Step 4 – Download and Extract EGroupware

You can download the latest EGroupware version from the official website or use the following command to download it into the /usr/pkgsrc directory:

cd /usr/pkgsrc/
fetch https://github.com/EGroupware/egroupware/archive/refs/tags/21.1.20210901-full.tar.gz -o egroupware.tar.gz
tar -xvf egroupware.tar.gz

Change into the newly extracted directory:

cd egroupware-21.1.20210901

Step 5 - Install EGroupware

EGroupware is installed using the install.sh script. Before running the script, ensure that PHP and PostgreSQL are running. You can start PHP and Apache by running:

/etc/rc.d/php-fpm start
/etc/rc.d/apache start

If you have an SSL/TLS certificate installed, run:

./install.sh --https --db-type pgsql --db-name postgres --db-user postgres --db-pass <PASSWORD>

In the above command, replace <PASSWORD> with the password you set for the PostgreSQL user.

If you do not have an SSL/TLS certificate installed, omit the --https option from the command.

Step 6 - Accessing EGroupware

After installation, open your browser and go to https://localhost/egroupware. If you didn't install an SSL/TLS certificate, use http instead of https.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and set up EGroupware on your NetBSD server. You can now use it to manage projects, contacts or emails for your team.