The setup wizard
This section contains a comprehensive guide through the web based setup wizard of eZ Publish. The setup wizard is designed to ease the initial configuration of the system. It can be started using a web browser when the necessary installation steps (described in the previous sections) are completed. The setup wizard will automatically start the first time the "index.php" file (located in the root of the eZ Publish directory) is accessed/browsed.
The setup wizard does not store or modify any data before the final step; thus, it can be safely restarted by reloading the URL containing only the "index.php" part. The back button (located at the bottom) can be used to jump back to previous steps in order to modify settings. A typical setup cycle consists of 13 steps:
- Welcome page
- System check
- Outgoing E-mail
- Database choice (optional)
- Database initialization
- Language support
- Site type
- Site functionality
- Access method
- Site details
- Site security
- Site registration
- Finish
Please note that some of the steps will be omitted when an eZ Publish bundle is being installed.
Welcome page
This is the initial page of the setup wizard. By clicking "Next", the wizard will either jump to the "System Check" page (if some issues need to be fixed) or to the "Outgoing E-mail" page (if everything is okay).
System check
This page usually appears if critical issues/problems are detected. The setup wizard will display information about the issues that need to be fixed and suggestions describing how they can be fixed.
Issues
There may be several issues/problems. A suggestion to each problem is presented below the description of the problem itself. The setup wizard will probably suggest the execution of miscellaneous shell commands (in order to fix ownerships, permissions, etc.). These commands must be executed using a system shell. Simply copy the commands from the browser window and paste them into an open shell. The setup wizard will run the system check again when the "Next" button is clicked. The "System check" page will keep reappearing until all issues have been fixed (or ignored, see the next section). Once everything is okay, the setup wizard will display the next step.
Ignoring tests
Some issues/problems may be ignored using a checkbox labelled "Ignore this test". However, it is recommended to fix all issues rather than ignoring them.
Outgoing E-mail
eZ Publish uses E-mail to send out miscellaneous notices. This step is used to configure how eZ Publish delivers outgoing E-mail. There are two options:
- Direct delivery through sendmail (must be available on the server)
- Indirect delivery using an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) relay server
On Linux/UNIX: try to use sendmail; use SMTP if sendmail is unavailable. On Windows: use the SMTP setting.
Sendmail
Mail is delivered directly using the sendmail transfer agent. The agent must be running on the same host as the webserver is running on. The sendmail binary is usually available on most Linux/UNIX systems. If sendmail is not available then SMTP should be used.
SMTP
Mail is delivered through an SMTP server. At the minimum, the hostname of the SMTP server must be specified.
Database type
The setup will automatically detect database support that has been made available for the PHP scripting engine. If both MySQL and PostgreSQL is supported, the database choice dialog will appear. If PHP only is setup only to support one type of database, eZ Publish will automatically use it and thus the database choice dialog will not be displayed.
Database initilization
Information about the hostname of the server running the database engine, and a username/password combination needs to be provided. When clicking "Next" and if MySQL is used, the setup wizard will attempt to connect to the database. The setup will only continue if it is able to connect to the specified MySQL server with the specified username/password combination. PostgreSQL parameters are tested at a later stage during the setup wizard.
Language support
This step allows the user to choose a language configuration for the site that is being installed. Only one primary language can be used. However, it is possible to use several additional languages. Additional languages allow the translation of content, miscellaneous date/number formats, the display of the administration interface using different languages and so on. The additional languages can be reconfigured at any time (even when a site is up and running) using the administration interface.
Site type
This step allows the user to select one of the built-in site types. eZ Publish comes with a collection of basic examples (News, Company, Intranet, Gallery, etc.). These examples are mostly for the purpose of demonstration and learning. However, it is possible to use them as a basic framework which you can extend/tweak in order to make it suitable for a specific purpose. A demo site usually contains some artwork (images), CSS code, actual content and template files. The plain type should be used when starting from scratch.
Site functionality
This step allows the selection of additional features / demo data that should be installed. These packages can also be installed at a later stage using the administration interface.
Access method
This step allows the configuration of the access method that should be used when eZ Publish receives a request. There are three options:
- URL
- Port
- Hostname
URL
When the URL access method is used, eZ Publish selects the site that should be accessed based on the contents of the URL (in particular the part that comes right after "index.php"). This is the default and most generic option. It doesn't require any additional configuration. Use this setting when installing eZ Publish for the first time.
Port
When the port access method is used, eZ Publish selects the site that should be accessed based on a port number that is specified in the URL. The port number must be appended to the hostname of the web server: "http://www.example.com:81/index.php". This option requires additional web server and firewall configuration. Use this setting only if you know what you're doing.
Hostname
When this access method is used, each site is assigned a unique hostname. For example, "www.example.com" and "admin.example.com" can be assigned to the public and the administration interface respectively. This option requires additional web and DNS server configuration. Use this setting only if you know what you're doing.
Site details
This step allows the modification of settings related to the site that is being installed. Please note that the "User path" and "Admin path" access values depend on which access method you choose. When the port access method is used these values are port numbers. If you use the URL access method then "User path" and "Admin path" should only contain letters, digits and underscores. If the hostname access method is used then some additional symbols like dashes, dots and colons are allowed whereas underscores aren't.
The available databases will be displayed in the database dropdown menu. The "Refresh" button can be used to update the list (if a database is being created at this point).
If the selected database already contains data, the "Site Details" page will reappear and ask what to do. Possible actions are:
- Leave the data and add new
- Remove existing data
- Leave the data and do nothing
- I've chosen a new database
Use the last option if another database has been chosen.
Site security
This step suggests some basic modifications that should be carried out in order to secure the site being installed. The suggested security tweak protects the configuration files from unwanted access. Don't worry about this unless you're setting up a site for public use.
Please note that the administrator's username (login) is set to "admin" by default and can not be changed. If you need another username for site administrator, you can install eZ Publish, create a new administrator user, log in as this user and remove the old one.
Site registration
This step allows you to control whether the setup should send an information E-mail to eZ Systems or not. The information will be used internally for statistics and for improving eZ Publish. No confidential data will be transmitted and eZ Systems will not misuse or sell these details. The following information will be sent:
- System details (OS type, etc)
- The test results
- The type of database that is being used
- The name of the site
- The URL of the site
- The languages that were chosen
Finished
The setup wizard has finished, eZ Publish is ready for use. Click on one of the links to access the various interfaces (public site, administration interface, etc.).
Balazs Halasy (14/01/2005 12:18 pm)
Svitlana Shatokhina (17/05/2006 10:10 am)
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