Covalent Managed Server,
Powered by Apache
Quick Start Guide

This Quick Start Guide is meant to get experienced users started quickly.

Please refer to the Covalent Managed Server, Powered by Apache User Guide for more detailed information. The guide is available as UserGuide.pdf in the distribution or online at http://www.covalent.net/support/managed.

Document conventions

This guide uses the following conventions:


Convention	Use
Bold	Tools and options, references to Web sites. For example, the Installation Program.
Courier	File names, path names, file contents, and commands you execute. For example, ./setup.
Courier Italic	Variables that you should replace with your system's information. For example, in /path/to/apache1.3 replace /path/to with your system's directory path.

Installation requirements

To install the Covalent Managed Server, you need the following:

The X Window System for the graphical user interfaces.

NOTE: If you do not have the X Window System, use the text-based user interface. Instructions are provided for both options. However, if you plan to use the Comanche tool, you need the X Window System.
The gzip decompression utility.
If you plan to install the mod_perl module, you need Perl 5.005 or 5.6. For details on finding your current version of Perl, see Troubleshooting.
If you use Solaris and you plan to install Java Servlets or JavaServer Pages, install all required patches for your platform. For specifics, see:

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/install-solaris-patches.html

Using the evaluation version

This guide focuses on the distribution version of the Covalent Managed Server. If you are using the distribution version, proceed to Downloading and unpacking.

If you are evaluating the Covalent Managed Server, please note the following differences in the evaluation version and refer to this information as you use the guide.

Distribution file name:

The distribution file name for the evaluation version is:

managed-1.*-1.3.*-platform-evaluation.tar.gz

Server startup delay:

Depending upon the modules you install, there is a delay ranging from 10 to 30 seconds during server startup.

Server time limit:

After you start the server, it will run for ten days before automatically shutting down.

If you install Covalent SSL:

The evaluation version automatically generates a new self-signed certificate and private key during each server startup. You do not need to generate a server certificate or private key with the Covalent SSL Certificate and Key Management Tool.
You cannot install a server certificate signed by a Certificate Authority while using the evaluation version of Covalent SSL.
When you start the server with SSL, you will see messages stating that the directives SSLCertificateFile and SSLCertificateKeyFile are ignored in the evaluation module. You can safely disregard these messages.
Because the evaluation version ignores the SSLCertificateFile and SSLCertificateKeyFile directives, the prompt for the pass phrase to decrypt the private key will not display when you start the server with SSL.
The evaluation version offers 56-bit encryption. The fully-functional version supports 128-bit encryption.

If you install Covalent SNMP:

There is a ten-day trial period. After the trial period expires, the Covalent SNMP module will not function.

Downloading and unpacking

If you do not have the Covalent Managed Server 1.0 distribution, purchase the full release at:

http://www.covalent.net/products/managed
Download the distribution using the instructions you received when you completed your purchase.
To unpack the distribution, execute:

gunzip -c managed-1.*-1.3.*-platform-distribution.tar.gz | tar xvf -

NOTE: Spaces and capitalization are significant.

The distribution files unpack to the directory managed-1.* below your current directory.

Installing the Covalent Managed Server

Start the Installation Program.

If you are logged in as root, execute the following:


For graphical mode	For text mode
cd managed-1.* ./setup	cd managed-1.* ./setup --textmode

If you are not logged in as root, execute the following to log in as root and start the installation program:


For graphical mode	For text mode
xhost +servername su root cd managed-1.* ./setup	su root cd managed-1.* ./setup --textmode

NOTE: If you do not have root permissions, refer to Troubleshooting.

After you start the Installation Program, the Welcome screen displays.

Figure 1 The graphical Welcome screen

====================================================================
Welcome to the Covalent Managed Server installation program


====================================================================
Please select the directory where you want to
install Covalent Managed Server
Directory [/usr/local/covalent] ->

Figure 2 The text Welcome screen

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation process.

NOTE: You must install Covalent Managed Server and related packages on a non-NFS-mounted drive.

The Installation Program installs the Covalent Managed Server and related packages in the directories you choose during the interactive installation process. If you use the default settings, Covalent Managed Server and related packages are installed under the top level directory /usr/local/covalent.

Generating a private key and temporary server certificate

To start your server with Covalent SSL, you must first generate a private key and temporary server certificate. A private key and server certificate are essential elements of the SSL protocol.

Covalent SSL includes a graphical interface for certificate and key management. You can also use a text-based interface.

To generate a private key and temporary server certificate:

Start the Covalent SSL Certificate and Key Management Tool in the
/path/to/ssl1.5/bin directory.

For the graphical interface, execute:

./sslctl

For the text interface, execute:

./sslctl --textmode

Select Generate Certificate and Key from the options that display.
Follow the onscreen instructions to generate a private key and temporary certificate for your server, then exit the Covalent SSL Certificate and Key Management Tool.

Starting and stopping your server

After you install the Covalent Managed Server and generate your private key and temporary server certificate, you can use the covalent-managed-ctl script to start and stop your server.

To start the Covalent Managed Server with all modules except Covalent SSL:

/path/to/apache1.3/bin/covalent-managed-ctl start

To start the Covalent Managed Server with all modules including Covalent SSL:

/path/to/apache1.3/bin/covalent-managed-ctl startssl

To stop the Covalent Managed Server:

/path/to/apache1.3/bin/covalent-managed-ctl stop

Testing your installation

After you complete the installation process, you are ready to test your new installation. This section describes how to test components of your Covalent Managed Server installation using the Covalent Managed Server Web page.

Accessing the Covalent Managed Server Web page

Start your server.

If you installed Covalent SSL, execute:

/path/to/apache1.3/bin/covalent-managed-ctl startssl

If you did not install Covalent SSL, execute:

/path/to/apache1.3/bin/covalent-managed-ctl start

Open a browser and connect to your server by typing:

http://yourserver.com

The Covalent Managed Server Web page displays. This page gives you links to examples for testing selected modules. The page also includes links to online module documentation and other resources.

NOTE: The page displays the documentation and examples for the modules you install. If you do not install mod_perl, for example, the corresponding mod_perl documentation and example links are omitted.

Instructions for using the examples to test components of your installation follow.

NOTE: The first time you access an example page for mod_perl, PHP, server-side Java, or the Covalent SNMP module, a prompt for your username and password displays. Type covalent for the username and the password you defined during the installation process. If your browser caches this information, the prompt will not display again because the same username and password protects all of these examples.

Testing mod_perl

On the main Covalent Managed Server Web page, select the Mod Perl link under the Examples heading.
Select the link Click on this, which is directly under the main Mod Perl Examples heading.
A prompt for your username and password displays. Type covalent for the username, and type the password you defined during the installation process.

If you do not remember your password, please refer to Troubleshooting.
The Congratulations page displays, stating that mod_perl is installed and running on your system.

Select the back link in the upper right corner to return to the Mod Perl Examples page. Select back again to return to the main Covalent Managed Server Web page.

Testing Covalent SNMP

Testing Covalent SNMP if you installed as a root user

The following steps only apply if you installed Covalent SNMP as a root user. If you did not install as a root user, skip these steps and proceed to Testing Covalent SNMP if you installed as a non-root user.

Start your Apache Web server.
To test SNMPv1 enter the following, where public is your community string:

/path/to/conductor1.0/bin/snmpwalk -v 1 localhost public

The expected output for this command looks like this:

system.sysDescr.0 = FreeBSD localhost 4.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 4.1- Fri Jul i386
system.sysObjectID.0 = OID: enterprises.covalent.covalentGenericMIB.ctGenericOSoid.255
system.sysUpTime.0 = Timeticks: (2340) 0:00:23.40
system.sysContact.0 = Covalent SNMP Conductor <webmaster@localhost.com>
system.sysName.0 = localhost
system.sysLocation.0 = Apache Server with Covalent SNMP Conductor
...

To test SNMPv2c enter the following, where public is your community string: