Table Of ContentKoha 3 Library Management
System
Install, configure, and maintain your Koha installation
with this easy-to-follow guide
Savitra Sirohi
Amit Gupta
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Koha 3 Library Management System
Copyright © 2010 Packt Publishing
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First published: November 2010
Production Reference: 1091110
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
32 Lincoln Road
Olton
Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.
ISBN 978-1-849510-82-0
www.packtpub.com
Cover Image by John M. Quick ([email protected])
Credits
Authors Editorial Team Leader
Savitra Sirohi Akshara Aware
Amit Gupta
Project Team Leader
Priya Mukherji
Reviewers
Kyle M Hall
Project Coordinator
Vimal Kumar V
Srimoyee Ghoshal
Acquisition Editor
Proofreaders
Steven Wilding
Aaron Nash
Clyde Jenkins
Development Editor
Wilson D'souza
Graphics
Nilesh Mohite
Technical Editor
Kavita Iyer
Production Coordinator
Adline Swetha Jesuthas
Indexer
Hemangini Bari
Cover Work
Adline Swetha Jesuthas
About the Authors
Savitra Sirohi heads Nucsoft OSS Labs (http://www.osslabs.biz) – a
Koha services provider. As part of his work, Savitra has lead several Koha
implementations and conducts regular Koha workshops in India. Savitra is an
Engineer and has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management.
We would like to thank Kyle Hall, Vimal Kumar, and Nicole Engard
and other members of the Koha community who took the time to
review the chapter drafts. Their perspective and expertise helped
improve this book immeasurably.
Many thanks are due to Wilson, Kavita, Srimoyee, Steven, and others
at Packt for their expertise and hard work and also their patience
with these first time authors.
Amit Gupta is the lead Koha specialist at Nucsoft OSS Labs (http://www.
osslabs.biz), a Koha services provider. Amit has played a key role in several Koha
implementations, including the one at Delhi Public Library, one of India's biggest
Koha projects. Amit has a BSc and a Master's in Computer Applications.
About the Reviewers
Kyle M Hall is an IT specialist for the Meadville Public Library and the Crawford
County Federated Library System of Pennsylvania is a Free Open Source Software
advocate and software developer. His contributions to Koha include bugfixes and
new features, as well as the Koha Off-line Circulation system. In addition to his
work with Koha, he is also the author of a FOSS Kiosk Management System, Libk
(http://libki.org), a cross-platform system for controlling access to computers
via logins and time limits.
Vimal Kumar is a library professional with genuine interest in Linux and open
source software. He is an active member of Koha community. He has a Master's
degree in Library and Information Science from University of Kerala. He has done
an evaluative study of open source library management system conducted in 2005
for the completion of MLISc degree project. During the past few years he has been
active as a resource person for Koha training programs. He has been working with
Mahatma Gandhi University Library and has also presented many papers in national
and international conferences.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Installing the Software Stack 7
An orientation to Koha's installation 7
Koha's architecture 8
What do we need to install? 8
Installation tools 8
Package manager 9
Make utility 9
CPAN shell 9
Git 9
Choosing between Linux Perl packages and CPAN modules 10
Choosing a Linux distribution 10
Getting help—Koha's community resources 10
Preparing for installation 11
Server prerequisites 11
Downloading Koha and switching to a branch 11
Cloning Koha 11
Checking out a branch 12
Preparing a list of installation packages 12
System packages 13
Perl modules 13
Debian/Ubuntu package lists 14
Setting up repositories or sources 14
Configuring the CPAN shell 15
Installing Koha's software stack 16
Installing packages using the package manager 16
Installing packages from the Linux prompt 16
Installing packages using shell scripts 16
Table of Contents
Installing packages using dselect 17
Installing Perl modules using CPAN 17
Troubleshooting CPAN installations 18
Setting up Koha's MySQL database 19
Configuring Koha's installation: Makefile.PL 20
Completing Koha's installation 21
Summary 21
Chapter 2: Configuring the Apache2 Web Server 23
Understanding Apache2 configuration 23
About Apache2 23
Apache2 virtual hosts 24
Name-based or IP-based virtual hosts 24
Apache2's configuration folder 25
Koha's default Apache2 file 26
Koha's virtual hosts 26
Virtual host configuration 27
Preparing for Apache2 configuration 27
Configuration plan 27
Two host names 28
Hostname with two ports 28
IP address with two ports 29
Two IP addresses 30
Standalone machine 30
Configuration prerequisites 31
Configuring Apache2 web server 31
Creating a symbolic link to koha-httpd.conf 31
Enabling Apache2's Rewrite module 32
Configuring the listener 32
Editing the OPAC virtual host 32
Editing the staff client virtual host 33
Enabling Koha's virtual hosts 33
Restarting Apache2 33
Troubleshooting configuration problems 35
Rewrite module not enabled 36
Incorrect or missing Directory directive 36
Unable to connect to MySQL 36
Listener not setup 37
Summary 38
[ ii ]
Table of Contents
Chapter 3: Installing Koha's Zebra Search Engine 39
About Zebra 39
Koha's Zebra related components 40
Zebrasrv—the Zebra query and retrieval server 40
Rebuild_zebra.pl—the Zebra index maintenance program 41
Installing Zebra 41
Installing Zebra packages 41
Installing Koha with Zebra 42
Testing Zebra 42
Testing zebrasrv 43
The zebrasrv command 43
Invoking zebrasrv with Koha's configuration file 43
zebrasrv daemon 44
Zebrasrv daemon on Debian or Ubuntu 44
zebrasrv daemon on openSuSE 45
Rebuilding Zebra 46
Creating or recreating indexes 48
Using Koha without Zebra 48
Summary 50
Chapter 4: Koha's Web Installer, Crontab, and Other Server
Configurations 51
Executing Koha's web installer 51
Understanding the web installer's functions 52
Understanding how to execute the web installer 52
Understanding optional data available for import 54
Settings for MARC frameworks 54
Other data 55
Executing the web installer 56
Launching Koha 57
Configuring the crontab 58
Editing the crontab 58
Setting up environment variables 58
Generating advance notices 59
Generating overdue notices 59
Sending e-mail messages 59
Calculating fines 59
Rebuilding Zebra indexes 60
More crontab examples 60
Ensuring Koha starts automatically on server reboot 60
Auto-starting Apache2 61
Auto-starting MySQL 61
Auto-starting Zebra server 61
[ iii ]
