User:Revansx/meza/Installing MEZA 35.x on a local Rock Linux 8 VM from scratch

This procedure is meant to show users how to they can test Mediawiki via Meza without actually needing a dedicated physical computer.

Prerequisite Downloads

 * 1) Download Oracle VirtualBox from: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
 * 2) *(Windows users will click the "Windows Hosts" link)
 * 3) Download the DVD ISO image of Rocky Linux 8 86x 64 bit installation DVD from:https://download.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/8/isos/x86_64/Rocky-x86_64-dvd1.iso

Install Oracle VirtualBox

 * 1) Click the VirtualBox Software Installed you downloaded above
 * 2) Perform a default installation (default are fine)

Define a new VM in VBox (RL8NEW)

 * 1) Launch VM VirtualBox Manager
 * 2) Click "New"
 * 3) Create Virtual Machine Dialogue Box
 * 4)  Set Name as: "RL8NEW" 
 * 5) Note the location of the machine folder on the local file system (this is where the VM lives as a file or files)
 * 6) Select Type: Linux
 * 7) Select Version: Red Hat (64-bit)
 * 8) Click "Next"
 * 9) Configure Memory Size: 4096M
 * 10) Create Virtual Machine virtual disk
 * 11) *Create a virtual hard disk now
 * 12) *Click "CREATE"
 * 13) Configure Hard Disk File Type
 * 14) *Choose: VDI (Virtual Hard Disk)
 * 15) *Click "NEXT"
 * 16) Configure Storage on Physical hard disk
 * 17) *Choose: Dynamically Allocated
 * 18) *Click "NEXT"
 * 19) Create Virtual Hard Disk
 * 20) Note path of vdi file
 * 21) Set size to: 40GB
 * 22) Click "CREATE"

Prep for a fresh install of RockLinux8

 * 1) Launch VM VirtualBox Manager
 * 2) Click "RL8NEW" machine on the left to select the "RL8NEW" machine
 * 3) Click "SETTINGS" in the top menu (big yellow gear)
 * 4) VM - Settings
 * 5) Click "General" on the left - Then click the "Advanced" tab
 * 6) Set "Shared Clipboard" to "bidirectional"
 * 7) Set "Dag'n'Drop" to "bidirectional"
 * 8) Click "Network" on the left
 * 9) ensure Adapter 1 is enabled and attached to NAT
 * 10) ensure Adapter 2 is enabled and attached to NAT
 * 11) Click "Storage" on the left
 * 12) Click the Empty Blue Disk Icon to select the optical drive
 * 13) on the right, click the Blue Disk Icon with the little black pulldown arrow on the far right
 * 14) In the dialogue box the appears, browse for and select the Rocky Linux 8 DVD ISO file (that you downloaded above)
 * 15) ensure that the "Live CD/DVD" checkbox is selected
 * 16) Click "General" on the left
 * 17) Select Advanced -> Shared Clipboard: Bidirectional
 * 18) Click "OK" to close settings

Install Rock Linux 8

 * 1) Start the RL8NEW VM
 * 2) Click "Start" in the top menu (big green arrow)
 * 3) Short start-up diagnostics
 * 4) Rocky Linux 8 install screens
 * 5) Using your arrows, select "Install Rocky Linux 8" and press "Enter"
 * 6) watch more loading messages
 * 7) ROCKLINUX8 INSTALLATION SCREEN
 * 8) Choose "English", Continue
 * 9) Click "SOFTWARE SELECTION", select "Workstation" (no other options), Click "DONE"
 * 10) Click "Root Password" - set root password to "abcd1234" (click twice to confirm such a simple password - don't worry this is just a VM)
 * 11) Click "INSTALLTION DESTINATION", Click "DONE" (this selects the default option of automatic partitioning of the only available disk)
 * 12) Click "NETWORK & HOST NAME", make sure each network adapter is ENABLED and at least one of them is showing as "CONNECTED", click DONE
 * 13) Click "Begin Installation"
 * 14) wait while it downloads packages
 * 15) when complete
 * 16) (virtually) eject the Rocky Linux 8 DVD.iso disk from the virtual optical drive
 * 17) REBOOT When instructed

Perform updates and other misc post install configurations

 * 1) Login to the RL8NEW VM
 * 2) Short start-up diagnostics
 * 3) Rocky Linux 8
 * 4) Using your arrows, select "Rocky8" and press "Enter"
 * 5) more loading messages
 * 6) ROCKY LINUX 8 INITIAL SETUP SCREEN
 * 7) Choose "LICENSE INFO", agree to whatever, click Done
 * 8) Create the "userx" user (create with password "abcd1234")
 * 9) Click FINISH CONFIGURATION
 * 10) Login Screen
 * 11) *Click "not listed" to type the username
 * 12) *Type "root" and provide the root user's password to login (abcd1234)
 * 13) *Choose English
 * 14) Initialize userx account settings
 * 15) *Turn off location services - click next
 * 16) *SKIP - connect your online account
 * 17) *CLICK - Start Using Rocky Linux
 * 18) **NOTE - You are at the GUI desktop - congratulations
 * 19) *Close the "Getting started" window
 * 20) USER DESKTOP
 * 21) Applications --> System Tools --> Setting --> Power --> Power Saving --> "Blank Screen"
 * 22) Applications --> Firefox --> Verify internet connection by opening a browser and visiting www.nasa.gov, close the bowser
 * 23) Applications --> System Tools --> Terminal
 * 24) FROM TERMINAL
 * 25) watch the system update
 * 26) Reboot
 * 1) Reboot
 * 1) Reboot
 * 1) Reboot

Install Guest Additions

 * 1) Login to the RL8NEW VM as userx
 * 2) Short start-up diagnostics
 * 3) Applications --> System Tools --> Terminal
 * 4) Add Epel Repository
 * 5) Install Kernel headers and DKMS
 * 6) Update Rocky Linux Kernel
 * 7) Insert Install Guest Additions CD Image
 * 8) Go to the Virtualbox menu >> Device and then select the “Install Guest Additions CD Image…” option.
 * 9) Install VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
 * 10) Enable Share Clip and Drag & Drop features
 * 11) Click on the Devices given in the Oracle VirtualBox menu and then click Share Clipboard and select “Bidirectional”. In the same way, select Drag & Drop and choose the Bidirectional option.
 * 12) Restart Rocky VM
 * 1) Install VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
 * 2) Enable Share Clip and Drag & Drop features
 * 3) Click on the Devices given in the Oracle VirtualBox menu and then click Share Clipboard and select “Bidirectional”. In the same way, select Drag & Drop and choose the Bidirectional option.
 * 4) Restart Rocky VM
 * 1) Enable Share Clip and Drag & Drop features
 * 2) Click on the Devices given in the Oracle VirtualBox menu and then click Share Clipboard and select “Bidirectional”. In the same way, select Drag & Drop and choose the Bidirectional option.
 * 3) Restart Rocky VM
 * 1) Restart Rocky VM

Verify that the guest additions are installed properly

 * 1) Login to the RL8NEW VM as "userx"
 * 2) from the command line, run:   to verify that the guest additions are installed
 * 3) maximize the VM window and confirm that the screen scales
 * 4) then restore it to some non-maximized size
 * 5) click in the VM and then move the mouse out of the VM window and verify that the mouse transitions in and out of the VM window without having to press the CTRL key

STOP - CONGRATULATIONS

 * 1) stop
 * 2) congratulations - your Rocky Linux 8 VM is finally set-up
 * 3) Be sure to CLONE this system using VBox before proceeding to install MEZA

Why? - All of the the preceding steps are rather time consuming and if you ever want to set-up a fresh new VM to test something, you'll appreciate the ability to just start with a clone of this system.

Clone the new system

 * 1) If you haven't already - Turn off the fresh new installed VM
 * 2) From the Orable VBox Manager Application
 * 3) Right-Click on the RL8NEW VM option in the left side menu
 * 4) click CLONE
 * 5) Name: RL8MezaTest1
 * 6) click - NEXT
 * 7) choose "Full clone"
 * 8) click CLONE
 * 9) watch the system get cloned

Start the RL8NEW VM

 * 1) From the Orable VBox Manager Application
 * 2) Click on the RL8MezaTest1 VM option in the left-side menu
 * 3) Click Start in the main section top menu
 * 4) Log in as userx
 * 5) Verify that SELinux is disabled
 * 6) From the CLI type:
 * 7) If the result is   then proceed
 * 8) If the result is not   then:
 * 9) edit the line that sets selinux as   to
 * 10) reboot
 * 11) Verify the SELinux is disabled
 * 12) Type
 * 13) The result should be
 * 1) The result should be

Install Meza
 Using a fresh clone of a Clean New Rocky Linux 8 VM 

At this point.. you should have a fully installed and fully updated Rocky Linux 8 Linux Workstation with all the VBox Guest Additions installed.

Now its time to install Meza 😎 ..


 * 1) Login to the RL8MezaTest1 VM
 * 2) From the RL8MezaTest1 Desktop --> Applications --> System Tools --> Terminal:
 * 3) *watch the package manager install the Git
 * 4) *watch git download the meza project from Github and install it in the  folder
 * 5) *change to the /opt/meza directory
 * 6) *switch to the 35.x branch of meza
 * 7) Verify that you are on the "35.x" branch
 * 8) if you get an error about a dubious ownership then you will need to mark the repo as "safe" using the following command
 * 9)  Only proceed once you have confirmed that you are on the 35.x branch 
 * 10) go back down to the /opt directory
 * 11)  to return to the /opt directory
 * 12) *watch the getmeza.sh shell script perform all the first-time only configurations and install the meza playbooks as ansible commands
 * 13) If you get an update error regarding ansible
 * 14) then:
 * 15) verify that sudo dnf update runs without error
 * 16) DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL SUDO DNF UPDATE RUNS WITHOUT ISSUE
 * 17) *When prompted: enter:  as the target
 * 18) *When prompted : press enter to have meza generate a database password for you
 * 19) * Watch meza install and configure the entire MediaWiki software stack and all dependencies and extensions to the default 'monolith' environment
 * 20) **If you encounter an issue, please let us know in the talk page so we can address it.
 * 21) * Wait  for Meza to finish and report all tasks completed with no errors
 * 22) **Possible glitch - The Check for Python3 fail at the very end of the deployment is a known issue: https://github.com/enterprisemediawiki/meza/issues/1266, but does not impact the deployment.
 * 23) ***Until that task is fixed it would be entirely reasonable to comment it out at the very end of
 * 24) This will setup a demo wiki with the user  with password.
 * 25) From RL8MezaTest1 Desktop --> Applications --> Internet --> Firefox
 * 26) visit
 * 27) Click on the Demo Wiki
 * 28) Login as  with password
 * 29) Gratz! .. You are done.
 * 1) * Wait  for Meza to finish and report all tasks completed with no errors
 * 2) **Possible glitch - The Check for Python3 fail at the very end of the deployment is a known issue: https://github.com/enterprisemediawiki/meza/issues/1266, but does not impact the deployment.
 * 3) ***Until that task is fixed it would be entirely reasonable to comment it out at the very end of
 * 4) This will setup a demo wiki with the user  with password.
 * 5) From RL8MezaTest1 Desktop --> Applications --> Internet --> Firefox
 * 6) visit
 * 7) Click on the Demo Wiki
 * 8) Login as  with password
 * 9) Gratz! .. You are done.

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