How to Install ownCloud on Arch Linux

ownCloud is a self-hosted cloud storage platform. It provides a safe, secure and efficient way for users to manage and store their files and data in a centralized repository. In this tutorial, we will be installing ownCloud on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

1. A running Arch Linux machine.
2. A user account with sudo privileges.

Step 1: Update System Packages

Before we begin, it is essential to ensure that your system packages are up-to-date. We can do this by running the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 2: Install Apache Web Server

We will be using Apache as our web server. To install Apache on Arch Linux, run the following command:

sudo pacman -S apache

Once installed, start the Apache service and enable it to start at boot:

sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

Step 3: Install PHP

ownCloud is written in PHP, so we need to install PHP along with required extensions. To install PHP on Arch Linux, run the following command:

sudo pacman -S php php-apache

Restart the Apache service for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 4: Install MariaDB

ownCloud requires a database backend to store its data. We will be using MariaDB as our database server. To install MariaDB on Arch Linux, run the following command:

sudo pacman -S mariadb

Once installed, start the MariaDB service and enable it to start at boot:

sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

By default, MariaDB is not secured, so we need to run a script that will secure it:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Step 5: Configure MariaDB

We need to create a database and a user for ownCloud to connect to MariaDB. Run the following command to log in to MariaDB:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your MariaDB root user password when prompted. Once you have logged in, run the following commands to create a database for ownCloud, a user, and grant privileges to the user:

CREATE DATABASE owncloud;
CREATE USER 'ocuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON owncloud.* TO 'ocuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace PASSWORD with a secure password of your choice.

Step 6: Download and Extract ownCloud

Download the latest version of ownCloud from https://owncloud.org/download/ and extract it to your Apache document root directory:

sudo pacman -S wget
sudo wget https://download.owncloud.org/community/owncloud-latest.tar.bz2 -P /srv/http/
sudo tar -xvjf /srv/http/owncloud-latest.tar.bz2 -C /srv/http/

Step 7: Configure Apache

Create a new Apache configuration file for ownCloud:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/extra/owncloud.conf

Paste the following content into the file:

Alias /owncloud "/srv/http/owncloud/"

<Directory /srv/http/owncloud/>
  Options +FollowSymlinks
  AllowOverride All

 <IfModule mod_dav.c>
  Dav off
 </IfModule>

 SetEnv HOME /srv/http/owncloud
 SetEnv HTTP_HOME /srv/http/owncloud

</Directory>

Save and exit the file.

Enable the Apache rewrite module:

sudo sed -i 's/^#\(LoadModule rewrite_module .*\)/\1/' /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Restart the Apache service:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 8: Install ownCloud

Navigate to http://localhost/owncloud in your web browser to complete the installation process.

Enter the following details when prompted:

• Database user: ocuser
• Database name: owncloud
• Database password: the password you set in Step 5

Click on the “Finish Setup” button to complete the installation.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed ownCloud on your Arch Linux machine. You can now use it to store your files and data securely in your own self-hosted cloud storage platform.

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