How to Install SuiteCRM on Elementary OS Latest

SuiteCRM is a powerful open-source CRM software that is designed to help businesses manage customer data, sales, marketing, and other business processes. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the installation process of SuiteCRM on Elementary OS Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure the following requirements are met:

• You have a running instance of Elementary OS Latest.
• You have access to the terminal and have sudo privileges.
• You have installed LAMP stack (Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP) or have LEMP stack (Nginx, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP).

Step 1: Download SuiteCRM

To download SuiteCRM, open your web browser and go to https://suitecrm.com/download. Click on the "Download" button to download the latest stable version of SuiteCRM.

Once downloaded, extract the archive to your desired location.

Alternatively, you can download the latest version of SuiteCRM using the terminal.

cd /tmp
wget https://suitecrm.com/files/162/SuiteCRM-7.11/502/SuiteCRM-7.11.20.zip 

Step 2: Create a Database for SuiteCRM

Before we begin with the installation process, we need to create a new database and user for SuiteCRM.

Open the terminal and log in to the MySQL shell using the following command:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your MySQL root password when prompted.

Now, create a new database for SuiteCRM using the CREATE DATABASE command:

CREATE DATABASE suitecrm_db;

Next, create a new user and grant it full permissions to the database using the following commands:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON suitecrm_db.* TO 'suitecrm_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Replace 'password' with a secure password of your choice.

Step 3: Configure Apache/Nginx for SuiteCRM

We need to create a virtual host file for SuiteCRM to run properly.

Apache

If you are using Apache, create a new virtual host file with the following command:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/suitecrm.conf

Add the following configuration to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your_domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/suitecrm

    <Directory /var/www/html/suitecrm>
        Options FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/suitecrm_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/suitecrm_access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Replace "your_domain.com" with your domain name or IP address.

Save and close the file.

Nginx

If you are using Nginx, create a new virtual host file with the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/suitecrm.conf

Add the following configuration to the file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;
    root /var/www/html/suitecrm;
    index index.php;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/suitecrm_access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/suitecrm_error.log;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
    }
}

Replace "your_domain.com" with your domain name or IP address.

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Install SuiteCRM

Now, it's time to install SuiteCRM.

Copy the extracted SuiteCRM folder to your web server's document root directory.

sudo cp -r /tmp/SuiteCRM-7.11.20 /var/www/html/suitecrm

Give the ownership of the SuiteCRM folder to the Apache/Nginx user.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/suitecrm

Now, go to your browser and navigate to the following URL:

http://your_domain.com/install.php

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the SuiteCRM installation process.

When you are prompted to enter the database details, enter the following:

• Database Name: suitecrm_db
• Database User: suitecrm_user
• Database Password: password
• Host Name: localhost

Step 5: Secure SuiteCRM

By default, SuiteCRM is not secured, and anyone with access to your server can access it. To secure SuiteCRM, perform the following steps:

Create an SSL certificate (Optional)

If you have a domain name, it is recommended to secure the SuiteCRM installation using an SSL certificate. You can obtain a free SSL certificate using Let's Encrypt.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:certbot/certbot
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install certbot

Replace 'your_domain_name.com' with your domain name.

sudo certbot --nginx -d your_domain_name.com

Restrict Access to SuiteCRM

Create a .htaccess file in the SuiteCRM directory with the following contents:

Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.1

<Files "index.php"> 
   Order deny,allow
   Deny from all
</Files>

<FilesMatch "(?i)((\.tpl|\.php(?<!ph)\d?)|(?<!^\.)\.htaccess)">
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
</FilesMatch>

Save and close the file.

Give ownership to the .htaccess file to the Apache/Nginx user.

sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/www/html/suitecrm/.htaccess

Restart Apache/Nginx for the changes to take effect.

sudo systemctl restart apache2

or

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install SuiteCRM on Elementary OS. You have learned how to download and install SuiteCRM, create a database, configure a virtual host for Apache/Nginx, and secure it with an SSL certificate and .htaccess file. With SuiteCRM, you can streamline your business processes and improve customer relations.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!