How to Install Request Tracker on Manjaro

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install Request Tracker on Manjaro. Request Tracker is an open-source issue tracking system that helps you manage tasks and issues. It is a popular choice for IT teams and support departments.

Prerequisites

• A Manjaro OS with a sudo user account.
• A stable internet connection.

Step 1: Update your System

Before we begin with the installation, it is essential to update the system packages to their latest versions. Open the terminal and run the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

This command will update your system's packages.

Step 2: Install the Required Dependencies

To install Request Tracker, we need to install some dependencies. Run the following command to install Apache, MySQL, and Perl:

sudo pacman -S apache mariadb perl

After installing these dependencies, start the Apache and MariaDB services by running the following commands:

sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Step 3: Create a MySQL Database and User for Request Tracker

We need to create a new MySQL database and user for Request Tracker. Run the following commands to access the MariaDB shell:

sudo mysql -uroot

Once you're in, create a new database for Request Tracker:

CREATE DATABASE rt4 CHARACTER SET utf8;

Create a new user named rt_user and grant all permissions to the rt4 database:

CREATE USER 'rt_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'rt_pass';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON rt4.* TO 'rt_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Step 4: Install Request Tracker

Now that we've prepared the system, we can proceed with the installation of Request Tracker.

1. Download the latest version of Request Tracker from the official website: https://download.bestpractical.com/pub/rt/release/.

2. Extract the downloaded file to a directory of your choice. For example, let's extract it to /opt:

   sudo tar -xvf rt-5.0.1.tar.gz -C /opt/
   

3. Move to the extracted directory:

   cd /opt/rt-5.0.1/
   

4. Install Request Tracker by running the following command:

   sudo ./configure --with-web-user=www-data --with-web-group=www-data --with-db-dba=rt_user --with-db-database=rt4 --with-db-type=Pg
   sudo make install
   

   Note: The --with-db-type parameter can be set to MySQL if you prefer using MySQL instead of PostgreSQL. In that case, replace Pg with MySQL in the command.

5. After installation, initialize the Request Tracker database by running the following command:

   sudo make initialize-database
   

   You will be prompted to configure the email settings. You can either enter your SMTP settings or skip this step and configure it later.

6. Set the proper permissions for the Request Tracker files:

   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /opt/rt-5.0.1/
   

Step 5: Configure Apache for Request Tracker

Now that we've installed Request Tracker, we need to configure Apache to serve it.

1. Create a new Apache configuration file for Request Tracker:

   sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/extra/request-tracker.conf
   

2. Paste the following code into the file:

   Alias /rt/ "/opt/rt-5.0.1/share/html/"
   ScriptAlias /rt /opt/rt-5.0.1/sbin/rt-server.fcgi/
   
   <Directory "/opt/rt-5.0.1/share/html">
       Options FollowSymLinks
       # Unset Apache 1.3 compression
       AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css
       BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4 gzip-only-text/html
       BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4\.0[678] no-gzip
       BrowserMatch \bMSIE !no-gzip !gzip-only-text/html
       SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI \
       \.(?:gif|jpe?g|png)$ no-gzip dont-vary
       AllowOverride All
       Order allow,deny
       Allow from all
   </Directory>
   

   This code defines an alias for the Request Tracker files and sets some Apache configurations to serve it.

3. Restart Apache to apply the changes:

   sudo systemctl restart httpd
   

Step 6: Access Request Tracker

Now that we've completed the installation, we can access Request Tracker from the web browser. Open your favorite web browser and navigate to http://localhost/rt/. You should see the Request Tracker login page.

Log in with the default username and password:

• Username: root
• Password: password

Once you have logged in, you can begin configuring Request Tracker to suit your needs.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have learned how to install Request Tracker on Manjaro. Once you have installed Request Tracker, you can begin using it to manage your issues and tasks. If you encounter any issues during the installation process, refer to the official documentation or seek help from the community.

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