CKAN is an open-source data management platform that helps users to publish, organize, and find data. OpenBSD is an open-source Unix-like operating system that is known for its high security and reliability. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing CKAN on OpenBSD.
Before installing any software, it’s always a good idea to update the system to the latest version. Open up a terminal or SSH session and run the following command:
sudo sysupgrade
This command will upgrade to the latest version of OpenBSD.
CKAN has several dependencies that need to be installed before installing CKAN itself. Run the following command to install the dependencies:
sudo pkg_add -i python py-pip postgresql-server apache-httpd
This command installs Python, pip, the PostgreSQL server, and the Apache web server.
CKAN requires a PostgreSQL database to store information. First, let's create a user for CKAN to use. Run the following command:
sudo -u _postgresql createuser -SDR ckan_default
Then, create a new database for CKAN:
sudo -u _postgresql createdb -O ckan_default ckan_default -E utf-8
We will install CKAN using pip, Python's package manager. Run the following command to install CKAN:
sudo pip install --upgrade setuptools
sudo pip install ckan
CKAN needs to be configured to use the PostgreSQL database we created. First, create a new configuration file:
sudo cp /etc/ckan/default/production.ini /etc/ckan/default/development.ini
Then, open the development.ini file in your preferred text editor and find the following lines:
## SQLALCHEMY SETTINGS
sqlalchemy.url = postgresql://ckan_default@localhost/ckan_default
Uncomment the sqlalchemy.url line and replace the database details with the following:
## SQLALCHEMY SETTINGS
sqlalchemy.url = postgresql://ckan_default:password@localhost/ckan_default
Replace password with a secure password of your choice.
Save the changes and exit your text editor.
We need to initialize CKAN's database by running the following command:
paster --plugin=ckan db init -c /etc/ckan/default/development.ini
Finally, we need to start the Apache web server to serve CKAN. Run the following command:
sudo /etc/rc.d/apache2 start
Congratulations! You have successfully installed CKAN on OpenBSD. You can now access CKAN at http://localhost/. If you encounter any issues during the installation process, consult the CKAN troubleshooting guide or the OpenBSD documentation.
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!
