How to Install Ralph on Void Linux

Ralph is an open-source asset management system used to manage IT assets such as servers, switches, and routers. It is written in Python and provides a web-based interface for managing IT assets. In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install Ralph on Void Linux.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you will need to:

• Access a command-line terminal with root privileges
• Initialize the xbps package manager

Step 1: Update the system

To ensure that your system is up to date, update the package cache by running the following command:

# xbps-install -S

Step 2: Install required packages

Install the required packages for Ralph to function by running the following command:

# xbps-install -y gcc libffi-devel libxml2-devel libxslt-devel openssl-devel postgresql postgresql-devel python3-devel tftp-hpa

Step 3: Install Ralph

Now we can install Ralph using pip, Python’s package manager:

# pip3 install --user ralph

Step 4: Setup PostgreSQL

Configure your PostgreSQL installation to work with Ralph by creating a new user and database:

1. Login as the postgres user: # su - postgres
2. Create a new user: # createuser --createdb --pwprompt ralph
3. Set a new password for the ralph user
4. Create a new database: # createdb --owner=ralph ralph

Step 5: Configure Ralph

The Ralph settings file can be found in the default location /usr/local/lib/python3.x/site-packages/ralph/settings/local.py. You can copy it to /etc/ralph/local.py which will override the default settings file, providing a permanent and flexible way of configuring Ralph. Edit the settings file as below:

SECRET_KEY = 'Replace this with a long secure key specific to your installation'
DEBUG = False
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']
DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': 'ralph',
        'USER': 'ralph',
        'PASSWORD': 'ralph_database_password',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '',
    }
}
CELERY_BROKER_URL = 'redis://localhost:6379/0'
CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND = 'redis://localhost:6379/0'

Ensure that the SECRET_KEY setting is replaced with an actual value.

Step 6: Migrate the database

Migrate the database by running the following command:

# ralph migrate --noinput

Step 7: Create a superuser

Create a superuser by running the following command:

# ralph createsuperuser

Step 8: Run Ralph

Finally, start the Ralph web server by running the following command:

# ralph runserver

Access Ralph on your browser by visiting the link http://<ip_address>:8000

Congratulations! You have installed Ralph on Void Linux.

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