Installation Help

Table of Contents

• Step 1: Install and Configure Your Web Server
  • Pick your Web Server
  • Notes for your Server
• Step 2: Copy the ALP files onto the Web Server
• Step 3: Edit the {%ALP_DIRECTORY%}/_config.php File
• Step 4: Installing
• Step 5: Registering the Super Administrator Account.
• Step 6: Read the Using ALP Guide

Step 1: Install and Configure Your Web Server

Note: Skip to Step 2 if you already have a working web server with new(-ish) versions of PHP and MySQL (4+).

It is highly recommended that, before you attempt to install ALP, that you have a working knowledge of how to install a web server (with PHP and MySQL). if you do not possess these skills, you will have to learn them before you can take advantage of our software. It is really a lot easier than it seems. If you have a windows server, it really is just clicking the mouse a few times and copying a few lines of text. If you have a linux server, you obviously already have the technical capability necessary to complete a trivial task such as this. If you need some help, here are a few links to documentation from the companies that produce their software. These should put you on your way. If you run into any more snags, just type your question into Google and you will find what you need. If that doesn't help, head into our forums. Make sure you use the search feature to see if anyone has already asked a similar question before.

Related Links

• ALP Forum: Windows Installation
• ALP Forum: Linux Installation

Pick your Web Server

• Apache 2.0 on Windows
• Apache 2.0 on *nix
• Apache 1.3 on Windows?
• Apache 1.3 on *nix

• Tips for MySQL on Windows

Notes for your Server

Make sure that the web server that you are using to host ALP is set up to have a static IP address. This can be achieved by modifying your DHCP server settings to have a longer leasing period (to ensure that the web server IP address is not released prematurely), OR you can specify the IP address in the TCP/IP settings. Either way that you do it, you might still have some IP address conflicts due to a few people not setting their computer up to use DHCP, or someone specifies their IP manually to be the same IP address as the web server. Those problems will have to be resolved as you go, but can be minimized by telling your users exactly how to set up their TCP/IP settings when they come in the door.

Step 2: Copy the ALP files onto the Web Server

Take the ALP file you downloaded from our Sourceforge Page and unzip the contents. Put all of the files in your web server document root folder. For example, yours might be C:\httpd\Apache2\www\, if that's what you set your web server up to use. This directory will now be referred to as the {%ALP_DIRECTORY%}

Step 3: Edit the {%ALP_DIRECTORY%}/_config.php File

Open up the _config.php file located in the root ALP directory on the web server with a text editor. Edit all the variables it says you need to edit. You shouldn't have to edit any of the variables in the overrides section, unless you're having problems.

Step 4: Installing

Open up your web browser and browse to your server. You want to go to the =http://%YOUR_SERVER_LOCATION%/install/install.php

The script will validate your _config.php variables, your php.ini variables, and a few other things.

Make sure you delete everything in the install folder on your web server before continuing, otherwise anyone will be able to go into your server and reset your database.

Step 5: Registering the Super Administrator Account.

In step 3, you should have specified a super administrator username in your _config.php file. In your web browser, bring up http://%YOUR_SERVER_LOCATION%/register.php and register an account with the same username as the one you specified in the _config.php. This will automatically promote you to super administrator.

Step 6: Read the Using ALP Guide

Using ALP