Install EPESI CRM on Ubuntu 16.04 / 17.10 / 18.04 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP 7.2 Support

EPESI is an open source CRM platform for businesses to manage their CRM needs, including organizing, processing and storing information in every business…. It offers CRM workflow engine and features that are intuitive and easy to configure and setup..

When looking for enterprise Customer Relationship Management platform for your business, EPESI CMS might a good place to start… this open source CRM software is built on the LAMP / LEMP stack and offer features that help you run your business and collaborate with your customers.

For an advanced CRM platform, you’ll find EPESI CMS to be useful. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install EPESI CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP 7.2 support.

To get started with installing EPESI CMS, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install Apache2

EPESI CMS needs a webserver… so go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, run the commands below to disable directory listing.

sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

Step 2: Install MariaDB

EPESI CMS also requires a database server.. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots..

Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
New password: Enter password
Re-enter new password: Repeat password
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mysql.service

Step 3: Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

If PHP 7.2 isn’t available on Ubuntu default repositories… you’ll have to enable a third party repository to install it…

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt update

Run the commands below to install PHP 7.1 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-soap php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-intl php7.2-mysql php7.2-cli php7.2-ldap php7.2-zip php7.2-curl

After install PHP, run the commands below to open Apache2 PHP default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

Then make the change the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 64M
max_execution_time = 30
display_errors = Off
max_input_vars = 1500
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Step 4: Create EPESI CMS Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create EPESI CMS database.

Run the commands below to logon to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called epesicrm

CREATE DATABASE epesicrm;

Create a database user called epesicrmuser with new password

CREATE USER 'epesicrmuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON epesicrm.* TO 'epesicrmuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download EPESI CMS Latest Release

Next, visit EPESI CMS site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into Apache2 root directory.

cd /tmp && wget https://github.com/Telaxus/EPESI/releases/download/v1.8.2/epesi-1.8.2-20170430.zip
unzip epesi-1.8.2-20170430.zip
sudo mv epesi-1.8.2-20170430/ /var/www/html/epesicrm

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Concrete5 to function.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/epesicrm/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/epesicrm/

Step 6: Configure Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for EPESI CMS. This file will control how users access EPESI CMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called epesicrm.conf

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

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/epesicrm/
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

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

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the EPESI CMS and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo a2ensite epesicrm.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Step 8 : Restart Apache2

To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see EPESI CMS setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com

Then follow the on-screen instructions until you’ve successfully installed EPESI CMS… Create an admin account, type in the database connection you created above and click Install