This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to easily install Moodle 3.3.2+ on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP support. For those who don’t know Moodle, it’s a free course management system (CMS) designed to help educators create great courses for students.
Many reputable universities and colleges are using this software to run their courses online. Students will also find it easy to use and work on. Teachers and students can also use it to collaborate and build great teaching materials.
This post covers installing the latest version of Moodle, which at the time of writing was at version 3.3.2+.
To get started with installing Moodle, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Install Apache2
Moodle requires a webserver to function and the most popular webserver in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:
sudo apt-get 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
Moodle also requires a database server to function. 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, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.
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.
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
After that, open MariaDB default configuration file by running the commands below:
sudo nano /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf
Then add the below lines just below [mysqld] section.
default_storage_engine = innodb innodb_file_per_table = 1 innodb_file_format = Barracuda innodb_large_prefix = 1
Save the file and exit.
Restart MariaDB server
sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service
Step 3: Install PHP and Related Modules
Moodle also requires PHP to function. To install PHP and related modules run the commands below
sudo apt-get install php php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-mysql php-cli php-mcrypt php-ldap php-zip php-curl
Step 4: Create Moodle 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 Moodle 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 moodle
CREATE DATABASE moodle;
Create a database user called moodleuser with new password
CREATE USER 'moodleuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON moodle.* TO 'moodleuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Step 5: Download Moodle Latest Release
Next, run the commands below to download Moodle latest release. The commands below to download Moodle archive package.
cd /tmp && wget https://download.moodle.org/download.php/direct/stable33/moodle-latest-33.tgz
Then run the commands below to extract the download file to Apache2 default root.
sudo tar -zxvf moodle-latest-33.tgz -C /var/www/html
Next create Moodle data directory. this is required.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/moodledata
Change modify the directory permission.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/
Step 6: Configure Apache2
Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for Moodle. This file will control how users access Moodle content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called moodle
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/moodle.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/moodle/
ServerName example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
Save the file and exit.
Step 7: Enable the Moodle site
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below
sudo a2ensite moodle.conf
Step 8 : Restart Apache2
To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below.
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Then browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see Moodle site setup wizard.
Follow the wizard until you’re done setting the site up. You’ll need to database name, user and password for the setup. When you’re done, Moodle should be installed and ready to use.
Enjoy~
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