This chapter is aimed at enabling you to understand and carry out various aspects of the Alfresco WCM installation and configuring various components around it. A basic understanding of Alfresco architecture, various installation options, and the key terminologies used are all a part of this chapter. The Alfresco development environment needs to be set in place before we can work with the tools.
The installation procedures can also vary depending on the kind of system you have in place to set up and configure Alfresco. First, we will go through the installation procedures for a Microsoft Windows-based system. Linux-based systems also follow similar steps. We will go into detail later in the chapter.
At the end of this chapter, you will have learned the following:
- Components to install
- Configuring the Alfresco Setup
- The WCM Component
- Setting up the Alfresco WCM development environment
Following is the list of softwares you need on your machine before you install Alfresco:
|
Component |
Recommendation |
|---|---|
|
Java SE Development Kit (JDK) |
JDK 6 is required. |
|
Database |
Alfresco comes preconfigured with the MySQL database. If you intend to use a different database, install and configure the database before you install Alfresco. |
|
OpenOffice.org |
Alfresco uses OpenOffice for transforming documents from one format to another, for example, a text file to a PDF file. If you do not install OpenOffice, you will not have access to the transformation functionality. |
|
Flash Player Version 10.x |
Alfresco Share requires Flash Player Version 10.x to upload multiple files and view Flash previews. If you do not install Flash, you see the upload screen for single files. |
|
SWFTools |
Alfresco Share uses the pdf2swf utility for previewing PDF files. If you do not install SWFTools, you will not see PDF previews, but image previews will still be available. |
Alfresco runs within an instance of the Tomcat application server. The installers and the Tomcat bundles are preconfigured with Tomcat. If you wish to install Alfresco within another application server, use the Alfresco WAR file.
A Java SE Development Kit (JDK) must be installed on your system before you install Alfresco. Some Alfresco installation wizards will detect whether you have a JDK on your machine and, if not, install a version for you. This task explains how to install JDK manually:
- Browse to the Sun Microsystems Java download website: http://java.sun.com.
- Select and download Java Development Kit (JDK) 6 for your platform.
- If prompted, specify a location in which to download.
- Navigate to where you downloaded the JDK.
- Install the JDK on your system.
After the JDK is installed on your system, verify that the JAVA_HOME environment variable is set.