Ctrl+K
What do you think about our new Documentation Layout? Take the survey
Back to Documentation Hub

Preliminary Tasks

Preliminary Tasks#

Before starting with the actual installation, carry out the following two tasks on each Node.

Task 1. Configure repositories

In order to add Carbonio’s repository, go to the following page and fill in the form:

https://zextras.com/carbonio#contactSales

A Zextras consultants or representative will contact you to discuss the best solution for your scenario and then send you the necessary information to configure the repository:

  • the URL of the repository

  • the GPG key of the repository

Repository and Channels

The following are important information concerning the packages repository Carbonio and its content. Please read them carefully, as they might save you some time in case of installation or upgrade problems and help you to provide more precise bug reports.

The repository hosts simultaneously packages of two channels:

  • Release Candidate (RC). Packages in this channel are made available as soon as they are built by Zextras development and tested by the QA team. While they are stable, they are not suitable for a use in a production environment, because they might still contain some bugs, new functionalities that have not yet reached a production-level quality, or some broken dependencies might be introduced.

    Usually these problems are fixed within days or even hours, so in case just try again before you report some problem.

    Use this channel and its packages for testing (or demo) installations only.

  • RELEASE. This channel contains only packages that are stable and suitable for a production environment.

Hint

When reporting a problem or opening a ticket, remember to always add the channel you are using, as this helps us to analyse the problem quickly.

FAQ

  1. I want to help testing things, which channel should I use?

    RC channel.

  2. I need to install Carbonio in a production environment which channel should I use?

    RELEASE channel.

  3. How will I be informed about new RC packages?

    There will be no notification, because RC channel is updated continuously.

  4. How will I be informed about a potential new release incoming?

    A red message on the homepage of the documentation site will notify you of the release of a new stable version. You may also be informed through other means of communication such as email and social media.

  5. Could there be bugs in the packages downloaded from the RC channel?

    Yes, RC versions have a risk of containing bugs (which in some cases could lead to data loss). If you find a bug in an RC package we kindly ask you to report it on the appropriate community page. We will try to resolve it as quickly as possible.

Task 2. Setting Hostname

Carbonio needs a valid FQDN as hostname and a valid entry in the /etc/hosts file. To configure them, execute these two commands. First, set the hostname

# hostnamectl set-hostname mail.example.com

then update /etc/hosts with IP and hostname

# echo "172.16.0.10 mail.example.com mail" >> /etc/hosts

You can also simply get the current IP and hostname and save them:

# echo "$(hostname -I) $(hostname -f)"

Hint

Replace 172.16.0.10 with the local IP of the Node.

It is mandatory to configure the hostname, especially on the Directory-Server node, otherwise the services will not be able to bind to the correct address, leading to a disruption in Carbonio's functionality.