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- Download Code (to [dspace-angular]): Download the latest dspace-angular release from the DSpace GitHub repository. You can choose to either download the zip or tar.gz file provided by GitHub, or you can use "git" to checkout the appropriate tag (e.g.
dspace-7.2
) or branch.- NOTE: For the rest of these instructions, we'll refer to the source code location as
[dspace-angular].
- NOTE: For the rest of these instructions, we'll refer to the source code location as
Install Dependencies: Install all required local dependencies by running the following from within the unzipped
[dspace-angular]
directoryCode Block # change directory to our repo cd [dspace-angular] # install the local dependencies yarn install
Build/Compile: Build the User Interface for Production. This builds source code (under
[dspace-angular]/src/
) to create a compiled version of the User Interface in the[dspace-angular]
/dist
folder. This/dist
folder is what we will deploy & run to start the UI.Code Block yarn build:prod
- You only need to rebuild the UI application if you change source code (under
[dspace-angular]/src/
). Simply changing the configurations (e.g. config.prod.yml, see below) do not require a rebuild, but only require restarting the UI.
- You only need to rebuild the UI application if you change source code (under
Deployment (to [dspace-ui-deploy]):Choose/Create a directory on your server where you wish to run the compiled User Interface. We'll call this
[dspace-ui-deploy].
Info title [dspace-ui-deploy] vs [dspace-angular] [dspace-angular]
is the directory where you've downloaded and built the UI source code (per the instructions above). For deployment/running the UI, we recommend creating an entirely separate[dspace-ui-deploy]
directory. This keeps your running, production User Interface separate from your source code directory and also minimizes downtime when rebuilding your UI. You may even choose to deploy to a[dspace-ui-deploy]
directory on a different server (and copy the/dist
directory over via FTP or similar).If you are installing the UI for the first time, or just want a simple setup, you can choose to have [dspace-ui-deploy] and [dspace-angular] be the same directory. This would mean you don't have to copy your /dist folder to another location. However, the downside is that your running site will become unresponsive whenever you do a re-build/re-compile (i.e. rerun "yarn build:prod") as this build process will first delete the
[dspace-angular]/dist
directory before rebuilding it.Copy the entire
[dspace-angular]
/dist/
folder to this location. For example:Code Block cp -r [dspace-angular]/dist [dspace-ui-deploy]
WARNING: At this time, you MUST copy the entire "dist" folder and make sure NOT to rename it. Therefore, the directory structure should look like this:
Code Block title Contents of [dspace-ui-deploy] folder [dspace-ui-deploy] /dist /browser (compiled client-side code) /server (compiled server-side code, including "main.js") /config (Optionally created in the "Configuration" step below) /config.prod.yml (Optionally created in the "Configuration" step below)
- NOTE: the OS account which runs the UI via Node.js (see below) MUST have write privileges to the
[dspace-ui-deploy]
directory (because on startup, the runtime configuration is written to[dspace-ui-deploy]/dist/browser/assets/config.json
)
Configuration: You have two options for User Interface Configuration, Environment Variables or YAML-based configuration (
config.prod.yml
). Choose one!YAML configuration: Create a "config.prod.yml" at
[dspace-ui-deploy]/config/config.prod.yml
. You may wish to use the[dspace-angular]/config/config.example.yml
as a starting point. Thisconfig.prod.yml
file can be used to override any of the default configurations listed in theconfig.example.yml
(in that same directory). At a minimum this file MUST include a "rest" section (and may also include a "ui" section), similar to the following (keep in mind, you only need to include settings that you need to modify).Code Block language yml title Syntax for 7.2 and above (config.prod.yml) # The "ui" section defines where you want Node.js to run/respond. It often is a *localhost* (non-public) URL, especially if you are using a Proxy. # In this example, we are setting up our UI to just use localhost, port 4000. # This is a common setup for when you want to use Apache or Nginx to handle HTTPS and proxy requests to Node on port 4000 ui: ssl: false host: localhost port: 4000 nameSpace: / # This example is valid if your Backend is publicly available at https://api.mydspace.edu/server/ # The REST settings MUST correspond to the primary/public URL of the backend. Usually, this means they must be kept in sync # with the value of "dspace.server.url" in the backend's local.cfg rest: ssl: true host: api.mydspace.edu port: 443 nameSpace: /server
Environment variables: Every configuration in the UI may be specified via an Environment Variable. See Configuration Override in the User Interface Configuration documentation for more details. For example, the below environment variables provide the same setup as the config.prod.yml example above.
Code Block # All environment variables MUST # (1) be prefixed with "DSPACE_" # (2) use underscores as separators (no dots allowed), and # (3) use all uppercase # "ui" section DSPACE_UI_SSL = false DSPACE_UI_HOST = localhost DSPACE_UI_PORT = 4000 DSPACE_UI_NAMESPACE = / # "rest" section DSPACE_REST_SSL = true DSPACE_REST_HOST = api.mydspace.edu DSPACE_REST_PORT = 443 DSPACE_REST_NAMESPACE = /server
NOTE: When using PM2, some may find it easier to use Environment variables, as it allows you to specify DSpace UI configs within your PM2 configuration. See PM2 instructions below.
- Configuration Hints:
- See the User Interface Configuration documentation for a list of all available configurations.
- In the "ui" section above, you may wish to start with "ssl: false" and "port: 4000" just to be certain that everything else is working properly before adding HTTPS support. KEEP IN MIND, we highly recommend always using HTTPS for Production. (See section on HTTPS below)
- (Optionally) Test the connection to your REST API from the UI from the command-line. This is not required, but it can sometimes help you discover immediate configuration issues if the test fails.
- If you are using YAML configs, copy your config.prod.yml back into your source code folder at
[dspace-angular]/config/config.prod.yml
- From
[dspace-angular]
, runyarn test:rest
This script will attempt a basic Node.js connection to the REST API that is configured in your "config.prod.yml" file and validate the response. - A successful connection should return a 200 Response and all JSON validation checks should return "true"
- If you receive a connection error or different response code, you MUST fix your REST API before the UI will be able to work. See also the "Common Installation Issues" below. If you receive an SSL error, see "Using a Self-Signed SSL Certificate causes the Frontend to not be able to access the Backend"
- If you are using YAML configs, copy your config.prod.yml back into your source code folder at
- Start up the User Interface: The compiled User Interface only requires Node.js to run. However, most users may want to use PM2 (or a similar Node.js process manager) in Production to provide easier logging and restart tools.
Quick Start: To quickly startup / test the User Interface, you can just use Node.js
Code Block # You MUST start the UI from within the deployment directory cd [dspace-ui-deploy] # Run the "server/main.js" file to startup the User Interface node ./dist/server/main.js # Stop the UI by killing it via Ctrl+C
- Run via PM2: Using PM2 (or a different Node.js process manager) is highly recommended for Production scenarios. Here's an example of a Production setup of PM2.
First you need to create a PM2 JSON configuration file which will run the User Interface. This file can be named anything & placed where ever you like, but you may want to save it to your deployment directory (e.g.
[dspace-ui-deploy]/dspace-ui.json
).Code Block title dspace-ui.json { "apps": [ { "name": "dspace-ui", "cwd": "/full/path/to/dspace-ui-deploy", "script": "dist/server/main.js", "env": { "NODE_ENV": "production" } } ] }
- NOTE: The "cwd" setting MUST correspond to your
[dspace-ui-deploy]
folder path. NOTE #2: If you wanted to configure your UI using Environment Variables, specify those Environment Variables under the "env" section. For example:
Code Block title Configuration via Environment Variables "env": { "NODE_ENV": "production", "DSPACE_REST_SSL": "true", "DSPACE_REST_HOST": "api7.dspace.org", "DSPACE_REST_PORT": "443", "DSPACE_REST_NAMESPACE": "/server" }
NOTE #3: If you are using Windows, there are two other rules to keep in mind in this JSON configuration. First, all paths must include double backslashes (e.g. C:\\dspace-ui-deploy). Second, "cluster" mode is required. Here's an example configuration for Windows:
Code Block title dspace-ui.json (for Windows) { "apps": [ { "name": "dspace-ui", "cwd": "C:\\full\\path\\to\\dspace-ui-deploy", "script": "dist\\server\\main.js", "exec_mode": "cluster", "env": { "NODE_ENV": "production" } } ] }
- NOTE: The "cwd" setting MUST correspond to your
Now, start the application using PM2 using the configuration file you created in the previous step
Code Block # In this example, we are assuming the config is named "dspace-ui.json" pm2 start dspace-ui.json # To see the logs, you'd run # pm2 logs # To stop it, you'd run # pm2 stop dspace-ui.json # If you need to change your PM2 configs, delete the old config and restart # pm2 delete dspace-ui.json
- For more PM2 commands see https://pm2.keymetrics.io/docs/usage/quick-start/
- HINT: You may also want to install/configure pm2-logrotate to ensure that PM2's log folder doesn't fill up over time.
- Did PM2 not work or throw an immediate error? It's likely that something in your UI installation or configuration is incorrect. Check the PM2 logs ("pm2 logs") first for errors. If the problem is not obvious, try to see if you can run the UI using the "Quick Start" method (using just Node.js) instead. Once "Quick Start" is working, try PM2 again.
- Test it out: At this point, the User Interface should be available at the URL you configured!
- For an example of what the default frontend looks like, visit the Demo Frontend: https://demo7.dspace.org/
- If the UI fails to start or throws errors, it's likely a configuration issue. See Commons Installation Issues below for common error messages you may see and how to resolve them.
- If you have an especially difficult issue to debug, you may wish to stop PM2. Instead, try running the UI via the "Quick Start" method (using just Node.js). This command might provide a more specific error message to you, if PM2 is not giving enough information back.
- Add HTTPS support: For HTTPS (port 443) support, you have two options
- (Recommended) You can install either Apache HTTPD or Nginx , configuring SSL at that level, and proxy requests to PM2 (still running on port 4000). This is our current recommended approach. Plus, as a bonus, if you want to host the UI and Backend on the same server, you can use just one Apache HTTPD (or Nginx) to proxy to both. These instructions are specific to Apache.
- Install Apache HTTPD, e.g.
sudo apt install apache2
- Install the mod_proxy and mod_proxy_http modules, e.g.
sudo en2mod proxy; sudo a2enmod proxy_http
- Restart Apache to enable
Now, setup a new VirtualHost for your site (preferably using HTTPS / port 443) which proxies all requests to PM2 running on port 4000.
Code Block <VirtualHost _default_:443> .. setup your host how you want, including log settings... SSLEngine on SSLCertificateFile [full-path-to-PEM-cert] SSLCertificateKeyFile [full-path-to-cert-KEY] # Proxy all HTTPS requests from Apache to PM2 on port 4000 # NOTE that this proxy URL must match the "ui" settings in your config.prod.yml ProxyPass / http://localhost:4000/ ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:4000/ </VirtualHost>
- Because you are using a proxy for HTTPS support, in your User Interface Configuration, your "ui" settings will still have "ssl: false" and "port: 4000". This is perfectly OK!
- However, to force the backend (REST API) to use the new HTTPS URL, you should update your backend's "local.cfg" to have "dspace.ui.url = https://[full-address-of-proxy]" (e.g. https://my.dspace.edu)
- Install Apache HTTPD, e.g.
- (Alternatively) You can use the basic HTTPS support built into our UI and Node server. (This may currently be better for non-Production environments as it has not been well tested)
- Create a
[dspace-ui-deploy]/config/ssl/
folder and add akey.pem
andcert.pem
to that folder (they must have those exact names) - In your User Interface Configuration, go back and update the following:
- Set "ui > ssl" to true
- Update "ui > port" to be 443
- In order to run Node/PM2 on port 443, you also will likely need to provide node with special permissions, like in this example.
- Restart the UI
- Keep in mind, while this setup is simple, you may not have the same level of detailed, Production logs as you would with Apache HTTPD or Nginx
- Create a
- (Recommended) You can install either Apache HTTPD or Nginx , configuring SSL at that level, and proxy requests to PM2 (still running on port 4000). This is our current recommended approach. Plus, as a bonus, if you want to host the UI and Backend on the same server, you can use just one Apache HTTPD (or Nginx) to proxy to both. These instructions are specific to Apache.
What Next?
After a successful installation, you may want to take a closer look at
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