Christian Wells
In today’s fast-paced business world, providing efficient customer support is crucial for the success of any company. UVDesk helpdesk system is an open-source SaaS-based solution that enables businesses to interact with their customers and offer round-the-clock support. With features like ticket management, knowledgebase support, canned replies, and automatic ticket generation based on emails, UVDesk streamlines customer support processes and enhances customer satisfaction. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of installing UVDesk on a Ubuntu 22.04 server using Nginx, MySQL, and PHP. So, let’s get started!
Prerequisites
Before we proceed with the installation, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:
- A server running Ubuntu 22.04.
- A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) pointing to the server. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use the domain
uvdesk.example.com. - A non-root user with sudo privileges.
Ensure that your server is up to date by running the following commands:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
To install the basic utility packages, run the following command:
sudo apt install wget curl nano unzip -y
Step 1 – Configure Firewall
Before we begin installing any packages, it is important to configure the firewall to allow HTTP and HTTPS connections. Start by checking the status of the firewall:
sudo ufw status
You should see the following output:
Status: active To Action From -- ------ ---- OpenSSH ALLOW Anywhere OpenSSH (v6) ALLOW Anywhere (v6)
To allow HTTP and HTTPS ports, run the following commands:
sudo ufw allow http sudo ufw allow https
To confirm that the changes have been applied successfully, check the status again:
sudo ufw status
The output should now display the newly added rules:
Status: active To Action From -- ------ ---- OpenSSH ALLOW Anywhere 80/tcp ALLOW Anywhere 443 ALLOW Anywhere OpenSSH(v6) ALLOW Anywhere(v6) 80/tcp(v6) ALLOW Anywhere(v6) 443(v6) ALLOW Anywhere(v6)
Step 2 – Install Nginx
Next, we will install Nginx, the web server that will serve UVDesk. Ubuntu 22.04 ships with an older version of Nginx, so we will download the latest version from the official Nginx repository. Follow these steps to install Nginx:
Import Nginx’s signing key:
curl https://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/null
Add the repository for Nginx’s stable version:
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg arch=amd64] http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) nginx" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx.list
Update the system repositories:
sudo apt update
Install Nginx:
sudo apt install nginx
Verify the installation:
nginx -v
You should see the output showing the Nginx version:
nginx version: nginx/1.22.0
Start the Nginx server:
sudo systemctl start nginx
Step 3 – Install PHP and Extensions
UVDesk works well with PHP 8.0, which is not the default version in Ubuntu 22.04. To install PHP 8.0 and the required extensions, we will use Ondrej’s PHP repository. Follow these steps to install PHP and the necessary extensions:
Add Ondrej’s PHP repository:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Update your system repository list:
sudo apt update
Install PHP and the required extensions:
sudo apt install php8.0 php8.0-curl php8.0-intl php8.0-gd php8.0-xsl php8.0-mbstring php8.0-zip php8.0-xml php8.0-bz2 php8.0-mysql php8.0-soap php8.0-mysql php8.0-fpm php8.0-gmp php8.0-bcmath php8.0-apcu php8.0-redis php8.0-imagick php8.0-imap php8.0-xdebug php8.0-tidy php8.0-ldap php8.0-opcache php8.0-mailparse
Verify the version of PHP installed:
php --version
The output should show PHP 8.0.x:
PHP 8.0.x (cli) (built: Sep 18 2022 10:25:06) ( NTS ) Copyright (c) The PHP Group Zend Engine v4.0.x, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies with Zend OPcache v8.0.x, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies with Xdebug v3.1.5, Copyright (c) 2002-2022, by Derick Rethans
Step 4 – Install MySQL
MySQL is the database management system that UVDesk uses to store data. Ubuntu 22.04 ships with the latest version of MySQL, so we can install it with a single command:
sudo apt install mysql-server
Check the version of MySQL:
mysql --version
You should see the version information:
mysql Ver 8.0.x-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 for Linux onx86_64 ((Ubuntu))
For MySQL versions 8.0.28 and above, we need to enter the MySQL Shell to set the password for the root user. Run the following command:
sudo mysql
Inside the MySQL Shell, set the password for the root user. Make sure to use a strong password that includes a mix of numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and special characters:
mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'YourPassword12!';
Exit the MySQL Shell:
mysql> exit
Run the MySQL secure install script to enhance the security of your MySQL installation:
sudo mysql_secure_installation
Follow the prompts to configure the security options. It is recommended to remove the anonymous users, disallow remote root logins, remove the test database, and reload the privilege tables.
Step 5 – Configure MySQL
Now, let’s configure MySQL to create a database and a user account for UVDesk. Follow these steps:
Log in to the MySQL shell with the root user and the password you set earlier:
sudo mysql -u root -p
Create a database for UVDesk:
mysql> CREATE DATABASE uvdeskdb;
Create an SQL user account for UVDesk:
mysql> CREATE USER 'uvdesk'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'Your_password2';
Grant all privileges on the UVDesk database to the user:
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON uvdeskdb.* TO 'uvdesk'@'localhost';
Flush the privileges to apply the changes:
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Exit the MySQL shell:
mysql> exit
Step 6 – Install Composer
UVDesk uses Composer to manage its dependencies. Follow these steps to download and install Composer:
Download the Composer installer:
php -r "copy('https://getcomposer.org/installer', 'composer-setup.php');"
Verify the integrity of the downloaded installer:
php -r "if (hash_file('sha384', 'composer-setup.php') === '55ce33d7678c5a611085589f1f3ddf8b3c52d662cd01d4ba75c0ee0459970c2200a51f492d557530c71c15d8dba01eae') { echo 'Installer verified'; } else { echo 'Installer corrupt'; unlink('composer-setup.php'); } echo PHP_EOL;"
Install Composer:
php composer-setup.php
Remove the installer:
php -r "unlink('composer-setup.php');"
Move the Composer executable to the bin directory:
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer
Verify that Composer has been installed properly:
composer -V
You should see the Composer version:
Composer version 2.4.22022-09-1416:11:15
Step 7 – Download and Configure UVDesk
Now, let’s download and configure UVDesk. Follow these steps:
Create the /var/www directory:
sudo mkdir /var/www
Switch to the www directory:
cd /var/www
Give your current user permission to access the /var/www folder:
sudo chown $USER:$USER /var/www/
Use Composer to install the UVDesk dependencies:
composer clear-cache composer create-project uvdesk/community-skeleton uvdesk.example.com
Install the Access Control Lists (ACL) utility:
sudo apt install acl
Grant permissions on specific directories and files for both the Nginx user and your current user:
sudo setfacl -dR -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/var sudo setfacl -R -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/var sudo setfacl -dR -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/public sudo setfacl -R -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/public sudo setfacl -dR -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/config sudo setfacl -R -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/config sudo setfacl -dR -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/migrations sudo setfacl -R -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/migrations sudo setfacl -m u:nginx:rwX -m u:$USER:rwX /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/.env
Step 8 – Install and Configure SSL
To secure your UVDesk installation with SSL, we will use Certbot to generate an SSL certificate. Follow these steps:
Verify that Snapd is up to date by running the following command:
sudo snap install core
Install Certbot:
sudo snap install --classic certbot
Create a symbolic link to make the Certbot command accessible:
sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot
Generate an SSL certificate by running the following command:
sudo certbot certonly --nginx --agree-tos --no-eff-email --staple-ocsp --preferred-challenges http -m test@example.com -d uvdesk.example.com
The SSL certificate will be downloaded to the /etc/letsencrypt/live/uvdesk.example.com directory on your server.
Generate a Diffie-Hellman group certificate:
sudo openssl dhparam-dsaparam -out /etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem 4096
Check the Certbot renewal scheduler service:
sudo systemctl list-timers
You should find snap.certbot.renew.service listed as one of the services scheduled to run.
To check if the SSL renewal process is working correctly, run a dry run of the process:
sudo certbot renew --dry-run
If there are no errors, your SSL certificate will renew automatically.
Step 9 – Configure Nginx and PHP
Now let’s configure Nginx and PHP to work with UVDesk. Follow these steps:
Configure PHP-FPM
Open the file /etc/php/8.0/fpm/pool.d/www.conf for editing:
sudo nano /etc/php/8.0/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
Find the lines user = www-data and group = www-data and change them to user = nginx and group = nginx respectively.
Find the lines listen.owner = www-data and listen.group = www-data and change them to listen.owner = nginx and listen.group = nginx respectively.
Save the file by pressing Ctrl + X and entering Y when prompted.
Increase the execution time for PHP-FPM and PHP-CLI to 60 seconds:
sudo sed -i 's/max_execution_time = 30/max_execution_time = 60/' /etc/php/8.0/fpm/php.ini sudo sed -i 's/max_execution_time = 30/max_execution_time = 60/' /etc/php/8.0/cli/php.ini
Increase the memory limit for PHP-FPM from 128MB to 256MB:
sudo sed -i 's/memory_limit = 128M/memory_limit = 256M/' /etc/php/8.0/fpm/php.ini
Restart the PHP-FPM service:
sudo systemctl restart php8.0-fpm
Configure Nginx
Create and open the file /etc/nginx/conf.d/uvdesk.conf for editing:
sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/uvdesk.conf
Paste the following configuration into the file:
server { listen 443 ssl http2; listen [::]:443 ssl http2; server_name uvdesk.example.com; access_log /var/log/nginx/uvdesk.access.log; error_log /var/log/nginx/uvdesk.error.log; # SSL ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/uvdesk.example.com/fullchain.pem; ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/uvdesk.example.com/privkey.pem; ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/uvdesk.example.com/chain.pem; ssl_session_timeout 5m; ssl_session_cache shared:MozSSL:10m; ssl_session_tickets off; ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3; ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on; ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384; ssl_ecdh_curve X25519:prime256v1:secp384r1:secp521r1; ssl_stapling on; ssl_stapling_verify on; ssl_dhparam /etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem; resolver 8.8.8.8; root /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/public; index index.php; location / { try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args; } # Pass PHP Scripts To FastCGI Server location ~ \.php$ { fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(.*)$; fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock; fastcgi_index index.php; fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info; include fastcgi_params; try_files $uri =404; } } # Enforce HTTPS server { listen 80; listen [::]:80; server_name uvdesk.example.com; return 301 https://$host$request_uri; }
Save the file by pressing Ctrl + X and entering Y when prompted.
Open the file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf for editing:
sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
Add the following line before the line include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;:
server_names_hash_bucket_size 64;
Save the file by pressing Ctrl + X and entering Y when prompted.
Verify the Nginx configuration file syntax:
sudo nginx -t
If the syntax is correct, you should see the following output:
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
Restart the Nginx service:
sudo systemctl restart nginx
Step 10 – Install UVDesk
Now it’s time to install UVDesk. Follow these steps:
Launch the URL https://uvdesk.example.com in your browser. You will see the UVDesk installation page.
Click the “Let’s Begin” button to start the installation process. The installer will check for PHP settings and file permissions on the next page.
Click “Proceed” to continue. On the next page, enter the database details you configured earlier.
Click “Proceed” to continue. You will be asked to create a super administrator account. Fill in the required details.
Click “Proceed” to continue. Next, you will be asked to configure the website by giving a name to the Member and Customer Panel prefixes. These prefixes will be used in the website URLs.
Click “Proceed” to continue. You will reach the final installation page.
Click “Install Now” to begin the installation.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed UVDesk on your Ubuntu 22.04 server. You can now access the admin panel and the frontend website using the provided links.
In case you encounter an SQL error stating “SQLSTATE[42S02]: Base table or view not found: 1146 Table ‘uvdesk.uvsupportrole’ doesn’t exist,” you can fix it by running the following commands:
cd /var/www/uvdesk.example.com/ php bin/console doctrine:migrations:diff php bin/console doctrine:migrations:migrate php bin/console c:c sudo shutdown -r now
Conclusion
In this comprehensive guide, we have walked you through the step-by-step process of installing UVDesk helpdesk system on a Ubuntu 22.04 server using Nginx, MySQL, and PHP. By following these instructions, you have successfully set up UVDesk and can now provide efficient customer support to enhance customer satisfaction. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comments below.
Additional Information
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