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<settings>
  .
  .
  <proxies>
   <proxy>
      <active>true</active>
      <protocol>http</protocol>
      <host>proxy.somewhere.com</host>
      <port>8080</port>
      <username>proxyuser</username>
      <password>somepassword</password>
      <nonProxyHosts>www.google.com|*.somewhere.com</nonProxyHosts>
    </proxy>
  </proxies>
  .
  .
</settings>

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1. Install all the Backend Requirements listed above.

2. Create a DSpace operating system user (optional) .  As noted in the prerequisites above, Tomcat (or Jetty, etc) must run as an operating system user account that has full read/write access to the DSpace installation directory (i.e. [dspace]).  Either you must ensure the Tomcat owner also owns [dspace], OR you can create a new "dspace" user account, and ensure that Tomcat also runs as that account:

   Code Block
   useradd -m dspace

   The choice that makes the most sense for you will probably depend on how you installed your servlet container (Tomcat/Jetty/etc).  If you installed it from source, you will need to create a user account to run it, and that account can be named anything, e.g. 'dspace'.  If you used your operating system's package manager to install the container, then a user account should have been created as part of that process and it will be much easier to use that account than to try to change it.

3. Download the latest DSpace 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.
4. Unpack the DSpace software. After downloading the software, based on the compression file format, choose one of the following methods to unpack your software:
   

   1. Zip file. If you downloaded dspace-7.2.zip do the following:

      Code Block
      unzip dspace-7.2.zip

      
      

   2. .gz file. If you downloaded dspace-7.2.tar.gz do the following:

      Code Block
      gunzip -c dspace-7.2.tar.gz | tar -xf -

      For ease of reference, we will refer to the location of this unzipped version of the DSpace release as [dspace-source] in the remainder of these instructions. After unpacking the file, the user may wish to change the ownership of the dspace-7.x folder to the "dspace" user. (And you may need to change the group).

5. Database Setup
   
   • PostgreSQL:
     

     • Create a dspace database user (this user can have any name, but we'll assume you name it "dspace"). This is entirely separate from the dspace operating-system user created above:

       Code Block
       createuser --username=postgres --no-superuser --pwprompt dspace

       You will be prompted (twice) for a password for the new dspace user.  Then you'll be prompted for the password of the PostgreSQL superuser (postgres).

     • Create a dspace database, owned by the dspace PostgreSQL user. Similar to the previous step, this can only be done by a "superuser" account in PostgreSQL (e.g. postgres):

       Code Block
       createdb --username=postgres --owner=dspace --encoding=UNICODE dspace

       You will be prompted for the password of the PostgreSQL superuser (postgres).

     • Finally, you MUST enable the pgcrypto extension on your new dspace database.  Again, this can only be enabled by a "superuser" account (e.g. postgres)

       Code Block
       # Login to the database as a superuser, and enable the pgcrypto extension on this database psql --username=postgres dspace -c "CREATE EXTENSION pgcrypto;"

       The "CREATE EXTENSION" command should return with no result if it succeeds. If it fails or throws an error, it is likely you are missing the required pgcrypto extension (see Database Prerequisites above).

       • Alternative method: How to enable pgcrypto via a separate database schema. While the above method of enabling pgcrypto is perfectly fine for the majority of users, there may be some scenarios where a database administrator would prefer to install extensions into a database schema that is separate from the DSpace tables. Developers also may wish to install pgcrypto into a separate schema if they plan to "clean" (recreate) their development database frequently. Keeping extensions in a separate schema from the DSpace tables will ensure developers would NOT have to continually re-enable the extension each time you run a "./dspace database clean". If you wish to install pgcrypto in a separate schema here's how to do that:

         Code Block

         # Login to the database as a superuser psql --username=postgres dspace # Create a new schema in this database named "extensions" (or whatever you want to name it) CREATE SCHEMA extensions; # Enable this extension in this new schema CREATE EXTENSION pgcrypto SCHEMA extensions; # Grant rights to call functions in the extensions schema to your dspace user GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA extensions TO dspace; # Append "extensions" on the current session's "search_path" (if it doesn't already exist in search_path) # The "search_path" config is the list of schemas that Postgres will use SELECT set_config('search_path',current_setting('search_path') || ',extensions',false) WHERE current_setting('search_path') !~ '(^|,)extensions(,|$)'; # Verify the current session's "search_path" and make sure it's correct SHOW search_path; # Now, update the "dspace" Database to use the same "search_path" (for all future sessions) as we've set for this current session (i.e. via set_config() above) ALTER DATABASE dspace SET search_path FROM CURRENT;

         
         

   • Oracle (UNSUPPORTED AS OF 7.6):
     

     • Setting up DSpace to use Oracle is a bit different now. You will need still need to get a copy of the Oracle JDBC driver, but instead of copying it into a lib directory you will need to install it into your local Maven repository. (You'll need to download it first from this location: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/enterprise-edition/jdbc-112010-090769.html.) Run the following command (all on one line):

       Code Block
       mvn install:install-file -Dfile=ojdbc6.jar -DgroupId=com.oracle -DartifactId=ojdbc6 -Dversion=11.2.0.4.0 -Dpackaging=jar -DgeneratePom=true

       
       

     • You need to compile DSpace with an Oracle driver (ojdbc6.jar) corresponding to your Oracle version - update the version in [dspace-source]/pom.xml  E.g.:

       Code Block
       language html/xml
       <dependency> <groupId>com.oracle</groupId> <artifactId>ojdbc6</artifactId> <version>11.2.0.4.0</version> </dependency>

       
       

     • Create a database for DSpace. Make sure that the character set is one of the Unicode character sets. DSpace uses UTF-8 natively, and it is required that the Oracle database use the same character set. Create a user account for DSpace (e.g. dspace) and ensure that it has permissions to add and remove tables in the database.

     • NOTE: You will need to ensure the proper db.* settings are specified in your local.cfg file (see next step), as the defaults for all of these settings assuming a PostgreSQL database backend.

       Code Block

       db.url = jdbc:oracle:thin:@host:port/SID # e.g. db.url = jdbc:oracle:thin:@//localhost:1521/xe # NOTE: in db.url, SID is the SID of your database defined in tnsnames.ora # the default Oracle port is 1521 # You may also use a full SID definition, e.g. # db.url = jdbc:oracle:thin:@(description=(address_list=(address=(protocol=TCP)(host=localhost)(port=1521)))(connect_data=(service_name=DSPACE))) # Oracle driver and dialect db.driver = oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver db.dialect = org.hibernate.dialect.Oracle10gDialect # Specify DB username, password and schema to use db.username = db.password = db.schema = ${db.username} # For Oracle, schema is equivalent to the username of your database account, # so this may be set to ${db.username} in most scenarios

       
       

     • Later, during the Maven build step, don't forget to specify mvn -Ddb.name=oracle package

6. Initial Configuration (local.cfg):  Create your own [dspace-source]/dspace/config/local.cfg configuration file.  You may wish to simply copy the provided [dspace-source]/dspace/config/local.cfg.EXAMPLE. This local.cfg file can be used to store any configuration changes that you wish to make which are local to your installation (see local.cfg configuration file documentation). ANY setting may be copied into this local.cfg file from the dspace.cfg or any other *.cfg file in order to override the default setting (see note below).  For the initial installation of DSpace, there are some key settings you'll likely want to override.  Those are provided in the [dspace-source]/dspace/config/local.cfg.EXAMPLE. (NOTE: Settings followed with an asterisk (*) are highly recommended, while all others are optional during initial installation and may be customized at a later time.)
   
   • dspace.dir* - must be set to the [dspace] (installation) directory  (NOTE: On Windows be sure to use forward slashes for the directory path!  For example: "C:/dspace" is a valid path for Windows.)
   • dspace.server.url* - complete URL of this DSpace backend (including port and any subpath).  Do not end with '/'.  For example: http://localhost:8080/server
   • dspace.ui.url* - complete URL of the DSpace frontend (including port and any subpath). REQUIRED for the REST API to fully trust requests from the DSpace frontend.  Do not end with '/'. For example: http://localhost:4000
   • dspace.name - Human-readable, "proper" name of your server, e.g. "My Digital Library".
   • solr.server* - complete URL of the Solr server. DSpace makes use of Solr for indexing purposes.  http://localhost:8983/solr unless you changed the port or installed Solr on some other host.
   • default.language - Default language for all metadata values (defaults to "en_US")
   • db.url* - The full JDBC URL to your database (examples are provided in the local.cfg.EXAMPLE)

   • db.driver* - Which database driver to use for PostgreSQL (default should be fine)

   • db.dialect* - Which database dialect to use for PostgreSQL (default should be fine)
   • db.username* - the database username used in the previous step.
   • db.password* - the database password used in the previous step.
   • db.schema* - the database schema to use (examples are provided in the local.cfg.EXAMPLE)
   • mail.server - fully-qualified domain name of your outgoing mail server.
   • mail.from.address - the "From:" address to put on email sent by DSpace.
   • feedback.recipient - mailbox for feedback mail.
   • mail.admin - mailbox for DSpace site administrator.
   • alert.recipient - mailbox for server errors/alerts (not essential but very useful!)

   • registration.notify- mailbox for emails when new users register (optional)

     Info
     title Your local.cfg file can override ANY settings from other *.cfg files in DSpace
     The provided local.cfg.EXAMPLE only includes a small subset of the configuration settings available with DSpace. It provides a good starting point for your own local.cfg file. However, you should be aware that ANY configuration can now be copied into your local.cfg to override the default settings.  This includes ANY of the settings/configurations in: The primary dspace.cfg file ([dspace]/config/dspace.cfg) Any of the module configuration files ([dspace]/config/modules/*.cfg files) Any of the Spring Boot settings ([dspace-src]/dspace-server-webapp/src/main/resources/application.properties) Individual settings may also be commented out or removed in your local.cfg, in order to re-enable default settings. See the Configuration Reference section for more details.

     
     

7. DSpace Directory: Create the directory for the DSpace backend installation (i.e. [dspace]). As root (or a user with appropriate permissions), run:

   Code Block
   mkdir [dspace] chown dspace [dspace]

   (Assuming the dspace UNIX username.)

8. Build the Installation Package: As the dspace UNIX user, generate the DSpace installation package.

   Code Block
   cd [dspace-source] mvn package

   
   

   Info
   title Building with Oracle Database Support (UNSUPPORTED AS OF 7.6)
   Without any extra arguments, the DSpace installation package is initialized for PostgreSQL. If you want to use Oracle instead, you should build the DSpace installation package as follows: mvn -Ddb.name=oracle package

   
   

9. Install DSpace Backend: As the dspace UNIX user, install DSpace to [dspace]:

   Code Block
   cd [dspace-source]/dspace/target/dspace-installer ant fresh_install

   
   

   Info
   To see a complete list of build targets, run: ant help The most likely thing to go wrong here is the test of your database connection. See the Common Installation Issues Section below for more details.

   
   

10. Initialize your Database: While this step is optional (as the DSpace database should auto-initialize itself on first startup), it's always good to verify one last time that your database connection is working properly.  To initialize the database run:

    Code Block
    [dspace]/bin/dspace database migrate

    1. After running this script, it's a good idea to run "./dspace database info" to check that your database has been fully initialized.  A fully initialized database should list the state of all migrations as either "Success" or "Out of Order".  If any migrations have failed or are still listed as "Pending", then you need to check your "dspace.log" for possible "ERROR" messages.  If any errors appeared, you will need to resolve them before continuing.
11. Deploy web application
    We have different possibilities in this case:

    • Deploy JAR application : The DSpace backend have a runnable jar application made with SpringBoot inside the specific server-boot module (in [dspace-source]/dspace/modules/server-boot). Inside the target folder, you'll find the build artifact (i.e. server-boot-[DSpace-version].jar) that self-contains the dspace.dir configuration made during the build phase. You can execute directly this jar with the following command

      Code Block
      language bash title Server-boot execution
      java -jar [dspace-source]/dspace/modules/server-boot/target/server-boot-[DSpace-version].jar

      By running it, the server will boot with the configuration that you've made during the build phase. There are optional parameters that you can use to override the build values:

      • spring.config.location - reference to the application.properties file to use

        Code Block
        --spring.config.location=file:///path/to/target/application.properties

        
        

      • dspace.dir - reference to the installation directory of the application, ( default value in application.properties )

        Code Block
        --dspace.dir=/path/to/install/folder

        
        

      • logging.config - log configuration file of the project ( default value in application.properties )

        Code Block
        --logging.config=file:///path/to/target/file/log2.xml

        These are only the main ones, obviously , you can override every property that can be found inside the configuration files just by appending it as argument of the execution command, jsut like this: --[prop]=[value].

    • Deploy WAR application: The DSpace backend consists of a single "server" webapp (in [dspace]/webapps/server).  You need to deploy this webapp into your Servlet Container (e.g. Tomcat).  Generally, there are two options (or techniques) which you could use...either configure Tomcat to find the DSpace "server" webapp, or copy the "server" webapp into Tomcat's own webapps folder.

    • Technique A. Tell your Tomcat/Jetty/Resin installation where to find your DSpace web application(s). As an example, in the directory [tomcat]/conf/Catalina/localhost you could add files similar to the following (but replace [dspace]with your installation location):

      Code Block
      title DEFINE A CONTEXT PATH FOR DSpace Server webapp: server.xml
      <?xml version='1.0'?> <Context docBase="[dspace]/webapps/server"/>

      The name of the file (not including the suffix ".xml") will be the name of the context, so for example server.xml defines the context at http://host:8080/server.  To define the root context (http://host:8080/), name that context's file ROOT.xml.   Optionally, you can also choose to install the old, deprecated "rest" webapp if you

    • Technique B. Simple and complete. You copy only (or all) of the DSpace Web application(s) you wish to use from the [dspace]/webapps directory to the appropriate directory in your Tomcat/Jetty/Resin installation. For example:
      cp -R [dspace]/webapps/* [tomcat]/webapps (This will copy all the web applications to Tomcat).
      cp -R [dspace]/webapps/server [tomcat]/webapps (This will copy only the Server web application to Tomcat.)

      To define the root context (http://host:8080/), name that context's directory ROOT.

12. Optionally, also install the deprecated DSpace 6.x REST API web application.  If you previously used the DSpace 6.x REST API, for backwards compatibility the old, deprecated "rest" webapp is still available to install (in [dspace]/webapps/rest). It is NOT used by the DSpace frontend.  So, most users should skip this step.

13. Copy Solr cores:  DSpace installation creates a set of four empty Solr cores already configured. 

    1. Copy them from [dspace]/solr to the place where your Solr instance will discover them. For example:

       Code Block

       # [solr] is the location where Solr is installed. # NOTE: On Debian systems the configsets may be under /var/solr/data/configsets cp -R [dspace]/solr/* [solr]/server/solr/configsets # Make sure everything is owned by the system user who owns Solr # Usually this is a 'solr' user account # See https://solr.apache.org/guide/8_1/taking-solr-to-production.html#create-the-solr-user chown -R solr:solr [solr]/server/solr/configsets

       
       

    2. Start (or re-start) Solr.  For example:

       Code Block
       language bash
       [solr]/bin/solr restart

        

    3. You can check the status of Solr and your new DSpace cores by using its administrative web interface.  Browse to ${solr.server} (e.g. http://localhost:8983/solr/) to see if Solr is running well, then look at the cores by selecting (on the left) Core Admin or using the Core Selector drop list.

       1. For example, to test that your "search" core is setup properly, try accessing the URL ${solr.server}/search/select. It should run an empty query against the "search" core, returning an empty JSON result. If it returns an error, then that means your "search" core is missing or not installed properly.

14. Create an Administrator Account:  Create an initial administrator account from the command line:

    Code Block
    [dspace]/bin/dspace create-administrator

    
    

15. Initial Startup!  Now the moment of truth! Start up (or restart) Tomcat/Jetty/Resin.
    
    1. REST API Interface - (e.g.)  http://dspace.myu.edu:8080/server/
    2. OAI-PMH Interface - (e.g.)  http://dspace.myu.edu:8080/server/oai/request?verb=Identify
    3. For an example of what the default backend looks like, visit the Demo Backend: https://demo.dspace.org/server/
16. Setup scheduled tasks for behind-the-scenes processes: For all features of DSpace to work properly, there are some scheduled tasks you MUST setup to run on a regular basis. Some examples are tasks that help create thumbnails (for images), do full-text indexing (of textual content) and send out subscription emails.  See the Scheduled Tasks via Cron for more details.
17. Production Installation (adding HTTPS support): Running the DSpace Backend on HTTP & port 8080 is only usable for local development environments (where you are running the UI and REST API from the same machine, and only accessing them via localhost URLs).  If you want to run DSpace in Production, you MUST run the backend with HTTPS support (otherwise logins will not work outside of your local domain).
    1. For HTTPS support, we recommend installing either Apache HTTPD or Nginx, configuring SSL at that level, and proxying all requests to your Tomcat installation.  Keep in mind, if you want to host both the DSpace Backend and Frontend on the same server, you can use one installation of Apache HTTPD or NGinx to manage HTTPS/SSL and proxy to both.
    2. Apache HTTPD: These instructions are specific to Apache HTTPD, but a similar setup can be achieved with NGinx (see below)
       1. Install Apache HTTPD, e.g. sudo apt install apache2
       2. Install mod_headers, mod_proxy and mod_proxy_ajp (or mod_proxy_http) modules, e.g. sudo a2enmod headers; sudo a2enmod proxy; sudo a2enmod proxy_ajp

          1. Alternatively, you can choose to use mod_proxy_http to create an http proxy.  A separate example is commented out below

       3. For mod_proxy_ajp to communicate with Tomcat, you'll need to enable Tomcat's AJP connector in your Tomcat's server.xml:

          Code Block
          <Connector protocol="AJP/1.3" port="8009" redirectPort="8443" URIEncoding="UTF-8" />

          
          

       4. Restart Apache to enable these modules
       5. Obtain an SSL certificate for HTTPS support. If you don't have one yet, you can use Let's Encrypt (for free) using the "certbot" tool: https://certbot.eff.org/ 

       6. Now, setup a new VirtualHost for your site (using HTTPS / port 443) which proxies all requests to Tomcat's AJP connector (running on port 8009)

          Code Block

          <VirtualHost _default_:443> # Add your domain here. We've added "my.dspace.edu" as an example ServerName my.dspace.edu   .. setup your host how you want, including log settings...     .. setup your host how you want, including log settings... # Most installs will need these options enabled to ensure DSpace knows its hostname and scheme (http or https) # Also required to ensure correct sitemap URLs appear in /robots.txt for User Interface.    ProxyPreserveHost On RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto https    SSLEngine on    SSLCertificateFile [full-path-to-PEM-cert] SSLCertificateKeyFile [full-path-to-cert-KEY] # LetsEncrypt certificates (and possibly others) may require a chain file be specified # in order for the UI / Node.js to validate the HTTPS connection. #SSLCertificateChainFile [full-path-to-chain-file] # Proxy all HTTPS requests to "/server" from Apache to Tomcat via AJP connector ProxyPass /server ajp://localhost:8009/server ProxyPassReverse /server ajp://localhost:8009/server # If you would rather use mod_proxy_http as an http proxy to port 8080 # then use these settings instead #ProxyPass /server http://localhost:8080/server    #ProxyPassReverse /server http://localhost:8080/server </VirtualHost>

          
          

    3. NGinx:  These instructions are specific to NGinx.  
       1. Install/Setup NGinx

       2. Sample NGinx "server block" configuration. Keep in mind we are only providing basic example settings.

          Code Block

          # Setup HTTP to redirect to HTTPS server { listen 80;  # Add your domain here. We've added "my.dspace.edu" as an example server_name my.dspace.edu; rewrite ^ https://my.dspace.edu permanent; } # Setup HTTPS access server { listen 443 ssl;  # Add your domain here. We've added "my.dspace.edu" as an example server_name my.dspace.edu; # Add your SSL certificate/key path here # NOTE: For LetsEncrypt, the certificate should be the full certificate chain file ssl_certificate my.dspace.edu.crt (or PEM); ssl_certificate_key my.dspace.edu.key; # Proxy all HTTPS requests to "/server" from NGinx to Tomcat on port 8080 location /server { proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host; proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/server; } }

          
          

    4. After switching to HTTPS, make sure to go back and update the URLs (primarily dspace.server.url) in your local.cfg to match the new URL of your backend (REST API).  This will require briefly rebooting Tomcat.

Installing the Frontend (User Interface)

...

...

Frontend

...

Frontend Requirements

Frontend Installation

...

...

The Frontend Instructions below are specific to 7.2 or later.  For Frontend Installation instructions for 7.0 or 7.1, see 7.0-7.1 Frontend Installation

1. 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.
   1. NOTE: For the rest of these instructions, we'll refer to the source code location as [dspace-angular].

2. Install Dependencies: Install all required local dependencies by running the following from within the unzipped [dspace-angular] directory

   Code Block
   # change directory to our repo cd [dspace-angular] # install the local dependencies yarn install # NOTE: Some dependencies occasionally get overly strict over exact versions of Node & Yarn. # If you are running a supported version of Node & Yarn, but see a message like # `The engine "node" is incompatible with this module.`, you can disregard it using this flag: # yarn install --ignore-engines

   
   

3. 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

   
   

   1. 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.

4. Deployment (to [dspace-ui-deploy]): (Only recommended for Production setups) 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.

   1. Copy the entire [dspace-angular]/dist/ folder to this location. For example:

      Code Block
      cp -r [dspace-angular]/dist [dspace-ui-deploy]

       

   2. 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)

      
      

   3. 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)

5. Configuration: You have two options for User Interface Configuration, Environment Variables or YAML-based configuration (config.prod.yml).  Choose one!

   1. 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. This config.prod.yml file can be used to override any of the default configurations listed in the config.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 Example 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

      
      

   2. 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
      title Example Environment Variables
      # 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

      
      

      1. 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.

   3. Configuration Hints:
      1. See the User Interface Configuration documentation for a list of all available configurations.
      2. 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)
      3. (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.
         1. If you are using YAML configs, copy your config.prod.yml back into your source code folder at [dspace-angular]/config/config.prod.yml 
         2. From [dspace-angular], run yarn 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.
         3. A successful connection should return a 200 Response and all JSON validation checks should return "true"
         4. 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"
6. 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.

   1. Quick Start: To quickly startup / test the User Interface, you can just use Node.js.  This is only recommended for quickly testing the UI is working, as no logs are available.

      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

      
      

   2. 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.

      1. 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", "instances": "max", "exec_mode": "cluster", "env": { "NODE_ENV": "production" } } ] }

         
         

         1. NOTE: The "cwd" setting MUST correspond to your [dspace-ui-deploy] folder path.
         2. NOTE #2: The "exec_mode" and "instances" settings are optional but highly recommended.  Setting "exec_mode" to "cluster" enable's PM2's cluster mode. This will provide better performance in production as it allows PM2 to scale your site across multiple CPUs. The "instances" setting tells PM2 how many CPUs to scale across ("max" means all CPUs, but you can also specify a number.)

         3. NOTE #3: 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": "demo.dspace.org", "DSPACE_REST_PORT": "443", "DSPACE_REST_NAMESPACE": "/server" }

            
            

         4. NOTE #4: 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", "instances": "max", "exec_mode": "cluster",           "env": { "NODE_ENV": "production" } } ] }

            
            

      2. 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

         
         

      3. For more PM2 commands see https://pm2.keymetrics.io/docs/usage/quick-start/
      4. HINT: You may also want to install/configure pm2-logrotate to ensure that PM2's log folder doesn't fill up over time.
      5. 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.
      6. If neither PM2 nor the "Quick Start" method works for you: then see the "User Interface never appears (no content appears)" section in the Commons Installation Issues below
7. Test it out: At this point, the User Interface should be available at the URL you configured!
   
   1. For an example of what the default frontend looks like, visit the Demo Frontend: https://demo.dspace.org/ 
   2. 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.
   3. 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.
8. Add HTTPS support: For HTTPS (port 443) support, you have two options
   1. (Recommended) Install either Apache HTTPD or Nginx to act as a "reverse proxy" for the frontend (and backend).  This allows you to manage HTTPS (SSL certificates) in either Apache HTTPD or Nginx, and proxy all requests to the frontend (running on port 4000) and backend (running on port 8080). This is our current recommended approach.  These instructions are specific to Apache, but a similar setup can be achieved with Nginx.
      1. If you already have Apache / Nginx installed for the backend, you can use the same Apache / Nginx.  You can also choose to install a separate one (either approach is fine).
         1. Install Apache HTTPD, e.g. sudo apt install apache2
         2. Install the mod_proxy and mod_proxy_http modules, e.g. sudo a2enmod proxy; sudo a2enmod proxy_http
         3. Restart Apache to enable
         4. Obtain an SSL certificate for HTTPS support. If you don't have one yet, you can use Let's Encrypt (for free) using the "certbot" tool: https://certbot.eff.org/

      2. Apache HTTPD sample configuration:

         1. Now, setup (or update) the new VirtualHost for your UI site (preferably using HTTPS / port 443) which proxies all requests to PM2 running on port 4000.

            Code Block

            <VirtualHost _default_:443> # Add your domain here. We've added "my.dspace.edu" as an example ServerName my.dspace.edu   .. setup your host how you want, including log settings...       # Most installs will need these options enabled to ensure DSpace knows its hostname and scheme (http or https) # Also required to ensure correct sitemap URLs appear in /robots.txt for User Interface.    ProxyPreserveHost On RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto https    # These SSL settings are identical to those for the backend installation (see above) # If you already have the backend running HTTPS, just add the new Proxy settings below.    SSLEngine on    SSLCertificateFile [full-path-to-PEM-cert] SSLCertificateKeyFile [full-path-to-cert-KEY]    # LetsEncrypt certificates (and possibly others) may require a chain file be specified # in order for the UI / Node.js to validate the HTTPS connection. #SSLCertificateChainFile [full-path-to-chain-file] # These Proxy settings are for the backend. They are described in the backend installation (see above) # If you already have the backend running HTTPS, just append the new Proxy settings below.    # Proxy all HTTPS requests to "/server" from Apache to Tomcat via AJP connector # (In this example: https://my.dspace.edu/server/ will display the REST API) ProxyPass /server ajp://localhost:8009/server ProxyPassReverse /server ajp://localhost:8009/server    # [NEW FOR UI:] Proxy all HTTPS requests from Apache to PM2 on localhost, port 4000 # NOTE that this proxy URL must match the "ui" settings in your config.prod.yml # (In this example: https://my.dspace.edu/ will display the User Interface) ProxyPass / http://localhost:4000/ ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:4000/ </VirtualHost>

            
            

      3. NGinx sample configuration

         1. Sample NGinx "server block" configuration. Keep in mind we are only providing basic example settings.

            Code Block

            # Setup HTTPS access server { listen 443 ssl;  # Add your domain here. We've added "my.dspace.edu" as an example server_name my.dspace.edu; # Add your SSL certificate/key path here # NOTE: For LetsEncrypt, the certificate should be the full certificate chain file # These SSL settings are identical to those for the backend installation (see above) # If you already have the backend running HTTPS, just add the new Proxy settings below. ssl_certificate my.dspace.edu.crt (or PEM); ssl_certificate_key my.dspace.edu.key; # Proxy all HTTPS requests to "/server" from NGinx to Tomcat on port 8080  # These Proxy settings are for the backend. They are described in the backend installation (see above) location /server { proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host; proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/server; }  # [NEW FOR UI:] Proxy all HTTPS requests from NGinx to PM2 on localhost, port 4000 # NOTE that this proxy URL must match the "ui" settings in your config.prod.yml # (In this example: https://my.dspace.edu/ will display the User Interface) location / {    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host; proxy_pass http://localhost:4000/; } }

            
            

      4. HINT#1: 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!
      5. HINT#2: to force the UI to connect to the backend using HTTPS, you should verify your "rest" settings in your User Interface Configuration match the "dspace.server.url" in your backend's "local.cfg" and both use the HTTPS URL.  So, if your backend (REST API) is proxied to https://my.dspace.edu/server/, both those settings should specify that HTTPS URL.
      6. HINT#3: to force the backend to recognize the HTTPS UI, make sure to update your "dspace.ui.url" in your backend's "local.cfg" is updated to use the new HTTPS UI URL (e.g. https://my.dspace.edu).
   2. (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) 
      1. Create a [dspace-ui-deploy]/config/ssl/ folder and add a key.pem and cert.pem to that folder (they must have those exact names)
      2. In your User Interface Configuration, go back and update the following:
         
         1. Set "ui > ssl" to true
         2. Update "ui > port" to be 443
            1. In order to run Node/PM2 on port 443, you also will likely need to provide node with special permissions, like in this example.
      3. Restart the UI
      4. 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

...

Code Block
# This script will attempt a basic Node.js connection to the REST API # configured in your "[dspace-angular]/config/config.prod.yml" and # validate the response.(NOTE: config.prod.yml MUST be copied to # to [dspace-angular]/config/ for this script to find it!) yarn test:rest # In DSpace 7.1 a different command was needed # yarn config:check:rest

• 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 additional hints below for likely causes). 

...

• A possible configuration issue in the frontend or backend.
  • Check the "rest" section of your config.*.yml (or environment.*.ts for 7.1 or 7.0) configuration file for the User Interface.  That configuration section defines which REST API the UI will attempt to use.  If the settings do NOT map to a valid DSpace REST API, then you will see this "No _links section found.." error.  Keep in mind, the REST API must use HTTPS (the only exception is if both the frontend and backend are running on "localhost"-based URLs)
  • Check the "dspace.ui.url" configuration of your backend & verify it corresponds to the public URL of the User Interface (i.e. the exact same URL you use in your browser)
  • Verify the backend "trusts" the frontend via the "rest.cors.allowed-origins" configuration (in rest.cfg or local.cfg).  This setting must list all web-based clients which are trusted by the backend (REST API).  By default, "dspace.ui.url" should be listed... but you should verify it has not been modified.
• A possible SSL certificate issue. This issue may also appear if the REST API's SSL Certificate is either untrusted (by the frontend) or expired. 

  • If you are using a Let's Encrypt style certificate, you may need to modify your backend's Apache settings to also provide a Chain File as follows:

    Code Block
    # For example: /etc/letsencrypt/live/[domain]/cert.pem SSLCertificateFile [full-path-to-PEM-cert] # For example: /etc/letsencrypt/live/[domain]/privkey.pem SSLCertificateKeyFile [full-path-to-cert-KEY] # For example: /etc/letsencrypt/live/[domain]/chain.pem SSLCertificateChainFile [full-path-to-chain-file]

    
    

  • Per the Apache docs, you can also use the SSLCertificateFile setting to specify intermediate CA certificates along with the main cert.
  • For self-signed certs, see also "Using a Self-Signed SSL Certificate causes the Frontend to not be able to access the Backend" common issue listed below.
• Something blocking access to the REST API. This may be a proxy issue, a firewall issue, or something else generally blocking the port (e.g. port 443 for SSL).

  • Verify that you can access the REST API from the machine where Node.js is running (i.e. your UI is running).  For example try a simple "wget" or "curl" to verify the REST API is returning expected JSON similar to our demo API at https://demo.dspace.org/server/api

    Code Block
    # Attempt to access the REST API via HTTPS from command-line on the machine where Node.js is running. # If this fails or throws a SSL cert error, you must fix it. wget https://[rest.host]/server/api

    
    

  • In most production scenarios, your REST API should be publicly accessible on the web, unless you are guaranteed that all your DSpace users will access the site behind a VPN or similar.  So, this "No _links section found" error may also occur if you are accessing the UI from a client computer/web browser which is unable to access the REST API.

...

Also double check the "rest" section of your config.*.yml (or environment.*.ts for 7.1 or 7.0) configuration file for the User Interface. Make sure it's also pointing to the exact same URL as that "dspace.server.url" setting. Again, check the mode, domain, port and paths all match exactly. 

...