This article provides some tips and hints to install an Alfresco system on openSUSE with following components:

• OS: openSUSE 10.3
• Alfresco 2.9B
• Java 1.6
• JBoss 4.2.2 GA
• MySQL

All steps are done as user root.

1. Install openSUSE with Java, MySQL, OpenOffice and ImageMagick
2. Check and/or correct the JAVA_HOME environment setting

   # echo $JAVA_HOME
   /usr/lib/jvm/java
   # $JAVA_HOME/bin/java -version
   java version "1.6.0_05"
   Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_05-b13)
   Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 10.0-b19, mixed mode)

3. Just to have some files and a glance in Alfrescos way to do it I've installed a out-of-the-box Alfresco system to /usr/share/alfresco. I used the file AlfrescoCommunity-2.9.0B-Linux-x86-Install.
4. Setup MySQL as a demon (with YaST - Runlevel Editor or the chkconfig command)
5. Setup MySQL Databases using the scripts served by Alfresco. Relating to step 3. you'll find these files in /usr/share/alfresco/extras/databases/mysql

   # cd /usr/share/alfresco/extras/databases/mysql
   # mysql -u root -p < db_setup.sql

6. Install JBoss. My JBoss home directory is /usr/share/jboss-4.2.2.GA but thats no matter. This destination folder is called JBOSS_HOME from now on.
7. Install the MySQL JDBC connector for JBoss (it's provided by MySQL)
   • get the driver from MySQL
   • extract it and copy the contained .jar file to JBOSS_HOME/server/default/lib
8. Deploy Alfresco
   • get alfresco-community-war-2.9.0B from Alfresco download area
   • extract it and thereafter extract the contained alfresco.war as a folder called JBOSS_HOME/server/default/deploy/alfresco.war.
9. Refer to
   • http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Deploying_WAR_JBoss
   • http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Install_On_Jboss_4.2.0
10. Create/manage start/stop scripts for JBoss and OOo in /usr/share/alfresco (the default scripts delivered by Alfresco dont work because of a hard link to openoffice and a nonresolved variable @@ALFRESCO@@ - it took me days to research in the internet what kind of syntax that is… obviously it is a special Alfresco thing that should be replaced by the install routine but it didn't)
    • create a script start_oo.sh in /usr/share/alfresco with

      #!/bin/sh
      # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
      # Start script for the OpenOffice transform service
      # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       
      echo "Starting OpenOffice service..."
       
      soffice "-accept=socket,host=localhost,port=8100;urp;StarOffice.ServiceManager" "-env:UserInstallation=file:///usr/share/alfresco/oouser" -nologo -headless -nofirststartwizard &

    • create a script alfresco.sh in /usr/share/alfresco with

      #!/bin/sh
      # Start or stop Alfresco server
      # Set the following to where Tomcat is installed
      #
      if [ "$1" = "start" ]; then
        /usr/share/jboss-4.2.2.GA/bin/jboss_init_suse.sh start
        /usr/share/alfresco/start_oo.sh
      elif [ "$1" = "stop" ]; then
        /usr/share/jboss-4.2.2.GA/bin/jboss_init_suse.sh stop
        killall soffice.bin
      fi

• modify the script jboss_init_suse.sh in /usr/share/jboss-4.2.2.GA/bin/ with

  #!/bin/sh
  #
  # JBoss Control Script
  #
  # To use this script
  # run it as root - it will switch to the specified user
  # It loses all console output - use the log.
  #
  # Here is a little (and extremely primitive)
  # startup/shutdown script for SuSE systems. It assumes
  # that JBoss lives in /usr/local/jboss, it's run by user
  # 'jboss' and JDK binaries are in /usr/local/jdk/bin. All
  # this can be changed in the script itself.
  #
  # Either amend this script for your requirements
  # or just ensure that the following variables are set correctly
  # before calling the script.
  #
  ### BEGIN INIT INFO
  # Provides: jboss
  # Default-Start: 3 5
  # Default-Stop: 0 1 2 6
  # Description: Start the JBoss application server.
  ### END INIT INFO
   
  #define where jboss is - this is the directory containing directories log, bin, conf etc
  JBOSS_HOME=${JBOSS_HOME:-"/usr/share/jboss-4.2.2.GA"}
   
  #make java is on your path
  JAVAPTH=${JAVAPTH:-"/usr/lib/jvm/java/bin"}
   
  #define the classpath for the shutdown class
  JBOSSCP=${JBOSSCP:-"$JBOSS_HOME/bin/shutdown.jar:$JBOSS_HOME/client/jnet.jar"}
   
  #define the script to use to start jboss
  JBOSSSH=${JBOSSSH:-"$JBOSS_HOME/bin/run.sh -b 0.0.0.0 -c default"}
   
  # Shell functions sourced from /etc/rc.status:
  #      rc_check         check and set local and overall rc status
  #      rc_status        check and set local and overall rc status
  #      rc_status -v     ditto but be verbose in local rc status
  #      rc_status -v -r  ditto and clear the local rc status
  #      rc_failed        set local and overall rc status to failed
  #      rc_reset         clear local rc status (overall remains)
  #      rc_exit          exit appropriate to overall rc status
  . /etc/rc.status
   
  # First reset status of this service
  rc_reset
   
  # Return values acc. to LSB for all commands but status:
  # 0 - success
  # 1 - misc error
  # 2 - invalid or excess args
  # 3 - unimplemented feature (e.g. reload)
  # 4 - insufficient privilege
  # 5 - program not installed
  # 6 - program not configured
  #
  # Note that starting an already running service, stopping
  # or restarting a not-running service as well as the restart
  # with force-reload (in case signalling is not supported) are
  # considered a success.
   
  if [ -n "$JBOSS_CONSOLE" -a ! -d "$JBOSS_CONSOLE" ]; then
    # ensure the file exists
    touch $JBOSS_CONSOLE
  fi
   
  if [ -n "$JBOSS_CONSOLE" -a ! -f "$JBOSS_CONSOLE" ]; then
    echo "WARNING: location for saving console log invalid: $JBOSS_CONSOLE"
    echo "WARNING: ignoring it and using /dev/null"
    JBOSS_CONSOLE="/dev/null"
  fi
   
  #define what will be done with the console log
  JBOSS_CONSOLE=${JBOSS_CONSOLE:-"/var/log/jboss.log"}
   
  #define the user under which jboss will run, or use RUNASIS to run as the current user
  JBOSSUS=${JBOSSUS:-"RUNASIS"}
   
  CMD_START="cd $JBOSS_HOME/bin; $JBOSSSH"
  CMD_STOP="java -classpath $JBOSSCP org.jboss.Shutdown --shutdown"
   
  if [ "$JBOSSUS" = "RUNASIS" ]; then
    SUBIT=""
  else
    SUBIT="su - $JBOSSUS -c "
  fi
   
  if [ -z "`echo $PATH | grep $JAVAPTH`" ]; then
    export PATH=$PATH:$JAVAPTH
  fi
   
  if [ ! -d "$JBOSS_HOME" ]; then
    echo JBOSS_HOME does not exist as a valid directory : $JBOSS_HOME
    exit 1
  fi
   
  case "$1" in
  start)
      echo -n "Starting JBoss application server: "
      cd $JBOSS_HOME/bin
      if [ -z "$SUBIT" ]; then
          eval $CMD_START >${JBOSS_CONSOLE} 2>&1 &
      else
          $SUBIT "$CMD_START >${JBOSS_CONSOLE} 2>&1 &"
      fi
   
      # Remember status and be verbose
      rc_status -v
      ;;
  stop)
      echo -n "Shutting down JBoss application server: "
      if [ -z "$SUBIT" ]; then
          $CMD_STOP
      else
          $SUBIT "$CMD_STOP"
      fi
   
      # Remember status and be verbose
      rc_status -v
      ;;
  restart)
      $0 stop
      $0 start
   
      # Remember status and be quiet
      rc_status
      ;;
  *)
      echo "usage: $0 (start|stop|restart|help)"
  esac

—- For a production environment there should:

• an init script instead of manual start and stop procedure
• run the system in runlevel 3 (text console only)
• run the system under user account instead of root
• be printed all messages on the console (currently I tail -f /var/log/jboss.log)
• alternatively have a ServiceControl to start/stop/Status etc. the system as well as displaying the messages
• alternatively use Eclipse with JBoss Tools as Service Monitor and also as an easy way to check/change the config files.

— Andreas Hartmann 16.05.2008 15:43