Description

OrangeHRM is a feature-rich, intuitive HR management system that offers a wealth of modules to suit the needs of any business. This widely-used system provides an essential HR management platform.

First steps with the Bitnami OrangeHRM Stack

Welcome to your new Bitnami application! Here are a few questions (and answers!) you might need when first starting with your application.

What are the system requirements?

Before you download and install your application, check that your system meets these requirements.

How do I install the Bitnami OrangeHRM Stack?

Windows, OS X and Linux installer

• Download the executable file for the Bitnami OrangeHRM Stack from the Bitnami website.

• Run the downloaded file:

  • On Linux, give the installer executable permissions and run the installation file in the console.
  • On other platforms, double-click the installer and follow the instructions shown.

Check the FAQ instructions on how to download and install a Bitnami Stack for more details.

The application will be installed to the following default directories:

OS X VM

• Download the OS X VM file for the Bitnami OrangeHRM Stack from the Bitnami website.
• Begin the installation process by double-clicking the image file and dragging the WordPress OS X VM icon to the Applications folder.
• Launch the VM by double-clicking the icon in the Applications folder.

What credentials do I need?

You need application credentials, consisting of a username and password. These credentials allow you to log in to your new Bitnami application.

What is the administrator username set for me to log in to the application for the first time?

• For Windows, Linux and OS X installers, the username was configured by you when you first installed the application.
• For OS X VMs, the username can be obtained by clicking the Bitnami badge at the bottom right corner of the application welcome page.

What is the administrator password?

• For Windows, Linux and OS X installers, the password was configured by you when you first installed the application.
• For OS X VMs, the password can be obtained by clicking the Bitnami badge at the bottom right corner of the application welcome page.

How to start or stop the services?

Linux

Bitnami native installers include a graphical tool to manage services. This tool is named manager-linux-x64.run on Linux and is located in the installation directory. To use this tool, double-click the file and then use the graphical interface to start, stop or restart services. Server log messages can be checked in the "Server Events" tab.

The native installer also includes a command-line script to start, stop and restart applications, named ctlscript.sh. This script can be found in the installation directory and accepts the options start, stop, restart, and status. To use it, log in to the server console and execute it following the examples below:

• Call it without any service names to start all services:

    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

• Use it to restart a specific service only by passing the service name as argument - for example, mysql, postgresql or apache:

    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mysql
    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart postgresql
    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
  

• Obtain current status of all services:

    $ installdir/ctlscript.sh status
  

The list of available services varies depending on the required components for each application.

Mac OS X

Bitnami native installers include a graphical tool to manage services. This tool is named manager-osx on Mac OS X and is located in the installation directory. To use this tool, double-click the file and then use the graphical interface to start, stop or restart services. Server log messages can be checked in the "Server Events" tab.

The native installer also includes a command-line script to start, stop and restart applications, named ctlscript.sh. This script can be found in the installation directory and accepts the options start, stop, restart, and status. To use it, log in to the server console and execute it following the examples below:

• Call it without any service names to start all services:

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

• Use it to restart a specific service only by passing the service name as argument - for example, mysql or apache:

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mysql
   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
  

• Obtain current status of all services:

   $ installdir/ctlscript.sh status
  

The list of available services varies depending on the required components for each application.

Windows

Bitnami native installers include a graphical tool to manage services. This tool is named manager-windows.exe on Windows and is located in the installation directory. To use this tool, double-click the file and then use the graphical interface to start, stop or restart services. Server log messages can be checked in the "Server Events" tab.

The Windows native installer creates shortcuts to start and stop services created in the Start Menu, under "Programs -> Bitnami APPNAME Stack -> Bitnami Service". Servers can also be managed from the Windows "Services" control panel. Services are named using the format APPNAMESERVICENAME, where APPNAME is a placeholder for the application name and SERVICENAME is a placeholder for the service name. For example, the native installer for the Bitnami WordPress Stack installs services named wordpressApache and wordpressMySQL.

These services will be automatically started during boot. To modify this behaviour, refer to the section on disabling services on Windows.

How to configure outbound email settings?

Follow these steps:

• Log in to the application.

  

• Once you have logged in, visit the admin panel.

  

• Navigate to the "Admin -> Configuration -> Email Configuration" menu item.

• Click the "Edit" button, select the "SMTP" option and complete the fields. The "Mail Sent As" and "SMTP User" fields are the key email address fields. Here is a configuration example for Gmail:

  • Mail Sent As:
  • Sending Method: SMTP
  • SMTP Host: smtp.gmail.com
  • SMTP Port: 465
  • Use SMTP Authentication: Yes
  • SMTP User: USERNAME@gmail.com
  • SMTP Password: PASSWORD
  • Use Secure Connection: SSL

  

  Replace the above values with settings spcific to your SMTP server. If using Gmail, replace the USERNAME and PASSWORD placeholders with correct values for your Gmail account.

To configure the application to use other third-party SMTP services for outgoing email, such as SendGrid or Mandrill, refer to the FAQ.

How to install plugins in OrangeHRM?

To install a plugin on OrangeHRM, browse to the OrangeHRM market and request for it. You will need to enter some personal information.

How to create a full backup of OrangeHRM?

The Bitnami OrangeHRM Stack is self-contained and the simplest option for performing a backup is to copy or compress the Bitnami stack installation directory. To do so in a safe manner, you will need to stop all servers, so this method may not be appropriate if you have people accessing the application continuously.

Backup on Linux and Mac OS X

Follow these steps:

• Change to the directory in which you wish to save your backup.

   $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers.

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh stop
  

• Create a compressed file with the stack contents.

   $ sudo tar -pczvf application-backup.tar.gz installdir
  

• Start all servers.

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

• Download or transfer the application-backup.tar.gz file to a safe location.

You should now download or transfer the application-backup.tar.gz file to a safe location.

Backup on Windows

Follow these steps:

• Stop all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

• Create a compressed file with the stack contents. You can use a graphical tool like 7-Zip or WinZip or just right-click the folder, click "Send to", and select the "Compressed (zipped) folder" option.

• Download or transfer the compressed file to a safe location.

• Start all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

Restore on Linux and Mac OS X

Follow these steps:

• Change to the directory containing your backup:

  $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers.

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh stop
  

• Move the current stack to a different location:

  $ sudo mv installdir /tmp/bitnami-backup
  

• Uncompress the backup file to the original directory:

  $ sudo tar -pxzvf application-backup.tar.gz -C /
  

• Start all servers.

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

Restore on Windows

• Change to the directory containing your backup:

     $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

• Uninstall the previous services by executing the following command:

      $ serviceinstall.bat
  

• Create a safe folder named Backups in the desktop and move the current stack to it. Remember to replace PATH with the right location of your folder:

      $ move installdir \PATH\Backups
  

• Uncompress the backup file using a tool like 7-Zip or Winzip or just double-click the .zip file to uncompress it, and move it to the original directory.

• Install services by running the following commands from an elevated command prompt:

    $ cd installdir
    $ serviceinstall.bat INSTALL
  

• Start all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

How to upgrade OrangeHRM?

It is strongly recommended to create a backup before starting the update process. If you have important data, create and try to restore a backup to ensure that everything works properly.

You can upgrade the application only without modifying any other stack components. Follow these steps:

• Back up your current OrangeHRM database.

   $ cd installdir/mysql
   $ bin/mysql -u root -p
  

• Create a new database and assign permissions to the user of the orangehrm database.

   mysql> CREATE DATABASE bitnami_orangehrm_backup;
   mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON bitnami_orangehrm_backup.* TO 'bn_orangehrm'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD';
   mysql> exit;
  

• Create OrangeHRM tables in the new database:

   $ bin/mysqldump -u root -p bitnami_orangehrm > /home/bitnami/ohrm_backup.sql
   $ bin/mysql -u root -p -o bitnami_orangehrm_backup < /home/bitnami/ohrm_backup.sql
  

• Remove the actual content of the installdir/apps/orangehrm/htdocs directory and uncompress the new version of OrangeHRM to the same location.

   $ cd installdir/apps/orangehrm
   $ sudo rm -rf htdocs/
   $ sudo unzip orangehrm-version.zip
   $ mv orangehrm-version/ htdocs/
  

• Change the ownership of the files and their permissions:

   $ chown -R bitnami:daemon installdir/apps/orangehrm/htdocs/
   $ chmod -R 775 upgrader/ lib/ symfony/
  

• Launch the upgrade wizard. Access it in the web browser by navigating to http://localhost/upgrader/web/index.php:

  

• Complete the fields as is shown in the image. The password is the same that you put in the "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES" command. Follow the remaining instructions.

• Clean up and remove the old database and the backup file:

   $ installdir/mysql/bin/mysql -u root -p
   mysql> DROP DATABASE bitnami_orangehrm_backup;
   mysql> exit;
   $ rm /home/bitnami/ohrm_backup.sql
  

How to create an SSL certificate?

OpenSSL is required to create an SSL certificate. A certificate request can then be sent to a certificate authority (CA) to get it signed into a certificate, or if you have your own certificate authority, you may sign it yourself, or you can use a self-signed certificate (because you just want a test certificate or because you are setting up your own CA).

Follow the steps below for your platform.

Linux and Mac OS X

Follow the steps below:

• Generate a new private key:

   $ sudo openssl genrsa -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key 2048
  

• Create a certificate:

   $ sudo openssl req -new -key installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr
  

  IMPORTANT: Enter the server domain name when the above command asks for the "Common Name".

• Send cert.csr to the certificate authority. When the certificate authority completes their checks (and probably received payment from you), they will hand over your new certificate to you.

• Until the certificate is received, create a temporary self-signed certificate:

   $ sudo openssl x509 -in installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.crt -req -signkey installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -days 365
  

• Back up your private key in a safe location after generating a password-protected version as follows:

   $ sudo openssl rsa -des3 -in installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out privkey.pem
  

  Note that if you use this encrypted key in the Apache configuration file, it will be necessary to enter the password manually every time Apache starts. Regenerate the key without password protection from this file as follows:

   $ sudo openssl rsa -in privkey.pem -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key
  

Windows

Follow the steps below once OpenSSL is installed:

• Set the OPENSSL_CONF environment variable to the location of your OpenSSL configuration file. Typically, this file is located in the bin/ subdirectory of your OpenSSL installation directory. Replace the OPENSSL-DIRECTORY placeholder in the command below with the correct location.

   $ set OPENSSL_CONF=C:\OPENSSL-DIRECTORY\bin\openssl.cfg
  

• Change to the bin/ sub-directory of the OpenSSL installation directory. Replace the OPENSSL-DIRECTORY placeholder in the command below with the correct location.

   $ cd C:\OPENSSL-DIRECTORY\bin
  

• Generate a new private key:

   $ openssl genrsa -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key 2048
  

• Create a certificate:

   $ openssl req -new -key installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr
  

  IMPORTANT: Enter the server domain name when the above command asks for the "Common Name".

• Send cert.csr to the certificate authority. When the certificate authority completes their checks (and probably received payment from you), they will hand over your new certificate to you.

• Until the certificate is received, create a temporary self-signed certificate:

   $ openssl x509 -in installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.crt -req -signkey installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -days 365
  

• Back up your private key in a safe location after generating a password-protected version as follows:

   $ openssl rsa -des3 -in installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out privkey.pem
  

  Note that if you use this encrypted key in the Apache configuration file, it will be necessary to enter the password manually every time Apache starts. Regenerate the key without password protection from this file as follows:

   $ openssl rsa -in privkey.pem -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key
  

Find more information about certificates at http://www.openssl.org.

How to enable HTTPS support with SSL certificates?

Bitnami images come with SSL support already pre-configured and with a dummy certificate in place. Although this dummy certificate is fine for testing and development purposes, you will usually want to use a valid SSL certificate for production use. You can either generate this on your own (explained here) or you can purchase one from a commercial certificate authority.

Once you obtain the certificate and certificate key files, you will need to update your server to use them. Follow these steps to activate SSL support:

• Use the table below to identify the correct locations for your certificate and configuration files.

  Variable	Value
  Current application URL	https://[custom-domain]/
  	Example: https://my-domain.com/ or https://my-domain.com/appname
  Apache configuration file	installdir/apache2/conf/bitnami/bitnami.conf
  Certificate file	installdir/apache2/conf/server.crt
  Certificate key file	installdir/apache2/conf/server.key
  CA certificate bundle file (if present)	installdir/apache2/conf/server-ca.crt

• Copy your SSL certificate and certificate key file to the specified locations.

  NOTE: If you use different names for your certificate and key files, you should reconfigure the SSLCertificateFile and SSLCertificateKeyFile directives in the corresponding Apache configuration file to reflect the correct file names.

• If your certificate authority has also provided you with a PEM-encoded Certificate Authority (CA) bundle, you must copy it to the correct location in the previous table. Then, modify the Apache configuration file to include the following line below the SSLCertificateKeyFile directive. Choose the correct directive based on your scenario and Apache version:

  Variable	Value
  Apache configuration file	installdir/apache2/conf/bitnami/bitnami.conf
  Directive to include (Apache v2.4.8+)	SSLCACertificateFile "installdir/apache2/conf/server-ca.crt"
  Directive to include (Apache < v2.4.8)	SSLCertificateChainFile "installdir/apache2/conf/server-ca.crt"

  NOTE: If you use a different name for your CA certificate bundle, you should reconfigure the SSLCertificateChainFile or SSLCACertificateFile directives in the corresponding Apache configuration file to reflect the correct file name.

• Once you have copied all the server certificate files, you may make them readable by the root user only with the following commands:

   $ sudo chown root:root installdir/apache2/conf/server*
  
   $ sudo chmod 600 installdir/apache2/conf/server*
  

• Open port 443 in the server firewall. Refer to the FAQ for more information.

• Restart the Apache server.

You should now be able to access your application using an HTTPS URL.

How to force HTTPS redirection with Apache?

Add the following lines in the default Apache virtual host configuration file at installdir/apache2/conf/bitnami/bitnami.conf, inside the default VirtualHost directive, so that it looks like this:

<VirtualHost _default_:80>
  DocumentRoot "installdir/apache2/htdocs"
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
  RewriteRule ^/(.*) https://%{SERVER_NAME}/$1 [R,L]
  ...
</VirtualHost>

After modifying the Apache configuration files:

• Open port 443 in the server firewall. Refer to the FAQ for more information.

• Restart Apache to apply the changes.

How to debug Apache errors?

Once Apache starts, it will create two log files at installdir/apache2/logs/access_log and installdir/apache2/logs/error_log respectively.

• The access_log file is used to track client requests. When a client requests a document from the server, Apache records several parameters associated with the request in this file, such as: the IP address of the client, the document requested, the HTTP status code, and the current time.

• The error_log file is used to record important events. This file includes error messages, startup messages, and any other significant events in the life cycle of the server. This is the first place to look when you run into a problem when using Apache.

If no error is found, you will see a message similar to:

Syntax OK

How to find the MySQL database credentials?

• Database username: root.
• Database password: The same as the application password. Find out how to obtain application credentials.

How to connect to the MySQL database?

You can connect to the MySQL database from the same computer where it is installed with the mysql client tool.

$ mysql -u root -p

You will be prompted to enter the root user password. This is the same as the application password.

How to debug errors in your database?

The main log file is created at installdir/mysql/data/mysqld.log on the MySQL database server host.

How to change the MySQL root password?

You can modify the MySQL password using the following command at the shell prompt. Replace the NEW_PASSWORD placeholder with the actual password you wish to set.

$ installdir/mysql/bin/mysqladmin -p -u root password NEW_PASSWORD

How to reset the MySQL root password?

If you don't remember your MySQL root password, you can follow the steps below to reset it to a new value:

• Create a file in /home/bitnami/mysql-init with the content shown below (replace NEW_PASSWORD with the password you wish to use):

   UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('NEW_PASSWORD') WHERE User='root';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
  

  If your stack ships MySQL v5.7.x, use the following content instead of that shown above:

   UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string=PASSWORD('NEW_PASSWORD') WHERE User='root';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
  

  TIP: Check the MySQL version with the command installdir/mysql/bin/mysqladmin --version or installdir/mysql/bin/mysqld --version.

• Stop the MySQL server:

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh stop mysql
  

• Start MySQL with the following command:

   $ sudo installdir/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe --pid-file=installdir/mysql/data/mysqld.pid --datadir=installdir/mysql/data --init-file=/home/bitnami/mysql-init 2> /dev/null &
  

• Restart the MySQL server:

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mysql
  

• Remove the script:

   $ rm /home/bitnami/mysql-init
  

How to change the MySQL root password in Windows?

You can modify the MySQL password using the following command at the shell prompt. Replace the NEW_PASSWORD placeholder with the actual password you wish to set.

installdir\mysql\bin\mysqladmin.exe -p -u root password NEW_PASSWORD

How to reset the MySQL root password in Windows?

If you don't remember your MySQL root password, you can follow the steps below to reset it to a new value:

• Stop the MySQL server using the graphic manager tool. Refer to the how to start or stop the services section.

• Check the MySQL version:

  installdir\mysql\bin\mysqladmin.exe –version

• Create a file named mysql-init.txt with the content shown below depending on your MySQL version (replace NEW_PASSWORD with the password you wish to use):

  • MySQL 5.6.x or earlier:

     UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('NEW_PASSWORD') 
     WHERE User='root';
     FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
    

  • MySQL 5.7.x or later:

     ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'NEW_PASSWORD'; 
    

• Start MySQL server with the following command. Remember to replace PATH with the location in which you have saved the mysql-init.txt file:

   installdir " installdir\mysql\bin\mysqld.exe" --defaults-file=" installdir\mysql\my.ini" --init-file="\PATH\mysql-init.txt" --console
  

  • The --init file option is used by the server for executing the content of the mysql-init.txt file at startup, it will change each root account password.
  • The --defaults-file option is specified since you have installed MySQL using the Bitnami installer.
  • The --console option (optional) has been added in order to show the server output at the console window rather than in the log file.
• After some minutes, hit Ctrl-C to force the shutdown.
• Restart the MySQL server from the graphic manager tool.
• After the server has restarted successfully, delete the mysql-init.txt file.

How to access phpMyAdmin?

You should be able to access phpMyAdmin directly, by browsing to http://127.0.0.1/phpmyadmin.

The username is root for phpMyAdmin, and the password is the one specified by you during the installation process.

How to modify PHP settings for Apache?

The PHP configuration file allows you to configure the modules enabled, the email settings or the size of the upload files. It is located at installdir/php/etc/php.ini.

For example, to modify the default upload limit for PHP, update the PHP configuration file following these instructions.

After modifying the PHP configuration file, restart both Apache and PHP-FPM for the changes to take effect:

$ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
$ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart php-fpm

How to modify the allowed limit for uploaded files in Apache?

Modify the following options in the installdir/php/etc/php.ini file to increase the allowed size for uploads:

; Maximum size of POST data that PHP will accept.
post_max_size = 16M

; Maximum allowed size for uploaded files.
upload_max_filesize = 16M

Restart PHP-FPM and Apache for the changes to take effect.

$ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
$ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart php-fpm