Ramses Server installation

Ramses Server runs on very standard web servers, with the usual Web Server / PHP / mySQL stack. That means you can install it on almost any desktop or server computers, private server, shared hosting, workstation, Raspberry… It doesn’t need much resources.

Prerequisites

Ramses Server must be installed on a computer with:

• An http web server like Apache
• PHP 7
• Optionally, an acces to a mySQL server and a dedicated database.
• An SSL certificate. Although this is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended to always encrypt your connections to the server, especially if the server is publicly available on the internet.

The recommended configuration is a standard AMP stack (Apache - mySQL - PHP), with at least 2GB of RAM if the SQL server is on the same computer than the Apache server.

• The needed space for the Ramses Server files (PHP) is only 300 KB!
• 50 MB should be more than enough for the vast majority of users for the mySQL database.

We provide a detailed, step-by-step guide to help you install your own web server satisfying these requirements on Windows, Linux or Mac OS if you need to, before installing the Ramses Server: install your own webserver.

Standard Installation

You first have to decide what type of database the Ramses Server will be using. There are two options:

• MySQL or any other compatible server like MariaDB.
  Use this if there will be a lot of users connected simultaneously to Ramses, and if you already know how to configure an SQL database (or you’re ready to learn).
• SQLite is a simpler database, self-contained in a single file handled by the Ramses Server. Use this if there will be just a few users connected simultaneously to Ramses, or if you want a server easier to setup and backup.

Once you’ve made your choice, follow these steps:

1. (MySQL only) Create a new base on the SQL server, along with its user and password.
2. Un-Zip the Ramses Server you’ve downloaded.
3. Edit config.php with needed info (read below).
4. (optional) Edit config_logs.php if you want to enable logs on the server.
5. Copy the Ramses Server files to the web server (you can just copy the ramses folder from the ZIP archive).
6. Go to http://your.server/ramses/install (if you’re running your own local server, this is probably something like http://localhost/ramses/install)
7. Delete the install folder from the server.

The default user for Ramses is Admin with the password password. You should start by changing this name and password using the Ramses Client Application.

config.php

The config.php file you have to edit looks like that:

    // === DEV MODE ===
    // Activates printing the SQL & PHP errors.
    // For security reasons, it is important to set this to false in production mode
    $devMode = false;

    // ==== SQL SETTINGS ====

    // either 'mysql' (works for MariaDB too) or 'sqlite'
    $sqlMode = 'sqlite';

    // ==== MySQL/MariaDB SETTINGS ====

    // Host URL
    $sqlHost = "localhost";
    $sqlPort = 3306;
    // Database name
    $sqlDBName = "ramses";
    // User
    $sqlUser = "ramses";
    // Password
    $sqlpassword = "password";
    // Table prefix
    // DO NOT CHANGE THIS, not working yet
    $tablePrefix = "ram";

    // ==== SESSION SETTINGS ====

    // Session timeout (seconds)
    // The client will be disconnected after being idle for this time
    // 30 minutes by default (1800) are more than enough:
    // The official client makes a call at least every 2 minutes by default.
    $sessionTimeout = 1800;
    // Max Session timeout (seconds)
    // The client will be disconnected no matter what after this time
    // 5 hours by default( 18000 )
    $cookieTimeout = 18000;

    // This must be the server public adress, exactly as used in the clients
    $serverAdress = "localhost/ramses";

    // This should never be changed, unless you change the key before building the official client or implementing your own client.
    // It can be used to make sure only your own client, built by yourself, can connect to your own server. In this case, keep it secret!
    // It is used to hash passwords.
    $clientKey = "H6BuYLsW";

• $devMode should always be false unless this server is going to be used for development and tests in a development environement. For security reasons do not set this to true on a production server.
• $sqlMode can be either 'sqlite' or 'mysql' depending on your choice of configuration (read above).

The next options are only used in MySQL mode. Ignore them when using SQLite.

• $sqlHost is the url or IP of your MySQL server. If you’ve installed your own server locally, you can leave it to "localhost". Don’t forget the quotes!
• $sqlPort is the port used by the MySQL server. 3306 is the default for most installations, if you need something different, your hosting provider should tell you.
• $sqlDBName is the name of the specific database you have to create for Ramses. Read below to learn how to create it with phpMyAdmin; the procedure can be different according to your hosting provider.
• $sqlUser is the name of the specific MySQL user you have to create for Ramses. Read below to learn how to create it with phpMyAdmin; the procedure can be different according to your hosting provider.
• $sqlpassword is the password of the specific MySQL user you have to create for Ramses. Read below to learn how to create it with phpMyAdmin; the procedure can be different according to your hosting provider.
• $tablePrefix is a prefix which will be used for the name of the database tables used by Ramses. As soon as this will be implemented, it will allow you to share a database with other instances of Ramses and even any other application (for example if your provider doesn’t allow you to create more databases on your server).

• $sessionTimeout is the time, in seconds, before an idle client is disconnected.
• $cookieTimeout is the time, in seconds, before a client is disconnected, no matter what.
• $serverAddress must be the public address of the server, exactly as it is set in all clients.
• $clientKey can be changed only if your client is not the official open source Ramses Client Application. Otherwise, leave it to the default value. It is a way to make sure only your client can connect to the server. It is currently used only when setting up the first user (administrator) during the server installation.