Installation

Although the XC Drupal Toolkit may not be as easy to install as other modules, it is very much so possible. The following guide is meant to assist in the installation.

Advice

Installing the Drupal Toolkit, as with any other Drupal module, requires some understanding of the Drupal content management system. However, unlike other modules, the Drupal Toolkit requires root or administrator access to ensure the necessary software and hardware requirements are met.

For this reason, whosoever installs Drupal must be familiar with network and server administration and must be well acquainted with and knowledgable of the operating system unto which the software is installed. This is very important, as the installer will likely need software packages, such as Git and Java, or additional PHP components, such as cURL and SimpleXML, that may not exist on the system or may need to be updated to the correct version. They will need to understand how to work with a command line and execute scripts, configure web servers such as Apache HTTP, and most importantly, configure Apache Solr.

Preparation

Before installing the Drupal Toolkit, there are a few steps you should take to prepare for installation. First, back up all files and databases that may be affected, such as those under your web root and the Drupal document root. Also make dump of the Drupal database and any other databases that may be affected.

Second, make a note of module dependencies, particularly those within the Drupal Toolkit. Although all modules can be installed at once, you may not want to do so. This is even more important for those with low system resources, as installing too many modules at once may lead to PHP running out of memory or the system running low on disk space.

Third, review system settings, such as port configurations, firewalls, and user privileges. It may also be useful to review server configuration files, to ensure that there are no stumbling blocks preventing a successful installation of the Drupal Toolkit.

Known Issues

Running multiple web servers is not advised. Unless configured otherwise, web servers usually run on port 80 for HTTP and may also use port 443 for HTTPS, which may cause a conflict, for example, if running XAMPP and the default Apache HTTP at the same time. The same applies to other servers, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Apache Solr.

Running multiple instances of PHP may also pose a problem, as you may not know which php.ini configuration file is being used by the web server or command line. Installing too many CGI packages on a system may also present a conflict for when and how certain files are processed by a web server.

Some applications, for ease of communication, tend to use important ports, such as HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443), as they are not typically not blocked by network firewalls or NAT. The most common problem is with Skype on Windows. Therefore, if Skype is installed, disable its usage of ports 80 and 443:

1. Open Skype
2. Click the Tools menu and select Options
3. Click the Advanced tab, and click the Connection tab that slides underneath
4. Make sure the checkbox for "Use port 80 and 443 as an alternatives..." is unchecked
5. Click the Save
6. Restart Skype to make the change effective

Required Contributed Modules

Installing and Configuring Necessary Software and Servers

Apache HTTP

MySQL

PHP

Java

Apache Solr

Installing Drupal and Drupal Toolkit