1. How to start

1.1. Installation of requirements

GIS.lab source code download

Grab the GIS.lab latest release from https://github.com/gislab-npo/gislab/releases and unpacking it into a working directory.

Note

One can get GIS.lab source code also by using Git. The instructions below are valid for Debian/Ubuntu operating systems.

$ sudo apt install git
$ git clone https://github.com/gislab-npo/gislab.git

Ansible installation

Ansible is an automation engine used by GIS.lab for fully automatized provisioning. Its installation can be performed by typing ordinary commands.

$ sudo apt install ansible

Tip

Most recent version of Ansible software can be also installed also by PIP.

$ sudo pip3 install ansible

Or alternatively custom PPA can be used.

$ sudo apt install software-properties-common
$ sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ansible/ansible
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install ansible

1.1.1. Additional installation of requirements for Virtual Mode

These packages are needed only for installation in Virtual Mode.

VirtualBox installation

Install Dynamic Kernel Module Support Framework and VirtualBox packages. Alternatively the latest version can be downloaded from virtualbox.org.

$ sudo apt install dkms virtualbox virtualbox-qt

Vagrant installation

Installing vagrant package from default repositories should be normally sufficient. Alternatively the latest version can be downloaded from vagrantup.com.

$ sudo apt install vagrant

Also Vagrant disksize plugin is required and must be installed.

$ vagrant plugin install vagrant-disksize

Tip

If plugin installation fails, try to install more recent version of Vagrant.

1.2. Configuration

It is recommended to set at least some basic configuration before GIS.lab installation is performed.

GIS.lab is designed to install and run out of box with default configuration. However, it is required to change at least default network configuration variable GISLAB_NETWORK, if GIS.lab’s default network range 192.168.50.0/24 already exists in LAN to prevent IP conflicts.

Default GIS.lab configuration file named all exists in system/group_vars directory located in GIS.lab source code, see Fig. 1.1. When user decides to adjust it, this file should not be modified directly. Instead a custom configuration file in system/host_vars directory should be created.

Tip

Find the system/group_vars/all file in GIS.lab source code tree and see its content to become acquainted with all possibilities of configuration settings. It is full of commented out information.

For installation in Virtual mode it is recommended to create file named gislab_vagrant in system/host_vars directory for host specific GIS.lab configuration and put various changes there.

When Physical mode is used, file in system/host_vars directory should be named according to name of GIS.lab unit. This name is a part of Ansible inventory file content, script that Ansible uses to determine what to provide. All file names must always match unique host name specified in inventory file.

Fig. 1.1 File layout related to configuration.

File gislab_vagrant will be loaded automatically by Vagrant without need to manually create the Ansible inventory file.

Tip

See practical example of configuration file.

See also

Network configuration