Installing the SimpleHelp Server as a daemon or service on Linux

This document describes a few ways that you can install the SimpleHelp server as a service which starts when your server boots. The instructions are split depending on the services framework that your distribution is using. We currently support initd, upstart and systemd scripts. This script is responsible for registering the SimpleHelp server with the operating system's daemon scheduler.

The latest versions of our launch scripts can be downloaded below:

• Download Init.d Script

• Download Upstart Script

• Download SystemD Script

If you are unsure about which script to use, we would suggest using the Upstart script if the file /sbin/initctl exists, and the SystemD script if /sbin/systemctl or /bin/systemctl exists.

Installing using Init.d

The init.d script should be configured with the following paths altered for your SimpleHelp installation:

• SIMPLEHELP_PATH: Defaults to /opt/simplehelp. This should be changed to point to your SimpleHelp server installation directory.
• SCRIPTNAME: Defaults to /etc/init.d/simplehelp. This is the absolute path to the installed init.d script.

To install the modified script you can follow these instructions. Please note that the script location may be different depending on your specific Linux distribution.

• Move the modified script into the init.d scripts directory, typically /etc/init.d/simplehelp
• Ensure the permissions and user match the other scripts in the same directory.
• As a super user, run the following command to register the service:

chkconfig --add /etc/init.d/simplehelp

• Next run the following command to set the service's status appropriately.

chkconfig /etc/init.d/simplehelp on

Your SimpleHelp Server is now installed a service. You will now be able to start and stop SimpleHelp using the following commands:

Start SimpleHelp:

/etc/init.d/simplehelp start

Stop SimpleHelp:

/etc/init.d/simplehelp stop

Restart SimpleHelp:

/etc/init.d/simplehelp restart

Installing using Upstart

The Upstart script assumes that SimpleHelp will be installed in the directory /opt/SimpleHelp . Modify the path as required to reflect your particular installation.

To install the modified upstart follow these instructions (as a super user):

• Save the modified script as /etc/init/simplehelp.conf
• Set the permissions and ownership to match other .conf files in the same directory (typically chmod 644 and root:root).
• To start the service run:

/sbin/initctl start simplehelp

Installing using SystemD

The SystemD script assumes that SimpleHelp is installed in /opt/SimpleHelp. Please modify the script accordingly to reflect the installation directory on your server.

To install the SystemD script follow these steps (as a super user):

• Save the script as /etc/systemd/system/simplehelp.service
• Set the permissions and ownership to match other .service files in the same directory (typically chmod 644 and root:root).
• Instruct systemd to reload the scripts:
  

systemctl daemon-reload

• Enable the SimpleHelp service:
  

systemctl enable simplehelp.service

• Start the service:

systemctl start simplehelp.service