MISTC Server Download

This page provides two options for downloading the MISTC server. The first option describes the download of a complete working installation of both Moodle 2.0 and the MISTC server--a Virtual Appliance. The second description is for downloading the MISTC server for an existing server already running Moodle 2.0+ on Linux.

1st Option - Virtual Appliance
This is a complete working installation of Moodle 2.0 and the MISTC server running on an installation of Ubuntu Linux 11.1. It includes local installations of the Apache webserver and MySQL database. It is based on the TurnKey Moodle appliance from http://www.turnkeylinux.org/moodle.

3. Start the TurnKey Moodle+MISTC Virtual Machine.

4. Follow the prompts for setting a series of passwords with confirmations

You will need to enter each password twice. The first prompt is for the local root user for the Linux operating system. The second password is for root user of the local MySQL database. Finally, it will prompt for a password for the "admin" account used to authenticate to Moodle.

Please record and note each of these passwords. In particular, you will need the final "admin" account and password to sign in to Moodle.

The system will attempt to obtain an IP address using DHCP from the network you are currently attached to. The final screen of the boot process will provide the URL's required to access the Moodle server based on the obtained IP address. Use the URLs provided in a web browser to login to Moodle.

Note: you will likely receive some warning messages about the SSL certificate not being trusted when accessing through the web. These messages may vary depending on the web browser software you are using. They can be ignored. If you wish to move the server environment in to a production setting, then you may want to assign a specific address and obtain a certificate from a certificate authority.

Requirements:
    Linux based server (preferably RHEL/CentOS or Ubuntu)
    Perl 5.8.10+
    Perl DBI MySQL modules from CPAN
    Java 1.6+
    Apache Web Server
    PHP 5.2.3+
    Moodle 2.0+ (along with Moodle's requirements--see http://www.moodle.org)
    MySQL Server

Note:You will need root or equivalent permission on the Linux server and Admin or Manager privileges on the Moodle 2.0 installation.

1. Download and install the Moodle 2.0 MISTC activity module.
    http://netlab.gmu.edu/MISTC/download/server/mistc.zip

2. Copy this file into your Moodle installation and extract it into the /mod directory.
    (e.g., If moodle is installed in /var/www/moodle, copy this file into /var/www/moodle/mod
    and unzip it to produce the directory /var/www/moodle/mod/mistc)

3. In a browser, login to the Moodle site as an administrator and access the Admin area
    using a URL similar to:  http://yourserver.edu/moodle/admin

    This should show a list of Activity modules including mod/mistc with the status
    "Non-standard (about to be installed)".

    Scroll to the bottom of this page and click "Upgrade" to install the module and update the database.

    You should be taken to a page that says "mod_mistc success". Click Continue.

4. Now specify the server host address for the server and customize the client configuration parameters.
    (In most cases, these setting will not need to be modified.)

5. Download the MISTCserver package from
    http://netlab.gmu.edu/MISTC/download/server/MISTCserver.tgz
   Extract this to, i.e., /usr/local using the command:
   tar zxvf MISTCServer.tgz -C /usr/local to create /usr/local/MISTCserver.

6. Change directory to /usr/local/MISTCserver and edit the config file: mistc.conf
       • enter the path to your java binary
       • specify the path to the MISTCserver data directory
       • enter credentials for accessing the Moodle database in MySQL
   (If you have not created the data directory, you must do so before starting the MISTCserver.)

7. Now start the MISTC server process controller with these commands:
       cd /usr/local/MISTCserver
       ./mistc_controller -C /usr/local/MISTCserver/mistc.conf

8. When the server starts, it will place log files in the logs directory beneath the data directory.

9. Add a MISTC virtual room to a course in Moodle:
   Add the room using the Activity Modules drop down.

Special Considerations: Each MISTC Virtual Room added to the course causes the process controller to start a new Java process that listens on a unique TCP port. The range of ports used needs to be open on the local and network firewalls that might be between the client and the server. By default, the server uses the port range TCP 30000-30020. If you want to adjust the port range used, under Site Administration in Moodle, go to Plugins -> Acitvity Modules -> MISTC Virtual Room -> Config Ports (at the bottom).