Installing Diaspora on a CentOS 6 x86 VPS

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Diaspora is an open-source, distributed social network. Instead of a single company controlling and taking ownership of users’ content, Diaspora ‘pods’ can be hosted by anyone. Pods are typically configured so that users can interact with users on other public pods.

Step 1: OS Configuration

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Add Swap Space

If you’re running a VPS (droplet) with less than 2 GB of RAM, you’ll need to enable swap on your VPS. If you do not do so, some build steps are likely to fail.

This tutorial has instructions on enabling swap for CentOS 6. For smaller VPS, add at least 1 GB of swap space.

Create a local, non-root user

Most steps will be run as a non-root user with sudo access. This tutorial will run you through creating a user account and granting it sudo power.

Add the EPEL repository

EPEL stands for Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux, and it has some packages we’ll need to install that are not part of the base CentOS repositories.

Log in as your local user and run:

sudo su -c 'rpm -Uvh http://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/6/x86_64/epel-release-6-8.noarch.rpm'

Install Prerequisite Packages

Next you will need to install the packages Diaspora requires to build and run.

sudo yum install tar make automake gcc gcc-c++ git net-tools libcurl-devel libxml2-devel libffi-devel libxslt-devel tcl ImageMagick npm mysql-server mysql-devel nginx libyaml libyaml-devel patch readline-devel libtool bison

Install Redis

Redis is an open-source key value data store Diaspora requires. Install it and configure it to start at boot:

sudo yum install redis.x86_64
sudo chkconfig --add redis
sudo chkconfig --level 345 redis on
sudo /etc/init.d/redis start

Add a Dedicated Diaspora User

This is the user account that will run Diaspora. You can name this account whatever you like, but this tutorial will assume that this user is called diaspora.

sudo useradd diaspora

Step 2: Start and Configure MySQL

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Next up is getting MySQL configured for Diaspora.

Start MySQL

MySQL was installed earlier, but won’t yet be running. Start up the MySQL server.

sudo /etc/init.d/mysqld start

Create a Diaspora Database and MySQL User

First, open up MySQL as root.

sudo mysql

Now create a diaspora user and the database we’ll be using.

CREATE USER 'diaspora'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
CREATE DATABASE diaspora_production;

Now grant the user that was created access to the new database:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON diaspora_production.* TO 'diaspora'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Type exit to quit MySQL.

Set MySQL to Start on Boot

Set CentOS to start up the MySQL daemon when the server reboots.

sudo chkconfig --level 345 mysqld on

Step 3: Install and Configure Diaspora

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The next step is to grab the Diaspora source and get it configured to run on your VPS. These commands should be run as the Diaspora user you created earlier.

sudo su - diaspora

Fix Permissions on the Diaspora Home Directory

In order to serve some of the files Diaspora needs, the Diaspora home directory permissions will need to be relaxed to allow open read and execute access:

chmod ugo+rx ~diaspora

Install rvm

Make sure you are still logged in as your Diaspora user and install the stable branch of rvm:

\curl -s -S -L https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable

rvm will add some environment setup to the login scripts for the diaspora user; to make sure these are set it’s easiest to log out then back in.

exit
sudo su - diaspora

Install Ruby

Use rvm to install the version of Ruby required by Diaspora. Newer versions of Ruby may not be fully supported.

rvm autolibs read-only
rvm install 1.9.3-p448

Fetch the Diaspora Source Code

Now clone the source code for Diaspora.

git clone git://github.com/diaspora/diaspora.git

Enter the diaspora folder that git created.

cd diaspora

You’ll see a warning notice once you change to the diaspora directory:

********************************************************************************
* NOTICE                                                                       *
********************************************************************************
* RVM has encountered a new or modified .rvmrc file in the current directory,  *
* this is a shell script and therefore may contain any shell commands.         *
*                                                                              *
* Examine the contents of this file carefully to be sure the contents are      *
* safe before trusting it!                                                     *
* Do you wish to trust '/home/diaspora/diaspora/.rvmrc'?                       *
* Choose v[iew] below to view the contents                                     *
********************************************************************************
y[es], n[o], v[iew], c[ancel]>

Type y to confirm you want to trust the .rvmrc.

Configure the Diaspora Database

Copy the example database configuration file to where Diaspora expects it to be.

cp config/database.yml.example config/database.yml

Tweak the settings in database.yml to match the database you created earlier.

emacs config/database.yml

The first several lines show the MySQL configuration. Change the username and password to that of the MySQL account you created earlier when setting up the MySQL database. The block should end up looking something like this, with the password set to what you chose earlier:

mysql: &mysql
  adapter: mysql2
  host: "localhost"
  port: 3306
  username: "diaspora"
  password: "password"
  charset: utf8
  collation: utf8_bin

Configure Diaspora Options

Copy the example configuration file so Diaspora will find it.

cp config/diaspora.yml.example config/diaspora.yml

Open this file up in a text editor to edit some of the settings.

emacs config/diaspora.yml

You will need to update a few things:

• Find a line starting url: and update this with your server’s hostname, and uncomment the line by removing any leading # symbols.
• A few lines lower, find a line that reads #certificate_authorities: '/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt' and remove the leading # to uncomment it.
• A few lines further down, find a line beginning require_ssl. Remove this line’s leading # and set the value to false.

Install Required Gems and Setup Database

Ruby will need to fetch and install several gems Diaspora needs.

RAILS_ENV=production bundle install --without test development

Next build the database schema.

RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake db:schema:load

Finally, pre-compile Diaspora.

RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake assets:precompile

Step 4: Start Diaspora

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Create an init script that will make it easy to start up Diaspora:

sudo emacs /etc/init.d/diaspora

Paste in the following content:

#! /bin/sh
# chkconfig: - 86 30
# Author: FABIAN Tamas Laszlo <giganetom@gmail.com>
# Source: https://github.com/netom/diaspora-init/blob/master/init/diaspora

PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin
DESC="Diaspora application server"
NAME=diaspora
DIASPORA_HOME="/home/diaspora/diaspora"
STARTSCRIPT="RAILS_ENV=production ./script/server"
LOGFILE=$DIASPORA_HOME/log/startscript.log
SCRIPTNAME=$0
USER=diaspora
STARTUP_TIMEOUT=100

check_unicorn() {
    pgrep -f "unicorn_rails master"
}

check_sidekiq() {
    pgrep -f "sidekiq 2"
}

do_start()
{
    if ! touch $LOGFILE; then
        echo "Could not touch logfile"
        return 2
    fi

    if ! chown $USER $LOGFILE; then
        echo "Could not chown logfile"
        return 2
    fi

    if check_unicorn && check_sidekiq; then
        echo "Diaspora is already running"
        return 1
    fi

    if ! su -l $USER -c "cd $DIASPORA_HOME; $STARTSCRIPT >> $LOGFILE 2>&1 &"; then
        echo "Could not run start script"
        return 2
    fi

    [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Waiting for Diaspora processes... "
    c=0
    while ! check_unicorn > /dev/null || ! check_sidekiq > /dev/null; do
        if [ $c -gt $STARTUP_TIMEOUT ]; then
            echo "Timeout waiting for Diaspora processes"
            return 2
        fi
        c=`expr $c + 1`
        sleep 1
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo -n "."
    done
    [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 0
}

do_stop()
{
    for i in `check_unicorn`; do
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Killing unicorn master with PID $i"
        kill -TERM $i
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo $?
    done

    for i in `check_sidekiq`; do
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Killing sidekiq with PID $i"
        kill -TERM $i
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo $?
    done

    return 0
}

case "$1" in
  start)
    [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Starting $DESC" "$NAME"
    do_start
    case "$?" in
        0|1) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 0 ;;
        *) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 1 ;;
    esac
    ;;
  stop)
    [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Stopping $DESC" "$NAME"
    do_stop
    case "$?" in
        0|1) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 0 ;;
        2) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 1 ;;
    esac
    ;;
  status)
    echo 'Checking for running Diaspora processes'

    unicorn_running=false
    for i in `check_unicorn`; do
        echo "Found unicorn master qith PID $i"
        unicorn_running=true
    done

    sidekiq_running=false
    for i in `check_sidekiq`; do
        echo "Found sidekiq with PID $i"
        sidekiq_running=true
    done

    if $unicorn_running && $sidekiq_running; then
        echo "Diaspora health is OK"
        echo 0
    else
        if $unicorn_running; then
            echo "Unicorn is RUNNING, but sidekiq is DOWN!"
            echo 1
            return 1
        fi
        if $sidekiq_running; then
            echo "Sidekiq is RUNNING, but unicorn is DOWN!"
            echo 1
            return 1
        fi
        echo "All Diaspora processes are DOWN"
        echo 0
    fi
    ;;
  restart|force-reload)
    [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Restarting $DESC" "$NAME"
    do_stop
    case "$?" in
      0|1)
        do_start
        case "$?" in
            0) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 0 ;;
            1) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "old process is still running" && echo 1 ;;
            *) [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "failed to start" && echo 1 ;;
        esac
        ;;
      *)
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "failed to stop"
        [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo 1
        ;;
    esac
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: $SCRIPTNAME {start|stop|status|restart|force-reload}" >&2
    exit 3
    ;;
esac

:

And grant exec permissions:

sudo chmod u+x /etc/init.d/diaspora

Now configure CentOS to start this on boot, and run it to start up our VPS.

sudo chkconfig --add diaspora
sudo chkconfig --level 345 diaspora on
sudo /etc/init.d/diaspora start

This will start up a Diaspora server listening on your VPS’ IP on port 3000, and leave it running in the background.

Step 5: Configure nginx

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nginx will reverse proxy connections from the web to the Diaspora server.

Tweak Main nginx Configuration

sudo emacs /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Under the http section, add a line:

server_names_hash_bucket_size       128;

Create a Diaspora nginx Configuration

Now open up a new file to create an nginx configuration for Diaspora.

sudo emacs /etc/nginx/conf.d/diaspora.conf

Paste in the following content. You will need to update the server_name path to your hostname.

upstream diaspora {
  server          localhost:3000;
}


server {
  server_name YOURSERVER.COM;
  listen 80;
  gzip on;
  gzip_min_length 1000;
  gzip_types application/json text/css application/x-javascript;

  root /home/diaspora/diaspora/public;
  try_files $uri @diaspora;
  location @diaspora {
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;
    proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
    proxy_redirect off;
    proxy_pass http://diaspora;
  }
}

Restart nginx

Now that the configuration file has been created, restart nginx to pick up the changes.

sudo /etc/init.d/nginx stop
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx start

The stop command may fail if ngnix wasn’t currently running, but the start command should succeed.

Set nginx to Start on Boot

Set CentOS to start up the nginx daemon when the VPS reboots.

sudo chkconfig --level 345 nginx on

Step 6: Use Diaspora!

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Now that nginx and Diaspora are both up and running, you can navigate to your Diaspora instance and start using it. You can access it by navigating to your hostname with your web browser. You’ll be greater with the Diaspora welcome page where you can create your first local Diaspora account.