opml_community_server_howto.opml

How to set up your own OPML Community Server on a single machine with a single IP address.
  2/1/06; 11:08:36 AM by DM
  Kosso: 31 Jan 2006 : draft
  Background and Other Preparation
    Prep1: If you own a domain name and are able to create new 'subdomains' (the bit before the actual domain name eg : blogs in blogs.attengine.com is the subdomain), create three subdomains called 'rpc', 'blogs', and 'host' and point these to the IP address where your server application will be running - in my case, it is my home ISP connection where I have a static IP. Wait for these to become active, depending on your ISP DNS service.
      There are probably other ways you can do this with dyndns, but I don't have much experience with that.
      NOTE: On the machine you are using to set this up, it is worth telling this machine what it's name is, to the outside world.This way you can see your site locally using the same IP address. You willneed to find a file called 'hosts' (no extension)
        Windows: Find it in C:\\Windows\systems32\drivers\etc
        Mac: \etc\hosts (if I remember correctly)
        Add three lines with your local IP address (usually 127.0.0.1) follwed by a tabspace, followed by each of the new full names:
          eg:
          127.0.0.1 rpc.yourdomain.com
          127.0.0.1 blogs.yourdomain.com
          127.0.0.1 host.yourdomain.com
        Save this file and exit.
    Prep2: If you have a firewall/router on you network, you will need to allow Inbound port 80 and 5337 and point that to the IP address of your local machine. (I might be wrong about needing 5337 - I will test it without this port)
  Initial Setup and Obtaining Latest Code
    1. Download OPML.zip (or OPML.sit for Mac) to the machine your server. Find the download at http://support.opml.org/download.
    2. Unpack it to a folder with plenty of space - as all your users data files will be hosted within this folder, within the Guest Databases/www/hosting folder. This is your installation folder.
    3. Launch the OPML Editor (OPML.exe).
    4. You should receive a registration dialog. Cancel this for now. If you receive another prompt or dialog window, cancel that, as well.
    5. Update your installation. Get the latest opml.root code by selecting "Update Opml.root..." from the "File" menu. Dismiss the dialog box telling you how many parts were updated, get the latest community code by selecting "Get Latest Code..." from the "Community" menu. Dismiss the dialog box thanking you for updating.
    Kosso, I don't think you need to restart twice. // DM
    Dan, I did't see the Community Menu after the first update (in order to do the second - weird). And I like to do restarts just for good measure. Makes me feel better ;)
    6. Shut down the OPML Editor by selecting "Exit" from the "File" - just hitting the 'X' button in the corner of the window only hides the OPML Editor in your system tray. You need to 'Exit' it fully. You should now have the latest code (v. 0.63 at time of writing).
  Community Server Setup, Startup and First Run-Through
    7. Create a new text file named opmlStartupCommands.txt in your installation folder (see step 2).
    8. Edit opmlStartupCommands.txt by adding these lines:
      user.opmlserver.enabled = true;
      user.opmlServer.rpcName = "rpc.yourdomain.com";
      user.opmlServer.hostname = "host.yourdomain.com";
      user.opmlServer.blogsname = "blogs.yourdomain.com";
      user.opmlserver.folder = "";
      Where "rpc.yourdomain.com", "host.yourdomain.com", and "blogs.yourdomain.com" are domains that you have pointed to your server (see Background and Other Preparation), and the subdomains for user.opmlServer.hostname and user.opmlServer.blogsname must be different.
    9. Restart the OPML Editor. Congratulations! You should now have a OPML Community Server up and running.
    10. On your first run-through, you should receive a registration dialog again. So, sign up already! ;) You are the first user in your brand spanking new community! In the "Community Server Details" entry, type the name of your rpc.yourdomain.com.
      In previous notes from Dave on opml.org it was required that you sign up to opml first. I don't *think* you need to do this first in this case. Let's see how you get on.
      Original notes can be found here: http://support.opml.org/2005/11/16
      Go to 'Community > Your OPML Weblog > Open today's outline' menu to access today's outline and start blogging in OPML, on your own server! W00t!
  Notes
    The Windows version will tell you in the left hand frame that you are logged in. I forget how you see this in a Mac.
Caveat: I can't be available to answer everyone's questions if you run into problems, so I want to make this howto as useful as possible for all. Any helpful suggestions for additional instructions and comments etc are welcome.
Happy digging!
And don't forget to thank Dave! ;)
Cheers,
Kosso