Chapter 2. Setting up an OCS Inventory NG Management Server

There's one fantastic analogy to building servers, even though it might seem hilarious. The process is like architecture, for example, building a house. Shocking, isn't it? Yes! Nevertheless, it makes sense. First, we need a rock solid foundation. Depending on your point of view, this can either be the hardware platform or the server software backend platform.

The foundation requires the necessary materials. These are akin to software prerequisites in case of software application, for example, Perl modules. When the foundation is laid, and when it seems to be solid (meaning the material is conglomerated), which means every module and component gets along well with the other items, we can say we are ready to begin building the house. The house itself can stand for the application we're going to install.

Right now, the house we're going to install is the OCS Inventory NG management server. The foundation is a well-rounded AMP stack web server with the necessary modules. After the house is built, and assuming it does not fall apart right away (meaning no errors), the final step before moving in is its interior design.

Naturally, the interior design of fresh homes represents the initial configuration of server variables. Getting the fences up consists of setting passwords and eliminating security flaws. Now, depending on how large our family gets, we might find out that the way we designed our home is not appropriate. The groundsill might be weak, and the home can prove to be small and uncomfortable. Jokes aside, it's self-explanatory how this analogy continues.

In this chapter, let's get the following tasks done: