Installing ResourceSpace on CentOS 7: Step-by-Step Guide

ResourceSpace is a free, open-source software designed for Digital Asset Management (DAM). Developed in PHP and utilizing MySQL as its database backend, it offers an effective solution for organizing, sharing, and managing digital assets like images, videos, audio files, design resources, and more within a company.

This walkthrough will guide you through installing ResourceSpace on a CentOS 7 server.

Prerequisites

• A server running CentOS 7 with at least 1024 MB RAM
• A user account with sudo privileges

Step 1: Update the Operating System

Before proceeding with package installation, it’s advised to update your CentOS system. Access the server with a sudo-enabled account and execute these commands:

sudo yum -y clean all
sudo yum -y install epel-release
sudo yum -y update
sudo shutdown -r now

Once your server reboots, log back in as the sudo user to continue.

Step 2: Set Up Apache Web Server

To install the Apache web server, run the command below:

sudo yum -y install httpd

Next, start Apache and configure it to auto-start during system boot:

sudo systemctl start httpd.service
sudo systemctl enable httpd.service

Step 3: Install PHP 7.1

To maintain compatibility and security, PHP 7.1 will be used. Begin by enabling the Remi repository:

sudo rpm -Uvh http://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-7.rpm
sudo yum -y install yum-utils
sudo yum-config-manager --enable remi-php71

Now install PHP and the necessary modules for ResourceSpace:

sudo yum -y install php php-dev php-gd php-mysqli php-mbstring php-curl php-cli php-pear php-devel

Open the php.ini file using your preferred text editor:

sudo nano /etc/php.ini

Modify the following parameters accordingly:

• memory_limit = 128M → change this to a value greater than 512M
• post_max_size = 8M → change this to 512M
• upload_max_filesize = 2M → change this to 512M

Step 4: Install MariaDB

MariaDB is used as the database system. Install it using the following command:

sudo yum -y install mariadb mariadb-server

Then start the service and enable it to launch on boot:

sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

Secure your MariaDB installation with the script below:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Leave the password field empty when prompted, as no password is set by default. Create a strong password and answer “Y” to all questions.

Step 5: Set Up ResourceSpace Database

Log into MySQL as the root user:

mysql -u root -p

Enter the root password you just set. Execute the following SQL queries to create a database and user for ResourceSpace:

CREATE DATABASE rs_data CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_general_ci;
CREATE USER 'rs_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON rs_data.* TO 'rs_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

You may substitute rs_data and rs_user with your preferred names. Be sure to replace StrongPassword with a secure password.

Step 6: Install Required Packages

To ensure ResourceSpace runs properly, you’ll need to install several dependencies including antiword, ffmpeg, perl-Image-ExifTool, ImageMagick, and xpdf.

Since some of these aren’t available via YUM or EPEL, begin by adding the RPMFusion and CERT repositories:

sudo yum -y localinstall --nogpgcheck https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-7.noarch.rpm
sudo yum -y localinstall https://forensics.cert.org/cert-forensics-tools-release-el7.rpm

Next, proceed to install the required packages:

sudo yum -y install antiword ffmpeg perl-Image-ExifTool ImageMagick xpdf

Step 7: Download and Set Up ResourceSpace

Obtain the ResourceSpace installation archive with the command below:

wget https://www.resourcespace.com/downloads/ResourceSpace_8_1_10036.zip

The latest version can always be downloaded from the official ResourceSpace site.

Next, make sure unzip is available on your system:

sudo yum -y install unzip

Extract the archive to the appropriate directory:

sudo unzip ResourceSpace*.zip -d /var/www/resourcespace

Adjust file ownership so Apache has proper access:

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/resourcespace

Permit HTTP traffic through the firewall on port 80:

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 8: Configure Apache Virtual Host

Create a virtual host configuration file to serve your ResourceSpace site:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/assets.example.com.conf

Add the following content to define the virtual host:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName assets.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/resourcespace
    <Directory /var/www/resourcespace>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        allow from all
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Apply the changes by restarting Apache:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 9: Finalize Installation in Browser

You’ve completed the backend setup for ResourceSpace. Final configuration is done through the web interface. Open your preferred browser and navigate to:

http://assets.example.com

Ensure your domain is correctly pointed to the server’s IP address.

Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you’ve successfully installed and configured ResourceSpace on CentOS 7. This setup empowers your team to efficiently manage digital assets in a centralized environment. Don’t forget to secure your installation, perform regular updates, and create backups to maintain system integrity.