GNet Solutions » GNU/Linux Administration

This is a guide for installing Kolab groupware on Debian 7.

5/8/15 - NOTE: I initially tried to install Kolab on Debian 8; however due to unsolvable dependency issues, I was unable to get a working Kolab installation working for Debian 8.

Prepare the Environment¶

• make sure the system is up to date:
  

  apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
  

Install Kolab¶

• Add the Kolab apt repository information:
  

  echo 'deb http://obs.kolabsys.com/repositories/Kolab:/3.4/Debian_7.0/ ./' >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kolab.list
  echo 'deb http://obs.kolabsys.com/repositories/Kolab:/3.4:/Updates/Debian_7.0/ ./' >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kolab.list
  

• Import the GPG key used to sign the packages:
  

  gpg --search devel@lists.kolab.org
  1
  

  
  NOTE: Verify that the key has the correct fingerprint 79D86A05FDE6C9FB4E43A6C5830C2BCF446D5A45

• Import the GPG key into apt:
  

  gpg --export --armor devel@lists.kolab.org | apt-key add -
  

• Ensure the Kolab packages have priority over the Debian packages:
  

  nano /etc/apt/preferences.d/kolab
  

  • And add the following
    

    Package: *
    Pin: origin obs.kolabsys.com
    Pin-Priority: 501
    

• Update the repository metadata:
  

  apt-get update
  

• Install the base package as follows:
  

  aptitude install kolab
  

• Run the installer:
  

  setup-kolab
  

  
  NOTE: The installer will prompt for a series of passwords for the various services run by kolab. Make sure to keep track of them, preferably with a password manager like LastPass or KeePass.

• When the installer finishes Kolab will be accessible from:
  • http://kolab.example.com/kolab-webadmin/
  • http://kolab.example.com/webmail/
  • http://kolab.example.com/chwala/

• To begin, login to the http://kolab.example.com/kolab-webadmin/ area with the username cn=Directory Manager and the password provided during the installation.
  • NOTE: To find the password to the cn=Directory Manager user run the following and use the bind_pw:
    

    grep "bind_pw" /etc/kolab/kolab.conf
    

Fix the Internal System Error¶

• Edit the kolab.conf file:
  nano /etc/kolab/kolab.conf
  • And add the following under the [kolab] section:
    

    [kolab]
    api_url = http://localhost/kolab-webadmin/api
    

    
    NOTE: I needed to do the above to be able to connect to the Kolab administration panel over an SSH tunnel.

Resources¶

• https://docs.kolab.org/installation-guide/debian.html
• https://wiki.kolab.org/Kolab3_Troubleshooting