Install our open source software suite on a laptop

Our step-by-step guide to run reelyActive's open source software suite on a laptop or personal computer.

Install reelyActive's open source suite on a laptop

The TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

Learn how we at reelyActive deploy our software suite on a laptop or personal computer.

  Although this tutorial is still valid, we recommend instead following the updated version:

What will this accomplish?
The laptop will accept data from IoT/RFID hardware, providing a comprehensive suite of interactive web applications and APIs.
Is there an easier way?
Ask us for a quote to prepare a laptop for you as part of a PoC.
Does this apply only to a laptop?
The instructions are equally applicable to any computer/server, although we do have a tutorial specific to the Raspberry Pi.

Prerequisites

A laptop or computer. Consider the following tutorial if preparing a dedicated computer from scratch.

Installing Node.js, npm and git   Step 1 of 3

Install all the prerequisites for the reelyActive open source software.

Why install Node.js?
The reelyActive open source software runs on Node.js.
Why install git?
Because nothing says "I ♥ Open Source Software" quite like git.
Node.js, npm and git

Download and install Node.js and npm Part 1

Check first if node and npm are already installed by running node --version and npm --version from the command line .

From the laptop , browse to nodejs.org and note the latest LTS version number available (ex: 10.15.3). Substitute this version number in all of the commands below.

  1. Change to the home folder with the command cd
  2. Download the Node.js tarball with the command wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v10.15.3/node-v10.15.3-linux-x64.tar.xz
  3. Unpack with the command tar -xf node-v10.15.3-linux-x64.tar.xz
  4. Move the unpacked folder to /usr/local/node with the command sudo mv node-v10.15.3-linux-x64 /usr/local/node
  5. Remove the original download with the command rm node-v10.15.3-linux-x64.tar.xz
  6. Change to the /usr/local/bin folder with the command cd /usr/local/bin
  7. Create here a symbolic link to node with the command sudo ln -s /usr/local/node/bin/node node
  8. Create here a symbolic link to npm with the command sudo ln -s /usr/local/node/bin/npm npm

Confirm that node and npm are successfully installed with the commands node --version and npm --version respectively.

From the laptop , browse to nodejs.org and follow the friendly instructions to download and install the latest LTS version for Mac.

From the laptop , browse to nodejs.org and follow the friendly instructions to download and install the latest LTS version for Windows.

Install git Part 2

Check first if git is already installed by running git --version from the command line .

From the laptop , open a terminal and install git with the command sudo apt-get install git-all

Consult the official git Getting Started Guide for more details, including instructions for non-Debian based Linux distributions.

The easiest way to install git is to install the Xcode Command Line Tools with which it is bundled. Open a terminal on the laptop and run git to start the installation.

Consult the official git Getting Started Guide for more details.

From the laptop , browse to git-scm.com/download/win to download and then execute the git installer.

Consult the official git Getting Started Guide for more details.

Node , npm and git are now installed!

Installing hlc-server   Step 2 of 3

Clone our hlc-server repository on GitHub and install all dependencies using npm.

What's hlc-server?
It's a software package that combines all the core components of the reelyActive open source stack.
What does hlc stand for?
HyperLocal Context.
Clone hlc-server

Create a reelyActive folder Part 1

From the laptop , open a terminal and create a reelyActive folder under the home folder as follows ( Windows users can instead complete this step using Windows Explorer).

  1. Change to the home folder with the command cd
  2. Create (if it does not already exist) a reelyActive folder with the command mkdir reelyActive
  3. Change to the reelyActive folder with the command cd reelyActive

Install the software and dependencies Part 2

From the terminal , in the reelyActive folder, install the hlc-server software as follows.

  1. Clone the hlc-server repository from our GitHub with the command git clone https://github.com/reelyactive/hlc-server.git
  2. Change to the hlc-server folder with the command cd hlc-server
  3. Install all package dependencies from npm with the command npm install     1 min

Run hlc-server Part 3

From the terminal , in the hlc-server folder, run the software as follows.

  1. Run the hlc-server with the command npm start
  2. Point a web browser to localhost:3001 to observe the hlc-server web interface.

The reelyActive open source software suite is now installed.

Running as a systemd service   Step 3 of 3

Configure the software to run as a service each time the laptop boots. ( Linux only)

Why systemd?
It is becoming the de facto standard for system and service management among Linux distributions.
Why run on boot?
For convenience of course!
Run hlc-server on boot with systemd

This optional step applies only to Linux systems.

Enable the hlc-server service Part 1

From the same terminal , and from the hlc-server folder, configure systemd to run the hlc-server service by completing the following:

  1. Copy the unit file to the systemd system folder with the command sudo cp units/hlc-server.service /lib/systemd/system
  2. Edit the copied file, updating, in both places, the username to that of the corresponding laptop user
  3. Enable the hlc-server service with the command sudo systemctl enable hlc-server.service
  4. Browse again to localhost:3001

Observe the hlc-server landing page.

Confirm that hlc-server runs on boot Part 2

Reboot the laptop and confirm that the hlc-server landing page is indeed once again served at localhost:3001.

If necessary, it is possible to disable the service with the command sudo systemctl disable hlc-server.service.

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Where to next?

Continue exploring our open architecture and all its applications.