Ubuntu 20.04 LTS within an AWS environment ensures scalability, security, and accessibility for global health initiatives.
Why Install DHIS2 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS in AWS?
- Cloud Scalability: AWS provides flexible infrastructure that allows DHIS2 to scale based on user demands.
- Security & Reliability: Hosting on AWS ensures high availability, data security, and backup options.
- Cost-Effective: Running DHIS2 on an Ubuntu server in AWS can be optimized for cost-efficient deployments.
- Performance Optimization: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is a stable, secure, and performance-oriented operating system suitable for DHIS2.
- Remote Accessibility: AWS hosting allows users and organizations to access DHIS2 from anywhere in the world.
Technical Overview
DHIS2 is compatible with all major operating systems that support Java JDK, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. It utilizes the PostgreSQL database engine, which offers robust data storage, high performance, and GIS capabilities. DHIS2 is deployed as a Java Web Archive (WAR) file and can be run on Servlet containers such as Apache Tomcat and Jetty, making it highly flexible for various environments.
In this guide, we will walk through the step-by-step process of installing DHIS2 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS within AWS, configuring the necessary dependencies, and optimizing it for production use.
Server Specification: 2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU
Target: DHIS 2.37
Tomcat: 9, PostgreSQL: 12, Java: OpenJDK 11
Step 1: Basic Configuration
1.1 Set server time zone:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
Create a new directory:
sudo mkdir /var/www/mydomain.com
If you encounter a "cannot create directory" error, run:
cd /var sudo mkdir www cd ~ sudo mkdir /var/www/mydomain.com
Create a new user dhis_tl:
sudo useradd dhis_tl -s /bin/false
Set a strong password:
sudo passwd dhis_tl
Step 2: PostgreSQL Installation
Install PostgreSQL:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install postgresql postgresql-contrib sudo systemctl start postgresql.service
Install PostGIS:
sudo apt-get install postgis
Create a PostgreSQL user:
sudo -u postgres createuser -SDRP dhis_tl
Step 3: Database Configuration
Create and edit the DHIS2 configuration file:
sudo -u dhis_tl nano /var/www/mydomain.com/config/dhis.conf
Sample dhis.conf file:
# Hibernate SQL dialect connection.dialect = org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect # JDBC driver class connection.driver_class = org.postgresql.Driver # Database connection URL connection.url = jdbc:postgresql:dhis2 # Database username connection.username = dhis_tl # Database password connection.password = 123456 # Encryption password (set a strong password) encryption.password = xxxx
Step 4: Java Installation
Install OpenJDK:
sudo apt-get install openjdk-11-jdk
Check installation directory:
ls /usr/lib/jvm
Step 5: Tomcat and DHIS2 Installation
Install Tomcat 9:
sudo apt-get install tomcat9-user
Create Tomcat instance:
cd /var/www/mydomain.com/ sudo tomcat9-instance-create tomcat-dhis
Edit setenv.sh:
sudo nano /var/www/mydomain.com/tomcat-dhis/bin/setenv.sh
Replace contents with:
#!/bin/sh CATALINA_HOME=/usr/share/tomcat9 . /usr/libexec/tomcat9/tomcat-locate-java.sh export JAVA_HOME='/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64/' export JAVA_OPTS='-Xmx2000m -Xms1000m' export DHIS2_HOME='/var/www/mydomain.com/config'
Step 6: DHIS2 Download
Download and move the WAR file:
cd ~ sudo wget https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/releases.dhis2.org/2.37/dhis.war sudo mv dhis.war /var/www/mydomain.com/tomcat-dhis/webapps/ROOT.war
Step 7: Running DHIS2
Start DHIS2:
sudo -u dhis_tl /var/www/mydomain.com/tomcat-dhis/bin/startup.sh
Monitor logs:
sudo tail -f /var/www/mydomain.com/tomcat-dhis/logs/catalina.out
Access DHIS2 at:
https://mydomain.com_or_IP:8080/
Username: adminPassword: district
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Last updated: 2023-03-08