Bare Metal Server Installation for OpenELIS Global 2.0 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Setup Ubuntu 20.04.2.0 LTS (Focal Fossa)

  1. Boot Ubuntu from a CD. [Note: Use Ubuntu Server 20.04.2.0 LTS, do NOT use desktop] Download.
  2. Chose UI language and keyboard layout
  3. Set the network configuration
  4. Use the default mirror
  5. Set up the hard disk
  6. Name the system: openelis
  7. user openelis
  8. set password and record it
    • I suggest adding the ssh key for each support user to enable passwordless connection.
  9. Select Install OpenSSH server
    • this will allow you to ssh into this computer allowing copy/paste for Windows users through Putty, or connections via terminal on Mac and from the shell in LINUX
  10. Skip the optional server snaps
  11. Finalize the ubuntu install
  12. Reboot

NOTE: I like to connect via ssh if I’m going to be using a lot of resources from my own computer here. This allows me to easily copy and paste commands below. For windows, the best utility I’ve found is Mobaxterm, as it incoperates a SCP client as well available for free download online. .

Install Prerequisites for OpenELIS

  1. Ensure that the system is connected to the internet properly, you can try to ping google DNS at 8.8.8.8

    ping 8.8.8.8

  2. Install Net Tools in order to find the IP Address

    sudo apt install net-tools

  3. Open a command prompt and enter the following commands- this will install the needed services and install updates to the OS since the image was created. This updates the system from the sources in the sources list. It updates what new packages are available.

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

  4. Install Python

    sudo apt-get install python

Create and Load SSL Certificates

OpenELIS uses SSL certificates to securely communicate with other software or consolidated lab data servers. For a test or temporary instance, use a self-signed certificate, and for a production instance create a proper signed certifcate. You must have a cert and key created and in the keystore and truststore for the installer to run

Generate a .crt and .key file for the domain you want to use.

The command below is for generating and using a self-signed certifcate. Note: for FQDN use *.openelisci.org

sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key -out /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt

Create keystore from key and cert

In this step we will create our Keystore. There are two sets of example commands. The first is one with an empty path to the key and cert files, and the second set uses the self signed certifcate we created above.

Make the directories for the keystore

sudo mkdir /etc/openelis-global/

make sure to record the password somewhere secure as you will need to enter it elsewhere)

sudo openssl pkcs12 -inkey path/toyour/key -in path/to/your/cert -export -out /etc/openelis-global/keystore

enter an export password

Be sure to remember your keystore password, you will need it later

For the self-signed certificate above, you would use:

sudo openssl pkcs12 -inkey /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key -in /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt -export -out /etc/openelis-global/keystore

Be sure to remember your keystore password, you will need it later

Create truststore with OpenELIS-Global's cert (or a CA that signs OE certs)

Choose ONE of the two methods below to reate your truststore

  1. using keytool (more reliable):

    sudo apt-get install default-jre

sudo keytool -import -alias oeCert -file path/to/your/cert -storetype pkcs12 -keystore /etc/openelis-global/truststore
    • set the truststore password

    Be sure to remember your truststore password, you will need it later

    • when prompted if you want to trust the cert type yes

    For the self-signed certificate above, you would use:

    sudo keytool -import -alias oeCert -file /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt -storetype pkcs12 -keystore /etc/openelis-global/truststore
    • set the truststore password

    Be sure to remember your truststore password, you will need it later

    • when prompted if you want to trust the cert type yes

  2. using openssl (less reliable, but doesn't require java):

    openssl pkcs12 -export -nokeys -in path/to/your/cert -out /etc/openelis-global/truststore

    For the self-signed certificate above, you would use:

    openssl pkcs12 -export -nokeys -in /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt -out /etc/openelis-global/truststore

Install Postgresql

OpenELIS-Global is configured to be able to install a docker based version of Postgres, but this is generally not recommended for production databases If you trust docker to provide your database, you can ignore this section.

  1. Install Postgresql

    sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib

  2. Configure Postgresql

    Postgres gets configured automatically through the setup script. This might possibly interfere with other applications installed on the same server.

Download OpenELIS Global

  1. Install OpenELIS Global

    a. Download latest installer package: 

    curl -L -O https://url_for_the _file.tar.gz

    b. EG: for OE 2.3 : 

    curl -L -O https://www.dropbox.com/s/zrk5127xrg8cn6g/OpenELIS-Global_2.3.2.2_Installer.tar.gz

  2. Unpack and enter the installer by running the following commands in Terminal, Mobaxterm, or Putty, replacing all in the { } with the appropriate values

    tar xzf OpenELIS-Global_{installer_version}_Installer.tar.gz

cd OpenELIS-Global_{installer_version}_Installer

    a. EG: tar -xvf OpenELIS-Global_2.3.2.2_Installer.tar.gz b. cd OpenELIS-Global_2.3.2.2_Installer/

  3. Optionally configure your install by editing setup.ini

    Find the section [DOCKER_VALUES] and set provide_database=True if you would like to use a Docker database

  4. Run the install script in Terminal or Putty

    sudo python2 setup_OpenELIS.py

Install OpenELIS Global

  1. Set the site identification number for this instance a. The site number is used to set the default test order prefix, and to identify the system to the consolidated server and other data systems.

  2. Set the time zone for OpenELIS Application a. Select the region that your country is in a. Select the country a. Verify the time zone

  3. Enter in the keystore password we set earlier
  4. Same with the truststore
  5. Enter an encryption key, this will help secure your data by encrypting your database

OpenELIS uses FHIR for much of its internal and external communication, if you don't know what the options mean, leave them at the default.

  1. Local FHIR store is the link to the local FHIR API
  2. The remote FHIR store is used in the use case where OpenELIS is polling for lab orders and returning results. EG: the FHIR2 Module for OpenMRS
  3. The Consolidated Sevrer is a central server which collects lab data for reporting, serves as a master facility list, etc.

Wait while install procedure completes

Please note: OpenELIS Global 2.x is designed for and is testing on Chrome only. Please be sure to use Chrome for OpenELIS.

  1. Check if OpenELIS is running at https://{server_ip_address}:8443/OpenELIS-Global/

Default user: admin Default password: adminADMIN!

Configure the backup:

Follow the SOP at: Backup Configuration