LibreNMS automatically discover your entire network using CDP, FDP, LLDP, OSPF, BGP, SNMP, and ARP and provide you alerts via email, slack and more. LibreNMS supports the majority of the network devices in use today. from many major manufacturers. including the vast majority of the networking devices deployed. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install LibreNMS software on Ubuntu 16.04 / 17.10  and 18.04 LTS servers. For more about LibreNMS, please check its homepage. When you’re ready to install LibreNMS, follow the steps below:

How to Install LibreNMS on Ubuntu Linux

As mentioned above, LibreNMS automatically discover your entire network using CDP, FDP, LLDP, OSPF, BGP, SNMP, and ARP and provide you alerts via email, slack and more. Below is how to install it on Ubuntu Linux.

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it since LibreNMS needs it.  To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with LibreNMS. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 18.04 and 18.10 LTS After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter Set root password? [Y/n]: Y New password: Enter password Re-enter new password: Repeat password Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon to the MariaDB server Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories. Run the commands below to add the below third-party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2 Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2 Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is a great setting to apply in your environment. After making the change above, save the file and close it. Next, restart Apache2 by running the commands below: To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below Then type the content below and save the file. Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php You should see the PHP default test page.

Create LibreNMS Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for LibreNMS to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank LibreNMS. To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below. Then create a database called librenms Create a database user called librenms with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit. Next, run the commands below to open the MariaDB default config file. Then add the lines below and save. Restart MariaDB after that. Install these additional dependencies to satisfy LibreNMS installation.

Install LibreNMS

Now that you’ve installed and configured the servers, run the commands below to add a new user for LibreNMS, then add the user to the www-data (Apache2) default group. Next, change into the /opt directory and download the LibreNMS package from its project. After that, follow the guide below to configure the SNMP server. Edit the text which says RANDOMSTRINGGOESHERE and set your community string. you can change it to anything you’d like. Save the file when you’re done. After that run the commands below to create a cron task for LibreNMS. LibreNMS keeps logs in /opt/librenms/logs. Over time these can become large and be rotated out. To rotate out the old logs you can use the provided logrotate config file: When you’re done. run the commands below to configure appropriate permissions for the LibreNMS user account.

Configure Apache2

Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for LibreNMS by running the commands below. This file will control how users access LibreNMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called librenms.conf Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Save the file and exit.

Enable the LibreNMS and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below. Finally, run the commands below to complete the setup. Next, open your browser and browse to the URL below to begin the setup. You should see the LibreNMS setup page. Continue with the setup wizard until you’re done. Verify that all the PHP requirements are met. then continue with the database configuration. Type the database connection info you created above and continue. Then create an account for the LibreNMS web portal and continue. Finally, complete the installation. When you’re done, log in with: That’s it! Conclusion: You’ve successfully installed LibreNMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 and 18.10 servers. Hope you continue to read our tutorials on Linux and Ubuntu. Enjoy!