December 2007 Archives

One of the first tasks in my new job was to install bug-reporting software for in-house development. I have used Mantis Bug Tracker (http://www.mantisbt.org) before and found it easy-to-use and not overloaded with unnecessary features.

To use Mantis Bug Tracker, PHP needs to be installed first. Since the servers are Windows servers, PHP must be configured with IIS. My installation notes are listed below.

Install PHP

1. Download PHP - 5.2.5-Win32.zip (binaries - NOT installer) - provided
2. Extract zipped PHP and save to C:\php
3. Rename php.ini-dist to php.ini (This file is in the root folder.)
4. Add C:\php to the Path variable. (Optional)
5. In the PHP folder, locate the files php5ts.dll and php_mssql.dll and place them in the C:\windows folder so they can be accessed.

 

Configure PHP.ini

1. To configure mail on PHP, locate the line 'SMTP' and add the SMTP mail host and port.
2. The following must be done so that PHP will work with IIS. To get PHP to work as a CGI for IIS, change:

; cgi.force_redirect = 1
to:
cgi.force_redirect = 0

3. To set up PHP to work with MS SQL, uncomment the following line under extensions:

extension=php_mssql.dll

 

Configure IIS and PHP to work together

This assumes that IIS is already installed on the web server.

First, create a new folder on the web server to store the PHP web files.

1.                       Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel.

2.                       Double-click Administrative Tools.

3.                       Double-click Internet Services Manager.

4.                       On the Tree tab on the left, click the plus sign beside your computer's name.

5.     Under the 'Development' node under 'Web Sites', right click on 'Development' and create a new Virtual Directory for the PHP websites named PHPWeb. Browse to the new folder created at the beginning of this section. Choose read/write/access options that you wish to include (can be changed later) and 'Finish' to create. This closes the wizard too.

6.     Right click on 'Development' and view Properties.

7.     Choose the Home Directory tab, then choose Configuration (near the bottom)

8.     Click Add, then Browse.

9.     Navigate to C:\PHP\php-cgi.exe, and select this.

10.  Add in .php as the extension, and tick Check that file exists.

11.  Now click OK on all subsequent windows, and exit Internet Services Manager.

12.  Right click on the new directory PHPWeb. Click the 'Documents' tab. Add index.php to the list of default content pages.

 

Configure PHP and MSSQL

1.     Download a new copy of ntwdblib.dll - provided. (The one packaged with PHP5 is out of date, so it won't work if it's not replaced.)

2.     Copy the file into the c:\php (root) folder.

3.     Also place a copy of the file in c:\windows\system32

 

MS SQL Database server

The 'mixed' SQL access should be selected; it is by default on the SQL server.

Nothing needs changed. New users can be set up for accessing Mantis Bug Tracker. Create a new user for Mantis.

 

Installing Mantis

1.     Download a copy of Mantis. Mantis 1.1.0 is what was used for this installation.

2.     Unzip this and put it into the new folder that was previously created for storing the PHP pages on the web server.

3.     Browse to http://WEBSERVER:8080/PHPWeb/mantis

4.     If the database for Mantis has not been set up, you will be prompted to type in password/usernames/host for the database to install the 'bugtracker' database that Mantis uses. Type in the database host.

5.     If MSSQL is configured correctly and the password and username is correct, the database creation for Mantis will be successful.

I have a week of free time before I begin my new job. I am really looking forward to it. I've been to London to buy some new 'smart' outfits, and the house proposal was accepted. This hopefully means we can find a nice place. (My choice of house was snapped up because we did not have a buyer yet.)