Installing on UNIX

Please read the System Requirements to make sure you have the necessary hardware and software in place before installing VolanoChat. This section tells you how to:

install VolanoChat on your UNIX system and make sure it's working.
purchase a server license key.
shut down the VolanoChat server.
remove VolanoChat from your system.

Installing VolanoChat

The installation and test can be performed in three steps:

Unpack the archive.
Start the server.
Start the applet.

Step 1. Unpack the archive.

Download the archive

Download the VolanoChat installation program for your UNIX system from the following link:

VolanoChat 2.0

Mark the download file as an executable file by entering the following command:

chmod a+x vchat200.sh

Run the installation program

Start the installation program by entering one of the following commands:

vchat200.sh: when connected with a graphical X Window System environment.
vchat200.sh -o directory: when connected with a character based telnet environment, where directory is the name of the directory where you want VolanoChat to be installed.

The installation program will search through the directories in your PATH environment variable for any Java virtual machines and let you select one from a list. If you are presented with a choice between a java and jre interpreter, select the java alternative. The java command is installed as part of the Java Development Kit (JDK), while the jre command is installed as part of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). You can always select a different virtual machine when you run the VolanoChat server after installation. If the installation program is unable to find a suitable Java interpreter, you can download one from the list in the System Requirements.

In choosing a destination location, you may want to change the installation directory to a location you can remember, such as /home/volano/vchat2.0.0, instead of the default location shown on the Choose Destination Location window.

If you have any trouble running the vchat200.sh shell script installation, follow the instructions for installing with the vchat200.class file instead.

Publish the applet files

A directory called vcclient is created under the installation directory. It contains the client applet code files and their associated resource files. These files must be publicly available through your Web server so that the applet can be retrieved onto its Web pages.

Move this vcclient directory to your Web server public access directory. For example, the Web server public access directory is often called /usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs on UNIX systems running the Apache Web server.

Step 2. Start the server.

To start the VolanoChat server, open a terminal window and change to the directory in which you installed VolanoChat—for example, /home/volano/vchat2.0.0. Start the VolanoChat server by typing one of the following commands at the command prompt.

java COM.volano.Main: when using the Sun Java Development Kit (JDK).
jre -cp . COM.volano.Main: when using the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

Make sure to type the Java class name exactly as shown, with capital letters for COM and a capital M in Main. After starting the server, you should see the copyright notice:

/home/volano/vchat2.0.0> java COM.volano.Main
VolanoChat(TM) Server Version 2.0.0 Build 103
Copyright (C) 1996-1998 Volano LLC.  All rights reserved.
blue.volano.com (192.168.0.3) VolanoChatPro - 5 connection limit.
This evaluation copy expires on Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 PDT 1998.

If the license has expired, simply download the latest evaluation license key from one of the links below:

HTTP:  http://www.volano.com/license.key - 381 bytes
FTP:   ftp://ftp.volano.com/license.key  - 381 bytes

Place the file license.key in the VolanoChat server installation directory, replacing the older file with the same name.

You can minimize the window or simply start the server as a background process, but you must leave it running for it to remain active. See the section below called Purchasing a license key for information on how to increase the server connection limit and remove its expiration date.

Step 3. Start the applet.

With the server running, point your browser to the index.html file in the vcclient directory. You should pull the Web page through your Web server using an http:// address instead of using your browser's File, Open Page menu item. Some browsers will fail to connect when loading the applet with a file:// address.

If your browser and Web server are on the same machine, and you moved the vcclient directory directly under your Web server's public access directory, you can load the VolanoChat applet Web page with the following link:

http://localhost/vcclient/index.html

If the server is on a different machine, you will need to replace localhost with the actual host name where the server is running. If you moved the vcclient directory somewhere other than directly under your Web server's public access directory, you'll need to specify the correct path to the vcclient/index.html test Web page.

Connect to the VolanoChat server by clicking the applet button with the Volano logo on the test Web page.

Purchasing a license key

You can purchase a license key from Volano to increase the VolanoChat server connection limit and remove its expiration date. All we need is the host name and port number on which you plan to run the VolanoChat server. The default port number is 8000, but you can choose any other valid port number as well.

If you don't know your server host name, just send us the support.log file that is generated by the VolanoChat server each time you start it. Its contents look like the following:

server.version     = Version 2.0.0 Build 103
server.license     = VolanoChatPro - 5 connection limit
server.expiration  = Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 PDT 1998
server.host        = blue.volano.com (192.168.0.3)
server.port        = 8000
java.vendor        = Sun Microsystems Inc.,
                     ported by Randy Chapman and Steve Byrne
java.vendor.url    = http://java.blackdown.org/java-linux.html
java.version       = root:08/30/97-09:42
java.class.version = 45.3
java.compiler      = null
os.name            = Linux
os.version         = 2.0.30
os.arch            = x86
user.language      = en
user.region        = null
file.encoding      = 8859_1
file.encoding.pkg  = sun.io

From this file, we can generated a valid license key for any level of VolanoChat you purchase. The license key can be ordered at our Web site from the Pricing and Ordering page.

Stopping VolanoChat

To stop the server, press Ctrl-C in the terminal window where you started it. If you started the server as a background process, you can find it with the ps command and then stop it with the kill command. Once you have defined an administrator password, you can shutdown the VolanoChat server by entering one of the following commands.

java COM.volano.Shutdown: when using the Sun Java Development Kit (JDK).
jre -cp . COM.volano.Shutdown: when using the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

See the VolanoChat server properties section for information on defining an administrator password.

Removing VolanoChat

To uninstall VolanoChat, simply open a terminal window and change to the VolanoChat installation directory. When connected with a graphical X Window System environment, enter one of the following commands:

java uninstall: when using the Sun Java Development Kit (JDK).
jre -cp . uninstall: when using the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

When connected with a character based telnet environment, enter one of the following commands:

java uninstall -console: when using the Sun Java Development Kit (JDK).
jre -cp . uninstall -console: when using the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

The uninstall program will remove the installation files while leaving any new or modified files, such as your modified configuration files and new log files. If you don't want these files, you may simply delete them.

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