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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:

Make sure to read our Server Support pages for important information on configuring your operating system and Java virtual machine environments for running the VolanoChat server.

Installing VolanoChat

The installation and test can be performed in three steps:

  1. Unpack the archive.
  2. Start the server.
  3. Start the applet.

Step 1. Unpack the archive.

Download the archive

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

VolanoChat 2.1

Important note! You cannot use a VolanoChat 2.0 license key with VolanoChat 2.1. If you're upgrading from Version 2.0, please write to support@volano.com in order to purchase an upgraded license key.

Run the installation program

To start the installation program, change to the directory where you saved it and enter one of the following commands:

java vchat2_1_10_2
when connected with a graphical X Window System environment.
java vchat2_1_10_2 -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.

In choosing a destination location, you may want to change the installation directory to a location you can remember, such as /home/volano/vchat2.1.x, instead of the default location shown on the Choose Destination Location window.

If you get the error "bad magic", you may receive this message because:

Also, make sure that you're using the -o option if you're running on a command line in UNIX.

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. The easiest way to make the directory publicly available is to create a Web server virtual directory for it. For information on creating a virtual directory using the Apache Web server, for example, see Apache's documentation on the Alias directive.

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/vchat2.1.x. Start the VolanoChat server by entering the following command:

java COM.volano.Main

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/vchat2.1.x> java COM.volano.Main
VolanoChat(TM) Server Version 2.1.x
Copyright (C) 1996-1999 Volano LLC.  All rights reserved.
Loading server properties from /home/volano/vchat2.1.x/properties.txt.
blue.volano.com (192.168.0.2) VolanoChatPro - 5 connection limit.

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 created a virtual Web directory called vcclient directly under your Web server's root 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 created a different virtual Web directory for the actual vcclient directory, you'll need to specify the correct Web address 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 support.log file that is generated by the VolanoChat server each time you start it. Its contents look like the following:

server.version     = Version 2.1.x
server.properties  = /home/volano/vchat2.1.x/properties.txt
server.license     = VolanoChatPro - 5 connection limit
server.expiration  = null
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 connection level based on the IP address (from server.host) and port number (from server.port) of your VolanoChat server. 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 the command:

java COM.volano.Shutdown

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

Removing VolanoChat

To uninstall VolanoChat, simply open a terminal window, change to the VolanoChat installation directory, and enter one of the following commands:

java uninstall
when connected with a graphical X Window System environment.
java uninstall -console
when connected with a character based telnet environment.

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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