This page describes how to manually install Content Services using the distribution zip.

For a description of the system paths used within this documentation, see System path conventions.

Before starting a production installation make sure you are familiar with how to secure your installation.

Prerequisites

To install Content Services using the distribution zip (which also contains the WAR files), make sure that the required software is available on your system:

• Java: OpenJDK 17 is required
• Application server: Apache Tomcat
• Database: PostgreSQL or MySQL
• Message broker: ActiveMQ

For a list of other supported components and versions, refer to the VERSIONS.md file in the distribution zip.

Install overview

Use this section to get an overview of the main stages for installing Content Services using the distribution zip. It’s designed for users who just need a simple checklist to follow.

Only the main stages for setting up and configuring Content Services are summarized. These include preparing your system for installation, installing the application, configuring it based on your requirements, and finally, testing and getting familiar with Content Services.

Before you start, validate that you have access to the prerequisite software so you can install them in the right order. This includes a JRE, a supported database, Tomcat application server, a message broker (i.e. ActiveMQ), Alfresco Search Services, and additional components (such as ImageMagick).

Note: ActiveMQ is required when manually installing Content Services 6.2 onwards. For more information on installing and configuring ActiveMQ, see Configuring ActiveMQ.

To get started, prepare your production server by installing the prerequisite software (JRE, database, and message broker) before continuing.

1. Download the distribution zip file by accessing the Support Portal.
2. Generate certificates for mutual TLS.
3. Download Tomcat and review the installation steps required.
4. Set up Tomcat.
5. Install and configure Content Services.
6. Install any Alfresco Module Packages such as Alfresco Share, Google Docs Integration, and Alfresco Office Services.
7. Set up ActiveMQ.
8. Install third-party software used by Content Services.

Note: Starting from Content Services 7.0, the alfresco-pdf-renderer binaries are no longer included in the distribution zip. LibreOffice, ImageMagick, and Alfresco PDF Renderer are no longer part of the Content Services zip installation, as they’ve moved to the Alfresco Transform Service installation for non-containerized deployment. You must install LibreOffice, ImageMagick, and Alfresco PDF Renderer with the Transform Service for transformations to be fully functional. For non-containerized deployment, you are also required to install Exiftool. Exiftool will be utilized by the TIKAAuto metadata extraction parser.

Review and test your setup to check that all the installation steps are complete:

1. Start and configure your database.
2. Start and configure ActiveMQ.
3. Start the repository.

Follow the remaining links in this guide to see the detailed step-by-step instructions for manually installing Content Services.

What you need to install Content Services

There are a number of different installation files available to you, each of which you can choose depending on what’s already installed on your system.

For new installations or upgrades, use the distribution zip. Use the Alfresco WAR file to install Content Services within an existing Tomcat. The WAR file is included in the distribution zip. In addition, you must install all the required additional components manually.

All files are available from Hyland Community. Sign in, select Product downloads, and search for the version of the product you require.

See the Supported platforms for more.

Here’s a list of the files to download and install.

Preparing the filesystem and database

These steps describe how to prepare a suitable location for data storage and the database.

1. Create a new folder on your local filesystem.

   This folder can be located anywhere, but you need to make sure that the user account under which Tomcat will run has full read/write access to this location.

   In a clustered environment, this folder needs to be shared between all cluster nodes.

2. Create a new database for Content Services.

   It’s good security practice to create a new user account for Content Services which only has permissions to this database.

   For PostgreSQL, run the following commands:

   Code copied to clipboard.
    create database alfresco encoding 'utf8';
    create role alfresco LOGIN password 'alfresco';
    grant all on database alfresco to alfresco;