Requirements and Setup
This document
needs review to verify the installation requirements
This page lists the minimum requirements for installing Tikiwiki.
Requirements
Webserver
Tiki is developed and widely tested with Linux and Apache. However, Tiki should run on any webserver that supports PHP, like Windows/IIS, lighttpd etc. but you should expect to need to tweak things. Please see the Windows compatibility project.
Your webserver should be configured with the following minimal requirements:
- 512 MB RAM
- 100 MB free storage
Database
Tikiwiki requires an active relational database connection. The database can be installed in the same physical location of the webserver (localhost). It can also be a remote database. Tikiwiki is developed and tested mainly on MySQL databases:
- MySQL 5 or higher
- MySQL 4.1 or higher
Possible but not recommended databases
- PostgreSQL (doesn't work with Tiki3, but work is ongoing to fix for Tiki4)
- SQLite (doesn't work with Tiki3, but work is ongoing to fix for Tiki4)
Oracle (abandoned)
Sybase (abandoned)
MSSQL (abandoned)
For an idea of the issues: http://dev.tikiwiki.org/Database+independence
PHP
Tiki version 3 (or later) requires PHP 5 with the MySQLi extension.
Note on PHP Memory Limits: some ISP's install PHP with a memory_limit = 8m. While Tikiwiki may install, and initially appear to work fine, when faced with even a slight load, this limit will be easily passed and the system will constantly fail: pages will not load properly, odd errors will occur etc. To check this limit, try yourdomain.com/tiki-phpinfo.php . Run that and search for three values on your ISP’s server:
- max_execution_time = 300 ; Maximum execution time of each script, in seconds
- max_input_time = 60 ; Maximum amount of time each script may spend parsing request data
- memory_limit = 32M ; Maximum amount of memory a script may consume
This limit is not generally user manageable so you must rely on the kindness of your ISP to grant you more resources. On a busy shared server that will also mean that all other PHP users on that shared server will also be granted those resources.
More information
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We recommend using the following configuration in your php.ini file:
PHP.INI setting |
Description
|
| memory_limit = 32M | Specify the maximum memory for PHP scripts.
|
| file_uploads = On | Required to allow uploads (files, images, etc.) to your Tiki
|
| upload_max_filesize = XXM | Specify the maxium upload filesize (in MB).
|
| allow_url_fopen = On | Allow trackback pings in your Tiki blogs.
|
session.save_handler = files
session.save_path = /tmp | The path that PHP stores session information. Ensure that the location exists and is writable. In Shared Hosting environments, if you do not have access to /tmp, use temp (no slash) instead.
|
| max_execution_time = 60%%%max_input_time = 60 | Specify the idle timeout (in seconds). If you experience timeouts (such as when performing Admin functions) you may need to increase these settings.
|
| magic_quotes_gpc = Off | Turn off PHP's Magic Quotes function.
|
| default_charset = "utf-8" | Specify the default charcter encoding. |
The location of the php.ini file may vary, depending on your operating sytem. Some common locations include:
- /etc/php.ini
- /etc/php/php.ini
- /etc/php4/php.ini
- /etc/php/apache1-php4/php.ini (Gentoo)
- /etc/php/cli-php4/php.ini (Gentoo)
- /etc/php4/apache2 (Debian)
- \windows\system\php.ini (Windows)
Notes:
- PHP 4.1.2 has a known session bug and should not be used.
- you may also need the php-devel package being installed (and restarted apache) to get past the "blank screen issue" of tiki-install.php. (See forum article about that). Prior to it please check, that you have enabled the proper database in your php.ini.
- If safemode is on you can need safe_mode_allowed_env_vars = TZ in php.ini
- To run PHP5 on 1and1.com just put the following line in your _htaccess file (Tiki 3.X):
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php
uncomment ligne 29 and 30 then rename in .htaccess
Optional Software or Libraries
Some TikiWiki feautures require the following additional software or libraries:
| Feature | Additional Requirements
|
| Image processing, used for thumbnail generation, dynamic chart generation, and to prevent bot/automatic registration. | Use either GD Library 1.5 (or higher) or ImageMagick. ImageMagick is included, by default with PHP 4.3+
|
| Manage and display maps as a GeoCMS (Geospastial Content Management System). | Mapserver 4.6+
|
| Rewrite Tiki's default URLs | Use the Apache Rewrite Rules to create shorter, or custom, URLs. |
Fantastico (and other ISP panels)
If your web host uses Fantastico or another web hosting control panel, you'll need to verify that their script will install the current version of Tikiwiki, with all the proper security updates.
Using Fantastico for upgrades is not recommended as it will not preserve any theme changes, image galleries, etc. that have been made.