We want to invite you to test the new Openbravo 3 package for Ubuntu, and we will be more than happy to get your feedback !!

To test the package you have to:

1. Have a running Ubuntu Maverick installation.
2. Add openbravo launchpad repository URL’s:
   • Using the Ubuntu Software Center:
     
     Go Applications -> Ubuntu software Center, and then Edit -> Software Sources, go to Other software tab and click on Add button and insert the Openbravo ppa line: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openbravo-isv/ppa/ubuntu maverick main.
   • Using the command line:
     

     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openbravo-isv/ppa
     

3. Update the apt-get cache:
   • Using the Ubuntu Software Center:
     Not needed, automatically done when close the Software Sources window.
   • Using the command line:
     

     sudo apt-get update
     

4. Install the openbravo-3 package:
   • Using the Ubuntu Software Center:
     
     Search for openbravo-3 and click Install.
   • Using the command line:
     

     sudo apt-get install openbravo-3
     

Important: Migration from previous 2.50 package.

• The Openbravo package for ubuntu has two parts: the sources of Openbravo and the stack for run them. The stack (Apache, Tomcat, PostgreSQL, JDK and Ant) configuration is updated with the package update, but, the Openbravo sources are not updated within the package update and should be updated by the Module Management Console inside Openbravo
• So, If you have previously installed openbravo-erp (2.50 series) and you install openbravo-3 package, it will uninstall the previous one and will import the sources and database from the 2.50 package. After the migration It’s possible to return to the 2.50 package by simply installing it, this will uninstall the openbravo-3 package and return to the previous version since the sources and database are not touched
• Importat note: Currently openbravo-3 package contains Openbravo 3.0RC3, and the upgrade from 2.50 to 3.0RC3 is not supported , so if you have the 2.50 package installed and you want to test openbravo-3, please uninstall first the 2.50 package with apt-get remove --purge openbravo-erp. (WARNING: this will completely and permanently delete the database and sources of the openbravo 2.50 instance).

What is different than the previous openbravo-erp package for 2.50:

• The init scripts now are /etc/init.d/openbravo, /etc/init.d/openbravo-tomcat and /etc/init.d/openbravo-postgresql.
• The database is a new PostgreSQL cluster with name openbravo-3 and port 5943. To connect to it now you can use: psql -d postgres -U postgres -h localhost -p 5932
• The package base path is /opt/OpenbravoERP-3.0
• The package uses a different Catalina Base that resides in the new base path

And what is maintained:

• Openbravo-3 has the same access url: http://localhost/openbravo
• Uses the same user Openbravo and uses the same /home/openbravo/.profile
• The logs continues in the same place /var/log/openbravo-erp

We’re very excited with this package, help us fine tuning it for the final version!

Gorka

From now on we’ll be testing these web services in our build farm: http://builds.openbravo.com/job/erp_devel_int-webservice-check.

This test will check that the XML Rest Web Services work as expected, and that its functionalities are not broken by any commit.

More information about XML Rest Web services: http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/ERP/2.50/Developers_Guide/Concepts/XML_REST_Web_Services.

Three months ago we started the beta testing of this package, asking the community to test it in this post. Now, thanks to the testing made by many of you, the package is ready for production. But this does not stop here, the karmic package is also the foundation for an upcoming package for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx.

This package simplifies the Openbravo ERP installation in Ubuntu for production and testing environments. You can install it with a few clicks:

1. Go to the new Ubuntu Software Center, and search for openbravo. Then double-click in Openbravo ERP to select it.



2. Once selected click on install. In a few minutes it will be installed, configured and ready to be used. Simply go to http://localhost/openbravo to start using it.

There are two requirements for this installation: the first one is to enable the partner repository, and the second one is update the Ubuntu Software Center (more specifically the app-install-data-partner package).

These are list of changes from the beta package:

• Update Openbravo ERP sources to 2.50MP11.
• The logs files can also be found  in /var/log/openbravo-erp.

In order to get more information, including other installation methods, you can take a look into the Openbravo ERP Ubuntu installation documentation.

We are very excited with this new package. Enjoy!

We have released the latest maintenance pack of the 2.50 release, check the release notes for more information.

Infrastructure

We have updated our issues.openbravo.com server to the latest available version of Mantis (1.2.0).  Some of the new features are:

• Ability to customize the columns shown in the view issues page.

• Preview the attached images directly in the issues.

• Plugins support.

This update is the foundation for a lot more improvements that will come soon. Stay tunned !

Documentation

We have changed the Release Management categories in the wiki, with the idea of making it more user centric and  easier to navigate for external users.

Earlier this year, Openbravo increased its line up of deployment options by making an Openbravo ERP server available as a package for Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope.

This option proved to be very popular and resulted in more than 2000 unique installations during the first month alone. Leveraging this package Ubuntu users have been able to setup a working Openbravo environment for either either evaluation or production purposes with just one command. Additionally, customers of our Professional Subscription offer have been able to acquire a fully supported Ubuntu stack at a very competitive price.

We are now in the process of making this deployment option available for the latest version of Ubuntu, 9.10 Karmic. Not only this package will support the latest Ubuntu version but it will also include several improvements based on the experience we gained with Jaunty.

Finally, this package is the first step to include Openbravo into Ubuntu’s next long term support release, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Lucid Lynx.

We plan the production availability of Openbravo ERP for Karmic in the January 2010 time frame. Today, however, we are proud to announce its immediate availability in beta status.

This beta package will allow us to improve the quality of the final release of the package, so we encourage you to test and provide us feedback.

This is a beta package, so keep in mind these important notes:

• Do not use it in production environments.
• The official release of this package is scheduled for mid-January.
• This beta package is built with Openbravo ERP 2.50MP9, but the final package will have Openbravo ERP 2.50MP10.

The instructions to test the package:

1. You should have a running Ubuntu Karmic installation.
2. Add the Openbravo ERP PPA’s GPG key to your apt keyring:
   

   sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys C2F11D81
   

3. Add openbravo-erp launchpad repository URL’s:
   

   sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openbravo-isv/ppa/ubuntu karmic main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
   sudo sh -c 'echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/openbravo-isv/ppa/ubuntu karmic main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
   

4. Update the apt-get cache:
   

   sudo apt-get update
   

5. Install the openbravo-erp package:
   • By command line:
     

     sudo apt-get install openbravo-erp
     

   • Using graphical interface:
     Search in Synaptic for openbravo-erp.

Compared to the Jaunty version, these are the features included in this version of the package:

• Don’t compile at install time, ship binaries. It reduces the installation time.
• Add Apache and connect with Tomcat using the mod_jk connector. So that now Openbravo ERP is accessed from http://ip_address/openbravo and we can use the fine tunning of Apache (e.g. gzip compression enabled).
• Add the BigBazaar sample data, with a lot more data to test the Openbravo ERP functionalities.
• Use PostgreSQL 8.4.1 instead of 8.3.8. With this we’ll start our 8.4 support in Openbravo ERP.
• Manage our PostgreSQL database cluster in the Debian/Ubuntu way: using pg_cluster. With this feature you can start/stop openbravo-erp cluster with pg_ctlcluster start/stop 8.4 openbravo-erp. To list the status of the clusters you can use pg_lsclusters. Also you can still use /etc/init.d/openbravo-erp-postgresql script.
• Removing the package without the purge option now maintains the database and the sources. In the previous version of the package maintains the database, but for avoiding inconsistencies between the sources/binaries and database, now it is maintained the sources/binaries and the database.
• Centralized directory to read all the logs from our stack, (PostgreSQL, Apache, Tomcat, mod_jk). You can find all this logs at /opt/OpenbravoERP-2.50/logs.
• Clean and simplify the installation output to make it shorter and to display only the most relevant installation points.
• Secure the Tomcat Manager to allow connections from the ERP only.
• Ability to update every part of the package except for Openbravo ERP.   So the apt-get upgrade command will update your  Tomcat, PostgreSQL or Apache configurations for Openbravo ERP, but will not update your Openbravo ERP version. The ERP updates are managed through the Module Management Console inside Openbravo ERP.

And the fixed issues:

• Installation hangs in localized Ubuntus (#435412, #410182, #442484)
• Fixed JAVA_HOME issue when updating Core.
• Global variables are correctly set if user openbravo already exits. This perform a backup of the existing /home/openbravo/.profile in /home/openbravo/.profile.bak
• (many other minor fixes)

We’re very excited with this package, help us fine tuning it for the final version!

Gorka

UPDATE:  see the list of known issues

(EDIT: fixed the command to add the repository URLs to sources.list)