How do I install Atom?

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Elaine Hruby

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Nov 28, 2018, 10:37:51 PM11/28/18
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I have downloaded vagrant and Oracle...I am not a programer...do I need to be able to write code to install and run Atom?
This installation has me beat...I can find everything except concise information on installing atom....please help.  El

Dan Gillean

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Nov 29, 2018, 10:23:22 AM11/29/18
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Hi Elaine, 

Are you wanting to install AtoM for use as a public-facing production system for your institution? Or are you looking to install AtoM on a personal computer (like a laptop) for testing?

AtoM is intended to be installed on a server when used in production. You can read more about the system requirements here: 
We keep the installation documentation here, which involves using Ubuntu as the base operating system: 
If you just want to set up a local test environment on your laptop or personal computer, we maintain a Vagrant box that can be set up on any type of operating system. You'll find instructions here: 

Finally, if you are just looking to play around with AtoM a bit, we do have a public demo site you can explore: 
The data in the site will reset every hour, so feel free to make changes as you wish. Note that for security purposes, all uploads are disabled in the test site. 

Let us know if you run into issues and hopefully we can walk you through them! 

Cheers, 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory


On Wed, Nov 28, 2018 at 10:37 PM Elaine Hruby <hru...@shaw.ca> wrote:
I have downloaded vagrant and Oracle...I am not a programer...do I need to be able to write code to install and run Atom?
This installation has me beat...I can find everything except concise information on installing atom....please help.  El

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Elaine Hruby

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Nov 29, 2018, 1:09:28 PM11/29/18
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Thank you so much for replying Dan.

 

I have downloaded vagrant/Oracle box, I got as far as seeing a black screen with a keyboard locked notice.

Is Atom a virtual machine?  How do I create it in Oracle?  Do I use the file that I created in my word folder: atom-2.4.1.tar.gz?  What do I do with the black screen?

 

 I have played around with the AToM demo, but I want to research it further on my desktop.  I have worked in small rural museums for years and am just finishing my studies in Cultural Resource Management with an introduction to archives.  As a museum contractor, I want to be able to introduce AToM to clients, but I have to know a bit more about it before I can suggest that they install it.

 

I don’t know anything about computer programing, so I assume that in an archives setting, AToM will need to be set up by someone who knows their way around computers.  I want to set up Atom on my laptop to see how user-friendly it is and how much maintenance it takes.  I have also heard that templates can be downloaded, filled out and uploaded to the user organization’s website. 

I know that the goal of Archives Canada was to create a RAD standard-open source platform that could be accessed by archives of all sizes.  AToM could benefit small rural archives but it has to be user-friendly, for the most part, seniors with little computer knowledge, manage these organizations.

If Atom is complicated to download and run, it will miss a large target demographic of the small rural archive.  On the other hand, if Atom were easy to install it could create a revolution in the ability of small archives to share their holdings.   

Thank again for your help.  Elaine



From: "Dan Gillean" <d...@artefactual.com>
To: ica-ato...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, 29 November, 2018 08:23:09
Subject: Re: [atom-users] How do I install Atom?

Dan Gillean

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Nov 29, 2018, 2:21:25 PM11/29/18
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Hi Elaine, 

Thanks for clarifying where you're at. If you're looking for a local test instance, then please follow the directions in the slides I provided - they are probably the most straightforward: 
AtoM itself is intended to be installed on a server - there is only so much simplification you can do of this process if you want to create a production-ready application that can be accessed on the web, so the production installation instructions assume a certain level of familiarity with server management and command-line installation. 

Many institutions do not have their own servers, or their own IT staff, so please note that Artefactual does offer paid hosting services at very competitive rates - you can read more about our offerings on the Artefactual website here: 
To make things easier for local testing, Artefactual prepares a virtual machine that can be set up easily using Vagrant - the first couple slides in the slide deck linked above will outline how AtoM, VirtualBox, and Vagrant interact to create the test environment. 

The tarball (aka the  atom-2.4.1.tar.gz  file you mentioned, which I assume you got from the Downloads page on the website) is only needed for production installation on a server - you can delete this if you are setting up Vagrant. Follow the instructions in the slides, and let us know if you get stuck, and I can try to walk you through any blockers. 

Some other resources that might help you:

If you're new to working in the command-line, you might find the following useful as a starting point: 
At a couple points, the Vagrant installation slides ask you to run some command-line tasks. To learn more about each task, see: 
Once you're comfortable working with the AtoM Vagrant box, you might want to create a re-usable set of test data for your demonstrations. Here's some tips on how to do so: 
When you first install the AtoM Vagrant box, it will be on our development branch - but the branch has been updated a lot since we first created the box! This user forum thread has some useful tips for someone totally new to this kind of thing, including instructions on how to upgrade your Vagrant box: 
Finally, if you'd like to explore more AtoM sites currently being used in production by institutions large and small, you can check our our example users list on the AtoM wiki, here: 



Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory

Elaine Hruby

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Nov 29, 2018, 3:22:56 PM11/29/18
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Dan, thank you for giving me answers in layman’s terms, I will explore the links you provided and let you know how it works out.  I am intrigued by Atom and would love to spread the word about it to other small archives.   



From: "Dan Gillean" <d...@artefactual.com>
To: "ica-atom-users" <ica-ato...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, 29 November, 2018 12:21:11

Elaine Hruby

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Nov 29, 2018, 10:31:07 PM11/29/18
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Hi Dan…Its Elaine again,

I am on step 4…I have made a folder on my desk top and put hashicorp, atom and oracle into it.

I have typed “vagrant init artefatual/atom” into the black command prompt screen…but it does not work.  I am not sure how to initialize the directory.

Please advise. El



From: "Dan Gillean" <d...@artefactual.com>
To: "ica-atom-users" <ica-ato...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, 29 November, 2018 12:21:11

Dan Gillean

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Nov 30, 2018, 10:37:38 AM11/30/18
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Hi Elaine, 

Can you tell us more? How is it failing? Is it just doing nothing? Is it giving you an error message? What type of operating system is your host computer (i.e. your laptop or personal computer) - Windows, Mac, or some flavor of Linux?

By now in the process you should have: 
  • Installed VirtualBox (most recent version is 5.2.22)
  • Installed Vagrant (most recent version is 2.2.2)
  • Created a new folder on your desktop (called vagrant or vagrant-2.4 or vagrant-atom or something; the name doesn't really matter)
  • Used the command-prompt to change into that directory and THEN run the init command
If you are on a Windows computer, you can double-check that you have Virtualbox and Vagrant installed by going to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. You should see a list of all programs installed there, and the versions. Make sure that Vagrant and Virtualbox are on the list. 

When you use the command-prompt on your host computer, if it is windows, make sure you use Command Prompt, and not the Windows PowerShell. 

If it IS Windows, there can be some other steps needed to get everything working - Microsoft intentionally makes it somewhat harder to configure third-party virtualization applications - but they usually don't affect things until later in the process. If you can give me more information about what you've already done, what type of operating system you're using on your local computer, and what happens when you try to run the init command, I will do my best to walk you through it! 

Cheers, 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS

Dan Gillean

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Nov 30, 2018, 10:42:29 AM11/30/18
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Hi again, 

In reading your message again, I noted that you said, "...and put hashicorp, atom, and oracle into it." One clarification on this: 

Nothing needs to be in this folder when you run the init command. Instead, you need to first finish installing VirtualBox and Vagrant. 

When you click the download links on the Vagrant and Virtualbox websites, they will download an installer. You will need to doubleclick these and follow the prompts to install the programs on your computer. As I mentioned in my last message, once they are installed, you should be able to see them listed in your Programs list - if you don't see them there, then you haven't installed them yet. 

Once they are installed, you don't need to keep the original installer file you downloaded - it can be put in your trash. 

The same is true of AtoM - that tarball you downloaded from our website can be deleted; you don't need it for setting up the Vagrant box. That tar.gz file is only for server installations. Instead, when you run the init command, Vagrant will fetch the AtoM Vagrant box from the Vagrant Cloud where we have a copied stored, and handle the initial set-up for you. 

Let me know if that helps! 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory

hrubyel

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Nov 30, 2018, 11:00:47 AM11/30/18
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Hi Dan...pictures are worth a thousand words....this is what I have.



Sent from my Bell Samsung device over Canada's largest network.
20181130_085718_resized.jpg
20181130_085649_resized.jpg
20181130_085615_resized.jpg
20181130_085559.jpg

Dan Gillean

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Nov 30, 2018, 11:52:00 AM11/30/18
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Hi Elaine, 

Please check my previous instructions. 

There shouldn't be anything in the atom folder you've created on your desktop when you first run the init command. You don't need to install Vagrant and VirtualBox to the atom folder you've created - instead, you should just allow the installer to choose the default location. On my computer, the HashiCorp folder ends up right in my C:\ directory, and the Oracle installation directory ends up in C:\ > Program Files. Ultimately, the final location shouldn't matter, so long as they are properly installed on your computer. That way, when you run the vagrant init command, Windows knows that commands that start with "vagrant" are Vagrant commands, and Vagrant can handle them and fetch the AtoM Vagrant box for you. You may want to uninstall, delete everything, and reinstall from scratch if things aren't working properly. 

Cheers, 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory

Elaine Hruby

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Nov 30, 2018, 11:46:00 PM11/30/18
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Hi Dan, virtual box or atom initializes….then the screen goes black and I get this error message: Fatal: No bootable medium found! System halted.

I have been to this point before, not sure what is up.  I un-installed and reinstalled everything, but this time I went with 32 bit instead of 64.

El.



From: "Dan Gillean" <d...@artefactual.com>
To: "ica-atom-users" <ica-ato...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 30 November, 2018 09:51:47

Dan Gillean

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Dec 3, 2018, 11:19:57 AM12/3/18
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Hi Elaine, 

I think we're still seeing errors from earlier attempts. 

First, of all, 32-bit vs 64-bit will matter, based on your computer's architecture, and for them to work correctly, you need to have the right ones installed. On Windows, you can find out your system type in Control Panel > System and Security > System on older Windows computers (on Windows 10, you can just search "about" in Windows, and select "About this PC"). If your system is 64-bit, you'll need to use the Control panel to uninstall the 32-bit versions and reinstall the 64-bit ones, or vice versa. Make sure your system type matches the download types you choose for Virtualbox and Vagrant. 

Now, about the box itself, and the error you are seeing: 

I went back and looked at your images again, and noticed that the Virtualbox image in your first picture doesn't look like what Vagrant should have installed. It shouldn't be called AtoM, and based on that pic, it doesn't look that image is bootable, so I'm guessing that might be the issue, and that this might have come from incorrectly using the tarball during an earlier step. Let's try to remove that and get back to basics. 

First, in the command-line, navigate to the same place you ran the vagrant init commit, and run: 
  • vagrant destroy
You may also want to try removing the box completely: 
  • vagrant box remove atom
Note that, if the box was never there in the first place (which may be what's happening here), then these commands may not work. If not, don't worry - but it does tell us that the vagrant init command never fetched and instlaled the box. Now, let's remove whatever is in Virtualbox. Open the Virtualbox interface. 

Here is what mine looks like - note that I have 4 different Vagrant boxes installed (3 AtoM ones and a Fedora box) - just pay attention to the one highlighted in blue.

vagrant-setup.png

 If the vagrant commands work successfully, then in Virtualbox you should end up with something that looks like that. The name will start with whatever you've named the folder on your desktop, followed by some random numbers. 

We want to remove that one called "AtoM" on your system currently. First, if you right-click, then the menu that appears should have an option to "Show in explorer" - this will open the location of the box on your computer. On mine, all my boxes are stored in C:\Users\[my user name]\Virtualbox VMs. Keep that window open, and return to Virtualbox. 

Now right-click on the box again, and select "Remove" - Virtualbox should prompt you if you want to delete all files as well. Use this option. The box should be gone. 

You can go back to your explorer window and confirm that all the files were deleted - if not, you can manually delete them. Once this is done, you can close the Virtualbox interface - we don't actually need to open it at all when things are working as expected. 

Remember, as I said earlier, there shouldn't be anything in the folder on your desktop where you want to install AtoM right now - if there is, open it up and delete everything in there before proceeding. 

Now, let's open your Windows command prompt. First, we'll make sure you have a recent version of Vagrant installed. 

With the command prompt open, navigate to where you created the AtoM folder on your desktop. My folder is called vagrant-2.5 and it's on my desktop, so I navigate there with the following: 
  • cd Desktop\vagrant-2.5
First, let's run the following to check your vagrant version: 
  • vagrant version
If you have correctly installed vagrant, this will take a minute, and then it will spit out information on what version you have installed, and what is the latest version available. Please share this information here. 

If Vagrant is installed properly, then we should be ready to try the init command again. Remember, you are running this command from the folder where you want the box installed - I recommend your desktop, for easy access. The command to initialize the box is: 
  • vagrant init artefactual/atom
This will take a while to run the first time, as will the next command, which you should run when the first command completes: 
  • vagrant up
Once this completes, you should be able to open a web browser, and navigate to http://10.10.10.10 and access your AtoM site. If not, open up Virtualbox again, and send me a screensot of what you see, as well as a screenshot of any errors you get during the previous steps. 

Cheers, 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory

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