Install ServiceDesk Plus on Ubuntu Server

This article is for those looking for a detailed and straightforward guide on installing ServiceDesk Plus on Ubuntu Server.

ServiceDesk Plus is support services software with an integrated asset management system. This solution allows you to manage incidents, assets, requests, has a service catalog, and also provides an IT Project Management module for project management with support for the collaboration mode.

IMPORTANT

OpenSSH must be installed on the server, and port 22 must be open in order to be able to connect to the server using the SSH protocol.

To install OpenSSH on a server, you can use the command:

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sudo apt install openssh-server

NOTE

To connect to the server from a Windows system, you can use tools like PuTTY or MobaXterm.

NOTE

This guide walks you through connecting to a server with the iTerm2 terminal emulator on macOS.

CAUTION

You will need to open the following TCP ports to access your server:

• TCP port 8080 - to access the ServiceDesk Plus web interface.

We connect to the server on which you plan to install ServiceDesk Plus.

Update the local package index to the latest changes in the repositories using the command:

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sudo apt update

Now let’s install the packages required for ServiceDesk Plus to work using the command:

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sudo apt install fonts-dejavu fontconfig

Switch to the “root” user, who has administrator rights in the operating system, using the command:

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sudo -i

Download the ServiceDesk Plus installer using the command:

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wget https://www.manageengine.com/products/service-desk/91677414/ManageEngine_ServiceDesk_Plus_64bit.bin

Let’s enable execution of the file “ManageEngine_ServiceDesk_Plus_64bit.bin” using the command:

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chmod +x ManageEngine_ServiceDesk_Plus_64bit.bin

Now let’s start the ServiceDesk Plus installation using the command:

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./ManageEngine_ServiceDesk_Plus_64bit.bin

Next, you need to answer a few questions from the ServiceDesk Plus installer.

First, you must read and accept the terms of use of the services provided.

Press the “Enter” button to move down through the text and familiarize yourself with the terms of use of the services provided.

Press the “y” button, then “Enter”, if you agree with the terms of use of the services provided.

The next step is to select the ServiceDesk Plus edition.

For a detailed comparison of ServiceDesk Plus editions, visit the official comparison page.

This guide will walk you through the installation of the “Enterprise Edition”.

Specify the desired ServiceDesk Plus edition for installation and press the “Enter” button.

The next step is to choose whether you want to register for ServiceDesk Plus technical support.

Press the “n” button, then “Enter”.

In the next step, you can select the folder where ServiceDesk Plus should be installed.

NOTE

This tutorial will walk you through installing ServiceDesk Plus into the “/opt” folder.

Specify the desired folder for installing ServiceDesk Plus and press the “Enter” button.

The next step is to confirm the installation of ServiceDesk Plus in the previously specified folder.

Press the “y” button, then “Enter”.

Now you need to select the port on which ServiceDesk Plus will be available.

Leave the default value and press the “Enter” button.

I highly recommend leaving the default port value.

NOTE

The port can be changed later in the ServiceDesk Plus control panel.

By default, ServiceDesk Plus uses PostgreSQL as its database management system.

NOTE

If you need to use a different system to manage your databases, after installing ServiceDesk Plus, you can use the prepared script (changeDBServer.sh) in the “bin” folder.

Press the “Enter” button.

The next step will show the disk space available and required to install ServiceDesk Plus.

Press the “Enter” button.

Everything is ready to start installing ServiceDesk Plus.

Press the “Enter” button.

ServiceDesk Plus installation completed successfully.

The Problem in Initializing Postgres !!.. Kindly check logs… message should be ignored as initialization will occur the first time ServiceDesk Plus is started.

More information is available on the ManageEngine community post.

Press the “Enter” button.

Now you need to run ServiceDesk Plus for the first time.

Go to the “bin” folder using the command:

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cd /opt/ServiceDesk/bin

Launch ServiceDesk Plus using the command:

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sh run.sh

Now you need to wait a few minutes, then you need to go from the workstation to the link http://sdp.heyvaldemar.net:8080, where sdp.heyvaldemar.net is the name of my server. Accordingly, you need to provide the name or IP address of your server with ServiceDesk Plus installed.

The default login for the ServiceDesk Plus administrator account is administrator

The default password for the ServiceDesk Plus administrator account is administrator

Specify the username and password of an account with ServiceDesk Plus administrator rights and click on the “Log in” button.

Welcome to the ServiceDesk Plus dashboard.

Next, you need to configure the service Autostart ServiceDesk Plus when the operating system starts.

Return to the terminal emulator and press the “Ctrl” and “c” keys on the keyboard to stop all ServiceDesk Plus services.

Now let’s create a script that will contain the necessary configuration for the ServiceDesk Plus service in the “/etc/init.d/” folder using the command:

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vim /etc/init.d/servicedesk

Hit the “i” button to go into edit mode, then insert the configuration.

Next, we find the “MDIR” parameter and check its value.

NOTE

In the “MDIR” parameter you must specify the folder where ServiceDesk Plus was installed.

NOTE

In this tutorial, ServiceDesk Plus was installed in the “/opt” folder.

An example of the value for the “MDIR” parameter when installing ServiceDesk Plus in the “/opt/” folder:

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MDIR=/opt/ServiceDesk/bin

Now press the “Esc” button to exit edit mode, then type "" and press the “Enter” button to save your changes and exit the editor.

Assign correct permissions for the script “/etc/init.d/servicedesk” using the command:

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chmod 755 /etc/init.d/servicedesk

Add a script to startup when the operating system starts using the command:

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update-rc.d servicedesk defaults

Next, create a file to store the ServiceDesk Plus log using the command:

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touch /var/log/servicedesk-plus.log

Launch ServiceDesk Plus using the command:

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systemctl start servicedesk

Open the ServiceDesk Plus log to check that all ServiceDesk Plus services have started correctly using the command:

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less /var/log/servicedesk-plus.log

On the keyboard, press the “Shift” and “f” keys to start monitoring changes in the ServiceDesk Plus log in real-time.

All necessary services have been successfully launched.

On the keyboard, press the key combination “Ctrl” and “c”, then “q” to close the ServiceDesk Plus log.

From the workstation, go to the link http://sdp.heyvaldemar.net:8080, where sdp.heyvaldemar.net is the name of my server. Accordingly, you need to provide the name or IP address of your server with ServiceDesk Plus installed.

The default login for the ServiceDesk Plus administrator account is administrator

The default password for the ServiceDesk Plus administrator account is administrator

Specify the username and password of an account with ServiceDesk Plus administrator rights and click on the “Log in” button.

You can now start working with ServiceDesk Plus.