Difference between revisions of "System Requirements"

(Video upload requirements)
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==== Video Linking ====
 
==== Video Linking ====
Linking from external websites such YouTube, Metacafe and Vimeo only requires cURL to be installed, which is available on most host:
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Linking from external websites such YouTube, Metacafe and Vimeo only requires cURL to be installed, which is available on most host
  
 
     cURL library
 
     cURL library

Revision as of 22:02, 15 January 2013

Basic system requirements


JomSocial is an extension for Joomla. To be able to use JomSocial, you would first need to install Joomla on your web host.

We recommend using the latest stable version of Joomla (currently 2.5) to enjoy its latest features and security improvements. JomSocial support the minimum requirement of:

   Joomla 2.5.6 or above

For the server, make sure it has:

   PHP 5.3 or above
   MySQL 4.1 or above

JomSocial also requires several PHP extension, which are available in most host:

   GD library, at least v1.8 with libjpeg
   cURL library
   zip
   fsockopen


That's about all you need for most JomSocial basic functionality to work. For more advanced features including faster photo upload, video upload, and Facebook Connect--follow the sections below.

How to check for system specifications yourself


You can check most of the below requirements by heading to your Joomla backend on Help > System Info > System Information and PHP Information tab. However it is best for you to consult your webhost to have a definite overview of your server configuration.

Photo upload requirements


To process image, photo upload relies heavily on GD Library which uses a lot of memory. For a better performance, opt for ImageMagick instead if your server support it. Minimum: GD library Recommended: ImageMagick; to get it running, it also requires exec/passthru/shell_exec/system access

Video upload requirements


Video Linking

Linking from external websites such YouTube, Metacafe and Vimeo only requires cURL to be installed, which is available on most host

   cURL library

Video Upload

Video upload uses FFMPEG to convert videos. Most shared webhost disable this option because it consumes a lot of memory and processing power. Please consult your webhost on the availability of FFMPEG on your server. It is advisable to have at least VPS before you consider allowing video upload.

Minimum: FFMPEG; to get it running, it also requires exec/passthru/shell_exec/system access Optional: FLVTool2, for adding metadata to your video

Unlike other extensions, the path to FFMPEG and FLVTool2 need to be specified on your JomSocial backend. Go to Site > Configuration and look for the "Videos" section. There you will find the fields to set both path. One last thing that JomSocial needs to process the video is Cronjob (scheduled task). Make sure your cronjob is configured accordingly by referring to this documentation.

Large photo/video upload


When it comes to large photo/video uploads, there are a few server configurations that you can tweak the get the most out of JomSocial:

php.ini

max_execution_time = 9000; Maximum execution time of each script, in seconds max_input_time = 9000; Maximum amount of time each script may spend parsing request data memory_limit = 1024M; Maximum amount of memory a script may consume post_max_size = 1024M; Maximum size of POST data that PHP will accept. upload_max_filesize = 1024M; Maximum allowed size for uploaded files.

my.cnf

wait_timeout = 120 connect_timeout = 120

Disable safe_mode and open_basedir

Some hosting providers have safe_mode and openbase_dir enabled. In order for the photo/video upload to work, you have to disable them. If your hosting allows you to override the Apache's configuration, you need to override the vhost configuration.

php_admin_flag safe_mode off php_admin_value open_basedir none

If your webhost allows for .htaccess override, locate your .htaccess file in the root Joomla directory and add these lines into it:

php_admin_flag safe_mode off php_admin_value open_basedir none