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Installing InteLIS on a Windows Machine

Install InteLIS on a Windows machine with WampServer.

The machine needs an internet connection and an account with administrator rights. The installation goes into C:\wamp64\www\vlsm and opens at http://vlsm.

InteLIS requires PHP 8.4+ (minimum 8.4.1) for both WampServer and the command line. PHP 8.2, 8.3, and older versions are not supported. This guide uses PHP 8.4 paths. If you use PHP 8.5, substitute its installed folder name.

Why the folder is named vlsm

InteLIS was previously called VLSM. The Windows install folder, the site hostname and the database still carry that name, so they match existing installations.

Follow the steps from top to bottom. Each part ends with a check. Do not go on until the check passes.

Prepare Windows

  1. Install all pending Windows updates.
  2. Install a text editor: Notepad++ or Microsoft VS Code.
  3. Download the Visual C++ packages: https://wampserver.aviatechno.net/files/vcpackages/all_vc_redist_x86_x64.zip
  4. Extract the zip file and install the packages inside it. On 64-bit Windows, install all of them. On 32-bit Windows, install only the x86 packages.
  5. Restart the machine.
  6. Download WampServer from https://www.wampserver.com/en/. Choose the 64-bit installer on 64-bit Windows.
  7. Install WampServer into C:\wamp64.
  8. Start WampServer.

Check: the WampServer icon in the system tray turns green.

Configure PHP

  1. Download cacert.pem from https://curl.se/docs/caextract.html and save it as C:\wamp64\cacert.pem.
  2. Select the WampServer tray icon, then PHP → Version. Choose the newest version that starts with 8.4.
  3. Open C:\wamp64\bin\php in File Explorer. Note the name of the folder that starts with php8.4, for example php8.4.1. The steps below call it php8.4.x.

  4. Select the WampServer tray icon, then PHP → php.ini. Change these settings, then save the file:

    Setting New value
    memory_limit 2G, or higher if the machine allows
    post_max_size 500M
    upload_max_filesize 500M
    max_execution_time 1200
    error_reporting E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE & ~E_STRICT & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_WARNING
    ;openssl.cafile= openssl.cafile='C:\wamp64\cacert.pem' (remove the leading ;)
    ;curl.cainfo = curl.cainfo ='C:\wamp64\cacert.pem' (remove the leading ;)

  5. Make the same changes in C:\wamp64\bin\php\php8.4.x\php.ini. The command line uses this file.

  6. Turn on the PHP extensions InteLIS needs: bcmath, curl, fileinfo, gd, gettext, intl, json, mbstring, openssl, pdo, pdo_mysql, sodium, zip and zlib.

    • Select the WampServer tray icon, then PHP → PHP extensions. Select each of these extensions that has no tick. An extension missing from the list is built into PHP.
    • In C:\wamp64\bin\php\php8.4.x\php.ini, remove the leading ; from the extension= line of each of these extensions, for example ;extension=intl. Save the file.

  7. Open Command Prompt and run:

    set PATH=C:\wamp64\bin\php\php8.4.x;%PATH%
php -v
php -i | findstr memory_limit
php -m

Check: php -v reports PHP 8.4.1 or newer, the second command prints memory_limit => 2G, and php -m lists every extension from step 14.

Configure MySQL

  1. Select the WampServer tray icon, then MySQL → my.ini.
  2. Find the sql_mode line and put ; at its start.

  3. Add these lines below it:

    sql_mode =
innodb_strict_mode = 0

  4. Find innodb_default_row_format=compact and change it to innodb_default_row_format=dynamic. If the line is missing, add innodb_default_row_format=dynamic.

  5. Save the file.
  6. Select the WampServer tray icon, then MySQL → MySQL Console. Log in as root with an empty password.

  7. Set a root password. Replace PASSWORD with a new password, and write it down:

    ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'PASSWORD';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit;
    If MySQL rejects mysql_native_password

    Newer MySQL versions do not load mysql_native_password, and reply Plugin 'mysql_native_password' is not loaded. Use MySQL's default method instead. PHP connects with it.

    ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit;

  8. Select the WampServer tray icon, then Restart All Services.

Check: the tray icon turns green again, and http://localhost/phpmyadmin accepts root with the new password.

Get InteLIS

  1. Download the current release: https://github.com/deforay/intelis/archive/refs/heads/stable.zip
  2. Extract the zip file. It holds one folder, intelis-stable.
  3. Create the folder C:\wamp64\www\vlsm.
  4. Copy everything inside intelis-stable into C:\wamp64\www\vlsm.
  5. Download composer.phar from https://getcomposer.org/download/latest-stable/composer.phar and save it in C:\wamp64\www\vlsm.

  6. In Command Prompt, install the packages:

    cd C:\wamp64\www\vlsm
set PATH=C:\wamp64\bin\php\php8.4.x;%PATH%
php composer.phar install --no-dev --no-scripts
php composer.phar dump-autoload -o

Check: the file C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\vendor\autoload.php exists.

Create the database

  1. Open http://localhost/phpmyadmin and log in as root.

  2. Select SQL, run this, and select Go:

    CREATE DATABASE `vlsm` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;

  3. Select the vlsm database in the left panel.

  4. Select Import, choose C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\sql\init.sql, and select Import or Go at the bottom of the page.

Check: the vlsm database in the left panel lists its tables.

Configure InteLIS

  1. Copy C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\configs\config.production.dist.php to C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\configs\config.production.php.

  2. Open config.production.php in the text editor and set the database details:

    $systemConfig['database']['host']       = 'localhost';
$systemConfig['database']['username']   = 'root';
$systemConfig['database']['password']   = 'PASSWORD';
$systemConfig['database']['db']         = 'vlsm';

    Replace PASSWORD with the root password from step 22.

  3. If the lab sends results to an STS, set its address in the same file:

    $systemConfig['remoteURL'] = 'https://sts.example.org';

  4. Save the file.

Set up the web server

  1. Open Notepad as administrator. Open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts and add this line at the end:

    127.0.0.1 vlsm

  2. Open C:\wamp64\bin\apache. Inside the folder that starts with apache2.4, open conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf and add:

    <VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName localhost
  ServerAlias vlsm
  DocumentRoot "${INSTALL_DIR}/www/vlsm/public"
  <Directory "${INSTALL_DIR}/www/vlsm/public/">
    AddDefaultCharset UTF-8
    Options +Indexes +Includes +FollowSymLinks +MultiViews
    AllowOverride All
    Require local
  </Directory>
</VirtualHost>
    If other computers in the lab open InteLIS on this machine

    Require local accepts only this machine. Replace it with the lab network's address range, for example:

    Require ip 192.168.1

    Use Require all granted only on a machine that cannot be reached from outside the lab network. After the change, open InteLIS from a second computer to confirm.

  3. Select the WampServer tray icon, then Restart All Services.

Initialize InteLIS

  1. In Command Prompt, run:

    cd C:\wamp64\www\vlsm
set PATH=C:\wamp64\bin\php\php8.4.x;%PATH%
php composer.phar post-install

  2. Answer the STS questions at the end:

    Question Answer
    Is this STS URL correct? Press Enter (Yes).
    Enter STS URL (or press Enter to skip) The STS address. Press Enter if the lab has no STS.
    Number to select, text to filter Type the number of this lab, then press Enter. Type part of the lab name to shorten the list.

    InteLIS asks only the questions that apply. With a single lab on the STS, it selects that lab without asking.

  3. Wait for STS setup complete!.

    If the lab has no STS

    After Enter at the STS question, the run ends with Setup complete. Configure STS URL before proceeding. and Composer reports an error code for sts-setup. Every earlier part of post-install has finished. Continue with step 44.

    If it prints Cannot connect to STS at this URL

    Check the address and the internet connection, then type the address again. If it still fails, run php composer.phar sts-setup later to repeat only the STS questions.

    If it prints Metadata refresh failed

    The STS did not send the lab list. Check the internet connection, then run php composer.phar sts-setup.

Complete setup in the browser

  1. Open http://vlsm. The setup page opens.
  2. Under Database Setup, check the values match config.production.php. Select Next.

  3. Fill in Instance Setup, then select Next:

    Field Value
    Instance type LIS with Remote Ordering Enabled if the lab sends results to an STS. Standalone (no Remote Ordering) if it does not.
    STS URL The STS address. It is filled in from config.production.php.
    Testing lab The lab chosen in step 42. If the list is empty, select the refresh button next to the STS URL.
    Choose Modules to Enable The tests this lab runs.
    Country of installation The country the lab is in.
    Timezone The lab's time zone.
    Choose System Language The language of the screens.

  4. Fill in Admin Setup with the email, full name, login ID and password of the lab's first administrator. Select Finish.

  5. Log in with that administrator account.

Check: the dashboard opens, and the page footer shows the version, for example v5.7.72.

Register the system administrator

  1. Open http://vlsm/system-admin. The Register new System Admin page opens.
  2. Open C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\var\secret-key.txt in the text editor. Copy the key.
  3. Paste the key into Secret Key. Fill in the user name, email, login ID and password. Select Submit.
  4. Sign out of the system admin area.

Schedule background tasks

  1. Open Task Scheduler and select Create Task. Name it InteLIS Task.
  2. On the General tab, select Run whether user is logged on or not.

  3. On the Triggers tab, create a trigger:

    • Select Daily.
    • Select Repeat task every and set it to 1 minute, for a duration of Indefinitely.
    • Select Stop task if it runs longer than and keep 3 days.

  4. On the Actions tab, create an action:

    Field Value
    Program/script C:\wamp64\bin\php\php8.4.x\php.exe
    Add arguments C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\vendor\bin\crunz schedule:run
    Start in C:\wamp64\www\vlsm

    Start in is required. Without it, the task runs but does nothing: no backups, no synchronisation and no result imports.

  5. Select OK and enter the Windows password when asked.

Check: after two minutes, the file C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\var\.cron_heartbeat shows a modified time from the last minute or two.

Connect instruments

  1. If the lab connects instruments, follow Connect an Instrument.

    Differences on Windows
    • intelis interface setup does not exist on Windows. Where the guide offers it, use its steps for doing the same work by hand.
    • Create the interfacing database by importing C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\sql\interface-init.sql in phpMyAdmin.
    • Run the guide's SQL in phpMyAdmin's SQL tab.
    • Edit C:\wamp64\www\vlsm\configs\config.production.php instead of the Ubuntu path.
    • Skip the Ubuntu-only commands: nano, setfacl, ufw and systemctl.