Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing osTicket, it’s important to update your system to ensure that you have the latest packages and security updates. Run the following commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

This ensures that your Ubuntu 22.04 system is up to date. Keeping your system updated is important whether you’re hosting locally or on a UK Windows VPS.

Step 2: Install LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

osTicket requires a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) to function. Install the LAMP stack by running the following command:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-xml php-intl php-imap php-mbstring php-gd
            

Once installed, enable Apache and MySQL to start on boot:

sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl enable mysql
            

Start Apache and MySQL:

sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl start mysql
            

This setup provides the environment required to run osTicket, whether locally or on a VPS Windows Servers solution.

Step 3: Secure MySQL and Create Database

After installing MySQL, run the following command to secure the installation:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to set a root password and secure your database. Then, log in to the MySQL shell:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Create a new database and user for osTicket:

CREATE DATABASE osticket_db;
CREATE USER 'osticket_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON osticket_db.* TO 'osticket_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
            

This configuration sets up the necessary database for osTicket, whether you're deploying locally or on a Windows VPS hosting UK server.

Step 4: Download and Set Up osTicket

Download the latest version of osTicket from the official website. First, navigate to your web directory:

cd /var/www/html

Download osTicket:

wget https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket/releases/download/v1.15.8/osTicket-v1.15.8.zip

Once downloaded, unzip the package:

sudo unzip osTicket-v1.15.8.zip

Rename the extracted directory to something simpler:

sudo mv upload osticket

Set the correct permissions for the osTicket directory:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/osticket

This will ensure Apache can access the osTicket files, whether you're hosting locally or on a VPS Windows hosting solution.

Step 5: Configure Apache for osTicket

You need to configure Apache to serve osTicket. Create a new virtual host file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/osticket.conf

Add the following configuration, replacing your-domain.com with your actual domain:

    ServerAdmin admin@your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/osticket
    ServerName your-domain.com
    ServerAlias www.your-domain.com

    
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

            

Save the file and enable the virtual host:

sudo a2ensite osticket.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2
            

This configuration ensures osTicket is served from your domain or IP address, whether you're hosting it on a local server or a Windows VPS Italy server.

Step 6: Complete the osTicket Installation via Web Interface

Open your web browser and navigate to your domain or server's IP address to complete the osTicket installation. Use the following URL:

http://your-domain.com/osticket

Follow the setup instructions. You will be prompted to enter your MySQL database information (database name, user, and password) and set up an admin account for the helpdesk system.

After completing the setup, remember to rename or delete the setup directory:

sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/osticket/setup

osTicket is now fully installed and ready for use. This setup applies whether you are hosting locally or on a Windows VPS hosting UK platform.

Step 7: Secure osTicket with SSL

To secure your osTicket installation, you should enable SSL. You can use Let’s Encrypt to obtain a free SSL certificate. First, install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

Then, run Certbot to obtain and configure an SSL certificate for your domain:

sudo certbot --apache -d your-domain.com

Follow the prompts to complete the setup. Certbot will automatically configure Apache to use SSL, ensuring secure access to your osTicket instance.