Introduction
This document provides instructions for the installation and configuration of Rocky 9.3 linux operating system as recommended for using Mistika products on linux. It also provides a script to automate the installation (attached at the end of this document), which will install and configure 3rd party components typically needed on Mistika Workstations (NVIDIA driver, python, nfs, samba, ntfs, ssh, vnc, remote desktop applications, etc).
Warning: These procedures will relax several security policies. Use it for local workstations on friendly environments well secured behind firewalls. Do not use it for systems exposed to insecure networks or hostile environments. (alternatively, if you want to review the script actions in more detail there is another document explaining how to configure Rocky manually)
Rocky Linux Installation:
First thing, disable the secure boot inside the BIOS of your system. This will permit to install the nvidia driver without signing it, which can be unnecesarily complicated and not covered it in this document & script.
Download the official Rocky Linux 9.3-KDE iso. At the date of this document, the official iso is here:
https://dl.rockylinux.org/vault/rocky/9.3/live/x86_64/Rocky-9.3-KDE-x86_64-20240217.0.iso
A key aspect will be to install the Rocky 9.3 distro as it comes, DO NOT UPGRADE ANYTHING on your own until the end of the installation, avoid using tempting "upgrade" menus and neither use "popular" linux commands including terms like "upgrade all" / "update all" on them. Once that the installation is finished and Mistika is working you can start installing other things if you need them, but still do not make upgrades involving the installation of newer kernel versions without checking if they are already supported by Mistika.
Create a bootable pen drive with the downloaded iso (if you don't know how to do it then please read this document )
Then reboot the machine, and select the UEFI usb boot option presented in the boot menu for your pen drive. This will load a "live" version of Rcoky.
Note: If you get stuck on a blank screen during the installation (it depends on the hardware and GPU models) you may need to add nomodeset at the end of the linux line of the grub menu (also after the installation). But you can shutdown the machine and try to boot again, as sometimes the installation does not reach the graphics mode the first time.
During the installation make sure to select the language and time zone where the system will be used. Specially because selecting the wrong language can be difficult to change later, as some folders like "Downloads", "Desktop", etc will not have those names but their regional translated names ...
Once you boot with the iso, execute the Install to hard disk icon.
In the installation menu, select the option to create a new user, and name it "mistika" (Mistika applications can not run as root). Note that if you create a user name different than "mistika" then you will need to modify the installation script accordingly. Activate the "Require a password" option (if not yet) and type the password you want, and press "Done".
Select your preferred drive for the installation. In principle you can use the default partitioning, but if you need to make space (i.e. when recycling a boot disk from a previous OS) then there is a document explaining manual partitioning here. It is also a good idea to disconnect any external storage to not be confused.
Set the root password of your choice, write it once in each password field, check the "Allow root SSH login with password", and press Done again.
Then press "Begin installation".
Once it ends, press the "Finish installation", shutdown the live system (the temproal desktop that you are seing), remove the USB hard drive, and turn on the system again.
The system will boot and you will need to accept the license agreement, press "Done" and "Finish configuration"
That will boot an usable KDE desktop (do a power cycle if it does not appear).
Executing the automated configuration script:
Now we will execute the script provided at the end of this document, which will automatically install and configure everything that is normally needed for using Mistika products:
Download the attached SGOrocky93setupClients script to your new Rocky system (for example by going to this document in the firefox browser that you will find preinstalled)
Open a terminal (the script can be run while still in graphics mode if you wish), and run the following commands to become root, give proper exec permissions to the script, and run it:
su -
chmod +x /home/mistika/Downloads/SGOrocky93setupClients
mv /home/mistika/Downloads/SGOrocky93setupClients /usr/bin/
SGOrocky93setupClients
The script execution will take a long time. Depending on the hardware, it will reboot at aprox 12 or 15 minutes. At some point it will switch to text only mode and finally it will reboot to the graphical desktop again. At that point the installation is finished.
The Mistika software for Linux will also be installed automatically (currently Mistika Ultima and Mistika Workflows). If you plan to use Mistika Ultima then execute mConfig to finish the Mistika Ultima configuration (if you only need Mistika Workflows on this system just delete the Mistika Ultima and Mistika Config icons)
That's all, now you can activate your licenses using the sgoActivationTool icon and start using your Mistika products.
Enjoy Mistika