How to Deploy Evergreen ILS on Debian VPS

This article provides a guide demonstrating how to deploy Evergreen ILS on Debian VPS.

What is Evergreen ILS?

Evergreen ILS is a powerful open-source Integrated Library System designed for libraries and consortia. It provides cataloging, circulation, acquisitions, OPAC, patron management, and reporting tools.

Evergreen is widely used by large public library systems because of its scalability and robust architecture. It officially supports Debian and Ubuntu Linux distributions.

This guide explains how to deploy Evergreen ILS on Debian VPS from scratch.

System Requirements

Recommended VPS Specifications

Evergreen officially supports Debian Bookworm, Bullseye, and Ubuntu releases. PostgreSQL 14+ is required.

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How to Deploy Evergreen ILS on Debian VPS

To deploy Evergreen ILS on Debian VPS, follow the steps below:

1. Update the Server

   Connect to your VPS:

   ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
   

   Update Debian packages:

   apt update && apt upgrade -y
   

   Install essential utilities:

   apt install -y wget curl git sudo gnupg unzip software-properties-common
   

   Set the hostname:

   hostnamectl set-hostname evergreen.example.com
   

   Update /etc/hosts:

   nano /etc/hosts
   

   Add:

   127.0.0.1 localhost
   YOUR_SERVER_IP evergreen.example.com evergreen
   

2. Create Evergreen Users

   Create the OpenSRF user:

   adduser --system --home /openils --group opensrf
   usermod -aG sudo opensrf
   

   Create directories:

   mkdir -p /openils
   chown opensrf:opensrf /openils
   

3. Install PostgreSQL

   Install PostgreSQL:

   apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib
   

   Enable and start PostgreSQL:

   systemctl enable postgresql
   systemctl start postgresql
   

   Switch to PostgreSQL user:

   su - postgres
   

   Create Evergreen database user:

   createuser -P evergreen
   

   Grant superuser privileges:

   psql
   

   Inside PostgreSQL:

   ALTER USER evergreen WITH SUPERUSER;
   \q
   

   Exit:

   exit
   

4. Install Apache and Required Packages

   Install Apache:

   apt install -y apache2
   

   Install Evergreen dependencies:

   apt install -y \
   apache2-dev \
   build-essential \
   checkinstall \
   gcc \
   g++ \
   libapache2-mod-perl2 \
   libdbi-perl \
   libdbd-pg-perl \
   libjson-xs-perl \
   libxml-simple-perl \
   libxml-libxml-perl \
   libjson-perl \
   libyaml-perl \
   libdatetime-perl \
   libtemplate-perl \
   libnet-z3950-simple2zoom-perl \
   libmarc-record-perl \
   libunicode-maputf8-perl \
   libclass-dbi-perl \
   libio-socket-ssl-perl \
   libcrypt-ssleay-perl \
   libwww-perl \
   memcached \
   redis-server \
   openjdk-17-jdk \
   nodejs \
   npm \
   libncurses-dev \
   libreadline-dev \
   libxml2-dev \
   pkg-config \
   libmemcached-dev
   

5. Install OpenSRF

   Evergreen requires OpenSRF middleware.

   Switch to the opensrf user:

   su - opensrf
   

   Download OpenSRF:

   wget https://evergreen-ils.org/downloads/opensrf-3.3.3.tar.gz
   

   Extract:

   tar -xzf opensrf-3.3.3.tar.gz
   cd opensrf-3.3.3
   

   Build and install:

   ./configure --prefix=/openils
   make
   sudo make install
   

   Update linker cache:

   sudo ldconfig
   

6. Download Evergreen

   Still as the opensrf user:

   cd /openils
   

   Clone Evergreen:

   git clone https://github.com/evergreen-library-system/Evergreen.git
   

   Enter the directory:

   cd Evergreen
   

   Generate configure scripts:

   autoreconf -i
   

   Evergreen developers recommend this process when using Git sources.

7. Install Evergreen Dependencies

   As root:

   cd /openils/Evergreen
   

   Install prerequisites:

   NO_CPAN_TEST=1 make -f Open-ILS/src/extras/Makefile.install debian-bookworm
   

   This command installs Evergreen-specific dependencies for Debian Bookworm.

8. Build and Install Evergreen

   Switch back to opensrf:

   su - opensrf
   cd /openils/Evergreen
   

   Configure Evergreen:

   PATH=/openils/bin:$PATH ./configure \
   --prefix=/openils \
   --sysconfdir=/openils/conf
   

   Compile:

   make
   

   Install as root:

   sudo make install
   

   Fix permissions:

   sudo chown -R opensrf:opensrf /openils
   

   Refresh linker cache:

   sudo ldconfig
   

9. Configure Apache

   Copy Evergreen Apache configs:

   sudo cp Open-ILS/examples/apache_24/eg_24.conf \
   /etc/apache2/sites-available/eg.conf
   

   sudo cp Open-ILS/examples/apache_24/eg_vhost_24.conf \
   /etc/apache2/eg_vhost.conf
   

   Enable Apache modules:

   sudo a2enmod rewrite ssl headers proxy proxy_http
   

   Enable Evergreen site:

   sudo a2ensite eg.conf
   

   Restart Apache:

   sudo systemctl restart apache2
   

10. Configure SSL

    Install Certbot:

    apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache
    

    Generate SSL certificate:

    certbot --apache -d evergreen.example.com
    

    Test renewal:

    certbot renew --dry-run
    

11. Initialize Evergreen Database

    Create the Evergreen database:

    su - postgres
    createdb -O evergreen evergreen
    exit
    

    Load Evergreen schema:

    su - opensrf
    cd /openils/Evergreen/Open-ILS/src/sql/Pg
    psql -U evergreen evergreen < 950.data.seed-values.sql
    

12. Configure OpenSRF

    Edit OpenSRF configuration:

    nano /openils/conf/opensrf_core.xml
    

    Update:

    • Database credentials
    • Domain name
    • Hostnames
    • Ports

    Edit Evergreen configuration:

    nano /openils/conf/opensrf.xml
    

    Configure:

    • PostgreSQL access
    • Authentication
    • SIP2 settings
    • OPAC hostname

13. Start Evergreen Services

    Start OpenSRF:

    /openils/bin/osrf_ctl.sh start_all
    

    Verify processes:

    ps aux | grep opensrf
    

    Restart Apache:

    systemctl restart apache2
    

14. Access the Web Interface

    Open your browser:

    https://evergreen.example.com
    

    Default admin credentials:

    Username: egadmin
    Password: admin
    

    Immediately change the password after login.

15. Configure Your Library

    Inside Evergreen:

    Create Organizational Units

    Set up:

    • Library systems
    • Branches
    • Departments

    Configure Circulation Rules

    Set:

    • Loan periods
    • Holds
    • Fines
    • Patron categories

    Import MARC Records

    Use Z39.50 servers or batch MARC imports.

    Configure OPAC

    Customize:

    • Branding
    • Themes
    • Search preferences
    • Patron features

Firewall Configuration

Allow required ports:

ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

Backup Strategy

PostgreSQL Backups

Create daily backups:

pg_dump evergreen > /backup/evergreen.sql

Automate with cron:

crontab -e

Example:

0 2 * * * pg_dump evergreen > /backup/evergreen-$(date +\%F).sql

Performance Optimization

PostgreSQL Tuning

Edit:

/etc/postgresql/15/main/postgresql.conf

Recommended:

shared_buffers = 2GB
work_mem = 32MB
maintenance_work_mem = 256MB
effective_cache_size = 6GB

Restart PostgreSQL:

systemctl restart postgresql

Troubleshooting

Apache Errors

Check logs:

tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log

Evergreen Logs

Check:

tail -f /openils/var/log/osrfsys.log

PostgreSQL Issues

Check:

journalctl -u postgresql

Updating Evergreen

Pull latest code:

cd /openils/Evergreen
git pull

Rebuild:

autoreconf -i
./configure --prefix=/openils --sysconfdir=/openils/conf
make
sudo make install

Restart services:

/openils/bin/osrf_ctl.sh restart_all
systemctl restart apache2

Security Recommendations

• Disable root SSH login
• Use SSH keys only
• Install Fail2Ban
• Keep Debian updated
• Restrict PostgreSQL remote access
• Use automatic security updates

Conclusion

You now know how to deploy Evergreen ILS on Debian VPS.

Evergreen is highly scalable and especially suited for multi-branch and consortium library systems. It uses PostgreSQL, Apache, and OpenSRF to provide enterprise-grade library management capabilities.

With proper backups, SSL, monitoring, and PostgreSQL optimization, your Evergreen deployment can reliably serve large library collections and patron networks for years.