Host a Domain from a Local or Cloud Linux Server

The Overte packages can help you get your own domain up and running quickly.

Installation

You can run these same commands on an existing Overte domain to upgrade it if the original domain was installed using the package. Packages are currently available for the following distributions:

Server:

Debian 12

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-12-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-12-1_amd64.deb

Debian 11

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-11-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-11-1_amd64.deb

Ubuntu 22.04

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-ubuntu-22.04-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-ubuntu-22.04-1_amd64.deb

Ubuntu 20.04

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-ubuntu-20.04-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-ubuntu-20.04-1_amd64.deb

Fedora 38

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc38.x86_64.rpm
sudo yum update && sudo rpm -i ./overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc38.x86_64.rpm

Fedora 37

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc37.x86_64.rpm
sudo yum update && sudo rpm -i ./overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc37.x86_64.rpm

Rocky Linux 9

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server-2023.11.1-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
sudo yum update && sudo rpm -i ./overte-server-2023.11.1-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

aarch64 server:

Debian 12

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-12-1_arm64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-12-1_arm64.deb

Debian 11

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-11-1_arm64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-debian-11-1_arm64.deb

Ubuntu 22.04

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server_2023.11.1-ubuntu-22.04-1_arm64.deb
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ./overte-server_2023.11.1-ubuntu-22.04-1_arm64.deb

Fedora 38

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc38.aarch64.rpm
sudo yum update && sudo rpm -i ./overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc38.aarch64.rpm

Fedora 37

wget https://public.overte.org/build/overte/release/2023.11.1/overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc37.aarch64.rpm
sudo yum update && sudo rpm -i ./overte-server-2023.11.1-1.fc37.aarch64.rpm

Unlisted Distribution

If you do not see your distribution listed here, you may compile your own server from source using the Overte builder.

Configuration

The installation packages will create a domain at the default port location and configure a service to keep it running on that machine.

For the list of network ports that you will need to open and manage, see here.

Connect a web browser to the server at port 40100. (If you are on the machine that the server is running on, this would be http://localhost:40100) Complete the initial setup wizard and you should have a functioning domain.

Files and Server Configuration

The program files are installed in /opt/overte:

  • /opt/overte contains the executables

  • /opt/overte/lib contains libraries required for operation

  • /opt/overte/plugins is currently used for audio codecs

  • /opt/overte/resources is required for the administrative website

The executables in this folder (with the exception of new-server) cannot be launched from the command prompt without first setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/overte/lib.

The file /etc/opt/overte/default.conf contains any environment variables necessary to running the domain.

All content is stored under /var/lib/overte/default. All files underneath /var/lib/overte are owned by the user overte, which is also the user that runs all domain-related processes.

Services

The installation packages setup the following systemd services to manage the Overte domain:

  • overte-domain-server@default.service: Manages the core domain server

  • overte-assignment-client@default.service: Spawns and manages the assignment clients

  • overte-server@default.target: Controls startup and shutdown of the above services

The overte-server@default.target service is the only one that is set to auto-start. Starting or stopping it will bring the other two services down.

The first two services log a large amount of data to their service journal. Checking their logs (via systemctl status) is a good way to ensure they are operating properly.

Multiple Domains

The installation package is configured to permit multiple domains to run on a single server at different port numbers. New servers can be created using the following command:

/opt/overte/new-server <name> <base-port>

where name is a word used to name and manage the domain and base-port must be the the first of a range of four contiguous port numbers not overlapping with any other use on the system.

Assuming you created a new server with the name my-server-two, this would setup the following:

  • Environment variables in /etc/opt/overte/my-server-two.conf

  • Content stored in /var/lib/overte/my-server-two

  • Services launched as overte-domain-server@my-server-two.service, overte-assignment-client@my-server-two.service, and overte-server@my-server-two.target

Deleting a Overte Server

Uninstall the package.

# Ubuntu/Debian
# Note: 'apt-get purge' will remove configuration files as well. Use 'apt-get remove' to keep them.
sudo apt-get purge overte-server
# Fedora/Rock Linux
sudo yum remove overte-server

Deleting a Domain from a Multiple Domain Installation

Find the name of the domain that you want to remove.

sudo ls ~overte

Pick the name of the domain that you want to remove from the list and then stop it.

sudo systemctl stop overte-server@<INSERT NAME HERE>.target

Disable the service for the domain.

sudo systemctl disable overte-server@<INSERT NAME HERE>.target

Remove the associated environment variables.

sudo rm /etc/opt/overte/<INSERT NAME HERE>.conf

Remove all data and configurations.

sudo rm -rf ~overte/<INSERT NAME HERE>
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/overte/<INSERT NAME HERE>

Legacy Services

There are a number of tweaks that are made to the default configuration to simplify storage and the ability to run multiple domains on one server. In case you would like to remove this logic and run the servers closer to how a Overte server compiled from source would run, this is provided as an option.

  • Systemd services named overte-domain-server.service, overte-assignment-client.service, and overte-server.target (without the @name) have simplified configuration

  • No file is provided to specify environment variables for the server

  • Content would be stored in /var/lib/overte/.local