osTicket - Prerequisites and Installation

This tutorial outlines the prerequisites and installation of the open-source help desk ticketing system osTicket.

Environments and Technologies Used

• Microsoft Azure (Virtual Machines/Compute)
• Remote Desktop
• Internet Information Services (IIS)

Operating Systems Used

• Windows 10 (21H2)

List of Prerequisites

• Azure Virtual Machine
• OsTicket Installation Files
• Heidi SQL

Installation Steps

Welcome! First, we will create a Virtual machine using Microsoft Azure portal. We will use a VM which is a remote computer. We are using a VM in order to protect our physical machine in the event something unexpected occurs. Create a resource group and title it "osTicket". Afterwards create a VM with 2-4 CPUs. For this example we will be using 4 CPUs.

Next, connect to the newly created VM using Remote Desktop using the public IPv4 address. If you are a Mac user you will have to download the Microsoft RDP.

Now that you have created the VM you will need to enable IIS. Access the control panel then select uninstall a program. Select "Turn windows features on or off" which is located to the left. A list will appear and from there you will enable Internet Information Services.

Now that you have enabled IIS you will need to install Web Platform Installer. A link below has been provided: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1APMfNyfNzcxZC6EzdaNfdZsUwxWYChf6 This link will provide you with material that is required to download osTicket and continue the setup process. Once inside the provided link, click and install Web Platform Installer

After you have installed Web Installer Platform open it. Go to the search bar and type "MySQL". From there, install MySQL 5.5. Afterwards install x86 version of PHP up until 7.3. There are some failed files such as C++ redistributable package as well as PHP 7.3.8 and PHP Manager, and IIS. The files for those listed can be found inside the install link.

Next download osTicket. Then extract and copy the "upload" folder into c:\inetpub\wwwroot. Afterwards rename the folder to "osTicket"

Open IIS Manager and restart the server. Once inside IIS manager go to Sites-Default-osTicket on the right, click "Browse*.80" from there your default browser should open osTicket webserver.

Go back into IIS manager and enable a few extensions. Go to Sites-Default-osTicket Then double click on PHP manager. Click on "Disable or enable an extension" Enable "php_intl.dll" & "php_opcache.dll" then refresh the osTicket webserver and obsereve any changes. "Intl Extension" should now be enabled.

Go back into c:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\include\ost-sampleconfig.php rename the file to c:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\include\ost-config.php Assign permissions to ost-config.php Disable inheritance-Removeall New Permissions-Everyone-all

Afterwards continue setting up osTicket in the browser (click continue) then you will name the Helpdesk to your personal prefrence. Select a default email that will receive emails from customers who submit tickets.

Continue Setting up osticket in the browser MySQL Database: osTicket MySQL Username: root MySQL Password: Password1 Click “Install Now!”. This completes the tutorial. If there are any errors, go back through the steps to see what was missed. If no errors occured, Clean up the excess resources. Delete: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\setup Set Permissions to “Read” only: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\include\ost-config.php Login to the osTicket Admin Panel (http://localhost/osTicket/scp/login.php)