Data is essential in a company. Luckily, there are open source tools that allow us to create our own data servers in the best Dropbox or Google Drive style. Among them we have Owncloud or Nextcloud, but there is an alternative to them that puts more focus on companies. With this in mind, today I will teach you how to install Pydio on CentOS 7.

Pydio is an application that allows you to synchronize files between different devices. In general, we can say that it allows us to mount our own cloud. It is a valid and mature alternative to Owncloud and Nextcloud. Like them, it is open source and has a great community support.

So, let us start.

1. Install Apache web server and PHP

First, you need to install an http server such as Apache. It is also possible to use Nginx. However, choose Apache.

So, open a terminal or connect to your server and execute these commands:

:~$ su
:~# yum install httpd

Then you need to install PHP. The problem here is that the version of PHP that comes with CentOS 7 is very old and needs to be updated through an external repository. To do this, follow our guide.

In order for pydio to work optimally, it is necessary to modify some values in the PHP configuration.

:~# yum install nano
:~# nano /etc/php.ini

And set this configuration:

max_execution_time = 300
post_max_size = 200M
upload_max_filesize = 200M
output_buffering = Off

Using nano you can type CTRL + W and search for the each parameter.

Next, start and enable Apache.

:~# systemctl enable httpd
:~# systemctl start httpd

Finally, set the Firewall rule to allow Apache.

:~# firewall-cmd --add-port=80/tcp --permanent
:~# firewall-cmd --reload

2. Install MariaDB

Now you have to install MariaDB to store Pydio’s data. This is important because otherwise you will not be able to continue.

So let’s go for it.

:~# yum install mariadb-server

After that, start and enable the MariaDB service.

:~# systemctl enable mariadb
:~# systemctl start mariadb

Then, set a root password in order to user MariaDB.

:~# mysql_secure_installation

As you can see in the image, after defining a password for the root user in MariaDB, the script will ask some configuration questions, so I have answered Y, N, Y, Y. Do it as you prefer.

Next, you need to create the new user and database for Pydio.

:~# mysql -u root -p
myslq> CREATE DATABASE pydiodb;
myslq> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON pydiodb.* TO 'pydiouser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'pydiopss';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> exit;

3. Install Pydio on CentOS 7

There is a great way to install Pydo and that is through its repository. With this we will be able to install it using yum, the CentOS 7 package manager.

First, add the repository with the following command:

:~# rpm -Uvh http://dl.ajaxplorer.info/repos/pydio-release-1-1.noarch.rpm

Next update the repositories cache. And install Pydio.

:~# yum update
:~# yum install pydio

In order for Apache to run Pydio better, an extra configuration is required. So, use nano to modify the apache file for Pydio.

:~# nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/pydio.conf

Comment the default configuration and add the following:

<Directory /usr/share/pydio>
    Options FollowSymlinks
    AllowOverride none
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Then, restart Apache to apply the changes.

:~# systemctl restart httpd

4. Complete the installation using the web interface

After doing all of the above, all you have to do is open your web browser and access your server. You can do it through the domain of the IP address.

Conclusion

As we can notice, installing Pydio is an easy matter that can help us in the company’s data management. It arises as a mature alternative to tools known as Owncloud and Nextcloud.

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