Installation

Server deployment and software installation guide.

System Requirements

Server Requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	4 cores	8+ cores
RAM	8 GB	16+ GB
Storage	50 GB	100+ GB SSD
OS	Windows Server 2019+ or Linux	Ubuntu 22.04+ or Windows Server 2022

Software Prerequisites

The following software must be installed before proceeding:

Software	Version	Purpose
Go	1.24+	Backend API server
PostgreSQL	15+	Primary database
Valkey or Redis	7+	Session storage and caching
Node.js	18+	Frontend build toolchain
npm	9+	Frontend package management

Optional Software

Software	Purpose
Air	Hot reload for Go during development (go install github.com/air-verse/air@latest)
Mailpit	Local email testing server for development
Caddy or Nginx	Reverse proxy for production

Network Requirements

• HTTPS certificate (required for production)
• Firewall rules for web (443) and database (5432) ports
• DNS configuration for your institution's domain

Backend Installation

Installation Steps

1. Clone or extract the application

   cd /opt/sis
   git clone <repository-url> .

2. Install Go dependencies

   cd sis_backendgo
   go mod download

3. Configure environment

   • Create .env file in sis_backendgo/
   • Edit settings (see Environment Variables)

4. Set up Valkey/Redis

   Valkey (or Redis) is required for session management. Install and start the service:

   # Ubuntu/Debian (Valkey)
   sudo apt install valkey-server
   sudo systemctl enable valkey-server
   sudo systemctl start valkey-server
   
   # Or using Redis
   sudo apt install redis-server
   sudo systemctl enable redis-server
   sudo systemctl start redis-server

   On Windows, use the official Redis/Valkey installer or run via Docker:

   docker run -d --name valkey -p 6379:6379 valkey/valkey:latest

5. Initialize the database

   • Create the PostgreSQL database and run migration scripts
   • See Database Configuration for detailed instructions

6. Build the application

   cd sis_backendgo
   go build -o api ./cmd/api/main.go

7. Test the installation

   ./api
   # Check http://localhost:8000/health

Frontend Installation

Installation Steps

1. Navigate to the frontend directory

   cd sis_frontend

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Build for production

   npm run build

4. Deploy build files

   • Copy dist/ contents to your web server
   • Configure your reverse proxy (Nginx, Caddy, or Apache)

Web Server Configuration

Nginx Example

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name sis.youruniversity.edu;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

    # Frontend
    location / {
        root /var/www/sis/dist;
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }

    # API proxy
    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }

    # Photo uploads
    location /photos/ {
        alias /opt/sis/sis_backendgo/photos/;
    }
}

Caddy Example

sis.youruniversity.edu {
    handle /api/* {
        reverse_proxy localhost:8000
    }

    handle /photos/* {
        file_server
        root * /opt/sis/sis_backendgo
    }

    handle {
        root * /var/www/sis/dist
        try_files {path} /index.html
        file_server
    }
}

Running as a Service

Linux (systemd)

Create /etc/systemd/system/sis-api.service:

[Unit]
Description=SIS API Server
After=network.target postgresql.service valkey-server.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=sis
WorkingDirectory=/opt/sis/sis_backendgo
ExecStart=/opt/sis/sis_backendgo/api
Restart=always
EnvironmentFile=/opt/sis/sis_backendgo/.env

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

systemctl enable sis-api
systemctl start sis-api

Windows Service

Use NSSM or similar to run the Go binary as a Windows service.

Verification

After installation, verify each component:

1. Valkey/Redis - Confirm the session store is running: valkey-cli ping (should return PONG)
2. PostgreSQL - Confirm the database is accessible: pg_isready -h localhost -p 5432
3. Backend API - Check the health endpoint: GET http://localhost:8000/health
4. Frontend - Access the application URL and confirm the login page loads
5. Login - Log in with admin credentials and verify all sections load correctly

Next Steps

• Configure Database
• Set Environment Variables