This series of tutorials explains how to launch on online store on nopCommerce.

Starting from its 4.00 version, nopCommerce moved to ASP.NET Core 2.0. This means it can now be deployed on Linux. In this article, we will explain how to prepare Linux-based systems for setting up a nopCommerce store.

Installation resources

Packages are distributed as disk images (.ISO, .VHD, etc.) or installation packages (.MSI, .EXE). It is recommended to download Ubuntu Server with LTS as .ISO disk images.

Once ISO disk image is downloaded, create an installation disk following the guidance from the Ubuntu official site.

NB: Hyperlinks, terms and conditions as well as documentation mentioned in this manual may be revised by Canonical and other authors. In this case, we advise to use search in order to get up-to-date data.

Ubuntu Server Package

Ubuntu Server package is available for download at http://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04/

It is recommended to select an ISO option and download the package as a disk image which should be mounted before the installation.

Official installation documentation can be found here.

SQL Server Package

This Database Management System should be installed through the official repository.
Official installation documentation can be found here. This image supports all SQL Server editions.

License conditions for SQL Server Editions:

• Express – free edition with a limited functionality (there is only a relational database management system) and limited performance: 1 processor, 1GB of RAM, 10 GB maximum database size. This edition can be used in a production environment for a small database or at first stages of a nopCommerce store.
• Standard – paid edition for mid-tier databases, includes business analytics services and has a higher performance level. This edition is optimal for nopCommerce.
• Enterprise – paid edition for large databases, offers business analytics services and unlimited performance (depending on hardware).
• Developer – fully-functioning free edition (similar to Enterprise edition), designed for development and testing, can also be used for learning and demonstrations

Official documentation: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2017

Microsoft .NET Core Package

Current version can be downloaded from here. Use official guidelines to install .Net Core Runtime.

nopCommerce Package

Current platform version with its source code can be found at https://github.com/nopSolutions/nopCommerce. It is designed for developers and requires Microsoft Visual Studio (version 15.7 or later) for the installation. Download archive nopCommerce-develop.zip. Additionally, for coding you need to download .NET Core SDK.

You can also download the platform with or without its source code from the official site. It is required to register to get the access. Select the version with no source code. Archive nopCommerce_4.10_NoSource.rar. will be downloaded.

Installation order

1. Ubuntu Server operation system installation
2. Docker image of the SQL Server database installation
3. Microsoft .NET Core program components installation
4. nopCommerce installation and set-up

Ubuntu Server installation

When connecting a disk or launching an image with the installation package, installation program setup.exe should be started automatically. If not, start it manually. In case a computer has no operation system, a DVD or USB boot disk should be prepared and inserted in the computer before turning it on.

In BIOS settings of the computer, launch order should be defined, and DVD or USB should be the first to be installed.

After the program initial launch, a window with language, time and keyboard settings pops up.

It is recommended to install Ubuntu in English, set English as a main language and then add other required languages.

To install Ubuntu Server 18.04, select Ubuntu Server Installation in the menu. Define the language and select a keyboard layout.

Once the installation type is selected, define the environment in which the server will be installed. The installation can be both standalone or cluster (MAAS). In this manual we consider a standalone installation.

The network is configured using the DHCP protocol, however, the parameters can be set manually.

The disk can be partitioned both manually and automatically, the installer of the operating system will choose the optimal parameters by itself.

The final step of the operation system installation is creation of the admin account.

SQL Server database installation

To set up SQL Server in Ubuntu, run the following commands in the terminal window to install mssql-server pack.
Import GPG keys from a public repository:
$ wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo apt-key add –

Register Microsoft SQL Server Ubuntu repository:

$ sudo add-apt-repository “$(wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/18.04/mssql-server-2019.list)”

Run the following commands to install SQL Server:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install -y mssql-server

After the package installation is complete, run mssql-conf and follow the instructions on the screen to set the system administrator password and select your release.
$ sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setup

Microsoft .NET Core program components installation

Add Microsoft repository:
$ wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/18.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
Install Microsoft .NET Core by running the following commands:
$ sudo add-apt-repository universe
$ sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install aspnetcore-runtime-2.2

nopCommerce installation

Deploy the archive file with the nopCommerce package to a web-server /var/aspnetcore folder.
$ sudo mkdir /var/aspnetcore
$ cd /var/aspnetcore/
$ wget https://github.com/nopSolutions/nopCommerce/releases/download/release-4.10/nopCommerce_4.10_NoSource.rar
$ sudo unrar nopCommerce_4.10_NoSource.rar
$ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data nopCommerce_4.10/
To start, go to the folder with the solution and execute the following commands:
$ cd nopCommerce_4.10/
$ sudo -u www-data dotnet Nop.Web.dll
To run the solution as a service, it is needed to configure the automatic start. To do this, create a systemd configuration file and specify the launch parameters for the solution.
$ sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/nopcommerce.service
Define the configuration:

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/var/aspnetcore/nopCommerce_4.10
ExecStart=/usr/bin/dotnet /var/aspnetcore/nopCommerce_4.10/Nop.Web.dll
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
SyslogIdentifier=nopcommerce
User=www-data
Environment=ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
Environment=DOTNET_PRINT_TELEMETRY_MESSAGE=false

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Start and automatic start of the service when the OS starts is performed by the following commands:
$ sudo systemctl enable nopcommerce.service
$ sudo systemctl enable nopcommerce.service

– – – – –

Once the environment is ready, you can move on to installing nopCommerce platform and setting up a store. Use our guide to make the process easier.