Zimbra Desktop install fails in Linux Mint Mate 18.3

Need some help getting Zimbra Desktop set up and working?
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wrightg
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 8:50 pm

Zimbra Desktop install fails in Linux Mint Mate 18.3

Post by wrightg »

I am having a horrible time trying to get Zimbra Desktop 7.3.1 installed and running on a Linux Mint Mate 18.3 (64bit) system.

The actual installation of the software appears to work as expected! The installation of ZD was performed under the initial privileged account which was created when the Linux Mint system was originally installed. I'm assuming that this was a 'root' account. After installing ZD, I then created two non-privileged user accounts and it is under these two accounts that I want to run Zimbra Desktop.

I logged into the first of the non-privileged user accounts and ran the /opt/zimbra/zdesktop/linux/user-install.pl perl script and responded to the two questions about Zimbra files as appropriate. The script then failed with a error message that it could not create a .tmp file in the /opt/zimbra/zdesktop/linux directory. Of course it couldn't create a file there; the user has no permission to write to that directory! I then started to look at the install script and not being that well versed in perl, realized that this script would NEVER execute properly for a non-privilged user. In fact I re-ran the script using the 'root' account and the zdrun.pl script was modified with the hard-coded directories of the privileged account.

So, has anybody fixed the install scripts to actually work correctly and have those scripts available. If so, I would love a copy.

I would like to get Zimbra Desktop working in my Linux environment, but with the current installation commands, that seems to me to be impossible. I might be able to rewrite the scripts, but I'm going to have to learn perl to do so and I don't think that would be the best way to solve this problem for everybody. It would be better if the scripts were re-written by the people who created them.

In the meantime, has ANYBODY gotten Zimbra Desktop 7.3.1GA installed onto a 64bit Ubuntu based Linux system and if so, how did you do it?

Thanks.

Greg ...
jotrago
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2016 8:18 am
Location: Cape Town
ZCS/ZD Version: ZCO 8.6.0.1320
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Re: Zimbra Desktop install fails in Linux Mint Mate 18.3

Post by jotrago »

I have also struggled with this.
Clean install of Mint18.3 in a VBox VM with Openjdk Java JRE 1.8
Following the installation guide where the main program is installed with SUDO (Root) and then a second installer is run as the user to setup Zimbra for that user failed.
The root installation part went OK but after running the user installation Zimbra would not start.

After several attempts and variations I found the one that works for me is to install everything as my user, and locate both the Program and Data folders in my User folder. As follows:-
Login as normal user.
On my Mint I had to prefix the perl installer commands with "perl" to get them to work
Run the main installer perl installer.pl
Program folder /home/username/Apps/Zimbra
Then run the User install perl user-install.pl
Data Folder /home/username/AppsData/Zimbra

Then everything worked fine.
Since I am the only user on my Laptop this solution is fine for me.
I do realise it may not be so ideal on a multi user machine.

Like several other users and posts I could not figure out why the app would not run using the documented installation procedure.
wrightg
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 8:50 pm

Re: Zimbra Desktop install fails in Linux Mint Mate 18.3

Post by wrightg »

jotrago, I have a sneaking feeling that Zimbra Desktop has been abandoned by the developers here. Nobody from the company has ever responded to any of my messages regarding this problems with this product.

Anyway, please see the thread "Seriously Flawed Linux Installation" to see how to install. Zimbra Desktop needs to be installed under each user account that you have on your Linux system. It should not be installed using a root or administrative account. If you have a multitude of user accounts on your Linux system, then each user who wishes to run ZD, must install it for themselves. Not the brightest way of doing things, but appears to be the only way to make it work.

Good Luck.

Greg ...
firefox58
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2017 9:50 am

Re: Zimbra Desktop install fails in Linux Mint Mate 18.3

Post by firefox58 »

As I stated in another part of the forum.

At least at zdesktop all development seems to be abandoned. An NO statement or plan from nobody about the future.

Everybody can and will make his own thoughts and decisions about this
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