You can install Boonex Dolphin manually or through Softaculous, the auto script installer.
1. How to install Dolphin using Softaculous
Aswith most of the Open Source applications, Boonex Dolphin can also be installed via the Softaculous auto installer provided for all our customers absolutely free or charge.
Further reading:
How to Install Modules in Boonex Dolphin
To install Dolphin via Softaculous, you will need to:
- Step 1: Access the Installation page in Softaculous
- Step 2: Configure the Auto Installer
- Step 3: Initiate the Installation Script
Access the Installation page in Softaculous
In order to begin the installation process you will need to navigate to your cPanel and access the Softaculous application.
They you can either search for the Boonex Dolphin application using the search bar located at the right part of the top horizontal navigation menu.
You can find the Boonex Dolphin application in the left vertical menu under the Social Networking category.
No matter which from the options for finding the script you may prefer at the end you will be presented with the home page of the application where further actions will be available.
If you click on the “Install” tab you will be able to begin the installation process for the script.
Configure the Auto Installer
The installation is fairly simple and in order for the whole process to be performed smoothly you will need to configure the options presented at the Install page. The first group of options is called Software Setup. The options you will need to configure here are:
- Choose Protocol - This option is for choosing if your application should be installed with the http/https protocol support or with or without www. prefix in the URL. If you have SSL protocol installed for your domain name you should choose the https:// protocol so the application can be working with that type of protocol.
- Choose Domain - Here you should choose the domain/subdomain where the application should be installed at. All of the domains/subdomains associated with your account will be listed in the dropdown menu next to that option.
- In Directory - By default the value for this option will be “dolph”. You should change this value with the name of the actual folder you would like the application installed in. If you prefer the application to be directly installed on one of your domains please leave this option empty.
- Database Name - The name of the database your application will be using. By default Softaculous will fill the field for that option with random generated database name. It is recommended for that database name to remain the same as the auto installer will automatically create that database and also user associated with the same.
- CRON Job - The configuration for the Cron Job associated with your application. The auto installer will automatically create this Cron Job for you and you will not need to change any of the settings for this field. Of course if you would like the Cron Job executed on larger period of time than every minute you should configure it manually.
The second group of options is called Site Settings and as the name suggest it contains settings related to the configuration of your website:
- Site Name - The name of your website.
- Site Description - Few words describing what your website will be for.
The third and final group of options is called Admin Account and it contains settings related to the admin account you will be using for basically everything on your application once it is installed:
- Admin Username - The username you will be using for logging in with the admin user for your application.
- Admin Password - The password for the admin user of the application. Please make sure that you are using “Strong” password type so you can avoid any security issues.
- Admin Email - The email account associated with the admin user for your application.
An optional group of settings is the Advanced Options group which you can find right below the Site Settings group. This group contains settings related to the notifications from the Update Service provided by Softaculous and also the Automatic Backup Service:
- Disable Update Notifications - This option will disable the automatic notifications you are receiving whenever an update for your application is released and available.
- Automated backups - This option is for configuring the basis which the automatic backup service will be using for backing up your application. The available options are “Once a day”, “Once a week” and “Once a month”
- Backup Rotation - The amount of backups Softaculous should store for your application. This option will be available only if you choose a basis from the previous option.
Initiate the Installation Script
As soon as you are done will all these configurations you can press the Install button so the installation process can begin.
The process itself is fairly fast and in a few seconds you will be presented with the access details like the URL and Admin URL for your newly installed application.
Congratulations your Boonex Dolphin platform has been successfuly installed!
Further reading:
How to configure the default modules in Boonex Dolphin
2. How to install Dolphin manually
If you prefer more customizable installation of the Boonex Dolphin social platform you will be able to find detailed information in the lines of this tutorial.
Of course if you would like to have quick and easy installation you can check our how to install Dolphin using Softaculous tutorial.
The Manual Installation of Dolphin includes these steps:
- Step 1: Prepare the Dolphin Files
- Step 2: Configure the Dolphin Web-Installer
- Step 3: Configure the Dolphin Database
- Step 4: Configure your Website Information and Cron
Prepare the Dolphin Files
We will begin first with downloading the installation package for the platform. By the time we are writing this tutorial the latest stable release of the application is 7.1.4. This tutorial will cover the installation steps you need to take for installing trial version of the platform, however the installation of any other licensed version is the same.
If you visit the Boonex Dolphin official website you will be able to find the installation package for the trial version. On that page in the lower right corner you will be able to find the link for TRIAL DOWNLOAD.
Once you press that button you will download the installation archive which you should extract in a convenient location on your local computer and prepare the files for upload on your hosting account.
The preparation is fairly simple as connecting to the FTP service for your hosting account and uploading all of the files you have received after extracting the installation archive. If you are not quite sure how this should happen you can check our FTP Tutorial Series.
A note we should make here is that if you would like the Boonex Dolphin platform available on your domain name you should upload the files in the public_html folder of your account. Respectively if you would like the platform available in a subfolder of your domain (example.com/subfoldername) you should upload the files in the specific subfolder usually located in your public_html (public_html/subfoldername).
Once you have all the files uploaded in the correct location you should access that location in your web browser and the installation process will be initiated. It is conveniently structured into installation steps presented in different pages where all of the options you will need to configure are included.
Further reading:
Configure the Dolphin Web-Installer
The first page from those will present information for if all of the files and folders you have just uploaded are with correct permissions on the file system. Most probably all of these will be with correct permissions except the ffmpeg.exe file which is part from the default installation package.
You will need to change the permissions of that file to fully writable and executable. In order to do so you will need to access cPanel ? File Manager. There you will need to navigate to the folder where you have just uploaded all of the files from the installation archive and then to:
/dolphin-install-folder/flash/modules/global/app/
If the files for your Boonex Dolphin platform for example, are located in the public_html folder you will need to navigate to public_html/flash/modules/global/app/. There you will notice the ffmpeg.exe file and if you click with the right mouse button on that file and then use the Change Permissions option.
Set full permissions for that file or - 777 as numeric value.
Once the permissions of that file are changed to the appropriate values you will need to reload the installation page and this time you will notice that all of the files will be with correct permissions without any warnings. Now you should proceed to the next page.
The second page from the installation process is related to paths information for the hosting environment your account is hosted at and required from the Boonex Dolphin platform to work properly once installed. Please check carefully the automatically detected paths and ensure that they are correct so you can proceed to the next page.
Configure the Dolphin Database
The third installation page will require from you to fill the information for the database which the Boonex Dolphin platform will use. You should be able to easily create a database and assign a user for the same via your cPanel ? MySQL Database Wizard. If you are experiencing difficulties creating a database and assigning a user for the same please check our other tutorial on how to create a MySQL database via the cPanel service.
Once you have the database create and you are aware of the user assigned for that database you will need to fill the required fields on that third installation page.
- Database host name - The hostaname of the database server. Usually this is localhost so you should leave the field as it is.
- Database host port number - The port where the MySQL service is listening. On all our hosting packages this port is 3306.
- Database socket path - The path to the socket file. If you are not quite sure what this path is please leave the field empty.
- Database name - The name of the database you have created earlier via your cPanel ? MySQL Database Wizard.
- Database user - The username for the user you have granted privileges to operate with the created database.
- Database password - The password for that user.
Once all of the fields are properly filled please click the Next button located at the bottom of the page so the installation process can proceed populating the tables in your database.
Configure your Website Information and Cron
The next page from the installation process is where the information for the tittle, description, emails and username and password for your website should be filled.
- Site Title - The tittle your website will be using.
- Site Description - Few words what your Social Network will be for.
- Site e-mail - The email address for your website.
- Notify e-mail - Email address which will be used for the notifications to be sent From.
- Bug report email - Email address where any bugs with your Social Network will be sent to.
- Admin Username - The username you would like to use for the admin user of your Social Network.
- Admin Password - The password for the admin user.
Please make sure that you are using strong type of password for your admin user so you can avoid any security issues. A strong type of password contains letters, numbers and special characters in it.
If you are ready filling all of the files on that page please use the Next button for moving forward with the installation process.
The next page from the installation process is informing you that you will need to configure a cronjob for your Boonex Dolphin platform to work properly.
When you are done configuring your cronjob please use the Next button at the bottom of the page so you can proceed with the next page from the installation process.
There you will find information that you will need to set non-writable permissions to the “inc” folder of your Boonex Dolphin platform and you should be able to easily perform that action if you have already set permissions earlier for the ffmpeg.exe file. The only difference is that this time the “inc” folder is located in the installation directory you have uploaded the installation files at and of course the permissions number which will be 555.
Once the permissions are properly changed and you reload the page you will notice how the Current Level will become Non-writable and green. Now is the time to click the Next button so you can proceed with the installation process.
The final page will congratulate you for the successful installation of your Boonex Dolphin platform and will remind you that you will need to remove the install directory from the files for your platform. This can be achieved either via the FTP service for your account or via the File manager feature of your cPanel.
Once that directory is removed the installation process will be finished and if you visit the home page of your website you should be able to take advantage of the features the platform offers.
Congratulations you have successfully installed Boonex Dolphin on your hosting account!
3. About Boonex Dolphin Social Network
You can easily setup your website with Boonex Dolhin application without any knowledge of coding required. Our web hosting features fully adheres to all Boonex Dolphin hosting system requirements and compatible with latest version.
Further reading:
Social communities these days are key part from our daily activities. Let’s take for example Facebook. Current the number of user accounts in that social network are more than 1.3 billion and 48% of these accounts are checked every day. That is how the most famous Social network looks like.
Now, imagine that you can have your own Social network where you can apply your own rules and of course entirely custom design based on your needs and personal likes in just few minutes and clicks. This is entirely possible now with the use of the Boonex Dolphin Social Networking platform.
Boonex Dolphin is social platform type of web application allowing you to create easily a Social Community type of website. No matter if you would like to have a dating website or just a place where you can meet your friends using this platform will allow you to do so in quite an elegant way.
In fact the power of the platform comes from the user friendly interface and the ability to easily change the look and the functionality of your Social Community using modules and templates either from the Boonex Marketplace or found over the web.
Boonex Dolphin is supported on every single package we offer and our Technical Support Department will assist you with every issue you might experience with the platform.
Our web hosting services are completely automated with 24/7 customer support provided through our client management portal. So you need not worry about anything. If you have any challenges, all you need to do is submit a support ticket in our client area. We guarantee that you will get a response and a competent support staff will be there to help.Get flexible web hosting plans that fits every budget, Todhost is one of Nigeria's most reliable web hosting companies offering quality web hosting services and supporting small, medium scale and large businesses in Nigeria and beyond. Our focus is on quality service delivery and we provide 24/7 customer help via telephone and client support portal. We also have over 1000 articles in knowledgebase tutorials to guide you on every key area of using our web hosting services. Our knowledgebase tutorials cover cpanel articles, email articles, domain tutorials and web design tools amongst others that highlights the latest happenings in the industry and provide solutions to numerous and emerging problems.
