Migrating/Installing Prestashop to Amazon AWS EC2

2015/02/25 by Daoyuan Li

Recently I migrated a Prestashop website to AWS/EC2 and the process is quite smooth. Here’s how to do it.

1. Get your Website data: including Prestashop website files and a latest database dump. Remove all the files except index.php in /cache/smarty/compile and /cache/smarty/cache. (See here.)

2. Launch your EC2 instance. But before doing that, check first if a pre-configured or managed Prestashop is available in your preferred region (more info here). If not, choose the appropriate instance type and get it running. In my case I chose Ubuntu Linux.

3. Install the AMP (Apache, MySQL and PHP). On Ubuntu you can simply do it with a few simple commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo tasksel install lamp-server
sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

sudo tasksel install lamp-server

sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin

Make sure that you remember your password for MySQL root user and phpmyadmin user.

4. Copy your database dump and website files to your EC2 instance using scp, for instance:

scp -i you-key.pem files.tar.gz ubuntu@your-ec2-instance.compute.amazonaws.com

1	scp -i you-key.pem files.tar.gz ubuntu@your-ec2-instance.compute.amazonaws.com

5. Create a MySQL user for Prestashop, you don’t want to use the root user for this purpose. You can do this using phpmyadmin or a command line. Also, create a database for Prestashop and grant the user you’ve created just now all privileges on this database.

6. Import your database from the dump:

mysql -u root -p ps < db_dump.sql

1	mysql -u root -p ps < db_dump.sql

7. Extract your website files on your EC2 instance. In my case, inside /var/www/html/. If there is an index.html file inside this directory, remove it first. Make sure you set the correct user and group to all the website files:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data *
sudo chmod -R 755 *

1 2	sudo chown -R www-data:www-data * sudo chmod -R 755 *

Note that if don’t set the correct permissions, you may get complaints from Apache, like the following:

PHP Fatal error: Uncaught exception ‘SmartyException’ with message ‘unable to write file /var/www/html/cache/smarty/compile/46/d9/69/wrt54ecd6c1856a72.61943173’ in /var/www/html/tools/smarty/sysplugins/smarty_internal_write_file.php:44

Stack trace:

#0 /var/www/html/tools/smarty/sysplugins/smarty_internal_template.php(201): Smarty_Internal_Write_File::writeFile(‘/var/www/html/c…’, ‘<?php /* Smarty…’, Object(Smarty))

#1 /var/www/html/tools/smarty/sysplugins/smarty_internal_templatebase.php(155): Smarty_Internal_Template->compileTemplateSource()

#2 /var/www/html/classes/controller/AdminController.php(1936): Smarty_Internal_TemplateBase->fetch(‘controllers/mod…’)

#3 /var/www/html/classes/controller/AdminController.php(2337): AdminControllerCore->initModal()

#4 /var/www/html/classes/controller/Controller.php(163): AdminControllerCore->init()

#5 /var/www/html/classes/Dispatcher.php(373): ControllerCore->run()

#6 /var/www/html/admin123/index.php(54): DispatcherCore->dispatch()

#7 {main}\n thrown in /var/www/html/tools/smarty/sysplugins/smarty_internal_write_file.php on line 44

8. Enable mcrypt for PHP:

sudo updatedb
locate mcrypt.ini
> /etc/php5/mods-available/mcrypt.ini
locate mcrypt.so
> /usr/lib/libmcrypt.so.4
> /usr/lib/libmcrypt.so.4.4.8
> /usr/lib/php5/20121212/mcrypt.so
sudo vi /etc/php5/mods-available/mcrypt.ini
sudo php5enmod mcrypt
ls -al /etc/php5/cli/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini
> lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 31 Feb 24 19:32 /etc/php5/cli/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini -> ../../mods-available/mcrypt.ini
ls -al /etc/php5/apache2/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini
> lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 31 Feb 24 19:32 /etc/php5/apache2/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini -> ../../mods-available/mcrypt.ini
service apache2 restart

sudo updatedb

locate mcrypt.ini

> /etc/php5/mods-available/mcrypt.ini

locate mcrypt.so

> /usr/lib/libmcrypt.so.4

> /usr/lib/libmcrypt.so.4.4.8

> /usr/lib/php5/20121212/mcrypt.so

sudo vi /etc/php5/mods-available/mcrypt.ini

sudo php5enmod mcrypt

ls -al /etc/php5/cli/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini

> lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 31 Feb 24 19:32 /etc/php5/cli/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini -> ../../mods-available/mcrypt.ini

ls -al /etc/php5/apache2/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini

> lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 31 Feb 24 19:32 /etc/php5/apache2/conf.d/20-mcrypt.ini -> ../../mods-available/mcrypt.ini

service apache2 restart

9. Update your Prestashop settings in the config/settings.inc.php file. Set the correct database information.

10. Enable mod_rewrite:

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo service apache2 restart

1 2	sudo a2enmod rewrite sudo service apache2 restart

Also, make sure to add something like the following in your apache site configuration file:

        <Directory />
                Options FollowSymLinks
                AllowOverride all
        </Directory>
        <Directory /var/www/html/>
                Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
                AllowOverride all
                Order allow,deny
                allow from all
        </Directory>

Options FollowSymLinks

AllowOverride all

</Directory>

Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews

AllowOverride all

Order allow,deny

allow from all

</Directory>

And then remember to restart your apache server.

11. Install sendmail:

sudo apt-get install sendmail

1	sudo apt-get install sendmail

12. Go to your Prestashop back office and reconfigure your domain. Go to Preferences -> SEO & URLs and scroll down to Set shop URL section.

Now everything should be OK, your new Prestashop website is available on your new domain!

If you have any issues, just drop a line here or email me.

iCal crashes with iCal Reply Checker uninstalled

2011/10/11 by Daoyuan Li

My iCal crashes everytime when someone sends me an invitation and I try either to accapt or decline it. After some investigation I found out it is the problem with iCal Reply Checker” at http://www.nhoj.co.uk/icalreplychecker

After unstalled this app, it resets the Mail.scpt file to an empty file. To solve the problem: get another copy of Mail.scpt from another Mac, preferably from the same OS X version; and put it inside the folder: /Applications/iCal.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts

Lesson learnt: take care when trying amature software.

Non-ASCII characters in Email subject

2010/07/08 by Daoyuan Li

In this system, Email subjects are encoded in Q' scheme, a scheme similar to quoted printable’. The format is “=?charset?Q?encoded subject?=”, in our case, the charset is `ISO-8859-15′.

For example, the Email object in this system is as follows:

importjava.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;

/**
 * Email object.
 *
 * @author Daoyuan Li
 */
public class Mail {

    /**
     * Sender's Email address
     */
    private String from;

    /**
     * Recipient's Email address
     */
    private String to;

    /**
     * Email subject
     */
    private String subject;

    /**
     * Email message body
     */
    private Stringmessage;

    /**
     * Constructor of Mail
     * @param from Sender's Email address.
     * @param to Recipient's Email address.
     * @param subject Email subject.
     * @param message Email message.
     */
    public Mail(String from, String to, String subject, String message) {
        this.from = from;
        this.to = to;
        this.subject = subject;
        this.message = message;
    }

    /**
     * Get sender'sEmail address.
     * @return Sender's Email address.
     */
    public String getFrom() {
        return this.from;
    }

    /**
     * Get Recipient's Email address.
     * @return Recipient's Email address.
     */
    public String getTo() {
        return this.to;
    }

    /**
     * Get Email subject.
     * @return Email subject.
     */
    public String getSubject() {
        return this.subject;
}

    /**
     * Get Email message.
     * @return Email message.
     */
    public String getMessage() {
        return this.message;
    }

    /**
     * Set sender's Email address.
     * @param from Sender's Email address.
     */
    public void setFrom(String from) {
        this.from = from;
    }

    /**
     * Set Recipient's Email address.
     * @param to Recipient's Email address.
     */
public void setTo(String to) {
        this.to = to;
    }

    /**
     * Set Email subject.
     * @param subject Email subject.
     */
    public void setSubject(String subject) {
        this.subject = subject;
    }

    /**
     * Set Email message.
     * @param message Email message.
     */
    public void setMessage(String message) {
        this.message = message;
    }

    /**
     * Encode Email into MIMEformat.
     * @return The MIME encoded Email.
     */
    public String encode() {
        String FORMAT = "EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss Z";
        //String FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss Z";
        Calendar cal = null;
        cal = Calendar.getInstance();
        SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(FORMAT);
        //System.out.println(sdf.format(cal.getTime()));
        String s = "From: <" + this.getFrom() + ">\n"
                + "To:<" + this.getTo() + ">\n"
                //+ "Subject: " + this.getSubject() + "\n"
                + "Subject: =?ISO-8859-15?Q?"
                + new QuotedPrintableEncoder().encodeWithoutLineBreak(this.subject) + "?=\n"
                + "Date: " + sdf.format(cal.getTime()) + "\n"
                + "Message-ID: " + cal.getTimeInMillis() + "@ik2213.lab\n"
                + "MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
                + "Content-Type:text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15\n"
                + "Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable\n";
        return s.concat(new QuotedPrintableEncoder().encode(this.message));
    }
}

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importjava.text.SimpleDateFormat;

import java.util.Calendar;

/**

* Email object.

* @author Daoyuan Li

public class Mail {

/**

* Sender's Email address

private String from;

/**

* Recipient's Email address

private String to;

/**

* Email subject

private String subject;

/**

* Email message body

private Stringmessage;

/**

* Constructor of Mail

* @param from Sender's Email address.

* @param to Recipient's Email address.

* @param subject Email subject.

* @param message Email message.

public Mail(String from, String to, String subject, String message) {

this.from = from;

this.to = to;

this.subject = subject;

this.message = message;

}

/**

* Get sender'sEmail address.

* @return Sender's Email address.

public String getFrom() {

return this.from;

}

/**

* Get Recipient's Email address.

* @return Recipient's Email address.

public String getTo() {

return this.to;

}

/**

* Get Email subject.

* @return Email subject.

public String getSubject() {

return this.subject;

}

/**

* Get Email message.

* @return Email message.

public String getMessage() {

return this.message;

}

/**

* Set sender's Email address.

* @param from Sender's Email address.

public void setFrom(String from) {

this.from = from;

}

/**

* Set Recipient's Email address.

* @param to Recipient's Email address.

public void setTo(String to) {

this.to = to;

}

/**

* Set Email subject.

* @param subject Email subject.

public void setSubject(String subject) {

this.subject = subject;

}

/**

* Set Email message.

* @param message Email message.

public void setMessage(String message) {

this.message = message;

}

/**

* Encode Email into MIMEformat.

* @return The MIME encoded Email.

public String encode() {

String FORMAT = "EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss Z";

//String FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss Z";

Calendar cal = null;

cal = Calendar.getInstance();

SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(FORMAT);

//System.out.println(sdf.format(cal.getTime()));

String s = "From: <" + this.getFrom() + ">\n"

+ "To:<" + this.getTo() + ">\n"

//+ "Subject: " + this.getSubject() + "\n"

+ "Subject: =?ISO-8859-15?Q?"

+ new QuotedPrintableEncoder().encodeWithoutLineBreak(this.subject) + "?=\n"

+ "Date: " + sdf.format(cal.getTime()) + "\n"

+ "Message-ID: " + cal.getTimeInMillis() + "@ik2213.lab\n"

+ "MIME-Version: 1.0\n"

+ "Content-Type:text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15\n"

+ "Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable\n";

return s.concat(new QuotedPrintableEncoder().encode(this.message));

}

MIME Encoding

2010/07/08 by Daoyuan Li

Quoted printable characters are encoded in the format =XX', where XX’ stands for the hexadecimal value of the character.

The encoder looks as follows:

import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;

/**
 * It encodes data into quoted printable format.
 *
* @author Daoyuan Li
 */
public class QuotedPrintableEncoder {
    /**
     * Encodes data into quoted printable format.
     * @param s Data to be encoded.
     * @return The encoded data.
     */
    public String encode(String s) {
        byte[] b = null;
        try {
            b = s.getBytes("ISO-8859-1");
        } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException ex) {
            Logger.getLogger(Mail.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
return "";
        }
        String code = "";
        int wc = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < b.length; i++) {
            byte c = b[i];
            if(c == 13){
                code = code.concat("\n");
                wc = 0;
                continue;
            } else if(c == 10) {
                //do nothing
                continue;
            }
            code = code.concat("=" + Integer.toHexString(c &255).toUpperCase());
            wc += 3;
            if (wc >= 75) {
                code = code.concat("=\n");
                wc = 0;
            }
        }
        return code;
    }

    /**
     * Encodes data into quoted printable format, without soft line breaks.
     * @param s Data to be encoded.
     * @return The encoded data.
     */
    public String encodeWithoutLineBreak(String s) {
        byte[] b = null;
        try{
            b = s.getBytes("ISO-8859-1");
        } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException ex) {
            Logger.getLogger(Mail.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
            return "";
        }
        String code = "";
        for (int i = 0; i < b.length; i++) {
            byte c = b[i];
            if(c == 13){
                code = code.concat("\n");
                continue;
            } else if (c == 10){
//do nothing
                continue;
            }
            code = code.concat("=" + Integer.toHexString(c & 255).toUpperCase());
        }
        return code;
    }
}

import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;

import java.util.logging.Level;

import java.util.logging.Logger;

/**

* It encodes data into quoted printable format.

* @author Daoyuan Li

public class QuotedPrintableEncoder {

/**

* Encodes data into quoted printable format.

* @param s Data to be encoded.

* @return The encoded data.

public String encode(String s) {

byte[] b = null;

try {

b = s.getBytes("ISO-8859-1");

} catch (UnsupportedEncodingException ex) {

Logger.getLogger(Mail.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);

return "";

}

String code = "";

int wc = 0;

for (int i = 0; i < b.length; i++) {

byte c = b[i];

if(c == 13){

code = code.concat("\n");

wc = 0;

continue;

} else if(c == 10) {

//do nothing

continue;

}

code = code.concat("=" + Integer.toHexString(c &255).toUpperCase());

wc += 3;

if (wc >= 75) {

code = code.concat("=\n");

wc = 0;

}

return code;

}

/**

* Encodes data into quoted printable format, without soft line breaks.

* @param s Data to be encoded.

* @return The encoded data.

public String encodeWithoutLineBreak(String s) {

byte[] b = null;

try{

b = s.getBytes("ISO-8859-1");

} catch (UnsupportedEncodingException ex) {

Logger.getLogger(Mail.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);

return "";

}

String code = "";

for (int i = 0; i < b.length; i++) {

byte c = b[i];

if(c == 13){

code = code.concat("\n");

continue;

} else if (c == 10){

//do nothing

continue;

}

code = code.concat("=" + Integer.toHexString(c & 255).toUpperCase());

}

return code;

}

URL Decoding

2010/07/08 by Daoyuan Li

The charset of the form page is ISO-8859-15'. HTTP will encode the form message in URLEncoding, that is, space is replaced with +’; non-ASCII characters are encoded inthe format %XX', where XX’ stands for the hexadecimal value of the character.

The URL decoder in this system looks as follows:

importjava.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;

/**
 * UrlDecoder decodes URL encoded information into quoted printable characters.
 * 
 * @author Daoyuan Li
 */
public class UrlDecoder {

    /**
     * Decode from URL encoding to quoted printable.
     * @param url URL encoded message to be decoded.
     * @return Decoded quoted printable string.
     * @throwsException If anything wrong happens, an Exception is thrown.
     */
    public String decode(String url) throws Exception {
        String decoded = "";
        Exception ex = new Exception();
        Vector buf = new Vector();
        for (int i = 0; i < url.length(); i++) {
            if (url.charAt(i) == '%') {
                if (i + 2 >= url.length()) {
                    throw ex;
                }

                int d = -1;
try {
                    d = Integer.parseInt(url.substring(i + 1, i + 3), 16);
                } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                    throw ex;
                }
                if (d > 255 || d < 0) {
                    throw ex;
                }
                buf.add(new Byte((byte)d));
                i += 2;
            } else if (url.charAt(i) == '+') {
                buf.add(new Byte((byte)' '));
} else {
                buf.add(new Byte((byte) url.charAt(i)));
            }
        }
        try {
            byte[] dcd = new byte[buf.size()];
            for (int j = 0; j < dcd.length; j++) {
                dcd[j] = buf.elementAt(j);
            }
            decoded = new String(dcd, "ISO-8859-1");
        } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
            Logger.getLogger(FormValidator.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null,e);
            throw ex;
        }
        return decoded;
    }
}

importjava.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;

import java.util.Vector;

import java.util.logging.Level;

import java.util.logging.Logger;

/**

* UrlDecoder decodes URL encoded information into quoted printable characters.

* @author Daoyuan Li

public class UrlDecoder {

/**

* Decode from URL encoding to quoted printable.

* @param url URL encoded message to be decoded.

* @return Decoded quoted printable string.

* @throwsException If anything wrong happens, an Exception is thrown.

public String decode(String url) throws Exception {

String decoded = "";

Exception ex = new Exception();

Vector buf = new Vector();

for (int i = 0; i < url.length(); i++) {

if (url.charAt(i) == '%') {

if (i + 2 >= url.length()) {

throw ex;

}

int d = -1;

try {

d = Integer.parseInt(url.substring(i + 1, i + 3), 16);

} catch (NumberFormatException e) {

throw ex;

}

if (d > 255 || d < 0) {

throw ex;

}

buf.add(new Byte((byte)d));

i += 2;

} else if (url.charAt(i) == '+') {

buf.add(new Byte((byte)' '));

} else {

buf.add(new Byte((byte) url.charAt(i)));

}

try {

byte[] dcd = new byte[buf.size()];

for (int j = 0; j < dcd.length; j++) {

dcd[j] = buf.elementAt(j);

}

decoded = new String(dcd, "ISO-8859-1");

} catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {

Logger.getLogger(FormValidator.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null,e);

throw ex;

}

return decoded;

}