OFBiz Development Environment Setup

Here I am providing an initial setup process and basic configuration options for the OFBiz.

You can get up and running quickly by downloading the OFBiz Complete distribution and following some simple instructions :

A. Tools Installation:

1. Download and install the Java 1.4 or higher (not the JRE, you need the full SDK) from Sun's Java (J2SE) site, and make sure your JAVA_HOME environment variable is set to this JDK after installation.

2. You will also need Ant 1.6 or higher version.

B. OFBiz Installation:

3. Download the OFBiz release archive and unzip it in the directory of your choice.

4. Now run "ant run-install" command in the OFBiz home directory (the directory where you installed OFBiz). This will load only the basic “demo” and “seed” data. Seed Data is data that an application requires in order to run. The demo data has additional data setups of your company

C. Running OFBiz:

5. There are various ways to run OFBiz :-

Start OFBiz with embedded Tomcat by going into the ofbiz directory and then running "startofbiz.bat" (or "%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java -jar ofbiz.jar") for Windows, or "./startofbiz.sh"(or "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java -jar ofbiz.jar") for Linux/Unix.

6. Open your web browser and goto,https://localhost:8443/partymgr/control/main.This is a secured site notice the (s), https. Since we have not setup the certificate it will give a warning, say YES.

7. Login as “admin” with the password “ofbiz”. This will give you complete control over the administration of the site.

Additional Information :

D. DataBase Setup:

8. By default OFBiz includes and is configured for an embedded Java database called Derby.

- If you don't want to use the embedded Derby database then install your database of choice.

- If necessary, put the correct JDBC driver in:

${ofbiz install dir}/framework/entity/lib/jdbc

- To setup the Entity Engine to use a different database from the default Derby database make following changes in the : ${ofbiz install dir}/framework/entity/config/entityengine.xml file

1. Change the "datasource-name" attribute under the from the default "localderby" to "localmysql" or other database that you want to use. Do not change localderbyodbc.
   
2. Look for further down.
3. Change the "jdbc-uri" under "localmysql" to "jdbc:mysql://127.0.0.1/ofbiz?autoReconnect=true"
4. Change the "jdbc-username" to "ofbiz"
5. Change the "jdbc-password" to the password you chose above

After the database setup, now you need to load data, you can load data by using this initial command: ant run-install

E. OfBiz Configuration:

9. Create and setup a certificate. I am currently not doing it so I can’t explain it now.

10. Most of the configurations can be left to default values. The few things you most probably would change are currency and country, this has to be done in\ofbiz\framework\common\config\general.properties file.

- Currency: To set INR as the default currency, use the below setting

currency.uom.id.default=INR

- Country: To set INDIA as the default country for drop downs, use the below setting

country.geo.id.default=IND

11. E-mail settings may be configured in the following, OfBiz files:

- ${ofbiz install dir}/framework/common/config/general.properties

Ø SMTP Server (relay host): mail.smtp.relay.host

Ø SMTP Username (if needed): mail.smtp.auth.user

Ø SMTP Password (if needed): mail.smtp.auth.password

Ø Turn on mail notifications by setting mail.notifications.enabled property=”Y"

Hope it would helpful for you friends. Enjoy Learning !!!

Top Ten Reasons to Consider Open Source ERP Software

In current economic climate more and more companies looking in the direction of Open Source ERP. To that end, I wanted to provide you a list of Top Ten benefits of Open Source ERP. There are many more, but I hope you find this list to be informative.

1. Scalability and Flexibility: With proprietary software such as SAP or NetSuite, you are either confined to what the software offers or you will have to pay for added modules and functionality to tailor the software to your business. In contrast, Open Source gives you a platform that can grow with your business. It’s only logical. Your business is scalable and flexible, why shouldn’t your software be as well?

2. Feature Rich: Leverage standards-based tools and components that are attractive to your technology staff.

3. Open Source freedom with commercial support: Many corporations are hesitant to fully commit to open source software because they have a misconception that they can’t get the type of professional service or support that they may currently rely on with proprietary software. Those worries can be put to rest with Open Source.

4. No maintenance fees: Enough said.

5. No seat licenses: Unlike proprietary software that charges for new users, or may even have a limit on how many users can use the software, open source does not charge for additional or new users.

6. No module fees: There is no extra charge for implementing as much or as little as you want. Each company is different, each implementation is different. It has to work for you.

7. Not database dependent: The software can run on PostgreSQL or MySQL.

8. Not platform dependent: The software can run on Linux, Mac, or Windows.

9. No charge for “bug” support: Some proprietary software companies charge $20 or more for a single brief support call covering one incident. When you think about the fact that they are in essence, “profiting” on technical support, it stands to reason that there wouldn’t be many objections to producing software with more “bugs.” It would also stand to reason that there would not be as much enthusiasm to correct and fix the bugs. More bugs = more calls = more money. So basically, not only have you bought “buggy” software, but now you’re paying on top of that for support to fix your “buggy” software. With open source, since the source code is publicly released, there are thousands of people who are working with the software, noticing bugs and potential problems, and correcting them before they become issues. See last point below.

10. Open Community: Open Source means an Open Community of people around the globe who are dedicated to seeing that the software thrives and succeeds. It also means that as the owner of the software, you become an integral part of this community. You can participate, submit feature requests, submit questions and get free guidance.

I am strong believer in the power of Open Source, and I am proud to be part of a community that believes so strongly in making this Open Source ERP software work for businesses both large and small.