Alfresco is an open-source enterprise content management system that is widely used for document management, collaboration, and business process automation. While Alfresco is typically deployed on Linux-based systems, it can also be installed and configured on Windows. This article will guide you through the process of installing and setting up Alfresco on a Windows environment.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that your Windows system meets the following requirements:

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 11 or later installed.
• Apache Tomcat 9 or later.
• A database server like MySQL or PostgreSQL.
• Sufficient system resources (RAM, CPU, and disk space) to handle the expected load.

Step-by-Step Installation

1. Install Java JDK:

   Download and install the latest JDK from the official Oracle website or adopt OpenJDK. Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to the JDK installation directory.

   setx JAVA_HOME "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11.0.10"
   setx PATH "%PATH%;%JAVA_HOME%\bin"

2. Download Alfresco:

   Download the Alfresco Community Edition from the official website. Extract the contents to a directory of your choice, e.g., C:\Alfresco.

3. Configure Database:

   Install MySQL or PostgreSQL and create a database for Alfresco. Update the alfresco-global.properties file located in C:\Alfresco\tomcat\shared\classes with your database configuration.

   Example for MySQL:

   db.driver=org.gjt.mm.mysql.Driver
   db.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/alfresco
   db.username=alfresco
   db.password=alfresco

4. Install Apache Tomcat:

   Download and install Apache Tomcat. Configure it by setting the CATALINA_HOME environment variable and integrating it with Alfresco by copying the Alfresco WAR files into the webapps directory of Tomcat.

5. Start Alfresco:

   Open a command prompt and navigate to the Tomcat bin directory. Start Tomcat using the following command:

   catalina.bat start

   Alfresco will be available at http://localhost:8080/alfresco.

Examples

• Access Alfresco:

  Open a web browser and go to http://localhost:8080/share to access the Alfresco Share interface.

• Configure Alfresco as a Windows Service:

  To run Alfresco as a Windows service, use a tool like NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager) to wrap the Tomcat server.

  nssm install AlfrescoTomcat "C:\Tomcat\bin\catalina.bat" run

  Configure the service to start automatically with Windows.

Troubleshooting

• Port Conflicts:

  Ensure that the default ports (8080 for Tomcat) are not in use by other applications. Modify the server.xml file in the Tomcat conf directory to change the port if needed.

• Environment Variables:

  Verify that JAVA_HOME and CATALINA_HOME are correctly set.