Setting up Moodle from scratch...advise?

Setting up Moodle from scratch...advise?

by Vicki Curry -
Number of replies: 4
Hi,
Myself and my organisation are setting up Moodle 4.0 on our servers. We are wanting to do it 'on our own'. We have some experience in the team or the developer side of things and the admin side.  We will have around 2000 learners on our system and around 70 compliance courses (currently set up in Talent LMS), that intergrate with our currently dynamic/dimentions system along with our 'other' LMS: Access Planit
I wanted to reach out to anyone else that has done similar: What worked well, what went wrong, what to avoid, what do do...you get the picture...

I hope i have posted in the right section...many thanks for reading
Vicki smile
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In reply to Vicki Curry

Re: Setting up Moodle from scratch...advise?

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
I am not sure if you already have a server for Moodle, or if you also need a web server for Moodle.

If you do not have a server and want to do it "on your own," consider buying a VPS from a reputable server company. For your experimenting, the VPS doesn't have to be big or expensive; make sure you can cancel anytime. For example, I buy my VPS from GoDaddy, but there are other companies. I am not promoting GoDaddy, nor do I work for GoDaddy or own their stock, it is just what has worked for me. I am a professor, not a server-guy. I see that you can get their least expensive VPS for around $12US for a month.

Then, see if you can install Moodle own your own. Don't use any auto-installer... do it yourself.

It is always hard to say what you might eventually need for 2000 students, and 70 courses, but most server companies have "larger" configurations.

If you have people on your team that understand servers, you might prefer to set up your own server. Some folks here on Moodle.org have this kind of experience (but not I.). The reason that I suggest a purchased VPS is that you don't have to worry about some of the nitty-gritty server details. But again, it depends upon your team's experience.
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In reply to Vicki Curry

Re: Setting up Moodle from scratch...advise?

by Ken Task -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers
The 'devils' are in the details ...

setting up Moodle 4.0

Would recommend 4.1 as it is long term support
https://moodledev.io/general/releases

on our servers

Would recommend Linux - Ubuntu is a good choice.
https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle
Much of the docs on moodle are of Ubuntu

Initial install of 4.1 done via git ... much easier to update.  It is command line only but really doesn't require a degree in 'rocket science'.

2000 learners on our system and around 70 compliance courses

That's really a small site and could reside on a single server but depends upon content and usage.  IF you are seeking to purchase your own hardware, that requires some technical stuff and more research, but ... and this is ball park:

All in one server ... code + DB for the Moodle + storage on same server.

Memory (expandable): 8-16 Gig - to start
Space: 1TB data drive/partition (sounds like too much to begin, but been my experience that 'used' Moodles only grow ... they don't shrink.

Above could be on VMWare or other virtualization that would allow expansion of memory easily.

currently set up in Talent LMS)

Take it you've compared modules - and what one is using on Talent now is available on Moodle either as core or an add-on-plugin.

intergrate with our currently dynamic/dimentions system along with our 'other' LMS: Access Planit

This item is the one that more than likely require some programming - depending upon integration desired.

While I don't think a Moodle Partner does remote support ... might check with the one nearest you:

There is also Moodle Workplace

'SoS', Ken

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In reply to Vicki Curry

Re: Setting up Moodle from scratch...advise?

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
What people overlook when deploying Moodle or any other web application for their users is that there are two kinds of administration: a) the system administration where the sysadmin interact with the operating system and b) the site administration where the site admin operates on a web GUI.

> Myself and my organisation are setting up Moodle 4.0 on our servers. We are wanting to do it 'on our own'. We have some experience in the team or the developer side of things and the admin side.

This is a) the system administration. One has to know a server OS. If it is a Unix-variant like Linux, then it is the Shell.

> We will have around 2000 learners on our system and around 70 compliance courses (currently set up in Talent LMS), that intergrate with our currently dynamic/dimentions system along with our 'other' LMS: Access Planit

This is the future b) Moodle site administration part. No system administration skills are necessary. It is all about learning the design and the ways of Moodle, configuring and testing on Moodle's web GUI.

Notice that neither of them requires developer skills.

DIY is the best, an investment, if you have the capacity.
wink


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