This chapter explains how to obtain and install eZ Publish using the different installation methods. In addition, it also describes how to upgrade or remove an existing eZ Publish installation. If you don't want to install eZ Publish yourself, you can always hire eZ Systems to install and setup the software for you. It is also possible to purchase a hosted eZ Publish solution from various providers and partners.

There are four ways of installing eZ Publish:

1. Normal installation
2. Bundled installation
3. Manual installation
4. Automated installation

Normal installation

This option is the most common and recommended way of installing eZ Publish. It requires a system which already has the proper environment installed, most notably a web server and a database. eZ Publish needs to be downloaded and unpacked. A web-based setup wizard is initiated using a browser. The setup wizard asks a couple of questions and automatically configures eZ Publish. The method is explained under the "Normal installation" section.

Bundled installation

A bundled installation contains eZ Publish and additional software that is required to run the system (Apache, PHP, MySQL, ImageMagick, etc.). Almost everything that is included in the package is automatically set up by the installer program. The bundled software is pre-compiled for the Intel x86 hardware architecture. This option is for quick and dirty testing/demonstration purposes only. In other words, it is not designed for production/live environments. This installation method is explained in the "Bundled installation" section.

Manual installation

This option is for experienced users. No wizards or fancy dialogs, no bundled software, no installers, no nothing. This method requires a system which already has a web-server and a database set up and ready to go; eZ Publish needs to be downloaded and unpacked. The system is then configured by manually altering various configuration files and making manual changes to the database. This method is explained under the "Manual installation" section.

Automated installation

This installation method (also named kickstart) is for experienced users. It is designed for system administrators who wish to do pre-configured installations of eZ Publish that require a minimum of interaction with the web based setup wizard. It requires a system which already has the proper environment installed, most notably a web server and a database. eZ Publish needs to be downloaded and unpacked. Instead of clicking through the setup wizard and manually providing configuration parameters, the system is installed based on a group of settings defined in a configuration file. This method is explained under the "Automated installation" section.