Rocket.Chat Installation

Brief description: Install and configure Rocket.Chat on VM-101 using Snap.

What You'll Learn

• How to verify Rocket.Chat snap is installed
• How to configure Rocket.Chat
• How to set up Nginx reverse proxy
• How to verify the installation

Prerequisites

• [ ] VM-101 created and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS installed
• [ ] Rocket.Chat snap selected during Ubuntu installation (or install manually below)
• [ ] IP address assigned and documented (192.168.192.101)
• [ ] SSH access to VM-101 working
• [ ] 4GB RAM and 30GB disk available
• [ ] Nginx Proxy VM (VM-103) installed and accessible

Estimated Time

30-45 minutes

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: SSH to Rocket.Chat VM

ssh admin@192.168.192.101

Step 2: Verify Rocket.Chat Snap

Check if Rocket.Chat snap is installed:

snap list rocketchat

If not installed, install it:

sudo snap install rocketchat

Step 3: Configure Rocket.Chat

Enable HTTPS (required for Rocket.Chat):

sudo snap set rocketchat port=3000
sudo snap set rocketchat https=enabled
sudo snap set rocketchat ssl-certs=enabled

Start Rocket.Chat:

sudo snap start rocketchat

Check status:

sudo snap services rocketchat

Step 4: Wait for Initial Setup

Rocket.Chat takes a few minutes to initialize on first boot. Wait 2-3 minutes then check:

sudo snap logs rocketchat -n 50

Look for messages indicating the server is ready.

Step 5: Access Rocket.Chat

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://192.168.192.101:3000

Or if HTTPS is configured:

https://192.168.192.101

Step 6: Initial Admin Setup

1. Follow the on-screen wizard to create the first admin user
2. Configure your organization details
3. Complete the setup

Step 7: Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

On the Nginx Proxy VM (192.168.192.20), create a configuration file:

ssh admin@192.168.192.20
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/rocketchat

Add the following configuration:

upstream rocketchat {
    server 192.168.192.101:3000;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name chat.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://rocketchat;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forward-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forward-Proto http;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
    }
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/rocketchat /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 8: Update Firewall (if enabled)

On the Rocket.Chat VM, allow traffic from nginx-proxy:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.192.20 to any port 3000
sudo ufw reload

Step 9: Verify Access via Domain

After DNS propagation, access Rocket.Chat via your domain:

https://chat.example.com

Configuration Commands

Common Snap Commands

# Stop Rocket.Chat
sudo snap stop rocketchat

# Start Rocket.Chat
sudo snap start rocketchat

# Restart Rocket.Chat
sudo snap restart rocketchat

# View logs
sudo snap logs rocketchat -f

# Check status
snap services rocketchat

Environment Variables

To set custom environment variables:

sudo snap set rocketchat root-url=https://chat.example.com
sudo snap restart rocketchat

Verification

• [ ] Rocket.Chat snap is installed
• [ ] Service is running
• [ ] Accessible at http://192.168.192.101:3000
• [ ] Nginx proxy configured
• [ ] Accessible via domain (chat.example.com)
• [ ] Admin account created

Next Steps

Proceed to Nextcloud Installation if not already installed.