Setting Up OpenERP (Odoo) 9 with Nginx on RHEL/CentOS and Debian/Ubuntu

OpenERP (Odoo) 9 is a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that provides modules for CRM, accounting, inventory, manufacturing, and project management. Setting it up with Nginx as a reverse proxy improves performance by handling static files and load balancing. This guide covers installation on both RHEL/CentOS and Debian/Ubuntu systems.

Installation Methods

Manual Configuration

Manual configuration provides complete control over the installation process and allows customization of all parameters. This method involves installing dependencies, configuring PostgreSQL, setting up Odoo, and configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy.

Step 1 Install Dependencies

For RHEL/CentOS:

sudo yum install nginx postgresql-server python3 python3-pip
sudo systemctl enable postgresql
sudo postgresql-setup initdb

For Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx postgresql postgresql-contrib python3 python3-pip

Step 2 Download and Extract Odoo 9

wget https://github.com/odoo/odoo/archive/9.0.tar.gz
tar -xvf 9.0.tar.gz
sudo mv odoo-9.0 /opt/odoo

Step 3 Configure PostgreSQL

sudo systemctl start postgresql
sudo su - postgres
createdb odoo_db
createuser --createdb --username postgres --no-createrole --no-superuser --pwprompt odoo_user
exit

Step 4 Configure Odoo

cd /opt/odoo
sudo cp debian/openerp-server.conf /etc/odoo.conf
sudo nano /etc/odoo.conf

Add the following configuration:

[options]
db_host = localhost
db_port = 5432
db_user = odoo_user
db_password = your_password
addons_path = /opt/odoo/addons
logfile = /var/log/odoo/odoo.log

Step 5 Configure Nginx as Reverse Proxy

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/odoo

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8069;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /web/static/ {
        root /opt/odoo/;
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
}

Step 6 Enable and Start Services

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/odoo /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
python3 /opt/odoo/odoo-bin -c /etc/odoo.conf &

Docker Installation

Docker installation simplifies the deployment process by using containers. This method provides isolation, easy scaling, and consistent environments across different systems.

Step 1 Install Docker

For Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose
sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Step 2 Create Docker Network

sudo docker network create odoo_network

Step 3 Run PostgreSQL Container

sudo docker run -d --name postgres_odoo \
  --network=odoo_network \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=odoo \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=odoo \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=postgres \
  -v odoo_pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  postgres:12

Step 4 Run Odoo Container

sudo docker run -d --name odoo_app \
  --network=odoo_network \
  -p 8069:8069 \
  -e HOST=postgres_odoo \
  -e USER=odoo \
  -e PASSWORD=odoo \
  -v odoo_data:/var/lib/odoo \
  odoo:9

Step 5 Configure Nginx for Docker

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8069;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /web/static/ {
        proxy_cache_valid 200 60m;
        proxy_buffering on;
        expires 864000;
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8069;
    }
}

Firewall Configuration

For RHEL/CentOS:

sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

For Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Verification

Access your Odoo installation by navigating to http://your_domain.com in a web browser. You should see the Odoo login page. Create a new database and configure your first user to complete the setup.

Conclusion

Setting up OpenERP (Odoo) 9 with Nginx provides a robust ERP solution with improved performance through reverse proxy configuration. The manual method offers full control for production environments, while Docker installation provides containerized deployment benefits. Both approaches result in a scalable, efficient business management system.