You can download a virtual machine-based instance of LabKey Server for on-site evaluation purposes. Note that the virtual machine-based trial server is not supported for production use.
The LabKey VM runs within Oracle VirtualBox, a self-contained virtual software environment that includes its own operating system (a Linux-based OS) and any applications you choose to run within it.
Install VirtualBox
- Download the latest version of Oracle VirtualBox. Choose the distribution appropriate to your operating system (Windows hosts, OS X hosts, or Linux distributions).
- Install and accept the default options.
Download and Set Up the VM Instance
- This image is approximately 3GB and will take some time to download, as much as 20 minutes, depending on your connection speed.
- When the download is complete, double-click the image file. On the Appliance Settings popup dialog, click Import.
- In VirtualBox, select File > Import Appliance. In the Virtual Machine Appliance popup dialog, browse to and select the downloaded virtual machine file. Click Next. Accept the defaults and click Import.
- Once the VM file has been imported to VirtualBox, select it, and click Start > Normal Start.
- VirtualBox will startup the server VM. (This may take a few minutes to complete.)
- When the server VM is ready, you will see a new VirtualBox window requesting an Ubuntu login. Ignore but do not close this window; you do not need to log in here.
Launch LabKey Server
- When startup has finished, open a new web browser window or tab (such as Chrome) outside the vm. Go to the following URL location to find the LabKey Server instance running. If you do not see a server running there, wait a few more minutes for startup to complete.
- When you first invoke the server, you will be prompted to set up an account by entering your email address and password. (This first user account created is the Site Administrator for this LabKey installation.)
- LabKey Server is now available to use.
Next Steps
- Explore basic features using the built-in example project:
- Click the LabKey logo in the upper left to return to the home page of your server.
- Click the Example Project icon.
- Use the introductory topics here to explore the examples: Explore LabKey Server - Hosted Trial
- The following tutorials provide step by step instructions for exploring even more key functionality:
Add External Users / Collaborators
If you want to add other users to your VM instance so they can explore and collaborate, you must first do the following so that the auto-generated email will direct them to the machine and port where your server is running:
- Select (Admin) > Site > Admin Console.
- Click Settings.
- Under Configuration, click Site Settings.
- Click Save. The value in this field will now be included in any invite emails that are sent out.
- Proceed to add users.
Troubleshooting
On Windows, if you receive the following error, you need to disable Hyper-v.
VT-x is not available (VERR_VMX_NO_VMX)
To ensure that Hyper-v is disabled, click the
Start menu, then type "Turn Windows features on or off". Select this option in the search results. In the popup dialog box, unselect
Hyper-V and click
OK. You may need to restart your host machine for the changes to take effect.
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