How to Install ColdFusion on Linux

This article will focus on how to install ColdFusion on Redhat Linux (RHEL), but the general principles will work for any flavor of linux including Ubuntu and Debian based systems. Follow these steps.

1. Copy the ColdFusion zip file provided by Adobe to the server. In our environment, we copied to the /opt/ColdFusion directory.
2. Unzip the file, and unzip the file embedded. Yes, that’s two unzip commands.
3. Run the shell script installer.

sh /opt/ColdFusion/cfusion/bin/cfinstall.sh

4. When prompted, accept the license agreement.
5. Choose the installation type. In this case it was 1. Install new version of Adobe ColdFusion 2021 with a serial number. The 30-day trial and developer edition do not require a serial number. The serial number should have been provided by ColdFusion in a separate file.
6. When prompted, enter the serial number provided by Adobe ColdFusion.
7. When prompted, select the Production Profile + Secure Profile option. More information on all of the options are included in the output of the installation process below.
8. Enter allowed IP addresses. These IP addresses are what machines may access the administration portal.
9. Enter the administrator password. You should create a strong password with the minimum requirements provided.
10. Enter the ColdFusion administrator port. The default administrator port is 8500.
11. Enter the runtime user. The default is nobody.
12. Choose the deployment type. In our case it was production.
13. At this point the installation is complete. Start the ColdFusion process by running the following command:

sh /opt/ColdFusion/cfusion/bin/coldfusion start

The output of the startup command should be as follows:

Starting ColdFusion 2021 server ...
======================================================================
ColdFusion 2021 server has been started.
ColdFusion 2021 will write logs to /opt/ColdFusion/cfusion/bin/../logs/coldfusion-out.log
======================================================================

The installation is complete. You can now access the administrator console at http://servername:8500/CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm

ColdFusion Installation Console Output

The output below shows the detailed messaging of the installation process.

------------------------------------------
 Welcome to the ColdFusion Setup Wizard
------------------------------------------
ColdFusion Installation Directory : /opt/ColdFusion
========================================================================================================================
License Agreement
-----------------

Installation and use of Adobe ColdFusion 2021 requires acceptance of the License Agreement.  (The EULA terms and conditions are located in </opt/ColdFusion/Readme/en/license.txt>)
DO YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS OF LICENSE AGREEMENT? [Y/N]: Y
========================================================================================================================
Install Type
------------

After entering the serial number, you can check the activation status in the Licensing and Activation page in the ColdFusion Administrator.
If you do not have a serial number, select either 30-day trial or Developer Edition
For further details, visit http://www.adobe.com/go/cf_installtype.
1. Install new version of Adobe ColdFusion 2021 with a serial number
2. 30-day trial
3. Developer Edition

Installation Choice [1]:
Serial Number:
========================================================================================================================
Select ColdFusion Server Profile
--------------------------------

Development Profile: Use this profile only for development purposes. Note that features like Server Debugging and RDS are enabled by default for this profile.
Production Profile: Use this profile for production purposes. All debug features and RDS are disabled for this profile.
Production Profile + Secure Profile: Use this profile for a highly-secure production deployment that will allow a more fine-grained secure environment.
For details, see the secure profile guide (http://www.adobe.com/go/cf_secureprofile).
Allowed admin IPs are the client IP addresses that can access the ColdFusion administrator. They can be a comma separated list of IP addresses (for example, 11.181.28.54, 11.180.26.32, etc.). IP addresses can range from 10-30, or * wild cards. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported.
When the installation completes, please lock down your Server as per the guidelines provided in the ColdFusion Lockdown Guide (http://www.adobe.com/go/cf2021-lockdown-guide).
1. Production Profile + Secure Profile
2. Production Profile
3. Development Profile

Select ColdFusion Server Profile [1]:
IP Addresses allowed:
IP Addresses allowed:
========================================================================================================================
Administrator Password
----------------------

Enter the password that you will use to restrict access to the ColdFusion Administrator. Password should have at least 8 characters, 1 letter in upper case, 1 letter in lower case, 1 numeric, and 1 special character (~!$%^&*()_=,./;[]{}| -@#).
Enter Administrator Password:
Re-enter Administrator password:
========================================================================================================================
Built-in Web Server Port Number
-------------------------------

The Adobe ColdFusion 2021 Built-in Web Server will be configured to use port 8500. You can also specify a different port.
ColdFusion Administrator Port [8500]:
========================================================================================================================
Runtime User
------------

Enter the name of the runtime user. This user must already exist on the system.
Enter Runtime User [nobody]:
========================================================================================================================
Deployment Type
---------------

Specify the type of deployment. Choose from the options below:
1. Production
2. Development
3. Staging
4. Testing
5. Disaster recovery
Deployment Type [1]: 1
Do you want to proceed? [Y/N]: Y
ColdFusion 2021 is set up to start on boot
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations! You have successfully configured Adobe ColdFusion 2021.
To continue with your installation, go to /opt/ColdFusion/cfusion/bin and type "./coldfusion start" to start your server.
Once the server is started, log in to the configuration wizard at
http://127.0.0.1:8500/CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion – Install ColdFusion on Linux

This article has demonstrated how to install ColdFusion on Linux, specifically on Redhat Linux (RHEL). Let us know in the comments if you have any questions or would like to see more articles on ColdFusion. See our other articles if you found this one helpful.