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Django is a Python-based free and open-source web framework that can be used for developing dynamic websites and web applications. In this article, we will explain the procedures to configure Django with Apache in CentOS 7.

Requirements

• Server running with CentOS 7
• Static IP address configured on your system. (We are using IP 148.251.214.61 as an example)
• User with sudo privilege.

Install Apache Web Server

Before starting the configuration, update the server with the latest version using the following command. It will install all the latest patches and security updates to your system.

sudo yum update -y

Install the EPEL repository on your server using the following command.

sudo yum install epel-release -y

sudo yum install python2-pip httpd mod_wsgi -y

Proceed to the next step once the installation is completed.

Install Django

Before installing Django, it is required to create the Python virtual environment. So you will need to install “virtualenv”.

sudo pip install virtualenv

After installing the “virtualenv” create a project directory for Django.

sudo mkdir /opt/djangoproject

Create a Python virtual environment using the following commands.

cd /opt/djangoproject sudo virtualenv djangoprojectenv

Enable the virtual environment to install packages.

sudo source djangoprojectenv/bin/activate

Install Django in the djangoprojectenv shell using pip command.

djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# pip install django

Once the installation is completed, you can verify the Django version using the following command.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# django-admin --version

You should see something similar to:

Create the Django Project

Once Django is installed in the directory, create first Django project using the following command.

djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# django-admin.py startproject myfirstproject.

Next, Modify the file “settings.py"

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# vi myfirstproject/settings.py

Add the following line at the end of the file and save.

STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "static/")

Transfer the database of the project to the SQLite database using the command given below.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# ./manage.py migrate

Output :

Operations to perform: Apply all migrations: admin, auth, contenttypes, sessions 
Running migrations: Applying contenttypes.0001_initial... OK Applying auth.0001_initial... OK Applying admin.0001_initial... OK Applying admin.0002_logentry_remove_auto_add... OK Applying contenttypes.0002_remove_content_type_name... OK Applying auth.0002_alter_permission_name_max_length... OK Applying auth.0003_alter_user_email_max_length... OK Applying auth.0004_alter_user_username_opts... OK Applying auth.0005_alter_user_last_login_null... OK Applying auth.0006_require_contenttypes_0002... OK Applying auth.0007_alter_validators_add_error_messages... OK Applying auth.0008_alter_user_username_max_length... OK Applying sessions.0001_initial... OK

Create a superuser for Django. While creating superuser you will be asked to select a username, e-mail address and password.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# ./manage.py createsuperuser 
Username (leave blank to use 'root'): djangoadmin Email address:   Password:  Password (again):  
Superuser created successfully.

Collect all of the static content into the directory location we configured earlier using the following command.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# ./manage.py collectstatic

Add server’s IP address to “request.py" file to access Django from the remote machine.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# vi djangoprojectenv/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/django/http/request.py

allowed_hosts = ['localhost', '148.251.214.61', '[::1]']

Test Django project by running the following command.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]#./manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8989

Open your web browser and type the URL “http://148.251.214.61:8989", you should see your first Django page.

You can also access the Django admin page by typing the URL “http://148.251.214.61:8989/admin" on your web browser. Enter username “djangoadmin" and the password which you have created earlier.

To exit from your virtual environment, use the following command.

(djangoprojectenv) [root@server djangoproject]# deactivate

Configure Django for Apache

After creating a Django project, it is time to configure Apache web server for Django. Create a new configuration file.

sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf.d/django.conf

Add the following code and save the file.

Alias /static /opt/djangoproject/static <Directory /opt/djangoproject/static>  
Require all granted </Directory> <Directory /opt/djangoproject/myfirstproject>    
<Files wsgi.py>        
Require all granted    
</Files> </Directory> WSGIDaemonProcess myfirstproject python-path=/opt/djangoproject:/opt/djangoproject/djangoprojectenv/lib/python2.7/site-packages WSGIProcessGroup myfirstproject WSGIScriptAlias / /opt/djangoproject/myfirstproject/wsgi.py

Restart Apache service and enable it to start at boot.

sudo systemctl restart httpd sudo systemctl enable httpd

Set proper ownership so “httpd" has permission to use the Django project directory.

sudo chown -R apache:apache /opt/djangoproject

You can access your Django site using the URL “http://148.251.214.61/admin" on your web browser without specifying any port.