Installing OpenFOAM Behind a Proxy: A Complete Guide
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When trying to install OpenFOAM on Ubuntu/Debian systems behind a proxy server (especially institutional proxies), users often encounter SSL connection issues. This guide provides a step-by-step solution to successfully install OpenFOAM in such environments.
Common Issues
When running the standard installation command:
wget -q -O - https://dl.openfoam.com/add-debian-repo.sh | sudo bash
Users behind proxies might encounter errors like:
Proxy tunneling failed: Moved Temporarily
Unable to establish SSL connection.
Even after setting proxy environment variables:
export http_proxy="http://your.proxy.address:port"
export https_proxy="http://your.proxy.address:port"
The installation might still fail due to SSL verification issues with the proxy server.
Solution: Manual Installation Process
Here’s a reliable workaround that involves downloading the required files from a computer with direct internet access and then transferring them to the target computer.
Step 1: On a Computer with Direct Internet Access
- Download the OpenFOAM GPG key:
wget https://dl.openfoam.com/pubkey.gpg
- Download the repository script (optional but useful for reference):
wget https://dl.openfoam.com/add-debian-repo.sh
- Transfer these files to your target computer using a USB drive, SCP, or any other file transfer method.
Step 2: On the Target Computer (Behind Proxy)
- Convert and install the GPG key:
# Convert the key to the correct format and install it cat pubkey.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/openfoam.gpg
- Add the OpenFOAM repository:
# Add the repository entry echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://dl.openfoam.com/repos/deb $(lsb_release -cs) main" | \ sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/openfoam.list
- Update the package lists:
sudo apt-get update
Step 3: Verify the Installation
You can verify that the key is properly installed by running:
apt-key list
You should see the OpenFOAM key listed without any “unsupported filetype” warnings.
Step 4: Install OpenFOAM
Now you can proceed with installing OpenFOAM:
sudo apt-get install openfoam
Troubleshooting
If you see “unsupported filetype” warnings after adding the key, ensure you used the
gpg --dearmor
command to convert the key file.If
apt-get update
fails, verify your proxy settings:
export http_proxy="http://your.proxy.address:port"
export https_proxy="http://your.proxy.address:port"
# Try updating again
sudo -E apt-get update
- If you’re still having issues, check your proxy configuration in
/etc/apt/apt.conf.d/
:
# Create or edit proxy configuration
sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/proxy.conf
# Add these lines (replace with your proxy details):
Acquire::http::Proxy "http://your.proxy.address:port";
Acquire::https::Proxy "http://your.proxy.address:port";
Notes
- This method works for most institutional and corporate proxy servers where direct SSL connections might be intercepted or blocked.
- The solution maintains security by using the official OpenFOAM GPG key.
- This approach can be adapted for other software packages that face similar proxy-related installation issues.
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