osTicket Installation & Configuration Lab (Azure VM)

Overview

This lab walks through the installation and configuration of the open-source support ticketing system, osTicket, on a Windows 10 virtual machine hosted in Microsoft Azure. It covers environment setup, server configuration, and simulated ticket workflow to demonstrate IT service management in practice.

Technologies Used

• Microsoft Azure (VM deployment)
• Windows 10 Virtual Machine
• IIS (Internet Information Services)
• PHP 7.3.8
• MySQL 5.5.62
• osTicket v1.15.8
• HeidiSQL
• DNS and URL routing via localhost

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Environment Setup

Create Azure VM

• Name: osticket-vm
• OS: Windows 10
• vCPUs: 4
• Authentication: Secure admin credentials
• Accessed via Remote Desktop (RDP)

Software Installation

Prepare Installation Files

• Downloaded and unzipped osTicket-Installation-Files.zip to Desktop

Enable IIS with CGI Support

• Enabled via Windows Features:
  • World Wide Web Services → Application Development Features → CGI

Install Prerequisites

• PHP Manager for IIS
• URL Rewrite Module
• Visual C++ Redistributable (VC_redist.x86.exe)
• Created folder C:\PHP and extracted PHP 7.3.8
• Installed MySQL 5.5.62 (Typical > Standard Configuration)

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IIS + PHP Configuration

• Opened IIS Manager
• Registered PHP with PHP Manager (php-cgi.exe)
• Restarted IIS

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Deploy osTicket

Application Setup

• Extracted osTicket-v1.15.8.zip
• Copied upload folder to C:\inetpub\wwwroot and renamed it to osTicket
• Verified site loads at http://localhost/osTicket

Enable Required PHP Extensions

• Enabled in PHP Manager:
  • php_imap.dll
  • php_intl.dll
  • php_opcache.dll

Configuration File

• Renamed ost-sampleconfig.php → ost-config.php
• Set permissions:
  • Disabled inheritance
  • Removed existing users
  • Granted Everyone full control

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MySQL Setup

• Installed HeidiSQL
• Connected as root
• Created new database: osTicket

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Finalize osTicket Setup

• Navigated to http://localhost/osTicket
• Completed installer with:
  • Helpdesk Name
  • Admin Email
  • MySQL DB: osTicket
  • Root credentials
• Clicked Install Now

Access Points

• Admin Panel: http://localhost/osTicket/scp/login.php
• User Portal: http://localhost/osTicket

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Post-Installation Configuration

Secure Setup

• Deleted C:\inetpub\wwwroot\osTicket\setup
• Set ost-config.php to read-only

System Configuration

Roles

• Supreme Admin

Departments

• SysAdmins

Teams

• Online Banking

User Access Settings

• Disabled: "Require registration and login to create tickets"

Agents

• Jane (SysAdmins)
• John (Support)

Users

• Karen
• Ken

SLA Policies

• Sev-A: 1 hour (24/7)
• Sev-B: 4 hours (24/7)
• Sev-C: 8 hours (Business Hours)

Help Topics

• Business Critical Outage
• Personal Computer Issues
• Equipment Request
• Password Reset
• Other

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Ticket Simulation Scenarios

Ticket 1: Online Banking Outage

• End User: Reports full online banking outage
• Agent John:
  • SLA: Sev-A
  • Dept: Online Banking
• Agent Jane: Resolves ticket

Ticket 2: Adobe Upgrade Issue

• End User: Reports broken Adobe install in accounting
• Agent John:
  • SLA: Sev-B
  • Dept: Support
  • Resolves ticket

Ticket 3: CFO Laptop Failure

• End User: CFO laptop won’t boot
• Agent John:
  • SLA: Sev-B
  • Dept: Support
  • Resolves ticket

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Access Control Workflow

• Promoted SysAdmins to top-level department
• Deleted Maintenance department
• Assigned ticket to SysAdmins (Sev-A)
• Verified Agent John could not view the ticket
• Granted John access to SysAdmins
• Confirmed restored visibility

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Skills & Experience Gained

• Cloud VM Deployment: Built and connected to an Azure-hosted Windows 10 machine
• Web Stack Configuration: Installed and configured IIS, PHP, and MySQL for osTicket
• ITSM Simulation: Ran realistic help desk workflows with SLA prioritization and ticket escalation
• User Role & Access Control: Practiced department/team-based visibility and permissions
• Database Administration: Used HeidiSQL to create and manage MySQL databases
• System Hardening: Secured installation through permission adjustments and cleanup

Screenshots

All screenshots related to this lab can be found in the /screenshots folder.