Ubuntu – How to install the latest version of Prometheus on 16.04

I looked up what the the static state of is-enabled means, and found that:

In this context, static means that the unit file does not contain an "install" section, which is used to enable a unit. As such, these units cannot be enabled.

Also, I found that the Apache2 package contains only a systemd include file, not a complete file:

 # /lib/systemd/system/apache2.service.d/apache2-systemd.conf
 [Service]
 Type=forking
 RemainAfterExit=no

It appears that the remainder of the logic for managing the Apache2 process comes from using a shim that allows systemd to run SysVinit scripts. So try enabling Apache2 to run at boot using a symlink in a SysVinit directory:

ln -s /etc/init.d/apache2 /etc/rc5.d/S02apache2

It seems like a bug or at least a missing feature that Apache2 isn't shipping with a full systemd 'service' file on Ubuntu 16.04.

Below is what I managed to build in the end, stitching together various scraps and hints I could find plus some "original research" of my own. I consider it very rough and downright ugly in places, but I need some solution, and it seems to work for now. Fingers crossed...

  PLEASE NOTE you should also consider hardening your Linux for security,
which is absolutely not covered by the presented script!

#!/bin/bash
if [ $# -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "USAGE: mkkiosk.sh"
    echo "Create new user 'kiosk' and configure LightDM to auto-login this user to a X session running only Chrome"
    echo "in --kiosk mode."
    exit 1
fi

set -x; set -e
date

# Try to make current user (admin/...) prefer 'ubuntu' to 'kiosk' for session type.
# TODO: currently doesn't seem to work, lightdm still suggests 'kiosk' session and requires manual clicking to change.
cat > ~/.dmrc << EOF
[Desktop]
Session=ubuntu
EOF

# Auto-create user 'kiosk'.
# http://askubuntu.com/a/321943/111779
# NOTE: auto-login is enabled later (autologin-user)
getent group kiosk || (
    sudo su -c "groupadd kiosk"
    sudo su -c "useradd kiosk -s /bin/bash -m -g kiosk"
)

# Install Chrome
# http://askubuntu.com/a/510186/111779
# TODO: somehow pin Chrome version? reportedly, cmdline flags are
# unofficial and can change; OTOH, security updates... though in kiosk, we show
# only one webpage; but admin user also may use Chrome.
grep chrome /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list >&/dev/null || (
    wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
        sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list'
    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
        google-chrome-stable
)

# https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Display_manager#Session_configuration
#
# - For Chrome flags, see:
#   - http://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/
#     (via http://askubuntu.com/a/423632/111779)
# - TryExec:
#   not sure what it does, but apparently must be just binary name if present.
#   (see: https://www.virtualbox.org/svn/vbox/trunk/src/VBox/Additions/linux/lightdm-greeter/liblightdm-gobject-1.5.0/session.c)
#   TODO: test if we can remove TryExec
# - IMPORTANT NOTE: If below settings are invalid, the session may just
#   silently disappear as a choice in LightDM. You can then try to confirm this
#   by looking in /var/log/lightdm/seat0-greeter.log for message "Ignoring
#   sesion kiosk".
sudo bash -c 'cat > /usr/share/xsessions/kiosk.desktop' << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Kiosk
Comment=Start a Chrome-based kiosk session
Exec=/usr/bin/google-chrome --kiosk --window-size=1281,1025 --window-position=0,0 --no-first-run --incognito --no-default-browser-check --disable-translate http://stackoverflow.com
TryExec=/usr/bin/google-chrome
Icon=google-chrome
EOF
sudo -u kiosk bash -c 'cat > ~kiosk/.dmrc' << EOF
[Desktop]
Session=kiosk
EOF
# See LightDM "help" in: /usr/share/doc/lightdm/lightdm.conf.gz
sudo bash -c 'cat > /usr/share/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/99-kiosk.conf' << EOF
[Seat:*]
user-session=kiosk
EOF
# Setting below options in only 99-kiosk.conf doesn't seem enough (conflicts on autologin-user).
sudo bash -c 'cat > /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf' << EOF
[Seat:*]
autologin-guest=false
autologin-user=kiosk
autologin-user-timeout=0
EOF

echo "Done."

To get back to "normal user", press Alt-F4 to close Chrome; LightDM will show, where you can login to your "normal" admin/root/... (super-)user. To get back to "kiosk", run:

sudo killall lightdm

TODO: didn't disable screensaver yet (or did it?).
Also, no warranty, it may shoot off your leg, eat your homework, etc, etc.