Insights On-premises Linux-based Installation - Version 8.1 and Above

The Insights On-premises (IOP) component captures, indexes, and correlates real-time data in a searchable repository from which you can view a variety of dashboards, graphs, reports, alerts, etc.

Insights On-premises v8.1 contains significant improvements in performance and user experience.
This version of Insights is available in 2 installation modes:

• Virtual Appliance - This option comes as an OVA that runs Photon OS Linux distribution.
  Currently supported only on VMWare.
• Linux OS Installation - This option allows you to install the IOP on various Linux distributions.

To read more about IOP 8.1 Virtual Appliance Based Installation, see here.

IOP 8.1 contains the IOP Forwarder. This component forwards the activity files from the monitor servers to the IOP servers.

Insights On-premises Prerequisites

You can install IOP 8.1 as a Single (Standalone) mode or as a Cluster mode for better performance in larger-scale environments.

• Single (Standalone) - Recommended for companies with up to 5000 sessions, you need to prepare only one Linux server.
• Cluster - Recommended for companies with 5000 sessions and more, in this variation you will need to prepare several Linux servers, 1 for the Master role and 1 Data role for every 5000 sessions.
  In cluster mode, you need to repeat the installation steps once for the Master server and then for each Data server.
  Sizing examples:
  

  # of Session	# of Master nodes	# of Data nodes
  6000	1	2
  9000	1	2
  11000	1	3

Sizing Recommendations

Mode		Cores	RAM	Storage
Single (Standalone) installation  Under 5000 Sessions		12 Cores (Minimum)	32 GB	100 GB OS drive 50 GB to "/var" partition (if mounted on a different filesystem than the OS partition) 500 GB DATA disk drive with 800 IOPs (SSD preferred) mounted under /opt/iop_volumes/data/
Clustered installation  Over 5000 Sessions	Master Server	12 Cores (Minimum)	32 GB	100 GB OS disk drive with 800 IOPs (SSD preferred) 50 GB to "/var" partition (if mounted on a different filesystem than the OS partition)
	Data Servers (each)	8 Cores (Minimum)	16 GB	100 GB OS drive 50 GB to "/var" partition (if mounted on a different filesystem than the OS partition) 1 TB DATA disk drive with 800 IOPs (SSD preferred) mounted under /opt/iop_volumes/data

Operation System

• Linux Kernel 2.4
  • CentOS 7 (or above)
  • ubuntu 16.4 (or above)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6

Required Packages

• Python 3.6
• Docker 18.09.8 (or above)

Browser

• IOP fully supports Chrome browser and the New Edge (based on chromium).

Firewall Settings

The following ports need to be opened, depending on the installation mode.

Machine type	Inbound open ports
Single Standalone	443 9997
Cluster - Master	443 8089
Cluster - Data	9887 9997 8089

More information about each port:

Port (tcp)	Traffic Source	Usage
443	End-User	IOP Interface.
9997	CU Monitor\s	Forwards data to IOP.
Cluster Mode
8088	CU Monitors	Sends monitor diagnostics to IOP servers.
8089	CU Monitors Master Node Data Nodes	Management port (Between Master and Data nodes).
9887	Data Nodes	Data Replication.

 

Insights On-Premises Installation

Checking the Prerequisites

Before you start the IOP installation, check that the prerequisites are met.

Check that the Python and the Docker are installed.

Note: The Syntax can be different between the Linux OS versions.

To check that the Python and the Docker are installed:

1. Connect to your Linux CLI and enter 'python' and press Tab twice.
2.  Run 'docker -v' in the CLI.
   
   • If the components are installed, the following message appears:
     
   • If the components are not installed:
     

If you don't have the Docker installed, you can follow the instructions from one of the sites below:

• Docker - Docks
• Digitalocean

Once the Linux OS is ready, you can start the IOP installation.

To start the IOP installation:

Copy Files From Windows to Linux

To install Insights on your Linux machine, the files must be prepared in advance. If you don’t have the installation files, contact support@controlup.com to receive them.

1. Download the IOP package to your Windows machine.
   • iop_forwarder-8.1.733.XX.msi
   • iop_8.1_images_stable.tgz
   • iopcmd-8.1.733.XX.tgz
2. Copy iop_8.1_images_stable.tgz and iopcmd-8.1.733.XX.tgz to your Linux machine. To copy files from Windows OS to Linux OS you can use the WinSCP tool.
   • Open the WinSCP tool and make a connection to your Linux.
     
   • Copy the files to your Linux user home folder.
     
     
     

Prepare the Files for the Installation

1. Log in to your Linux machine.
2. Move the iop_8.1_images_stable.tgz and iopcmd-8.1.733.<latest build number>.tgz file from the user folder to /opt folder.
   (For example, a typical file name would be: iopcmd-8.1.733.60.tgz if the latest build number published is built 60.) 
   

   • sudo mv iop_8.1_images_stable.tgz /opt/

   • sudo mv iopcmd-8.1.733.<latest build number>.tgz /opt/

3. CD into “/opt/” directory and extract the installation file.

   • sudo tar zxvf iopcmd-8.1.733.<latest build number>.tgz

4. Move the iop_8.1_images_stable.tgz to “/opt/iopcmd/iop_images.tgz” 
   

   • sudo mv /opt/iop_8.1_images_stable.tgz /opt/iopcmd/iop_images.tgz

5. CD into "/opt/iopcmd/" directory.

Installation Process

Prior to installation there a few important things to note:

1. Password:
   • It is recommended to create a strong" password.
   • The password is an Admin password for the IOP and will be used in the future for upgrades.
2. Once the installation is complete, it is recommended to remove the iop_images.tgz from the /opt/iopcmd/ directory.
3. Once the installation is complete, you can connect to your Insights by browsing to https://<Your Server_IP>.

Single (Standalone) Installation

• Run the Install command, and the installation begins
  

  • sudo ./iopcmd install local -t standalone -pwd <Your Password> -p iop_images.tgz

    • For example:

    • sudo ./iopcmd install local -t standalone -pwd abc123 -p iop_images.tgz

Cluster Installation

1.  Run the Install command on the Master server, and the installation begins.

   • sudo ./iopcmd install local -t master -pwd <Your Password> -p iop_images.tgz

     • For example:

     • sudo ./iopcmd install local -t standalone -pwd abc123 -p iop_images.tgz

2. Once the installation is complete, run the Install command on the Data servers

   • sudo ./iopcmd install local -t data -m <DNS name or ip address of Master> -pwd <Your Password> -p iop_images.tgz

Insights On-premises Forwarder Installation

The Insights On-premises (IOP) Forwarder is a component that forwards the activity files from monitor servers to the IOP servers and requires a separate installation. It forwards the data from the ControlUp monitor to the Insights server and must be installed either on a server with a shared activity folder that the monitors can access or on every monitor server. 

During the ControlUp On-premises installation you must choose a location for the Activity Files.
If you choose a local folder, then you need to install the IOP Forwarder on each monitor. If you choose a shared location, you need to install only one IOP Forwarder.

To install the IOP Forwarder:

1. Login to your monitor Windows machine.
2. Contact support@controlup.com to receive the iop_forwarder_stable.msi file.
3. Run the file and the Welcome to the IOP Forwarder Setup Wizard screen appears. Click Next and the Select Installation Folder screen appears.
4. 
5. Use the Folder dropdown menu to select where on the monitor machine the installer should be installed, and click Next to continue.
   
6. Choose the type of installation (Standalone or Cluster) according to the type of Insights installation, and click Next to continue.
   
7. Select the Activity Files path folder location and then enter the IP of your IOP Server machine, and click Next to continue.
   
8. Click Install and the forwarder is installed. A confirmation popup appears once the prcess is complete.