Introduction

This article will explain how to install EdgeVis Server on a Debian-based Linux system such as Ubuntu. This means in practice that the built-in package manager uses .deb installer package files.

Are you using Red Hat? Then you need to use a different way to install.

Supported operating systems

For Debian-based Linux we will provide official support on the following versions of Ubuntu:

Ubuntu 20.04 (End-of-Life Apr 2025)
Ubuntu 22.04 (End-of-Life Apr 2027)
Ubuntu 24.04 (End-of-Life Apr 2029)

Other Debian-based Linux may work but are untested and unsupported.

The system requirements can be quite varied based on your use case - refer to our sizing guide for further information.

Anti-virus exclusions

After installation, it is strongly recommended that the EdgeVis Server database is excluded from any anti-virus scanning.

This is the ‘pg_data’ directory under the EdgeVis Server application directory (typically /opt/edgevis-server on Linux).

Installing EdgeVis Server

Before you begin:

Linux should already be installed.
Your machine should have it's final IP addresses assigned, either using static IP addresses or DHCP reservations.
You must have super-user (root/sudo) access to the machine.
The installer package will place the EdgeVis Server files under /opt/edgevis-server/

Tip: Copying and pasting these commands into a command prompt can sometimes be troublesome as formatting can be lost during the process, changing the commands. It is recommended to copy and paste into a text editor first, to ensure that no errors have been introduced. Please be aware that:

Dashes can be wrongly converted from the minus symbol (next to zero key) into a double-width printable hyphen, that looks identical in a command prompt.
Commands that are separated into multiple lines are usually ended with a \ (backslash). However, pasting often removes the newlines, putting all of the command onto one line. In this case remove the backslash.

Download the latest EdgeVis Server DEB package from our Download Center.
Install the EdgeVis Server Package (replace X.X below with the version downloaded):
```
sudo dpkg -i edgevis-server_8.X.X_amd64.deb
```

Start the EdgeVis Server service:

sudo systemctl start edgevis-licensing

sudo systemctl start edgevis-server

If a Firewall is enabled on the Server PC then EdgeVis Server requires that certain ports must be allowed to accept incoming connections. An explanation of what each port is used for is available on the EdgeVis Support Site. In Ubuntu the ufw firewall can be configured as follows:
```
sudo ufw allow 9300:9301/tcp

sudo ufw allow 9300:9301/udp

sudo ufw allow 2048/udp

sudo ufw allow 9443/tcp

sudo ufw allow 1527/tcp

sudo ufw allow 47500/tcp

sudo ufw allow 47100/tcp

sudo ufw status verbose
```
You can then either initialise an empty server or add the node to an existing MSR cluster

Customise your server

If you have not already, you must now select which type of server to want to install:

Type	Purpose
Standard Server	The default choice for most users. The server will operate as a standalone server but, if necessary can be extended into a server cluster should you need to increase the capacity on your server. The constraint is that this server must be given a local static IP address on your LAN that never changes.
Server Cluster	You can add additional installations of the standard server together to create a cluster of servers that allow you to increase capacity and provide local redundancy.
Portable Server	When you need to install a server that will change location (and the internal and external IP addresses associated with it). An example would be a server installed on a laptop using a built-in 5G modem - it's likely that every time you connect the modem your server's IP addresses will change. This server can't be turned into a server cluster!

Once you have selected your server type you can proceed to enter commands to start your server with the correct parameters.

Setup your server as a Standard Server
Setup a Server Cluster
Setup your server as a Portable Server

Option 1 - Setup your server as a Standard Server

The following command will initialise a standard server. This deployment type supports being extended into a server cluster but requires static network addresses.

What information do I need?

A server name
This is a name that will be displayed to users in the interface so they can tell servers apart. It can only contain A-Z, 0-9, underscore/hyphen, must begin with a letter, and be no longer than 30 characters.
An internal IP address
This is the IP address of your Linux PC on your local network
An external IP address or URL
Assuming that you want your EdgeVis Server to be accessed from the internet, this will be the address that external users would use to connect to the server. It is the address you'll normally enter into your encoders to connect to the server.

sudo /opt/edgevis-server/jre/bin/java \
      -jar /opt/edgevis-server/ServerDeployCli.jar \
      --type standard \
      --action init \
      --name <Enter your server Name> \
      --internal-ip <Internal IP Address of Server> \
      --external-address <External URL / IP of Server>

Replace the three items in the command above that are contained in <brackets>:

Name: A human-readable name to display in the management interface.
An Internal and External IP address for this machine.

Option 2 - Setup your server as part of a Server Cluster

Setting up a server cluster is more complicated as there are several networking requirements and prerequisite steps you should perform.

The recommended approach would be to:

Configure your first server as a Standard Server (see above). This will create the initial server in your cluster.
Complete the remaining server setup steps (e.g. setting your admin password) to ensure your server is installed. This will allow you to use the server's web interface that you'll need to set up your cluster.
Follow the steps in How do I create an EdgeVis Server? article to configure your initial EdgeVis Server to operate in clustered mode.

The following command will initialise the server to connect to a server cluster:

sudo /opt/edgevis-server/jre/bin/java \
      -jar /opt/edgevis-server/ServerDeployCli.jar \
      --action join \
      --name <New Server friendly name> \
      --internal-ip <Internal IP Address of new Server> \
      --external-address <External URL / IP of new Server> \
      --cluster-address <Internal IP Address of existing Server> \
      --cluster-username <User with MANAGE_CLUSTER permission> \
      --cluster-password <Above user’s password>

Replace the five items in the command above that are contained in <brackets>:
- Name: A human-readable name to display for the machine on the MSR status page.
- An Internal and External IP address for this machine
- Cluster Address is the internal IP address of another machine within the EdgeVis Server cluster.
- Cluster username and password are credentials for a server administrator account with the Manage cluster permission granted (the default Administrator account is suitable for this).
NOTE: If you are running a firewall you will need to ensure that you open the cluster ports to allow the servers to communicate with each other.

On any machine in the cluster, you should be able to log into the web interface - select the All server settings link at the bottom of the page. Then select the Multi-site resilience option. This should now show that your new machine has joined the cluster:

You should now re-license your server cluster to obtain licences for your encoders that will work on all machines in your cluster.

Option 3 - Setup your server as a Portable Server

The following command will initialise a standalone portable server. This deployment type supports dynamic IP addressing and is suitable for laptops moving between wireless networks, but does not support becoming a server cluster.

What information do I need?

A server name
This is a name that will be displayed to users in the interface so they can tell servers apart. It can only contain A-Z, 0-9, underscore/hyphen, must begin with a letter, and be no longer than 30 characters.

sudo /opt/edgevis-server/jre/bin/java \
      -jar /opt/edgevis-server/ServerDeployCli.jar \
      --type standalone \
      --action init \
      --name <Server Name>

Replace the server name in the command above with a human-readable name to display in the management interface.

Next Steps...

Now you have a working server you are ready to start using your server...

Continue with the next steps in the EdgeVis Server Quick Start Guide