How to install the Auvik collector from a bash script

The following instructions are for advanced users. If you’d rather install the Auvik collector from an OVA file, please follow these steps.

The bash script installation process can be used to install the collector in a virtual environment, or on a Raspberry Pi device of at least 4th generation connected to your network. For Raspberry Pi installations, if your device is already running a supported Ubuntu OS or is running Raspberry Pi OS, you can skip to step 4 below to run the installation script.

When the Auvik collector is installed from a bash script, it takes over the system on which it’s installed—the system will be rendered useless. For that reason, the bash script must be run against a dedicated, stand-alone virtual machine and never on an existing Ubuntu desktop or server.

1. Register for a trial.
2. Add a new client.
3. Have a supported virtualization platform ready. Desktop virtualization platforms such as Oracle VirtualBox, VMware Fusion, or VMware Workstation are fine for quick use, but aren’t recommended or supported for enterprise implementations.

Virtualization Platforms	Host Operating Systems
Commercial cloud* (e.g., Amazon AWS EC2, Microsoft Azure)	N/A
Microsoft Hyper-V	Windows Server
Citrix Xen	N/A
VMware ESX / ESXi 5.5+ (Download here)	NA (barebones hypervisor)

4. Sign into your Auvik account and access a new client.

To install the Auvik collector in a commercial cloud environment, such as Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure, follow these steps first.

It’s assumed that you know how to set up and configure an Ubuntu 22.04 LTS server. All of this can be completed in four easy steps.

1. Download the LTS Ubuntu iso
2. Create a new Linux Ubuntu virtual machine
3. Install and configure Ubuntu
4. Run the collector bash installation script

1. Downloading the LTS Ubuntu iso

The collector must be installed on Ubuntu 22.04, so please go to https://releases.ubuntu.com/22.04/ and download the most recent server install image available.

2. Create a Linux Ubuntu virtual machine

If you’re looking to deploy the Auvik collector in a commercial cloud environment like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure, follow these steps to deploy Ubuntu.

When creating the Linux Ubuntu virtual machine, here a few requirements to keep in mind. You’ll need:

1. 4 virtual CPUs
2. 8GB RAM
3. Up to 32 GB Storage, This is dynamic storage that will only be used if required.

Once your virtual machine is ready, continue to Step 3.

3. Installing and configuring Ubuntu

During Ubuntu installation, if you’re asked to provide an IP address for the virtual machine, this address will be the DHCP address associated with the Auvik collector. If you like, you can change the address after the collector has been installed.

If you don’t set an IP address for the virtual machine during Ubuntu installation, locate the new machine’s IP address by running the following: ifconfig. Note the inet addr. You’ll need it in Step 4.

Make sure you install OpenSSH Server. You can do this during Ubuntu installation or afterwards. If doing it after the Ubuntu installation, log in as the Ubuntu server user, then run the following command:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openssh-server openssh-client

4. Run the Auvik collector bash script

To execute the script, you’ll need:

• A valid Auvik user email address and the user’s API key. The email address must be for a user who has authorization on the Auvik domain the service is being installed for.
• A domain prefix (e.g., sample.my.auvik.com) for the client where the collector is being installed.

Step 2 below assumes the virtual machine is set up for DNS and is not relying on the proxy.

1. From a window external to the virtual machine, connect via SSH:
   • Mac users: Open a terminal window and execute ssh UBUNTUUSER@IPADDRESS Accept the SSH key. When requested, enter the user’s password.
   • Windows users: Start PuTTY. In the host name field, enter the IP address for the virtual machine. Ensure the port is 22 and SSH is selected. Click Open. When requested, enter the username and password.
2. If you have a proxy set up on your network, you’ll need to configure the machine to be aware of it. If you don’t have a proxy, you can skip to step 3. 
   • Create a new file by running cat /etc/apt/apt.conf.d > proxy.conf
   • Using your favorite editor (Vim, for example), open the file and add the following detail. Replace user:pass with the proxy user and password. Replace 1.2.3.4:12345 with the proxy IP and port. If your proxy server is set up with no username or password, the URLs will be http://1.2.3.4:12345 (This is not best practice and we don’t recommend it.)
     • Acquire::http::Proxy "http://user:pass@1.2.3.4:12345”;
     • Acquire::https::Proxy "https://user:pass@1.2.3.4:12345”;
   • Save the file.
   • Run the following commands to set the routes in the system memory:
     • export HTTP_PROXY = http://user:pass@1.2.3.4:12345
     • export HTTPS_PROXY = http://user:pass@1.2.3.4:12345
3. Copy and paste the following command:  

sudo bash -c "rm -rf ./auvik_installer install.sh && umask 0022 && curl --verbose --location-trusted --header \"Accept: text/plain\" --user EMAIL https://DOMAINPREFIX.my.auvik.com/agents/installer > install.sh && grep -wq __ARCHIVE_BELOW__ install.sh && chmod 0755 install.sh && bash -x ./install.sh 2>&1 | tee /tmp/install.log"

Be sure to edit the following parameters within the command:

• EMAIL should be the email address associated with your Auvik account.
• DOMAINPREFIX should be the Auvik domain prefix (e.g., sample is the prefix for https://sample.my.auvik.com/agents/installer) for the client where the collector is being installed.

4. When requested, enter the password for the Ubuntu user. When asked for the password for the email address set in the command, enter the API key.
5. Downloading and installing the Auvik collector takes about 10 minutes. After that’s done, reboot the Ubuntu virtual machine from the external command line by executing: sudo reboot
6. Ensure the IP address of the collector remains static. There are two ways to ensure this:
   • Set up a DHCP reservation for the virtual machine’s MAC address in your DHCP server.
   • Configure the collector to use a static IP address that lies outside of your DHCP pool. Option 1 on the collector’s console window will help you configure a static IP.

In the previous steps, if you configured the collector with a proxy, there are some final steps for completing the configuration. 

1. From the virtual machine window for the collector, click onto the console. Select option 8.
2. Enter the address of the proxy. Click Enter.
3. Enter the port of the proxy. Click Enter.
4. Enter the type of authentication used to connect to the proxy (none, basic). Click Enter.
5. Enter the username to connect to the proxy. Click Enter.
6. Enter the password to connect to the proxy. Click Enter.

The virtual collector will auto reboot to pick up the proxy settings.