Installation

This guide will help you quickly install all of the N|Solid components for a production cluster. We provide production rpm and deb packages for use in Linux distributions and a windows MSI installer for use on Microsoft Windows Server 2016 & 2019.

Installation on Linux

Our rpm and deb packages for use in Linux distributions makes it significantly easier to set up the N|Solid components by using our repositories.

We support the following rpm based 64-bit Linux distributions:

• RHEL7 / CentOS7
• RHEL8 / CentOS8
• Fedora 30
• Fedora 31

We also support the following deb based 64-bit Linux distributions:

• Debian Jessie
• Debian Stretch
• Debian Buster
• Ubuntu Trusty
• Ubuntu Xenial
• Ubuntu Bionic

If you do not wish to use these packages, manual installation instructions are provided below.

Note: The default Node.js runtime used in the instructions below is Node.js v16 LTS (Gallium). If you wish to use a version of N|Solid based on Node.js v14 LTS (Fermium) or Node.js v12 LTS (Erbium), replace any instances of gallium with fermium or erbium.

Installing N|Solid Packages

Step 1: Set Up the NodeSource N|Solid Repository

For rpm based distributions, use the following command as root:

$ curl -sL https://nsolid-rpm.nodesource.com/nsolid_setup_4.x | sudo bash -

For deb based distributions, there is a similar command run as root:

$ curl -sL https://nsolid-deb.nodesource.com/nsolid_setup_4.x | sudo bash -

In both cases, these scripts will attempt to determine the distribution you are using, set up the appropriate repository on your system, and import the NodeSource N|Solid GPG key used to sign the packages.

Step 2: Install the Packages

For rpm based systems, install all the required components with the command:

$ sudo yum -y install nsolid-gallium nsolid-console

For deb based systems, the process is similar. Install the required components:

$ sudo apt-get -y install nsolid-gallium nsolid-console

On deb based systems, the relevant daemons will start automatically on installation, but you will still turn the services on and off using the standard tools.

For both rpm and deb based systems, you can then turn on the installed components using the standard system tools. Below are examples of how to turn on the N|Solid Console component using both init and systemd style systems.

Start the component in an init style system with:

$ /etc/init.d/nsolid-console start

Newer systemd style systems would use the command:

$ systemctl start nsolid-console

Once started, navigate to the N|Solid Console at localhost:6753. Consult the Console Overview for more information.

These N|Solid components can be installed separately, and possibly on different machines if you wish. However, if you plan on installing all of the components onto a single machine, the process can be further simplified. Instead of installing the components individually by name as we've done here, you can simply install the nsolid-console-all meta package for your system.

For rpm based distributions:

$ sudo yum -y install nsolid-gallium-console-all

And for deb based distributions:

$ sudo apt-get -y install nsolid-gallium-console-all

This meta package will install all of the components and turn them on if needed.

Upgrading N|Solid Packages

Once you have set up the NodeSource N|Solid package repository appropriate to your system, you will automatically get point releases via the standard system update tools. For example, fetch and install any new versions of the packages with:

$ sudo yum -y update

Manual Installation

These instructions use the Linux platform builds, but the same steps apply for macOS (darwin) platforms.

Step 1: Get N|Solid

1. Go to downloads.nodesource.com.
2. Scroll down to the Downloads section and click the Linux Bundle for the LTS version you wish to run.
3. Extract the archive.

The extracted archive contains all N|Solid components for your architecture:

• The N|Solid Runtime (e.g. nsolid-v4.6.2-gallium-linux-x64.tar.gz)
• The N|Solid Console (e.g. nsolid-console-v4.6.2-linux-x64.tar.gz)

Step 2: Install the N|Solid Runtime

The N|Solid Runtime is a build of Node.js that is compiled to include the N|Solid Agent. The runtime should be installed on any application servers where you intend to run your Node.js application.

$ tar xf nsolid-v4.6.2-gallium-linux-x64.tar.gz
$ cd nsolid-v4.6.2-gallium-linux-x64
$ ls
bin  CHANGELOG.md  include  lib  LICENSE  LICENSE.NSOLID  README.md  share

We suggest installing into /usr/local for greatest compatibility, though most preferred installation methods used for Node.js will also work for N|Solid.

To install to /usr/local, first remove existing npm and nsolid-cli installations:

$ rm -rf /usr/local/lib/node_modules/npm /usr/local/lib/node_modules/nsolid-cli

Then, put the N|Solid components in place:

$ cp -r lib bin share /usr/local/

To verify you are running Node compiled with the N|Solid Agent and see your version of N|Solid, use:

$ node -vv
v4.2.0

This package also contains the nsolid-cli application, which can act as a command-line interface to the N|Solid Agent via the N|Solid Console, allowing scripted or manual interaction.

Step 3: Install the N|Solid Console

The N|Solid Console is a graphical interface for your entire cluster of applications running on N|Solid. It communicates with each N|Solid Agent to track metrics, collect information, or trigger events on any of your N|Solid processes.

The N|Solid Console is best experienced using one of the following browsers on a desktop/laptop system.

• Google Chrome (21 and higher)
• Mozilla Firefox (22 and higher)
• Apple Safari (9 and higher)

The download bundle includes the nsolid-console built for your platform.

$ tar xf nsolid-console-v4.6.2-linux-x64.tar.gz
$ ls nsolid-console-v4.6.2-linux-x64

Place this folder wherever you typically install your Node.js applications. For this example, we'll put it in /var/opt.

$ cp -r nsolid-console-v4.6.2 /var/opt
$ cd /var/opt/nsolid-console-v4.6.2

Running npm start from within this directory will start the N|Solid Console with the default configuration.

For more information about configuration options for the N|Solid Console, see: configuration.

You will want to run nsolid-console as any other Node.js service in your infrastructure, using your process manager of choice.

Upgrading From Previous Versions of N|Solid

To upgrade from previous versions of N|Solid, use the instructions above to install over your previous installation. At each step, verify that the latest version of the component is installed and working.

If you have the N|Solid Hub, Proxy, or Storage components installed from an earlier version of N|Solid, these components can be removed.

For rpm based systems, this can be done with:

$ sudo yum remove nsolid-proxy nsolid-storage

For deb based systems, this would be:

$ sudo apt-get remove nsolid-proxy nsolid-storage

The etcd package may be in use by your system for other purposes, but if you no longer require it, it too can be removed:

$ sudo yum remove etcd

or

$ sudo apt-get remove etcd

Older N|Solid Artifacts

N|Solid 2.x

The storage directory structure did not substantially change from N|Solid 2.x to N|Solid 3.x, and if you start your Console with the same directory, you may see some of your data and artifacts. However, compatibility between these versions is not guaranteed. It is recommended that you start with an empty storage directory and access your old files directly on your storage device.