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Install a Snaplex on Linux

This article describes the procedures for installing an on-premise Snaplex in a Linux environment. An on-premise Snaplex is also known as a Groundplex. This document uses the term Groundplex to distinguish this type of Snaplex (on-premise) from a Cloudplex, which SnapLogic manages. However, in command syntax and references to the UI, the generic term Snaplex is used.

Groundplex installation covers the following tasks:

1. Setting up a Groundplex.

2. Importing a certificate.

For prerequisites, see Groundplex Deployment Planning. 

Setting up a Groundplex

1. Log into SnapLogic Manager as an Org admin.

2. Navigate to the project where you want to create your Groundplex, and perform one of the following steps:

   • Click the Snaplex tab, then click   to display the Snaplex dialog.
     OR

   • Click to display the Assets drop-down list, then select Snaplex; the Snaplex dialog appears.
     
     

     Open

     

      

3. Enter the required information on the Create Snaplex form. Once completed, the Downloads tab on the Snaplex popup appears. The Downloads tab has links to the installer and configuration files.

4. Download the RPM or DEB-based installer and configuration files onto a Linux machine, where <filename> is the name of the current installer file and fontconfig and zip are the required dependencies:
   
   

   • For CentOS (or Redhat) 6.3 or newer, run the following commands:
     $ sudo yum install fontconfig zip
$ sudo rpm -i <filename>.rpm
     
     

   • For Ubuntu 14.04 or newer, run the following command: 
     $ sudo apt-get install fontconfig zip
$ sudo dpkg -i <filename>.deb
     
     

5. After the software is installed, place the downloaded configuration file in the /opt/snaplogic/etc directory and make sure the file name ends with .slpropz. Change the .slpropz file so that snapuser owns it by running the following commands:

   $ sudo chown snapuser:snapuser /opt/snaplogic/etc/myplex.slpropz $ sudo chmod 600 /opt/snaplogic/etc/myplex.slpropz

6. To start the Snaplex service, run:
   $ sudo /opt/snaplogic/bin/jcc.sh start

7. To verify that the Snaplex has started, visit https://elastic.snaplogic.com/sl/dashboard.html#Health. The newly installed Snaplex node should appear in the list of nodes for the Snaplex.

Importing a Certificate to SnapLogic JCC nodes

Importing a certificate is not a requirement. However, we recommend that you import a certificate on your Groundplex nodes for any communication over TLS 1.2.

The following scenarios are two examples of where an SSL certificate is required:

• Example 1 - New Groundplex installation with an SSL proxy. Groundplex nodes must communicate with an SSL proxy, so import the proxy self-signed certificate into the Truststore once at the time of installation.

• Example 2 - Running a Pipeline where Snaps establish an SSL-encrypted JDBC connection to an endpoint where a Truststore requires the root CA’s certificate. You need to import the root CA’s certificate into the Java Truststore every time the Trustore does not include an endpoint’s CA certificate.

To generate and import a self-signed certificate on all the JCC nodes in the Snaplex:

1. Obtain the certificate (.pem) file by using SSH.

2. Import the file by using the following command in the JCC node:

   /opt/snaplogic/pkgs/jre1.8.0_45/bin/keytool -import -file <path_to_pem_file_from_step_1> -alias <alias_name_optional> -keystore /opt/snaplogic/pkgs/jre1.8.0_45/lib/security/cacerts -vEnter keystore password: changeit

3. Restart the JCC node process to confirm the import.

4. Run the following command to list certificates from the CAcerts file:

   /opt/snaplogic/pkgs/jre1.8.0_45/bin/keytool -list --keystore /opt/snaplogic/pkgs/jre1.8.0_45/lib/security/cacerts -v+

Automatically Start and Stop a Groundplex on Linux

You can use either the systemd or init.d utility to start and stop the Snaplex. Procedures for both are included below. The procedures vary depending on which Linux distribution is installed on the Snaplex host.

Starting and Stopping the Groundplex by Using the Linux Systems Call

Use this procedure for Red Hat-like Linux distributions such as Red Hat, Fedora CoreOS, CentOS, and SuSE.

To add the Snaplex as a Service:

1. Log in to the host as a root or sudo user.

2. Create the startup service file:

3. Change the permissions on the file:

   This change provides read and write permissions for the owner and group, and read permission for others.

4. Open the file with a text editor. For example, using a vim editor:

5. Add the following text to the file:
   
   

    

6. Save and exit the file.

7. Enable the service by running the following command:

   The service will start automatically when the host reboots.

8. Start the service:

9. To stop the Snaplex as a service, run the following command:

Starting and Stopping the Groundplex by Using the init.d Utility

Use this procedure for Red Hat-like Linux distributions such as Red Hat, Fedora CoreOS, CentOS, and SuSE.

To add the Snaplex as a service:

1. Login to the Linux machine as root.

2. Change directories:

3. Create a softlink to the jcc.sh file: 

4. Add the softlink to chkconfig management:

To delete the Snaplex as a service, remove the service from the chkconfig management:

Debian-like Distribution (Debian and Ubuntu)

To add the Snaplex as a Service:

1. Log in to the Linux machine as root.

2. Change directories:

3. Create a soft-link to the jcc.sh file: 

4. Install the service using update-rc.d. For example: 

    

5. To stop the Snaplex as a Service, remove the service from update-rc.d management:

Manage disk volumes for Groundplex nodes

To address issues that cause disk full errors and to ensure smoother operations of the systems that affect the stability of the Groundplex, you need to have separate mounts on Groundplex nodes. Follow the steps suggested below to create two separate disk volumes on the JCC nodes.

• The JCC nodes are equipped with two separate disk volumes to ensure that the operating system and pipeline execution workspace remain segregated.

  • The JCC is installed in /(root) volume, and the workspace is separated in the bind mounts.

  • The second disk volume is mounted on /workspace, and bind mount directories are created.

• Create subdirectories in /workspace and /opt/snaplogic/run directories using the commands specified below:

• Create the bind mounts using the commands specified below:

Open

For Example:             

Configure Java 11 on Linux

The JRE is bundled with the Snaplex installer. While a Snaplex auto upgrade updates the SnapLogic binaries in the installed Snaplex, the JRE version is not automatically updated. You must manage the JRE versions of your Snaplex.

To update your JCC nodes to OpenJDK Java 11:

1. Stop the existing JCC node by running the following command:
   $ sudo /opt/snaplogic/bin/jcc.sh stop
   
   

2. Download the new Snaplex installer and install the Groundplex, running the RPM, DEB, or Docker installers as appropriate.

   • For RPM systems, run the following command:
     $ rpm -U snaplogic-snaplex.rpm

   • For DEB systems, run  the following command:
     $ dpkg -i snaplogic-snaplex.deb

   • For Docker, stop the existing container and start a new container using the latest image.
     
     

3. Add the following entry to the /etc/sysconfig/jcc directory. You must create this directory and file if neither are present. 
   export SL_JAVA_HOME=/opt/snaplogic/pkgs/jdk-11.0.12+7-jre/

4. Start the JCC node by running the following command:
   $ sudo /opt/snaplogic/bin/jcc.sh start.

Older Versions of JRE and TLS

JRE versions prior to 11.0.8 have issues connecting to TLS 1.3 endpoints. We recommend using a newer JRE version.

Renabling Support for Older Versions

If updating the TLS endpoint is not possible, then the Snaplex JRE can be updated to re-enable support for older TLS versions by doing these steps:

1. Open the jre/conf/security/java.security file in the JRE installation /opt/snaplogic/pkgs folder.

2. Change the jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms configuration property by removing TLSv1, TLSv1.1.

3. Restart the Snaplex to re-enable support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1.

Changing the Installation Folder

If you want to use the/myopt/myroot instead of the /opt/snaplogic as the installation folder and myuser instead of snapuser, perform the following steps:

1. Run the following commands after installing the RPM/DEB package:

   1. $ sudo mv /opt/snaplogic /myopt/myroot

   2. $ sudo chown -R myuser /myopt/myroot

2. Add the following properties in the /etc/sysconfig/jcc file. If this file does not exist, create it.

   1. export SL_USER=myuser

   2. export SL_ROOT=/myopt/myroot

3. Restart the service with the following command: 
   $ sudo /myopt/myroot/bin/jcc.sh restart

4. To make a service using init.d, make the /etc/init.d/snaplex file a symlink to the /myopt/myroot/bin/jcc.sh file.

Uninstalling the SnapLogic RPM from your environment

To uninstall the SnapLogic Linux-based package from your environment:

1. Remove all content from the /etc/snaplogic and /opt/snaplogic folders by running the following commands:

   1. $ rpm -qa | grep snaplogic

   2. $ sudo rpm -e snaplogic-sidekick-4.main_9292-1.x86_64

   3. $ sudo rm -rf /opt/snaplogic

   4. $ sudo rm -rf /etc/snaplogic

2. Verify that the packages were deleted from the /etc/snaplogic and /opt/snaplogic folders.

System Limits

Some Linux installations have system ulimit settings that are set to lower values. This low setting can cause errors when running higher pipeline loads on the Groundplex JCC node, such as, java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native thread.

To fix this issue, you need to increase the system limits for the Snapuser user. You can add the following in the /etc/security/limits.conf folder to increase the file and process limits.

Related content

Video: Installing a Groundplex through a Debian-based Linux Distribution