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Online installation with Embedded Cluster (Beta)

This topic describes how to install an application in an online (internet-connected) environment with Replicated Embedded Cluster. For air gap installations, see Air gap installation with Embedded Cluster. For an introduction to Embedded Cluster, see Embedded Cluster overview.

Prerequisites​

Before you install, complete the following prerequisites:

Install using the Embedded Cluster UI​

This section describes how to install using the interactive Embedded Cluster installer UI.

Use the Enterprise Portal for a guided install​

To use the guided install experience in the Enterprise Portal:

  1. Log in to the Replicated Enterprise Portal with a user for your test customer.

  2. Follow the Linux install instructions for Embedded Cluster.

Install using instructions from the Vendor Portal​

To install from the Vendor Portal:

  1. In the Vendor Portal, open the Customers page and select a customer that belongs to the channel you use for testing.

  2. At the top of the customer page, click Install instructions and select Embedded Cluster. (The control may appear as Embedded Cluster install instructions.)

    note

    You can also open the Enterprise Portal to get install and upgrade instructions.

  3. In the Select a version field (or equivalent), choose the application version you promoted to that channel for testing, or leave the latest version selected if that is what you want to install.

  4. On a Linux machine, run the three commands from the dialog in order: download the archive, extract it, then run the install command.

    After extraction, you may see additional binaries and artifacts compared to Embedded Cluster 2.x. Embedded Cluster uses these internally. You can ignore them.

  5. Complete any prompts from the install command (for example, acceptance of a self-signed certificate and installer password).

  6. Open the URL from the install output in a browser to open the installer UI.

  7. Log in to the installer with the password you set when you ran the install command.

  8. On the Configure page, enter the configuration values for your application.

  9. On the Set Up page, provide any information required for the cluster installation. This corresponds to values you previously passed with install flags in Embedded Cluster 2.x (for example, proxy settings).

  10. On the Run page, start the installation and wait for it to complete.

  11. On the Finish page, confirm completion. If your KOTS Application custom resource defines links, they appear on this page.

    note

    Links to port-forwarded services are not available on this page.

Install using the CLI (Headless)​

With headless installation, you provide all necessary installation assets with the installation command rather than through the UI. Assets include the license file and the application config values. During headless installations, any preflight checks defined for the application run automatically from the command line rather than appearing in the UI. You can also ignore preflight checks during headless installations when testing in development environments. See Ignore preflight checks during installation on this page.

To install using the CLI:

  1. In the Vendor Portal, open the Customers page and select a customer that belongs to the channel you use for testing.

  2. At the top of the customer page, click Install instructions and select Embedded Cluster. (The control may appear as Embedded Cluster install instructions.)

    note

    You can also open the Enterprise Portal to get install and upgrade instructions.

  3. In the Select a version field (or equivalent), choose the application version you promoted to that channel for testing, or leave the latest version selected if that is what you want to install.

  4. On a Linux machine, run the first two commands from the dialog (download the archive, then extract it).

    After extraction, you may see additional binaries and artifacts compared to Embedded Cluster 2.x. Embedded Cluster uses these internally. You can ignore them.

  5. For the third command, run install with the following flags:

    • --headless to run without the interactive installer UI.
    • --config-values with the path to your ConfigValues file.
    • --installer-password with the password you will use to access the installer later.

    Example:

    sudo ./APP_SLUG install --license LICENSE_FILE --headless --config-values PATH_TO_CONFIGVALUES --installer-password INSTALLER_PASSWORD

    Replace APP_SLUG, LICENSE_FILE, PATH_TO_CONFIGVALUES, and INSTALLER_PASSWORD with the values for your environment. Add any other flags you need. For the full set of flags, see install.

  6. Monitor the command output until the install completes, then access your application as you normally do.

(Optional) Ignore preflight checks during installation​

You can ignore both application-level preflight checks and Embedded Cluster host preflight checks during installation. When you ignore preflight checks, the installation proceeds despite any preflight failures. This is useful for automated installations in development environments. For more information about the --ignore-host-preflights and --ignore-app-preflights options, see install.

Ignoring host preflight checks is not recommended for production installations.

  • To ignore preflight checks:

    sudo ./APP_SLUG install --license license.yaml --ignore-host-preflights --ignore-app-preflights --yes

    Where:

    • APP_SLUG is the unique slug for the application
    • The --yes flag addresses the prompt for --ignore-host-preflights to continue with installation
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