Install the Enterprise Console

This page provides information and instructions for installing the AppDynamics Enterprise Console to automate the task of installing and administering the Controller and Events Service. You must install the Enterprise Console to install these components.

About the Enterprise Console Installation

Though the Enterprise Console can run on the same host as the Controller and, if installed, the embedded Events Service, it is recommended that you install it on a separate host. Regardless, the machine that runs the Enterprise Console must meet the requirements for all the components that run on that machine, as outlined below.

The Enterprise Console and Controller must run on separate MySQL instances allowing the Enterprise Console to manage the Controller's instance independent of the Controller host, creating a lightweight setup that consumes less memory.

If you install the Enterprise Console on the Controller machine, it must be in a different directory in order to keep data separate. For instance, if the Controller is installed in /opt/appdynamics/controller, the Enterprise Console might be in /opt/appdynamics/enterpriseconsole.

You must also avoid port conflicts with the Controller database, which is 3388 by default, whereas the Enterprise Console database is 3377 by default.

The Enterprise Console installation path you choose must be writeable, i.e. the user who installed the Enterprise Console should have write permissions to that directory.

The Enterprise Console prevents multiple users from running commands at the same time. If a second user attempts to run a command while another command is in progress, the second command is not completed and an error message appears indicating that another command is in progress. To avoid such conflicts, the Enterprise Console should generally be used by a single user at a time.

You can enable HTTPS for the Enterprise Console during installation. See HTTPS Support for the Enterprise Console.

Cross-platform (OS) installation, e.g., installing the Enterprise Console on Linux and the Controller on Mac or Windows is not supported.

Installing on AWS Host

When installing the Enterprise Console on an AWS host, you must add the values for the following hostnames and IP addresses to the SAN:

Public DNS (IPv4)
IPv4 Public IP
Private DNS
Private IPs

Disk and Memory Space Requirements

The host must have enough disk space for the Enterprise Console and a platform, which includes a Controller. There is no need for additional memory for the Enterprise Console when it shares the same host as the Controller. However, when the Enterprise Console host is not shared with the Controller host, then it requires additional disk and memory space. See Enterprise Console Requirements and Prepare the Controller Host to make sure you meet the minimum space requirements.

Software Requirements

On systems that run Linux, you must have cURL and netstat installed. Linux systems must also have the libaio library installed. This library provides for asynchronous I/O operations on the system.

See Required Libraries for how to install libaio and other libraries on some common flavors of the Linux operating system.

Password Requirements

Due to browser incompatibilities, AppDynamics recommends using only ASCII characters for usernames, account names, and passwords

Configure your installation using these password settings:

GUI Mode Screen or Option Label Response File variable Description

Database Root User's Password

mysqlRootUserPassword

The password of the user account that the Controller uses to access its MySQL database.

Do not use the single quotation mark ('), double quotation mark ("), or at sign (@) characters in this password.

Controller root User's Password rootUserPassword The Controller root user password. The root user is a Controller user account with privileges for accessing the system Administration Console.
This password is used for the admin user of the built-in Glassfish application server as well. The Glassfish admin user lets you access the Glassfish console and the asadmin utility. See Access the Administration Console.
Allowed characters in the password are: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, ., +, =, @, _, -, $, :, #, ,, (, ), !, {, }

User Name (Admin User Setup) userName The username of the administrator account in the Controller UI. This is the administrator for the built-in account if single-tenant systems, or for the initial account for multi-tenant. See Update the Root User and Glassfish Admin Passwords.
Usernames and passwords cannot include the @ or ! character.
Also note that if this account will be used to access the REST API, additional limitations on the use of special characters in usernames apply. See Create and Manage Tenant Users.

In the password field, you may include the space character at the beginning as well as in the middle of the password string. However, you cannot start passwords with the space character when using the response.varfile.

GUI Installation

Before starting, get the Enterprise Console installer version appropriate for your target system. You can get the installer from AppDynamics Downloads. When ready, follow these steps to install the Enterprise Console:

Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the install file.
Run the following commands:
Linux
```
./platform-setup-64bit-linux.sh
```
You can run the installer as non-root or root.

Windows
```
platform-setup-64bit-windows.exe
```
It is recommended that you right-click the .exe file and select Run as Administrator.
After the GUI launches, use it to complete the installation. In Linux, you may also follow the steps in the installation wizard to complete the console installation.

If you install the Enterprise Console on AWS, use the public DNS for the Enterprise Console hostname when prompted.

Silent Installation

To use the silent installation method, add the -q option, the response file, and the destination directory to the command to run the installer. For example, in Linux, run the following command:

./platform-setup-64bit-linux.sh -q -varfile ~/response.varfile

It is recommended that, if possible, you provide an absolute path as the installation path specified as the dir argument value and not a relative path as shown in the example.

For a Windows system:

platform-setup-64bit-windows.exe -q -varfile c:/response.varfile

Sample response files for silent installation

Linux

serverHostName=HOST_NAME
sys.languageId=en
disableEULA=true

platformAdmin.port=9191
platformAdmin.databasePort=3377
platformAdmin.dataDir=/opt/appdynamics/platform/mysql/data
platformAdmin.databasePassword=ENTER_PASSWORD
platformAdmin.databaseRootPassword=ENTER_PASSWORD
platformAdmin.adminPassword=ENTER_PASSWORD
platformAdmin.useHttps$Boolean=false
sys.installationDir=/opt/appdynamics/platform

The sys.languageID and platformAdmin.dataDir properties are optional. If not specified, the data directory will be in the /mysql directory under the platform directory.

Windows

serverHostName=HOST_NAME
sys.languageId=en
disableEULA=true
sys.adminRights$Boolean=true

platformAdmin.port=9191
platformAdmin.databasePort=3377
platformAdmin.dataDir=C\:\\AppDynamics\\Platform\\platform-admin\\mysql\\data
platformAdmin.databasePassword=ENTER_PASSWORD
platformAdmin.databaseRootPassword=ENTER_PASSWORD
platformAdmin.adminPassword=ENTER_PASSWORD
platformAdmin.useHttps$Boolean=false
sys.installationDir=C\:\\AppDynamics\\Platform

The sys.languageID and platformAdmin.dataDir properties are optional. If not specified, the data directory will be in the \mysql directory under the platform directory.

If you install the Enterprise Console on AWS, use the public DNS for the serverHostName value.

After the Installation

After you install the Enterprise Console, you can use the following methods to install the AppDynamics Platform:

GUI: A graphical interface within a web browser to install the Controller and Events Service. You can select from Express Install or Custom Install of the platform, which includes the option to install a Controller and Events Service.
Command-line: A CLI to install the Controller and Events Service.

After installing the Enterprise Console, you can select from the Express Install or Custom Install of the platform, which includes the option to install a Controller. For more information about those options, see Enterprise Console.

For information on installing the Controller or Events Service in unattended mode or via the command line, see Enterprise Console Command Line.

Accessing the Enterprise Console

Access the GUI for the Enterprise Console with the following URL:

http(s)://<hostname>:<port>

Specify the port and hostname you used when you installed the Enterprise Console. The default port is 9191. This port needs to be exposed from your firewall rules so you can access the port from any place. See Port Settings.

For example:

http(s)://aHost.aDomain:9191

With the GUI, you can install and manage the components of the AppDynamics platform, including tasks such as adding hosts or credentials, installing a Controller, and monitoring jobs.

If you cannot access the GUI, verify that the hostname and port number are correct. Additionally, ensure that the Enterprise Console is running.

The first time you access the GUI, the Enterprise Console shows the following options for installing the AppDynamics Platform:

- Express: Select this option for new installations of the Controller and Events Service. The services are installed on the same host.
- Custom: Select this option to customize your installation, including installing or upgrading the Controller and Events Service on separate hosts. By installing the Events Service on a separate host, you can create a 1 or 3+ node Events Service based on your needs. Installing an Events Service on a separate host with the Enterprise Console is only supported on Linux. If you want to install the Events Service on a separate host on Windows, see Install the Events Service on Windows.
  
  The Events Service is installed by default with a Custom Installation unless you choose to unselect the Install Events Service option.
  - Discover and Upgrade: When performing a custom installation, you have the option to discover and upgrade an existing AppDynamics deployment, such as a Controller or Events Service. For example, if you use the package installer to install the Controller in a previous version of AppDynamics, you can use the discover and upgrade option to add the Controller to the AppDynamics platform that the Enterprise Console manages. The application will then upgrade the Controller to the same version of the Enterprise Console. Verify that the Controller and MySQL are running before you attempt to discover and upgrade them.

Troubleshooting the Installation

This section provides troubleshooting information for issues that may arise during the Enterprise Console installation.

Installation Stuck at License Agreement

If your installation becomes stuck at displaying the license agreement on the console, then the EULA may be having issues with special characters. To fix this issue, add the -VdisableEULA=true flag to your installation command or response.var file. For example:

./platform-setup-64bit-linux.sh -c -VdisableEULA=true

Enterprise Console Application Is in Use Error

If you get an error that states that the "Enterprise Console Application (9191/3377) is in use," you should check that you have specified the correct hostname during the installation.

Default Font Change on Linux Machines

If your Enterprise Console installation fails on a Red Hat system, it may be due to an install4j issue. If the default font has been changed, the JRE cannot interpret it, leading to a "could not display the GUI" error. You can fix this error by running the installation with -VdisableEULA=true and creating the file /etc/fonts/local.conf with the following contents:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM
'fonts.dtd'>
<fontconfig>
  <alias>
    <family>serif</family>

<prefer><family>Utopia</family></prefer>
  </alias>
  <alias>

<family>sans-serif</family>
    <prefer><family>Utopia</family></prefer>

</alias>
  <alias>
    <family>monospace</family>

<prefer><family>Utopia</family></prefer>
  </alias>
  <alias>

<family>dialog</family>
    <prefer><family>Utopia</family></prefer>

</alias>
  <alias>
    <family>dialoginput</family>

<prefer><family>Utopia</family></prefer>
  </alias>
</fontconfig>

Rename the Directory Error on Windows Machines

If the Enterprise Console installation fails with an error on "rename of the directory," it may be due to an antivirus scan. Stopping the antivirus scan on the machine fixes the issue. You should also exclude the Enterprise Console directory from the scan if it sits outside of the Controller directory. See Prepare Windows for the Controller.