All Composer installations require a Postgres metadata store. If you install Composer on a single server using the supplied bootstrap installation script, this metadata store is installed for you. If you install Composer manually, you must also manually set up the metadata store.

The metadata store should be centrally installed, accessible by all Composer nodes. In a high availability environment, it can be clustered.

When setting up a distributed environment, you need to determine whether the metadata store is installed. If you have already installed Composer and are now trying to set up a distributed environment, there is a good chance that the metadata store was installed with your existing Composer instance or instances.

If this is the first time you have installed Composer, and you want to set up a distributed environment, a new metadata store is required.

• If the metadata store has already been installed, identify its host name and port. Then follow the steps for upgrading a distributed environment. See Upgrade a Composer Distributed Environment.

• If the metadata store has not already been installed, manually install it now. Complete the following sub-steps. Then identify its host name and port.

  1. Set up the Metadata Store - Necessary for all installations.

     The instructions to set up PostgreSQL as Composer's metadata store differ depending on the Linux operating system used by the target server. Select a topic below:

     • PostgreSQL Setup for CentOS 7 Environments
     • PostgreSQL Setup for Ubuntu 18 or 20 Environments

     PostgreSQL Setup for CentOS 7 Environments

     1. Add the PostgreSQL Yum repository to CentOS 7 by running this command:

        sudo yum -y install https://download.postgresql.org/pub/repos/yum/reporpms/EL-7-x86_64/pgdg-redhat-repo-latest.noarch.rpm

     2. Install the PostgreSQL client and server packages by running these commands:

        sudo yum -y install epel-release yum-utils
        sudo yum-config-manager --enable pgdg12
        sudo yum install postgresql12-server postgresql12

     3. After installation, initialize the PostgreSQL database:

        sudo /usr/pgsql-12/bin/postgresql12-setup initdb

     4. Start and enable the PostgreSQLmicroservice:

        sudo systemctl enable --now postgresql-12

     5. Confirm that the service started without errors:

        sudo systemctl status postgresql-12

        If necessary, start it:

        sudo systemctl start postgresql-12

     6. If you have a running firewall and remote clients should be able to connect to the PostgreSQL metadata store, modify the firewall to allow the PostgreSQL service:

        sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=postgresql --permanent
        sudo firewall-cmd --reload

     7. If the PostgreSQL database is operating in a cluster, repeat steps 3-6 for each instance of the database.

     8. Set up the PostgreSQL Admin user and password:

        sudo su - postgres
        ~]$ psql -c "alter user postgres with password 'StrongPassword'"
        ALTER ROLE

     PostgreSQL Setup for Ubuntu 18 or 20 Environments

     1. If this is a new server instance, update your current system packages:

        sudo apt update
        sudo apt -y install vim bash-completion wget
        sudo apt -y upgrade

        A reboot is necessary after an upgrade.

        sudo reboot

     2. Import the GPG key and add the PostgreSQL 12 repository to your Ubuntu machine. Run the following commands:

        wget --quiet -O - https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc | sudo apt-key add 
        echo "deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ `lsb_release -cs`-pgdg main" |sudo tee  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list

        The added repository contains many different packages and third-party add-ons, including: postgresql-client, postgresql, libpq-dev, postgresql-server-dev, and pgadmin packages.

     3. Update the package list and install the PostgreSQL server and client packages:

        sudo apt update
        sudo apt -y install postgresql-12 postgresql-client-12

        The PostgreSQL microservice is started and will start with every system reboot.

     4. If you have a running firewall and remote clients should be able to connect to the PostgreSQL metadata store, modify the firewall to allow the PostgreSQL service port:

        sudo ufw allow 5432/tcp

     5. Test the PostgreSQL connection.

        1. During installation, a user named postgres is created automatically with full superadmin access to your entire PostgreSQL instance. Before you switch to this account, your logged in system user should have sudo privileges:

           sudo su - postgres

        2. Replace the postgres password with a strong password:

           psql -c "alter user postgres with password 'StrongAdminP@ssw0rd'"

        3. Start PostgreSQL using this command.

           $ psql

        4. Get connection details as shown below.

           postgres=# \conninfo
           You are connected to database "postgres" as user "postgres" via socket in "/var/run/postgresql" at port "5432".

        5. Create a test database called mytestdb to see if everything is working.

           postgres=# CREATE DATABASE mytestdb;
           CREATE DATABASE
           postgres=# CREATE USER mytestuser WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'MyStr0ngP@SS';
           CREATE ROLE
           postgres=# GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE mytestdb to mytestuser;
           GRANT

           You can list the created databases by running:

           postgres=# \l

        6. Connect to your test database.

           postgres-# \c mytestdb
           You are now connected to database "mytestdb" as user "postgres".

  2. Change Metadata Store Authentication to MD5 -- Not necessary when installing a high availability environment in the cloud.

     If you installed Composer's metadata store on a server running CentOS or RedHat, complete the configuration steps below. If the server is running Ubuntu, ignore these instructions.

     To change authentication for your metadata store to MD5:

     1. Edit the pg_hba.conf file.

        sudo vi /var/lib/pgsql/12/data/pg_hba.conf

     2. Change METHOD to MD5.

           # IPv4 local connections:   
           host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32            md5
           # IPv6 local connections:
           host    all             all             ::1/128                 md5  

     3. Restart PostgreSQL. In CentOS v7 environments, run:

        sudo systemctl restart postgresql-12

  3. Configure the Metadata Store for SSL - Not necessary if installing a high availability environment in the cloud.

     In Zoomdata 4.9 (or later) and Composer 5.7 (or later), a newer driver of the PostgreSQL client was introduced. If you have specified SSL connections for the metadata store JDBC connections in zoomdata.properties file, the root CA certificate that is used for the PostgreSQL database must be added to the /opt/zoomdata/.postgresql directory. This directory does not exist by default and will need to be created. Complete the following steps.

     1. Change to the /opt/zoomdata directory as a superuser:

        sudo cd /opt/zoomdata

     2. Create a .postgresql subdirectory.

        sudo mkdir .postgresql

     3. Copy the root CA certificate for the PostgreSQL database into the new directory:

        sudo cp root.ca /opt/zoomdata/.postgresql/root.ca

  4. Configure the Metadata Store for a Distributed Environment - Not necessary if installing a high availability environment in the cloud.

     The Composer PostgreSQL data store must be configured so it is available to all Composer instances in a distributed environment. For more information about PostgreSQL high availability clustering, see https://www.postgresql.org/docs/12/high-availability.html.

     To configure the PostgreSQL data store so it is available to all Composer instances:

     1. Edit the postgresql.conf file:

        vi /var/lib/pgsql/12/data/postgresql.conf

     2. Set the following property in postgresql.conf and save the file.

        listen_address='*'

     3. Edit the pg_hba.conf file:

        vi /var/lib/pgsql/12/data/pg_hba.conf

     4. Add the following to the pg_hba.conf file:

        # TYPE DATABASE USER ADDRESS METHOD
        # IPv4 local connections
        host all all 0.0.0.0 /0 md5

     5. Save the pg_hba.conf file.

     6. Restart the PostgreSQL service:

        sudo service postgresql-12 restart

  5. Create user and Database - Not necessary if installing a high availability environment in the cloud.

     The Composer PostgreSQL data store must be configured so it is available to all Composer instances in a distributed environment. For more information about PostgreSQL high availability clustering, see https://www.postgresql.org/docs/12/high-availability.html.

     To create users and databases in the PostgreSQL data store so they are available to all Composer instances:

     CREATE USER zoomdata WITH PASSWORD 'StrongZoomdataPassword';
     CREATE DATABASE "zoomdata" WITH OWNER zoomdata;
     CREATE DATABASE "zoomdata-upload" WITH OWNER zoomdata;
     CREATE DATABASE "zoomdata-keyset" WITH OWNER zoomdata;
     CREATE DATABASE "zoomdata-auth" WITH OWNER zoomdata;
     CREATE DATABASE "zoomdata-qe" WITH OWNER zoomdata;
     CREATE DATABASE "zoomdata-user-auditing" WITH OWNER zoomdata;

Complete the following steps.

1. Set Up the Configuration Microservice Metadata Store or Repository

   Before you can install and start Composer's configuration microservice, you must set up a PostgreSQL metastore or a GitHub repository to store Composer property metadata. A separate PostgreSQL database or a separate GitHub repository must be configured.

   See the following sections:

   • PostgreSQL Setup for CentOS 7 Environments
   • GitHub Repository Setup Notes

   PostgreSQL Database Setup Notes

   If you elect to persist property metadata to a PostgreSQL metastore:

   1. Configure a separate database and make it accessible to the connection user account:

      CREATE DATABASE <composer-config> WITH OWNER <db_username>;

      where <composer-config> is the name of the PostgreSQL database and <db_username> is the connection user account name.

   2. Add the following properties to the Composerconfig-server.properties file, located in the /etc/zoomdata directory:

      # metadata storage settings
      spring.datasource.url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/<composer-config>
      spring.datasource.username=<db_username>
      spring.datasource.password=<db_password>

      Substitute the connection user account name and password you set up in Step 1 for <db_username> and <db_password>. Substitute the name of the PostgreSQL database for <composer-config>.

   3. Save the properties file. You will restart the configuration microservice when you configure it. See Configure and Start the Configuration Microservice.

   GitHub Repository Setup Notes

   If you elect to persist property metadata to a GitHub repository:

   1. Add the following properties to the Composerconfig-server.properties file, located in the /etc/zoomdata directory:

      # metadata storage settings
      spring.cloud.config.server.git.uri=<repo_uri>
      
      spring.cloud.config.server.git.skipSslValidation=true
      
      spring.cloud.config.server.git.username=<repo_username>
      
      spring.cloud.config.server.git.password=<repo_password>

      Substitute the repository user account name and password for <repo_username> and <repo_password>. Substitute the URI of the repository for <repo_uri> (for example, https://example.com/my/repo).

      Additional and advanced configuration information can be found in Spring.io's documentation.

   2. Save the properties file. You will restart the configuration microservice when you configure it. See Configure and Start the Configuration Microservice.

2. Install, Configure, and Start the Configuration Microservice

   To install, configure, and start the Composer configuration microservice:

   1. Verify that you have set up a PostgreSQL metastore or a GitHub repository to store the property metadata. See Set Up the Configuration Microservice Metadata Store or Repository.

   2. Open the SSH client associated with your Composer instance.

   3. Configure all installed and enabled Composer microservices to use the Composer configuration microservice. Run the following script:

      for i in $(systemctl list-unit-files | grep zoomdata | grep enabled | awk '{print $1}'|sed -e 's/\.service/.properties/g' -e 's/zoomdata\-//g');
      do
      echo "config-server.enabled=true">>/etc/zoomdata/$i;
      done

   4. Each Composer microservice supports two configuration properties related to the configuration microservice:

      • config-server.enabled: Enables or disables integration with the configuration microservice. Valid values are true (enable integration) and false (disable integration). The default is true.

      • config-client.retry.max-attempts: Sets the maximum number of attempts that should be made to connect to the configuration microservice. The default is 20. The Composer microservice will fail if the number of attempts to connect to the configuration microservice exceeds this value. This property is useful in situations where the configuration microservice starts with a delay. If your Composer microservice fails while waiting for the configuration microservice and you want to give it more time, increase this value.

      Update these properties, as appropriate, for each microservice.

   5. Install, enable and start the Composer configuration microservice. Enter the following commands:

      sudo yum install zoomdata-config-server \
      && systemctl enable zoomdata-config-server \
      && systemctl start zoomdata-config-server

      After starting the configuration microservice with a valid database configuration, the microservice should connect to the database and create a properties table.

   6. Restart all the other Composer microservices. Enter the following command:

      sudo systemctl restart $(systemctl list-unit-files | grep zoomdata | grep enabled | awk '{print $1}')

      See also Restart Composer Microservices.

The Composer Service Monitor microservice is not installed as part of a default Composer installation. The microservice name is zoomdata-admin-server.

To install, configure, and start the Service Monitor:

1. Open your SSH client.

2. Use the following command to install the Composer Service Monitor in a CentOS environment:

   sudo yum install zoomdata-admin-server -y

   Use the following command to install the Composer Service Monitor in an Ubuntu environment:

   sudo apt-get install zoomdata-admin-server

3. After the Service Monitor is installed, you must specify a user name and password in its properties file. The properties file is called admin-server.properties and can be found in the /etc/zoomdata/ directory. If the properties file is not there, create it. The properties that must be defined are:

   • monitor.user.name=<username>
   • monitor.user.password=<password>

   Edit the properties file with a text editor and substitute a Service Monitor user name for <username> and its associated password for <password>. The user name and password can be any user name and password you want.

   When you have finished, save the file.

4. Add the following properties to the zoomdata.properties file, located in the /etc/zoomdata directory. These properties ensure that the Service Monitor has access to the Composer server actuator endpoints.

   • actuator.user.name=<Composer-admin-username>
   • actuator.user.password=<Composer-pswd>
   • actuator.logging.external-file=<log-file-path>

   Edit the properties file and substitute the valid user name and password of a Composer administrator for <Composer-admin-username> and <Composer-pswd>. If the default Composer log file path is not used for your installation, substitute your custom log file path for <log-file-path> (the default log file path is /opt/zoomdata/logs/zoomdata.log).

   Setting these properties exposes valid Composer credentials as plain text in both the properties file and as tags in the Composer Consul. Anyone in your network with the ability to communicate directly with the Consul API or view the Consul UI will be able to see these values.

   When finished, save the file.

5. Start the microservice. For example, use the following command to start the Composer Service Monitor using systemd in a CentOS or Ubuntu environment:

   sudo systemctl start zoomdata-admin-server

   See also Start Composer Microservices.