Installing the Explore Analytics Agent on Linux

Introduction

The Explore Analytics Agent provides data access to databases that reside in your private network and cannot be accessed directly from the outside. This page describes the process of installing an agent on a Linux host. When the installation is completed, you can proceed to create a data source using the newly installed agent.

Unlike the Windows-based installation, there's no automated installer for Linux. Instead, follow the instructions on this page to install the Explore Agent on your Linux host.

Before You Begin the Installation

Select a computer to install the agent on. This can be any Linux computer for which you have administrator access. Ideally, you'd want to select a computer that's always running and is physically secure, although for testing purposes you can certainly install the agent on your laptop computer, for example. The computer that you select must have connectivity to your database. In other words, you should test that you can connect to your database from your computer.

Prerequisites

Java - Java version 7 or higher must be installed on your Linux host, and the Java bin folder (typically “/usr/java/latest/bin”) should be included in the PATH. To test that Java is properly installed, type "java -version" at the shell command prompt.

Installation

Please follow the following steps:

Download the Agent Tar Archive

Determine a folder location for the agent. For example $HOME/agent

mkdir $HOME/agent

cd $HOME/agent

Download the agent tar archive to your Linux host:

ExploreAgent.tar

And place it in the agent folder

Unpack the Tar Archive

cd $HOME/agent

tar xvf ExploreAgent.tar

Agent Configuration

The agent reads its configuration from a file called "agent.properties" which it expects in to find in the agent folder (e.g. $HOME/agent).

To obtain the agent.properties file, follow these steps:

• In the Explore Analytics user interface, select "Install an Explore Analytics Agent" from the "Data" menu
• Skip the first two dialog steps by clicking "Next>"
• Click on the Agent Configuration File to download the "agent.properties" file
• Place the "agent.properties" file in the agent folder (e.g. $HOME/agent). It should be in the same folder with the "agent.sh" file.

Important

• Edit the "agent.properties" file using a text editor such as vi, and add the following line at the end of the file

agent.debug=true

Starting the Agent

To start the agent, go to the agent folder and run the agent.sh script:

cd $HOME/agent

./agent.sh

The agent starts running. You should see no output and you will not get the shell command-line prompt back while the agent is running. (Alternatively, using procedures that are specific to your operating system you can run the agent in the background or start it as a service when Linux starts.)

Testing the Agent

Using the Explore Analytics user interface and the "Install an Explore Analytics Agent" dialog, click "Next>" to go to the "Test" step and click the "Test" button.

Troubleshooting

The agent writes a log file, "agent.log" in the agent folder. You can check this file for errors and contact Explore Analytics Support for help with any issues running your agent.

Starting the Agent at System Start-Up

We currently do not have instructions for doing so and the exact instructions may vary based on the flavor of Linux that your host is running.

Getting Help

Setting up an agent-based data source is the most difficult task in Explore Analytics. Don't hesitate to seek help. You can contact Explore Analytics Support.

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