Note

The documentation you're currently reading is for version 3.2.0. Click here to view documentation for the latest stable version.

RHEL 6/CentOS 6

If you’re just looking for a quick “one-liner” installation, check the top-level install guide. If you need a customised installation, use this guide for step-by-step instructions for installing StackStorm on a single system as per the Reference deployment.

Note

Use the Source, Luke! We strive to keep the documentation current, but the best way to find out what really happens is to look at the code of the installer scripts.

Minimal Installation

Install libffi-devel Package

RHEL 6 may not ship with libffi-devel package, which is a dependency for StackStorm. If that is the case, set up the server-optional repository, following the instructions at https://access.redhat.com/solutions/265523. Or, find a version of libffi-devel compatible with the libffi version installed. For example:

[ec2-user@ip-172-30-0-79 ~]$ rpm -qa libffi
libffi-3.0.5-3.2.el6.x86_64

sudo yum localinstall -y ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/centos/6.9/os/x86_64/Packages/libffi-devel-3.0.5-3.2.el6.x86_64.rpm

Use a service such as http://rpmfind.net to find the required RPM.

Adjust SELinux Policies

If your system has SELinux in Enforcing mode, please follow these instructions to adjust SELinux policies. This is needed for successful installation. If you are not happy with these policies, you may want to tweak them according to your security practices.

  • First check if SELinux is in Enforcing mode:

    getenforce

  • If the previous command returns ‘Enforcing’, then run the following commands:

    # SELINUX management tools, not available for some minimal installations
sudo yum install -y policycoreutils-python

# Allow network access for nginx
sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1

Note

If you see messages like “SELinux: Could not downgrade policy file”, it means you are trying to adjust policy configurations when SELinux is disabled. You can ignore this error.

Install Dependencies

Note

The currently supported versions of MongoDB are 3.4 and 4.0. This is the version installed by the installer script. MongoDB 4.0 is installed by default on Ubuntu 18.04 and RHEL/CentOS8.

MongoDB 3.6 is also supported by StackStorm >= 3.0.0, but we have observed some performance regressions with MongoDB 3.6 so the default version which is installed on Ubuntu Xenial (16.04) and EL7 (CentOS 7 and RHEL 7) is still 3.4.

Install MongoDB, RabbitMQ, and PostgreSQL:

sudo yum -y install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm

# Add key and repo for the latest stable MongoDB (3.4)
sudo rpm --import https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-3.4.asc
sudo sh -c "cat <<EOT > /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-3.4.repo
[mongodb-org-3.4]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/6/mongodb-org/3.4/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-3.4.asc
EOT"

sudo yum -y install crudini
sudo yum -y install mongodb-org
sudo yum -y install rabbitmq-server
sudo service mongod start
sudo service rabbitmq-server start
sudo chkconfig mongod on
sudo chkconfig rabbitmq-server on

# Install and configure postgres 9.4. Based on the OS type, install the ``redhat`` one or ``centos`` one.
# RHEL:
if grep -q "Red Hat" /etc/redhat-release; then sudo yum -y localinstall http://yum.postgresql.org/9.4/redhat/rhel-6-x86_64/pgdg-redhat94-9.4-3.noarch.rpm; fi

# CentOS:
if grep -q "CentOS" /etc/redhat-release; then sudo yum -y localinstall http://yum.postgresql.org/9.4/redhat/rhel-6-x86_64/pgdg-centos94-9.4-3.noarch.rpm; fi

sudo yum -y install postgresql94-server postgresql94-contrib postgresql94-devel

# Initialize PostgreSQL
sudo service postgresql-9.4 initdb

# Make localhost connections to use an MD5-encrypted password for authentication
sudo sed -i "s/\(host.*all.*all.*127.0.0.1\/32.*\)ident/\1md5/" /var/lib/pgsql/9.4/data/pg_hba.conf
sudo sed -i "s/\(host.*all.*all.*::1\/128.*\)ident/\1md5/" /var/lib/pgsql/9.4/data/pg_hba.conf

# Start PostgreSQL service
sudo service postgresql-9.4 start
sudo chkconfig postgresql-9.4 on

Setup Repositories

The following script will detect your platform and architecture and setup the appropriate StackStorm repository. It will also add the the GPG key used for package signing.

curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/StackStorm/stable/script.rpm.sh | sudo bash

Install StackStorm Components

sudo yum install -y st2 st2mistral

If you are not running RabbitMQ, MongoDB or PostgreSQL on the same system, or have changed the defaults, please adjust these settings:

  • RabbitMQ connection at /etc/st2/st2.conf and /etc/mistral/mistral.conf

  • MongoDB at /etc/st2/st2.conf

  • PostgreSQL at /etc/mistral/mistral.conf

See the Configuration documentation for more information.

Setup Datastore Encryption

The Key-value store allows users to store encrypted values (secrets). These are stored using symmetric encryption (AES256). To generate a crypto key, run these commands:

DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEYS_DIRECTORY="/etc/st2/keys"
DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEY_PATH="${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEYS_DIRECTORY}/datastore_key.json"

sudo mkdir -p ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEYS_DIRECTORY}
sudo st2-generate-symmetric-crypto-key --key-path ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEY_PATH}

# Make sure only st2 user can read the file
sudo chgrp st2 ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEYS_DIRECTORY}
sudo chmod o-r ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEYS_DIRECTORY}
sudo chgrp st2 ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEY_PATH}
sudo chmod o-r ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEY_PATH}

# set path to the key file in the config
sudo crudini --set /etc/st2/st2.conf keyvalue encryption_key_path ${DATASTORE_ENCRYPTION_KEY_PATH}

sudo st2ctl restart-component st2api

Setup Mistral Database

Run these commands to set up the Mistral PostgreSQL database:

# Create Mistral DB in PostgreSQL
cat << EHD | sudo -u postgres psql
CREATE ROLE mistral WITH CREATEDB LOGIN ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'StackStorm';
CREATE DATABASE mistral OWNER mistral;
EHD

# Setup Mistral DB tables, etc.
/opt/stackstorm/mistral/bin/mistral-db-manage --config-file /etc/mistral/mistral.conf upgrade head
# Register mistral actions
/opt/stackstorm/mistral/bin/mistral-db-manage --config-file /etc/mistral/mistral.conf populate | grep -v -e openstack -e keystone -e ironicclient

Configure SSH and SUDO

To run local and remote shell actions, StackStorm uses a special system user (by default stanley). For remote Linux actions, SSH is used. We recommend configuring public key-based SSH access on all remote hosts. We also recommend configuring SSH access to localhost for running examples and testing.

  • Create StackStorm system user, enable passwordless sudo, and set up ssh access to “localhost” so that SSH-based actions can be tested locally. You will need elevated privileges to do this:

    # Create an SSH system user (default `stanley` user may already exist)
sudo useradd stanley
sudo mkdir -p /home/stanley/.ssh
sudo chmod 0700 /home/stanley/.ssh

# Generate ssh keys
sudo ssh-keygen -f /home/stanley/.ssh/stanley_rsa -P ""

# Authorize key-based access
sudo sh -c 'cat /home/stanley/.ssh/stanley_rsa.pub >> /home/stanley/.ssh/authorized_keys'
sudo chown -R stanley:stanley /home/stanley/.ssh

# Enable passwordless sudo
sudo sh -c 'echo "stanley    ALL=(ALL)       NOPASSWD: SETENV: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/st2'
sudo chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/st2

# Make sure `Defaults requiretty` is disabled in `/etc/sudoers`
sudo sed -i -r "s/^Defaults\s+\+?requiretty/# Defaults +requiretty/g" /etc/sudoers

  • Configure SSH access and enable passwordless sudo on the remote hosts which StackStorm will be running remote actions on via SSH. Using the public key generated in the previous step, follow the instructions at Configure SSH. To control Windows boxes, configure access for Windows runners.

  • If you are using a different user, or path to their SSH key, you will need to change this section in /etc/st2/st2.conf:

    [system_user]
user = stanley
ssh_key_file = /home/stanley/.ssh/stanley_rsa

Start Services

  • Start services:

    sudo st2ctl start

  • Register sensors, rules and actions:

    sudo st2ctl reload

Verify

The following commands will test your StackStorm installation. They should all complete successfully:

st2 --version

st2 -h

# List the actions from a 'core' pack
st2 action list --pack=core

# Run a local shell command
st2 run core.local -- date -R

# See the execution results
st2 execution list

# Fire a remote comand via SSH (Requires passwordless SSH)
st2 run core.remote hosts='localhost' -- uname -a

# Install a pack
st2 pack install st2

Use the supervisor script to manage StackStorm services:

sudo st2ctl start|stop|status|restart|restart-component|reload|clean

At this point you have a minimal working installation, and can happily play with StackStorm: follow the Quick Start tutorial, deploy the examples, explore and install packs from StackStorm Exchange.

But there is no joy without a Web UI, no security without SSL or authentication, no fun without ChatOps, and no money without Extreme Workflow Composer. Read on!

Configure Authentication

The reference deployment uses a file-based authentication provider for simplicity. Refer to Authentication to configure and use PAM or LDAP authentication backends.

To set up authentication with file-based provider:

  • Create a user with a password:

    # Install htpasswd utility if you don't have it
sudo yum -y install httpd-tools
# Create a user record in a password file.
sudo htpasswd -bs /etc/st2/htpasswd st2admin 'Ch@ngeMe'

  • Enable and configure authentication in /etc/st2/st2.conf:

    [auth]
# ...
enable = True
backend = flat_file
backend_kwargs = {"file_path": "/etc/st2/htpasswd"}
# ...

  • Restart the st2api service:

    sudo st2ctl restart-component st2api

  • Authenticate, and check that it works:

    # Login - you will be prompted for password (default 'Ch@ngeMe')
st2 login st2admin

# Check that it works
st2 action list

Install WebUI and Setup SSL Termination

NGINX is used to serve WebUI static files, redirect HTTP to HTTPS, provide SSL termination, and reverse-proxy st2auth and st2api API endpoints. To set it up: install the st2web and nginx packages, generate certificates or place your existing certificates under /etc/ssl/st2, and configure nginx with StackStorm’s supplied site config file st2.conf.

StackStorm depends on Nginx version >=1.7.5. RHEL has an older version in the package repositories, so you will need to add the official Nginx repository:

# Add key and repo for the latest stable nginx
sudo rpm --import http://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key
sudo sh -c "cat <<EOT > /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx.repo
[nginx]
name=nginx repo
baseurl=http://nginx.org/packages/rhel/\\\$releasever/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
EOT"

# Ensure that EPEL repo is not used for nginx
sudo sed -i 's/^\(enabled=1\)$/exclude=nginx\n\1/g' /etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo

# Install nginx
sudo yum install -y nginx

# Install st2web
sudo yum install -y st2web

# Generate a self-signed certificate or place your existing certificate under /etc/ssl/st2
sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/st2

sudo openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/ssl/st2/st2.key -out /etc/ssl/st2/st2.crt \
-days 365 -nodes -subj "/C=US/ST=California/L=Palo Alto/O=StackStorm/OU=Information \
Technology/CN=$(hostname)"

# Copy and enable the supplied nginx config file
sudo cp /usr/share/doc/st2/conf/nginx/st2.conf /etc/nginx/conf.d/

# Disable default_server configuration in existing /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
sudo sed -i 's/default_server//g' /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf

sudo service nginx restart
sudo chkconfig nginx on

If you modify ports, or url paths in the nginx configuration, make the corresponding changes in the st2web configuration at /opt/stackstorm/static/webui/config.js.

Use your browser to connect to https://${ST2_HOSTNAME} and login to the WebUI.

If you are trying to access the API from outside the box and you have configured nginx according to these instructions, use https://${EXTERNAL_IP}/api/v1/${REST_ENDPOINT}.

For example:

curl -X GET -H  'Connection: keep-alive' -H  'User-Agent: manual/curl' -H  'Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate' -H  'Accept: */*' -H  'X-Auth-Token: <YOUR_TOKEN>' https://1.2.3.4/api/v1/actions

Similarly, you can connect to auth REST endpoints with https://${EXTERNAL_IP}/auth/v1/${AUTH_ENDPOINT}.

You can see the actual REST endpoint for a resource by adding a --debug option to the CLI command for the appropriate resource.

For example, to see the endpoint for getting actions, invoke:

st2 --debug action list

Setup ChatOps

If you already run a Hubot instance, you can install the hubot-stackstorm plugin and configure StackStorm environment variables, as described below. Otherwise, the easiest way to enable StackStorm ChatOps is to use the st2chatops package.

  • Validate that the chatops pack is installed, and a notification rule is enabled:

    # Ensure chatops pack is in place
ls /opt/stackstorm/packs/chatops
# Create notification rule if not yet enabled
st2 rule get chatops.notify || st2 rule create /opt/stackstorm/packs/chatops/rules/notify_hubot.yaml

  • Add NodeJS v10 repository:

    curl -sL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | sudo -E bash -

  • Install the st2chatops package:

    sudo yum install -y st2chatops

  • Review and edit the /opt/stackstorm/chatops/st2chatops.env configuration file to point it to your StackStorm installation and the Chat Service you are using. At a minimum, you should generate an API key and set the ST2_API_KEY variable. By default st2api and st2auth are expected to be on the same host. If that is not the case, please update the ST2_API and ST2_AUTH_URL variables or just point to the correct host with ST2_HOSTNAME.

    The example configuration uses Slack. To set this up, go to the Slack web admin interface, create a Bot, and copy the authentication token into HUBOT_SLACK_TOKEN.

    If you are using a different Chat Service, set the corresponding environment variables under the Chat service adapter settings section in st2chatops.env: Slack, HipChat, Flowdock, IRC , Mattermost, RocketChat, XMPP.

  • Start the service:

    sudo service st2chatops start

# Ensure it will start on boot
sudo chkconfig st2chatops on

  • Reload st2 packs to make sure the chatops.notify rule is registered:

    sudo st2ctl reload --register-all

  • That’s it! Go to your Chat room and begin ChatOps-ing. Read more in the ChatOps section.

A Note on Security

By default, when MongoDB, RabbitMQ and PostgreSQL are installed, they have authentication disabled or use a default static password. As such, after you install those services you should configure them and enable authentication with strong randomly generated passwords.

NB: If you use the StackStorm installation script, this is done automatically for you.

Configuring authorization and passwords for those services is out of the scope for this documentation. For more information refer to the links below:

After you enable authentication for those components, you will also need to update StackStorm services to use the new settings.

This means editing the following configuration options:

  1. StackStorm - /etc/st2/st2.conf

  • database.username - MongoDB database username.

  • database.password - MongoDB database password.

  • messaging.url - RabbitMQ transport url (amqp://<username>:<password>@<hostname>:5672)

  1. Mistral - /etc/mistral/mistral.conf

  • database.connection - PostgreSQL database connection string (postgresql+psycopg2://<username>:<password>@<hostname>/mistral)

  • transport_url - RabbitMQ transport url (rabbit://<username>:<password>@<hostname>:5672)

In addition, you are strongly encouraged to follow these best practices for running network services:

  • Ensure communication between services is encrypted. Enable SSL/TLS for MongoDB, RabbitMQ, and PostgreSQL.

  • Configure services to only listen on localhost, and where needed, internal IP addresses. There is usually no need for most services which are used by StackStorm (MongoDB, RabbitMQ, PostgreSQL) to be available on a public IP address.

  • Configure a firewall and set up a whitelist. The firewall should only allow access by those users and systems which need access to those services. API and auth services usually need to be accessible to your users, but other dependent services such as MongoDB, RabbitMQ and PostgreSQL don’t. These should not be directly accessible by users, and only StackStorm components should be allowed to talk to them.

  • Where possible, you should also utilize additional network-based isolation and security features such as DMZs.

The steps mentioned above are especially important for distributed production deployments where StackStorm components are running on multiple servers.

Upgrade to Extreme Workflow Composer

Extreme Workflow Composer adds 24/7 priority support, Workflow Designer (a graphical tool for workflow creation/editing), RBAC and LDAP to StackStorm. It is deployed as a set of additional packages on top of StackStorm. You will need an active Extreme Workflow Composer subscription and a license key to access Extreme Workflow Composer repositories.

To learn more about Extreme Workflow Composer check out Product Page. To request a quote, or get an evaluation license, contact Sales by filling out the form at https://www.extremenetworks.com/contact-sales/.

To install Extreme Workflow Composer, replace ${EWC_LICENSE_KEY} in the command below with the key you received when registering or purchasing, and run these commands:

# Set up Extreme Workflow Composer repository access, install Enterprise packages and configure RBAC
curl -sSL -O https://stackstorm.com/ewc/install.sh && chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh --user=st2admin --password='Ch@ngeMe' --license=${EWC_LICENSE_KEY}

What’s Next?