Getting Started: Download, Import, Configure and Launch VersionVault Express.
You can get started with VersionVault Express can in 3 easy to follow steps:
- Download the image containing the VersionVault Express Appliance.
- Import the VersionVault Express Appliance into your hypervisor
- Configure the VersionVault Express Appliance
Once you have downloaded the VersionVault Express ova file, you can import it into your hypervisor. Configure your memory and CPUs and be sure to add a new hard disk. The appliance comes with one hard disk where the operating system and all of the software is pre-installed but you’ll need to attach another disk for data storage. The appliance won’t boot without a hard disk for storage attached. You should configure your network here too – if you intend to use port forwarding you’ll need to open up to four ports – 443 for the main user interface and REST APIs, 8443 for the setup user interface and REST APIs, 8080 if you intend to use external VersionVault clients and possibly 22 if you want to SSH into the appliance.
You’re ready to start the appliance.
The first time the appliance boots up, it checks to make sure you remembered to attach a storage disk, and then prompts you to configure the network interfaces. If you configured your network in the hypervisor you can skip this step and use the default network configuration. Note that in headless mode the appliance will wait for 5 minutes for you to configure the network and then it will proceed with the default network configuration.
The next step is to configure VersionVault Express. Open a browser and navigate to the VersionVault Appliance Setup user interface, which can be found at https:// <YOUR_IP>:8443. Alternatively you can user REST APIs to configure your VersionVault Express instance; the swagger documentation can be found at https://<YOUR_IP>:8443/setup/swagger-ui.html.
The first time you visit the setup user interface you will be prompted to create an administer user account and password. This account will be used to perform the initial configuration and any ongoing system maintenance, including user management. This account may SSH into the appliance and perform system maintenance, including backup and restore procedures with sudo privileges. You can read more about this in another blog post in this series.
You will need to give this appliance instance a hostname. You can accept the default port (443) or choose a different one. If you do, remember to update any port forwarding or firewalls you may have set up.
You can upload an SSL certificate which will be used by all three HTTPS servers on the appliance – the main user interface and REST APIs, the setup user interface and REST APIs and the server that your VersionVault clients will connect to. Beware that your servers will need to be restarted before the certificates will be applied.
The VersionVault Express appliance comes with a trial license pre-installed. If you have your own license server and Server ID you should enter it now.
VersionVault Express can be configured either to manage its own users or use an enterprise LDAP server. If you choose to manage your own users, you can configure the appliance to use an SMTP server to send invitations to join projects and password reset emails.
Hint: Select “Validate” to test configuration before Saving the settings where available.
If you intend to allow the administration user to SSH into the appliance, you can optionally set up SSH keys.
You can also optionally set up an NTP server and a time zone.
Save your configuration.
The next step is to configure some users, either by connecting to an enterprise LDAP server or by simply creating new users. There’s a whole other blog post dedicated to that topic.
When you’re ready, click the Save button in the User Configuration section. It’s the one on the right. If everything is ready to go you will see a success message
Click Launch VersionVault to start VersionVault Express.
Again, look for a success message.
VersionVault Express is now ready to use.
See product documentation for more information.
