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System Requirements

Information about system requirements for flex.bi Enterprise installation can be found here: Requirements.

Our default setup

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System Requirements

Information about system requirements for flex.bi Enterprise installation can be found here: Requirements.

Our default setup

We have chosen Linux CentOS 8 as our default server platform and MySQL/MariaDB as a database engine, so these instruction apply for this specific setup.

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1. Run the following command to install Java JDK 11:

   Code Block
   sudo dnf install java-11-openjdk-devel

   
   

2. Run the following command, to test if the result matches the version you installed

   Code Block
   java -version

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MySQL

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Server installation

The CentOS 8 AppStream repository only contain MySQL 8.0 packages, so, to install MySQL 5.7, we need to do some prep-work.

1. Disable MySQL default AppStream repository.

   Code Block
   sudo yum install mariadb-server

   Create a new repository file..

   Code Block
   sudo vi /etc/yum.repos.d/mysql-community.reposudo dnf remove @mysql sudo dnf module reset mysql && sudo dnf module disable mysql

   
   

2. Create a new repository file..

   Code Block
   sudo vi /etc/yum.repos.d/mysql-community.repo

   
   

3. Paste the following dat into the new repo file.

   Code Block

   [mysql57-community] name=MySQL 5.7 Community Server baseurl=http://repo.mysql.com/yum/mysql-5.7-community/el/7/$basearch/ enabled=1 gpgcheck=0 [mysql-connectors-community] name=MySQL Connectors Community baseurl=http://repo.mysql.com/yum/mysql-connectors-community/el/7/$basearch/ enabled=1 gpgcheck=0 [mysql-tools-community] name=MySQL Tools Community baseurl=http://repo.mysql.com/yum/mysql-tools-community/el/7/$basearch/ enabled=1 gpgcheck=0

   
   

4. Disable MySQL 8 repository.
   

   Code Block
   sudo vi /etc/yum.repos.d/mysql-community.repo dnf config-manager --disable mysql80-community

   
   

5. Enable repository for MySQL 5.7.

   Code Block
   sudo dnf config-manager --enable mysql57-community

   
   

6. Install MySQL 5.7.

   Code Block
   sudo dnf install mysql-community-server

Flex.bi

For security reasons we recommend creating dedicated flexbi user. Run the following command to achieve that:

sudo useradd flexbi

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Run the following command to unzip the .zip archive file (file name in the example can differ from the actual file depending on the software version):

unzip flexbi_private_ezbi-4.7.2_4.3.0_33cdc226e7d.zip

Now you should have /home/flexbi/flexbi_private directory containing the following folders:

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MySQL connector

1. Move the downloaded MySQL connector file to /home/flexbi directory on your server and then run the following command to unzip the .zip archive file (file name in the example can differ from the actual file depending on the software version):

   Code Block
   unzip mysql-connector-java-5.1.47.zip

   Copy the jar file from the newly created folder to /home/flexbi/flexbi_private/lib directory (if it doesn't exist, create it). Run the following command to achieve that (java version

   install mysql-community-server

   
   

flex.bi Enterprise installation

1. For security reasons we recommend creating dedicated flexbi user. Run the following command to achieve that:

   Code Block
   sudo useradd flexbi

   
   

2. Move the flex.bi Enterprise installation .zip archive file to /home/flexbi directory on your server.

3. Run the following command to unzip the .zip archive file (file name in the example can differ from the actual file depending on the software version):

   Code Block
   unzip flexbi_private_6.0.zip

   
   

4. After the unzip process finishes, you should have a new /home/flexbi/flexbi_private directory containing the following folders:

   Code Block
   app bin config examples lib log public spec tmp

   
   

5. Run the following commands, to ensure that the flex.bi folder and its contents are owned by the user flexbi:

   Code Block
   chown -R flexbi:flexbi flexbi_private

   
   

MySQL connector installation

1. Download the MySQL JDBC driver version 8.0.23.

2. Move the downloaded .zip archive to /home/flexbi directory on your server and then run the following command to unzip the archive (file name in the example can differ from the actual version file depending on the software version):

   Code Block
   cp mysql-connector-java-5.1.47/unzip mysql-connector-java-5.1.47-bin.jar flexbi_private/lib/

Setup and configuration

MariaDB

If you have large amount of records, we suggest to adjust the database engine performance by editing /etc/my.cnf file using appropriate values.

This is an example of a good performance configuration that you can insert under the [\mysqld]\ part of the configuration file:

innodb_buffer_pool_size = 1024M
innodb_log_file_size = 256M
query_cache_size= 16M
query_cache_type = 1
max_connections = 200

Run the following command to make sure MariaDB starts automatically on server startup:

systemctl enable mariadb

Run the following command to start MariaDB:

sudo systemctl start mariadb

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Run the following command to connect to mysql:

mysql -u root

Run the following command to change the password of the root user (in the example the new password is 'secret'):

UPDATE mysql.user SET Password=PASSWORD('secret') WHERE User='root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

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1. -8.0.23.zip

   
   

2. Copy the .jar file from the newly created folder to the /home/flexbi/flexbi_private/lib directory (if it doesn't exist, create it). Run the following command to achieve that (file name in the example can differ from the actual name depending on the software version):

   Code Block
   cp mysql-connector-java-8.0.23/mysql-connector-java-8.0.23.jar flexbi_private/lib/

   
   

Setup and configuration

MySQL Server configuration

1. If you have large amount of records, we suggest to adjust the database engine performance by editing /etc/my.cnf file using appropriate values.
   The following is an example of a good performance configuration that you can insert under the [mysqld] part of the configuration file:

   Code Block
   innodb_buffer_pool_size = 1024M innodb_log_file_size = 256M query_cache_size= 16M query_cache_type = 1 max_connections = 200

   
   

   Note
   If you change the log file size after starting the MySQL server, you have to delete id_logfile0 and id_logfile1 file from /var/lib/mysql directory.

   
   

   Note
   Adjust the innodb_buffer_pool_size to a level that you can actually afford on your server, taking into account Java and other application memory need

   
   

2. Run the following command to start MySQL Server and ensure that it will be automatically started during server startup:

   Code Block
   systemctl enable --now mysqld.service

   
   

3. Run the following command, to get the automatically generated MySQL Server root user password:

   Code Block
   sudo grep 'A temporary password' /var/log/mysqld.log |tail -1

   
   

4. Make note of the password shown on screen.

5. Start MySQL Secure Installation to change the root password, Disallow root login remotely, remove anonymous users and remove test database.

   Code Block
   sudo mysql_secure_installation

   
   

   
   

6. Connect to MySQL Database as root user, using the new password.

   Code Block
   mysql -u root -p

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1. 
   

2. Run the following commands, to create a flex.bi user named flexbi_private: (Exchange secret with the actual password you want to use.)

   Code Block
   CREATE USER 'flexbi_private'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secret'; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `flexbi_private%`.* TO 'flexbi_private'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'secret'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

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Firewall configuration

By default flex.bi Enterprise runs on the port 8080, so you should open ths port in your firewall.
To do this, follow these instructions:

1. Run the following command to open the port 8080:

   Code Block
   firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8080/tcp

   
   

2. Run the following command to

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1. reload the firewall:

   Code Block

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1. firewall-cmd -

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1. -

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1. reload

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1. 
   

2. Run the following command

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GRANT ALL ON flexbi_private.* TO 'root'@'<remote-ip-address>' IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL ON flexbi_private_dwh.* TO 'root'@'<remote-ip-address>' IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Flex.bi

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Run the following command, to copy the eazybi.toml.sample file in the /config folder to a new file named eazybi.toml:

cp eazybi.toml.sample eazybi.toml

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Mailer parameters

You can set up the name and address used for outgoing e-mails from this private instance, for example, like this:

[mailer]
from = "My private flex.bi <flexbi@mydomain.com>"

SMTP parameters

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Add a systemd initialization script for flex.bi server:

Create a new file named flexbi.service in the /etc/systemd/system directory using a text editor or copy the provided example file from the flex.bi server package folder bin/systemd. Configure the file like this (adjust the configuration to your particular case):

# Sample init script for flex.bi
[Unit]
Description=flex.bi reporting service
After=syslog.target network.target
[Service]
Type=simple
# Run the service as this user and group
User=flexbi
Group=flexbi
TimeoutSec=30
# Remember to change /home/flexbi/flexbi_private to the actual home directory of flex.bi in all places
WorkingDirectory=/home/flexbi/flexbi_private
Environment="RAILS_ENV=production"
Environment="EAZYBI_HOME=/home/flexbi/flexbi_private"
Environment="EAZYBI_PREFIX=/flexbi"
Environment="RUBYOPT=-W0"
# Adjust to available memory
Environment="JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx1024m -Xms256m -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Djava.awt.headless=true -Dorg.eclipse.jetty.LEVEL=OFF -Djava.io.tmpdir=/home/flexbi/flexbi_private/tmp"

# Default configuration
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java $JAVA_OPTS -Dwarbler.host=localhost -Dwarbler.port=8080 -jar flexbi_private.jar


Restart=on-failure
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=flexbi
#LimitNOFILE=10000
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Check and adjust the necessary parameters, such as user, group and working directory, in the example, as they can differ from your setup.

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If you have changed the configuration after the flex.bi service has been started, run the following code:

systemctl daemon-reload

If you don't use any proxy web server to route web requests to flex.bi, you need to enable public access, because by default flex.bi will answer requests only from localhost. In order to do that, in the flexbi.service file, add a comment symbol (#) before this line:

ExecStart=/usr/bin/java $JAVA_OPTS "${JAVA_TMPDIR}" -jar flexbi_private.jar -e production "$@"

and remove the comment symbol (#) from this line:

# ExecStart=/usr/bin/java $JAVA_OPTS "${JAVA_TMPDIR}" -jar flexbi_private.jar -e production -b 0.0.0.0  "$@"

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Run the following command to ensure flex.bi service is started during system startup:

systemctl enable flexbi.service

Firewall

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Run the following command to open the port 8080:

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8080/tcp

Run the following command to reload the firewall:

firewall-cmd --reload

Run the following command to check if the port is open:

firewall-cmd --list-ports

Google Chrome

If you have installed and configured PhantomJS for previous flex.bi enterprise versions then remove PhantomJS settings from the eazybi.toml file by deleting the following lines:

[phantomjs]location = "..."

Run the following command to enable Google YUM repository:

cat << EOF > /etc/yum.repos.d/google-chrome.repo
[google-chrome]
name=google-chrome - \$basearch
baseurl=http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/rpm/stable/\$basearch
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub
EOF

Run the following command to install the package:

yum install google-chrome-stable

After you have installed Google Chrome, please restart flex.bi enterprise. During the startup, flex.bi will detect installed Google Chrome and will start to use it for PDF exports. 

Run the flex.bi server

Finally, now you can start the flex.bi service using this code:

systemctl start flexbi

Configure the database connection in the wizard that should open once you connect for the first time using the database parameters from above.

Troubleshooting

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1. to check if the port is open:

   Code Block
   firewall-cmd --list-ports

   
   

Google Chrome Installation

flex.bi uses Google Chrome for report exports, so for this feature to work you have to install Google Chrome.
Do do this, follow these instructions:

1. Get Google Chrome rpm.

   Code Block
   wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm

   
   

2. Install Google Chrome from the .rpm file you just downloaded.

   Code Block
   sudo dnf localinstall google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm

   
   

Centos 8 configuration

To ensure full functionality of the flex.bi Enterprise, you have to change the default Centos 8 crypto policy level to LEGACY.
To do this, run the following command:

update-crypto-policies --set LEGACY

flex.bi Enterprise configuration

The main tool for flex.bi Enterprise configuration is the Configure the eazybi.toml file located in the /config folder in your flex.bi direcotry.

1. Run the following command, to copy the eazybi.toml.sample file in the /config folder to a new file named eazybi.toml:

   Code Block
   cp /home/flexbi/flexbi_private/config/eazybi.toml.sample /home/flexbi/flexbi_private/config/eazybi.toml

   
   

2. In a text editor of your choice, open the newly created eazybi.toml file and make the necessary configurations:

   1. Add licence information:

      Code Block
      [license] name = "Organization name" key = """ Paste license key here """

      
      

   2. Configure general parameters, like, time zone, user registration, account creation etc.

      Code Block
      [general] # By default local server time zone will be used. Specify different if necessary. # time_zone = "Europe/Riga" # Uncomment to allow account creation only to system admins. # disable_account_creation = true # Uncomment to disable user registration. # disable_user_registration = true ......

      
      

   3. Specify default URL parameters like host and port for accessing your flex.bi Enterprise installation:

      Code Block
      [default_url_options] # This example is for the default http://localhost:8080 URL. host = "localhost" port = 8080 # This example is for the https://example.com URL. # host = "example.com" # protocol = "https"

      
      

   4. Specify Mailer parameter, to set the e-mail address that will be used as the sender address for communication from the flex.bi Enterprise.

      Code Block
      [mailer] from = "noreply@example.com"

      
      

   5. Configure SMPT parameters for sending out e-mails from flex.bi Enterprise.

      Code Block
      [mailer.smtp] # address = "smtp.gmail.com" # port = "587" # domain = "example.com" # user_name = "noreply@example.com" # password = "secret" # authentication = "plain" # enable_starttls_auto = true

      
      

3. Add a systemd initialization script for starting flex.bi service.

   1. Copy the sample initialization script from the /bin/systemd directory of the flex.bi installation folder to the /etc/systemd/system/ directory in your server.

      Code Block
      cp /home/flexbi/flexbi_private/bin/systemd/flexbi.service /etc/systemd/system/

      
      

   2. Open the file with a text editor of your choice and adjust the configuration to your needs.

      Code Block

      # Sample init script for flex.bi [Unit] Description=flex.bi reporting service After=syslog.target network.target [Service] Type=simple # Run the service as this user and group User=flexbi Group=flexbi TimeoutSec=30 # Remember to change /home/flexbi/flexbi_private to the actual home directory of flex.bi in all places WorkingDirectory=/home/flexbi/flexbi_private Environment="RAILS_ENV=production" Environment="EAZYBI_HOME=/home/flexbi/flexbi_private" Environment="EAZYBI_PREFIX=/flexbi" Environment="RUBYOPT=-W0" # Adjust to available memory Environment="JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx1024m -Xms256m -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Djava.awt.headless=true -Dorg.eclipse.jetty.LEVEL=OFF -Djava.io.tmpdir=/home/flexbi/flexbi_private/tmp" # Default configuration ExecStart=/usr/bin/java $JAVA_OPTS -Dwarbler.host=localhost -Dwarbler.port=8080 -jar flexbi_private.jar Restart=on-failure StandardOutput=syslog StandardError=syslog SyslogIdentifier=flexbi #LimitNOFILE=10000 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target

      
      

4. Run the following command to start flex.bi service and ensure it is started during server startup:

   Code Block
   systemctl enable --now flexbi.service

   
   

5. To ensure secure connection using https protocol, follow instructions in our documentation page HTTPS or SSL setup.
6. Once the flexbi.service is started, you should be able to open the previously configured URL in your browser and start using flex.bi Enterprise.