Installation¶

This guide covers deploying a WitFoo Appliance (WFA) — the production deployment method for WitFoo Analytics. The WFA daemon manages containers, configuration, and lifecycle for all node roles.

Prerequisites¶

• Network access to the target host via SSH (port 22) and HTTPS (port 443)
• A WitFoo license key, or plan to request a 15-day trial during configuration
• Hardware meeting the minimum requirements for your chosen deployment role

Hardware Requirements¶

Per-Role Minimums¶

Installation Overview¶

Deploying WitFoo Analytics follows three steps regardless of your infrastructure:

1. Deploy a WitFoo Appliance image or run an install script
2. Configure the appliance role with sudo wfa configure
3. Access the web UI via HTTPS (port 443) and complete the onboarding wizard

Step 1: Deploy a WitFoo Appliance¶

Choose the deployment method that matches your infrastructure. All appliance images and scripts are available from the witfoo-appliances repository.

Option A: On-Premises VM¶

Pre-built Ubuntu 24 virtual machine images are available for the following hypervisors:

1. Download the appropriate image from github.com/witfoo/witfoo-appliances:

   • VMware — OVA format
   • Hyper-V — VHDX format
   • QEMU/KVM — QCOW2 format

2. Import the image into your hypervisor and allocate resources according to the hardware requirements for your intended role.

3. Boot the virtual machine. The appliance will start with a default network configuration using DHCP.

4. Connect via SSH to the appliance:

   ssh witfooadmin@<appliance-ip>
   

Option B: Cloud Marketplace¶

WitFoo Appliances are available on major cloud marketplaces:

1. Launch a WitFoo Appliance instance from your cloud provider's marketplace:

   • AWS Marketplace — Search for "WitFoo Appliance"
   • Azure Marketplace — Search for "WitFoo Appliance"
   • Google Cloud Marketplace — Search for "WitFoo Appliance"

2. Select an instance size that meets the hardware requirements for your intended role.

3. Configure your security group or firewall rules to allow:

   • Port 22 — SSH (administration)
   • Port 443 — HTTPS (web UI)

4. Connect via SSH using your cloud provider's key pair or the default credentials.

Option C: Bare Metal¶

Install the WitFoo Appliance directly on a physical or virtual server using the provided install scripts:

Ubuntu 24:

1. Start with a fresh Ubuntu 24 server installation.

2. Download and run the install script:

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/witfoo/witfoo-appliances/main/ubuntu-install.sh -o ubuntu-install.sh
   chmod +x ubuntu-install.sh
   sudo ./ubuntu-install.sh
   

3. The script installs all dependencies, creates the witfooadmin user, and installs the WFA daemon.

RHEL 10:

1. Start with a fresh RHEL 10 server installation.

2. Download and run the install script:

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/witfoo/witfoo-appliances/main/rhel-install.sh -o rhel-install.sh
   chmod +x rhel-install.sh
   sudo ./rhel-install.sh
   

3. The script installs all dependencies, creates the witfooadmin user, and installs the WFA daemon.

Step 2: Configure the Appliance¶

Once the appliance is deployed, run the interactive configuration wizard to select a role and configure services:

sudo wfa configure

The wizard walks you through organization setup, role selection, licensing, networking, and optional features. It generates the configuration file at /witfoo/configs/node.json.

For a detailed walkthrough of every prompt and option, see WFA Configure Wizard.

Step 3: Access the Web UI¶

After configuration completes, the WFA daemon starts all services for your selected role. For Analytics nodes:

1. Open a web browser and navigate to:

   https://<appliance-ip>
   

2. Log in with the default web UI credentials:

   • Email: [email protected]
   • Password: F00theN0ise!

3. Complete the 12-step onboarding wizard to configure your organization, users, and integrations.

See First Login for detailed instructions on the onboarding process.

Verifying the Installation¶

After completing configuration, verify that services are running:

sudo wfa analytics status

This command lists all expected services and their current state. All services should report as running within a few minutes of configuration completing.

Next Steps¶

• Choose a deployment role if you haven't already
• Walk through the configure wizard in detail
• Complete first login and onboarding
• Understand the architecture