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Navigator Express Docker Edition Install and Initial setup

 

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Click HERE to open a PDF version of this guide. 

Step 1:  Register

Visit www.meshiq.com and register for Navigator Docker edition.  If you need assistance, you can request it there as well.

Once completed, use the provided link to download the installation materials and this documentation.

Step 2:  Prerequisites

  • A Linux operating system (64-bit).
  • Docker must already be installed and running, and your user must be able to run Docker commands. On Linux, you need to be able to run without using sudo.  For example, on Linux these commands would be used to install Docker and setup as required on AMI or similar OS: 
    sudo yum install docker
    sudo service docker start
    sudo usermod -a -G docker user (may require logoff and logon to take effect)
    docker --version  (should return the docker version)
  • Docker Compose V2 or higher is required. Sample installation commands are listed below: 
    sudo curl -L https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.20.0/docker-compose-`uname -s`-`uname -m` -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
    sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
  • By default docker components use standard ports that are also used by AutoPilot components. If AutoPilot components are installed, you must change the docker ports before running docker.
  • The web server will use port 8080 by default.
  • Neither MySQL nor Postgres should be running on the server.
  • A queue manager to navigate must be running.
  • A supported management server much be running and accessible on the network and configured for remote access. For example, for IBM MQ, you can use a configured server connection channel that is accessible from the server where the Navigator components are installed.  The channel can already be used for other management purposes, such as the IBM MQ Explorer.
  • A minimum of 2 virtual CPUs
  • At least 8 GB of RAM
  • At least 10 GB of free space

Step 3:  Create the Navigator Environment

  1. Unzip the software to a folder on your system: 
    unzip NavigatorExpress_V10.docker.zip
  2. Change to the NavigatorExpress/docker folder and deploy the containers: 
    cd NavigatorExpress/scripts
  3. Edit the file set-env.sh using vi or other editor and change the following line to a host name or IP address that can be used to externally access this server.   When using host name, it must be able to resolve.  No other changes are required, but there are optional settings available for advanced configuration.
    DOCKER_HOST_IP=127.0.0.1 to DOCKER_HOST_IP=46.205.248.204
  1. Launch the Navigator menu by running the following: 
    ./navigator.sh

    NavDockerMenu.png

  2. Select option 1, Create Navigator Components.  Then select suboption 1 Create Navigator base containers to install the required Navigator components.   Press Enter to accept the licensing terms (see licensing.htm for details).  The download and deploy process will begin.  The amount of time this takes depends on your network speed and system factors.  If you want to run other commands while waiting, use another session.
  3. You will need to install at least one connection manager used to connect to the managed system.  To do this, select option 1 again, and then select the appropriate connection manager for MQ, EMS, Kafka, IBM IIB/ACE, or Solace.  Repeat if needed.
  4. Use option 7 to determine that the containers remain active and do not exit.   For more assistance, see Notes and Troubleshooting Hints.

If you encounter any problems during deployment, the easiest thing to do is to correct the problem, and then perform the following to start over:

  1. Stop the components (option 4).
  2. Remove the components (option 5) and remove volumes (option 6 suboption 2).

Step 4:  Configure Initial Environment

  1. Open a browser to launch the web GUI. Enter the following URL, replacing myserver with your server’s IP address  (designated in Step 3 above).
    http://myserver:8080/navigator
  2. The login page will appear. Enter the following credentials:

User ID:  Admin
Password: The default password is admin and must be changed on first login.
NavLogin.png

  1. You will be presented with the dashboards WorkSpace, My_Dashboard, and Favorites.
    Nav3Dash.png
    My_Dashboard is the default dashboard, but if you expand its viewlets you will notice that there is no data.  You will need to add a queue manager to the WorkSpace dashboard. Proceed to the next step for instructions on how to do this.
  2. On the WorkSpace dashboard, click the box next to the workspace and select Create > Remote Queue Manager or other managed server type. See Queue Managers & Clusters for more information about adding different manager types.
    CMTypes.png

    For example, for IBM MQ, the Remote Queue Manager Connections screen opens. Add one or more queue managers by clicking Add.  

    RemoteQMgrConn.png

    Enter the details for the queue manager on the General tab. 
    AddQM.png

    On the Communication and SSL tabs, enter connection and channel information for the queue manager’s particular instance.  Click OK to close this dialog.
    AddQMComm.png
    Once you have completed adding all desired queue managers, click OK to close the Remote queue Manager Connections window.  You will see a green success message on the bottom right corner of the screen appear.
    AddSuccess.png
  3. Expedite the discovery process by un-managing and then re-managing the connection manager.  Do this by selecting REMOTE_QMGRS within the MQM Node Viewlet, then select Manage (you will notice a checkmark next to this option).
    MenuChkBox.png
    ManageOn.png

    Reselect REMOTE_QMGRS and click Manage again.
    ManageOff.png

    This will trigger a complete discovery.  You are now done with adding queue managers.

  4. Expand the Queue Managers viewlet back on My_Dashboard.  The queue managers you added from the above steps will display (in this example, queue managers QM3 and QM4).  If the viewlet is still blank, click the refresh icon in the upper left.  You will see some basic details like Command Level, Node Type and so on. To create sample dashboards for other manager types, select the + next to the last dashboard tab, choose Yes to Generate Viewlets, and select the appropriate Product for the manager type.
    MyDashQM.png

Menu Options: Submenus

Option 1: Create Navigator Components

Choose the components that you want to create.

1-CreateComp.png

Option 2: Start Navigator Components

Choose the components you want to start: All, Connection Managers, or CEP WGS.

2-StartComp.png

Option 3: Restart Navigator Components

Choose the components you want to restart: All, Connection Managers, or CEP WGS.

3-RestartComp.png

Option 4: Stop Navigator Components

Choose the components you want to stop: All, Connection Managers, or CEP WGS.

4-StopComp.png

Option 5: Remove Navigator Components

Choose the components you want to remove: All or Connection Managers.

5-RemoveComp.png

Option 6: Utility operations

6-UtilityOps.png

What's Next?

For additional online help, click on the Help button HelpBt.png located at the top-right of your screen.

Notes 

After deploying the containers, to stop and start them, use options 4 (Stop Navigator Components) and 2 (Start Navigator Components).  (Option 1 is only used the first time.) See Menu Options: Submenus above for the submenus that are available for each option.

How do I start over?

If you want to start over, to remove everything, use option 4 (Stop Navigator Components), option 5 (Remove Navigator Components) and option 6 (Utility operations).  If you also want to remove the configured environment, use suboption 2 (remove volumes).  Then use option 1 to create the components again.  Any errors that you get while cleaning can be ignored.

How do I check the status of the containers?

You can check the status of the containers with option 7 (Show container status). There are four containers that should always be running:

  • domain
  • cep-wgs
  • wgs-mysql
  • Navigator

In addition, one connection manager should be running for each type installed.

Do I have to use the menus?

No. You can also use the up and down scripts in the scripts folder (shown below) without using the menu. For example, down_all.sh is the equivalent of menu option 4 (Stop Navigator Components) followed by suboption 1 (Stop All).

NavExpressScripts.png

Troubleshooting Hints

The CEP-WGS is not running

If the cep-wgs is not running, the most common cause is that the host/IP address specified was not able to resolve properly.  You can check this by using the following command:

docker logs cep-wgs

Then look for any errors near the bottom reflecting host connectivity issues.  Clean the containers and redeploy using the IP address instead. 

The queue manager or other manager did not correctly connect

If your queue manager or other manager did not correctly connect, you can check the logs for the nsqcm container.  For example, for IBM MQ, use the following command:

 docker logs nsqcm

Common errors include the following:

  • RC 2538: Indicates an issue with connection to the queue manager. The issue could be an invalid host or port or channel authorization preventing connection.
  • RC 2035: Indicates a security issue, such as an invalid user or password.

Having other issues?

Contact us at https://www.meshiq.com/contact-us/ or via live chat at the original registration link.