LOOM

Installation Guide

Release 7 May

2018

Prepared by:

LOOM Systems

support@loomsystems.com

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Loom System Installation Guide Release 7.0

The part number for this volume is LIG–07.

Copyright 2018, Loom Systems. All rights reserved.

The Programs (which include both the software and documentation) contain proprietary information

of LOOM Systems; they are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and

disclosure and are also protected by copyright, patent and other intellectual property law. Reverse

engineering of the Programs is prohibited.

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. If you find any problems

in the documentation, please report them to us in writing. LOOM Systems does not warrant that this

document is error-free.

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written approval of LOOM Systems.

The Programs are not intended for use in any nuclear, aviation, mass transit, medical, or other inherently

dangerous applications. It shall be licensee’s responsibility to take all appropriate fail-safe, back up,

redundancy and other measures to ensure the safe use of such applications if the Programs are used for

such purposes, and LOOM Systems disclaims liability for any damages caused by such use of the

Programs.

This software documentation may provide access to or information about content, products, and services

from third parties. LOOM Systems is not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind

with respect to third-party content, products, and services unless otherwise set forth in an applicable

agreement between you and LOOM Systems. LOOM Systems and its affiliates will not be responsible for

any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of third-party content, products, or

services, except as set forth in an applicable agreement between you and LOOM Systems.

Revisions History Date Version Remarks

15/10/15 First Release

15/1/16 Second Release

28/10/16 Third Release

28/2/17 Fourth Release

8/8/17 Fifth Release

15/10/17 Sixth Release

7/5/18 Seventh Release

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Contents Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

System Requirements ................................................................................................................................... 5

Installing Loom .............................................................................................................................................. 5

Working with Loom CLI ................................................................................................................................. 9

Performing a backup ................................................................................................................................... 10

Upgrading Loom ......................................................................................................................................... 11

Troubleshooting the installation ................................................................................................................ 11

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Overview Welcome the LOOM Installation Guide, Release 7.

This installation guide provides information to install and configure Loom Ops. This guide is intended for

anyone who is responsible for installing Loom Ops. The following information is provided:

The following information is provided:

Topic Description

System requirements Use this topic to understand the software and hardware

requirements for Loom and the supported browsers.

Installing Loom Use this topic to know the procedure for installing Loom.

Working with Loom-CLI Use this topic to learn how to work with the Loom-CLI

(Command Line Interface).

Taking a backup Use this topic to understand the process of taking a backup of

Loom configuration and data.

Upgrading Loom Use this topic to know the procedure for upgrading Loom and

patching and updating the server.

Troubleshooting the installation Use this topic to understand how to generate a troubleshooting

package that you can submit to Loom Support for further

inspection.

Support

From on-site support to central support, our team of experienced professionals provides the help and

information you need to keep LOOM working for you. This team includes your Technical Representative,

Account Manager, and Loom's staff of consultants and support specialists with expertise in your business

area, and your hardware and software environment.

Thank you

Thank you for using Loom Systems Solution and this user’s guide. We value your comments and

feedback. Mail your comments to the following address feedback@loomsystems.com.

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System Requirements Before installing Loom Ops, ensure that the environment where you are installing Loom meets the

software and hardware requirements described in this topic.

1. Software Requirements

Loom is packaged in the tarball containing bash installation scripts and archived Docker containers. Use

these files to install Loom on a server/virtual machine.

The supported operating system versions are Ubuntu 14.04 / Centos 7 / Red Hat 7 or above.

2. Hardware Requirements

The Loom platform's resource requirements are dependent on the volume/shape (average and burst) and

characteristics of the data input.

The recommended hardware requirements are as follows:

• 16 CPU Cores

• 32GB RAM

• 2TB SSD of faster drive, mounted under the /var/lib/loom path

To ensure that Loom starts, the following minimum requirements must be met:

• 8 CPU cores

• 16GB RAM

• No less than 4 GB free space under the “/tmp” directory.

• No less than 5 GB free space under the “/home” (loomadmin user) directory.

• No less than 20 GB free space under the “/var/lib/docker” directory.

•

3. Supported Browsers

As per Release 5 of this installation guide, the Loom web application supports the following browser:

• Google Chrome Version 55 and later, when viewed with a screen 19" or larger

Future upgrades always maintain support for browser versions no older than 6 months before the upgrade.

Installing Loom

Before you begin the installation, ensure that you have read and fulfilled the System Requirements.

Installing Loom involves the following steps:

1. Creating a User

2. Attaching and mounting the external disk

3. Installing the docker service

4. Installing Loom

5. Starting Loom

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1. Creating a User

Create a Linux user, for example, loomadmin, with sudo permissions. Use this user, instead of a root-

user, for performing the Docker and Loom installation procedures.

2. Attaching and mounting the external disk

Perform the following steps:

1. Attach the external disk.

2. Format the disk in your preferred format, for example, ext4.

3. Mount it to your server.

4. Add the disk config to the following: /etc/fstab

/dev/sd** /var/lib/loom defaults ext4 0 2

3. Installing the docker service

To install the docker service, perform the following steps:

1. Download the docker installation file suitable to your operating system.

The file contains Docker software.

2. Run the file by using the following commands: wget https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/loom-static/<OS>-docker

install.tar.gz tar xzvf <OS>-docker-install.tar.gz cd <OS>-docker-install

./docker-install.sh

Note: Here, <OS> is the operating system on which you want to run the docker.

o For Ubuntu, select ubuntu-docker-install.tar.gz.

o For CentOS or Red Hat select centos-docker-install.tar.gz.

3. Verify whether docker is installed and running by using the following command:

docker ps

Note: If you do not see the containers, you have to re-login.

4. Verify that the new Linux user (“loomadmin”) has access permissions for docker.

4. Installing Loom

Download and run the loom installation file

o cd ~/ o wget -O loom-stable-on-prem-package-<VERSION>.tar.gz "https://s3-us-

west2.amazonaws.com/com-loomsystems-stable-releases/loom-stable-on-prem-

package-

<VERSION>.tar.gz" o tar xzvf loom-stable-on-prem-

package-<VERSION>.tar.gz o cd loom-on-prem-package-2017-

07-18T07-11-39.651167/ o ./deploy.sh

Note:

LOOM installation tarball is provided by Loom team via a time-expiring link. To request a link, or if you

have any issue please contact support@loomsystems.com.

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5. (Optional) Install Certificate

By default, the server comes with a self-signed certificate. Loom supports installing a self-signed

certificate in the form of a .pem and .key file. Use any suitable method to create the certificate, for

example, run the OpenSSL command:

openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 3650 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout cert.key

out cert.pem

To install the certificate

1. Run the command loom install certificate.

2. See the following image:

Figure 3-4. Loom Installation Procedures \ Install-Certificate

Sample command:

$ loom install-certificate /path/to/pem /path/to/key <fqdn_name>

Note:

The <fqdn_name> must be the name you used when creating the certificate.

3. After the certificate installation completes, restart Loom.

6. Starting Loom

When you launch the Loom for the first time, the software does not run unless you start it.

Before you begin

Before running Loom for the first time, ensure that you complete any configuration changes or any other

tasks such as mounting NAS storage, disabling SSL, and so on.

To start Loom

1. Connect to the Loom VM and run the loom start command. See the following

image:

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Figure 3-5. Loom Installation Procedures \ Start

2. Once the command runs, browse the Loom user interface by using SSL to the host

or the IPaddress of the virtual machine.

Notes:

• Ensure that you use a supported browser. For a list of supported browsers, see System

Requirements.

• When browsing Loom, you might get the following message: There is a problem with this

website’s security certificate. In this situation, click Continue to this website (not

recommended).

To avoid this message, ensure that you have properly installed the certificate.

See the following image:

Figure 3 - 6 . Loom Installation Procedur es \ Start #2

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Working with Loom CLI The Loom VM installs a Command Line Interface (CLI) for administering the software. The CLI includes

commands for installing, upgrading and troubleshooting.

To work with Loom CLI

1. Log in to Loom.

2. In the CLI interface, type the loom command.

3. To perform a function, use any of the listed commands.

The following commands are available:

• install-certificate – Installs an SSL certificate on the server to enable sending data and

viewing the web app securely.

• start – Starts the Loom services.

• stop – Stops Loom.

• restart – Restarts Loom.

• status – Displays the current run-status of the different system components.

• update – Updates Loom from a package.

• dump – Creates a dump file containing relevant information to be sent to Loom Support.

The following image shows the available commands:

Figure 3-3. Installation Procedures \ Loom Command Line Interface

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Performing a backup Although the Loom CLI automatically backups configurations before starting any update, a periodic

backup of your VM is essential. Performing a backup enables you to manage your risk by using

technology that lets you restore your Loom deployment and data to a state prior to the upgrade, whether

you use external backups, disk or file system snapshots, or any other method.

You can perform a backup based on the following factors:

• The size of your data

• The downtime you can agree to

All Loom data is available in the /var/lib/loom directory.

To take a backup

1. Stop Loom by using the loom stop command.

2. Take a backup by using one of the following methods:

• Create a snapshot – Create a snapshot of the volume /var/lib/loom mounted on.

• Copy directory – Make a copy of the /var/lib/loom directory.

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Upgrading Loom When an update is required, either because of a version update or a version upgrade, Loom provides you

an update package, which is a .tar.gz file.

Before you begin

Before you upgrade or migrate Loom, ensure that you back up your existing Loom deployment. For more

see Taking a backup.

To upgrade Loom

To deploy the upgrade package, run the following command:

loom update /path/to/package

In case a failure occurs, Loom CLI creates a troubleshooting package and reverts the installation back to

the state prior to the upgrade.

To patch and update the server

To apply a patch to the operating system, use one of the following recommended approaches:

• If you have on-prem repositories, add them to the server and update them.

• According to your security procedures, download a newer version of Loom and update the system.

Troubleshooting the installation If the platform encounters any issues, you must create a troubleshooting package. The Loom CLI includes

the dump command that generates a troubleshooting package. The command gathers diagnostics and

statistics about the platform and packages it as a *.tar.gz file. You can send the file to Loom Support for

further analysis of the issue.

To create a troubleshooting package

1. Run the following command:

loom dump

See the following image:

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Figure 7-1. Submit Report Procedures \ Dump

2. Once you generate the *.tar.gz file, send them to Loom Support via a secured FTP connection.

Note:

Loom makes the maintenance as simple as possible. However, if you face any issues or have any

question, contact Loom Support at support@loomsystems.com.