[[setup]] = Setup [partintro] -- This section includes information on how to setup *elasticsearch* and get it running. If you haven't already, http://www.elasticsearch.org/download[download] it, and then check the <> docs. NOTE: Elasticsearch can also be installed from our repositories using `apt` or `yum`. See <>. [[setup-installation]] [float] == Installation After link:/download[downloading] the latest release and extracting it, *elasticsearch* can be started using: [source,sh] -------------------------------------------------- $ bin/elasticsearch -------------------------------------------------- Under *nix system, the command will start the process in the foreground. To run it in the background, add the `-d` switch to it: [source,sh] -------------------------------------------------- $ bin/elasticsearch -d -------------------------------------------------- .*NIX ************************************************************************* There are added features when using the `elasticsearch` shell script. The first, which was explained earlier, is the ability to easily run the process either in the foreground or the background. Another feature is the ability to pass `-X` and `-D` or getopt long style configuration parameters directly to the script. When set, all override anything set using either `JAVA_OPTS` or `ES_JAVA_OPTS`. For example: [source,sh] -------------------------------------------------- $ bin/elasticsearch -Xmx2g -Xms2g -Des.index.store.type=memory --node.name=my-node -------------------------------------------------- ************************************************************************* [float] [[jvm-version]] == Java (JVM) version Elasticsearch is built using Java, and requires at least http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html[Java 7] in order to run. Only Oracle's Java and the OpenJDK are supported. The same JVM version should be used on all Elasticsearch nodes and clients. We recommend installing the *Java 8 update 20 or later*, or *Java 7 update 55 or later*. Previous versions of Java 7 are known to have bugs that can cause index corruption and data loss. The version of Java to use can be configured by setting the `JAVA_HOME` environment variable. -- include::setup/configuration.asciidoc[] include::setup/as-a-service.asciidoc[] include::setup/as-a-service-win.asciidoc[] include::setup/dir-layout.asciidoc[] include::setup/repositories.asciidoc[] include::setup/upgrade.asciidoc[]