Installing OpenSearch from a tarball, also known as a tar archive, may appeal to users who want granular control over installation details like file permissions and installation paths.
The tarball is a self-contained directory with everything needed to run OpenSearch, including an integrated Java Development Kit (JDK). This installation method is compatible with most Linux distributions, including CentOS 7, Amazon Linux 2, and Ubuntu 18.04. If you have your own Java installation and set the environment variable `JAVA_HOME` in the terminal, macOS works as well.
This guide assumes that you are comfortable working from the Linux command line interface (CLI). You should understand how to input commands, navigate between directories, and edit text files. Some example commands reference the `vi` text editor, but you may use any text editor available.
{:.note}
## Step 1: Download and unpack OpenSearch
1. Download the appropriate tar.gz archive from the [OpenSearch downloads page](https://opensearch.org/downloads.html){:target='\_blank'} or by using the command line (such as with `wget`).
Before launching OpenSearch you should review some [important system settings]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/opensearch/install/important-settings/){:target='\_blank'}.
1. Disable memory paging and swapping performance on the host to improve performance.
Before proceeding you should test your installation of OpenSearch. Otherwise, it can be difficult to determine whether future problems are due to installation issues or custom settings you applied after installation. There are two quick methods for testing OpenSearch at this stage:
The demo security script will apply a generic configuration to your instance of OpenSearch. This configuration defines some environment variables and also applies self-signed TLS certificates. If you would like to configure these yourself, see [Step 4: Set up OpenSearch in your environment](#step-4-set-up-opensearch-in-your-environment).
If you only want to verify that the service is properly configured and you intend to configure security settings yourself, then you may want to disable the security plugin and launch the service without encryption or authentication.
An OpenSearch node configured by the demo security script is not suitable for a production environment. If you plan to use the node in a production environment after running `opensearch-tar-install.sh`, you should, at a minimum, replace the demo TLS certificates with your own TLS certificates and [update the list of internal users and passwords]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/yaml). See [Security configuration]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/index/) for additional guidance to ensure that your nodes are configured according to your security requirements.
1. Open another terminal session and send requests to the server to verify that OpenSearch is running. Note the use of the `--insecure` flag, which is required because the TLS certificates are self-signed.
- Send a request to port 9200.
```bash
curl -X GET https://localhost:9200 -u 'admin:admin' --insecure
1. Return to the original terminal session and stop the process by pressing `CTRL + C`.
### Option 2: Test your OpenSearch settings with security disabled
1. Open the configuration file.
```bash
vi /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
```
1. Add the following line to disable the security plugin.
```bash
plugins.security.disabled: true
```
1. Save the change and close the file.
1. Open another terminal session and send requests to the server to verify that OpenSearch is running. Because the security plugin has been disabled, you will be sending commands using `HTTP` rather than `HTTPS`.
Users who do not have prior experience with OpenSearch may want a list of recommended settings in order to get started with the service. By default, OpenSearch is not bound to a network interface and cannot be reached by external hosts. Additionally, security settings are either undefined (greenfield install) or populated by default usernames and passwords if you ran the security demo script by invoking `opensearch-tar-install.sh`. The following recommendations will enable a user to bind OpenSearch to a network interface, create and sign TLS certificates, and configure basic authentication.
The following recommended settings will allow you to:
- Bind OpenSearch to an IP or network interface on the host.
- Set initial and max JVM heap sizes.
- Define an environment variable that points to the bundled JDK.
- Configure your own TLS certificates - no third-party certificate authority (CA) is required.
- Create an admin user with a custom password.
If you ran the security demo script, then you will need to manually reconfigure settings that were modified. Refer to [Security configuration]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/opensearch/configuration/) for guidance before proceeding.
{:.note}
Before modifying any configuration files, it's always a good idea to save a backup copy before making changes. The backup file can be used to revert any issues caused by a bad configuration.
{:.tip}
1. Open `opensearch.yml`.
```bash
vi /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
```
1. Add the following lines.
```bash
# Bind OpenSearch to the correct network interface. Use 0.0.0.0
# to include all available interfaces or specify an IP address
# assigned to a specific interface.
network.host: 0.0.0.0
# Unless you have already configured a cluster, you should set
# discovery.type to single-node, or the bootstrap checks will
# fail when you try to start the service.
discovery.type: single-node
# If you previously disabled the security plugin in opensearch.yml,
# be sure to re-enable it. Otherwise you can skip this setting.
plugins.security.disabled: false
```
1. Save your changes and close the file.
1. Specify initial and max JVM heap sizes.
1. Open `jvm.options`.
```bash
vi /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/jvm.options
```
1. Modify the values for initial and max heap sizes. As a starting point, you should set these values to half of the available system memory. For dedicated hosts this value can be increased based on your workflow requirements.
- As an example, if the host machine has 8 GB of memory then you might want to set the initial and maximum heap sizes to 4 GB:
TLS certificates provide additional security for your cluster by allowing clients to confirm the identity of hosts and encrypt traffic between the client and host. For more information, refer to [Configure TLS Certificates]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/tls/) and [Generate Certificates]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/generate-certificates/), which are included in the [Security Plugin]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/index/) documentation. For work performed in a development environment, self-signed certificates are usually adequate. This section will guide you through the basic steps required to generate your own TLS certificates and apply them to your OpenSearch host.
1. Next, create the admin certificate. This certificate is used to gain elevated rights for performing administrative tasks relating to the security plugin.
1. Remove temporary files that are no longer required.
```bash
rm *temp.pem *csr *ext
```
1. Add these certificates to `opensearch.yml` as described in [Generate Certificates]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/generate-certificates/#add-distinguished-names-to-opensearchyml). Advanced users might also choose to append the settings using a script:
```bash
#! /bin/bash
# Before running this script, make sure to replace the /path/to your OpenSearch directory,
# and remember to replace the CN in the node's distinguished name with a real
# DNS A record.
echo "plugins.security.ssl.transport.pemcert_filepath: /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/node1.pem" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.ssl.transport.pemkey_filepath: /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/node1-key.pem" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.ssl.transport.pemtrustedcas_filepath: /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/root-ca.pem" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.ssl.http.enabled: true" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.ssl.http.pemcert_filepath: /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/node1.pem" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.ssl.http.pemkey_filepath: /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/node1-key.pem" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.ssl.http.pemtrustedcas_filepath: /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/root-ca.pem" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.allow_default_init_securityindex: true" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.authcz.admin_dn:" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo " - 'CN=A,OU=UNIT,O=ORG,L=TORONTO,ST=ONTARIO,C=CA'" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.nodes_dn:" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo " - 'CN=node1.dns.a-record,OU=UNIT,O=ORG,L=TORONTO,ST=ONTARIO,C=CA'" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.audit.type: internal_opensearch" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.enable_snapshot_restore_privilege: true" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.check_snapshot_restore_write_privileges: true" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
echo "plugins.security.restapi.roles_enabled: [\"all_access\", \"security_rest_api_access\"]" | sudo tee -a /path/to/opensearch-{{site.opensearch_version}}/config/opensearch.yml
```
1. (Optional) Add trust for the self-signed root certificate.
```bash
# Copy the root certificate to the correct directory
Users are defined and authenticated by OpenSearch in a variety of ways. One method, which does not require additional backend infrastructure, is to manually configure users in `internal_users.yml`. See [YAML files]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/yaml/) for more information about configuring users. The following steps explain how to remove all demo users except for the `admin` user and how to replace the `admin` default password using a script.
1. Remove all demo users except for `admin` and replace the hash with the output provided by `hash.sh` in a previous step. The file should look similar to the following example:
Now that TLS certificates are installed and demo users were removed or assigned new passwords, the last step is to apply the configuration changes. This last configuration step requires invoking `securityadmin.sh` while OpenSearch is running on the host.
1. Invoke the script. See [Apply changes using securityadmin.sh]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/security-admin/) for definitions of the arguments you must pass.
OpenSearch is now running on your host with custom TLS certificates and a secure user for basic authentication. You can verify external connectivity by sending an API request to your OpenSearch node from another host.
During previous tests you directed requests to `localhost`. Now that TLS certificates have been applied and the new certificates reference your host's actual DNS record, requests to `localhost` will fail the CN check and the certificate will be considered invalid. Instead, requests should be sent to the address you specified while generating the certificate.
You should add trust for the root certificate to your client before sending requests. If you do not add trust, then you must use the `-k` option so that cURL ignores CN and root certificate validation.
