Installing Pipelines

Single Node Installation

Choose one of the following methods for installing Pipelines in Single Node:

• Pipelines Command Line Installer 
• Helm Chart

Install Using the Pipelines Command Line Installer

Pipelines can be installed through the Pipelines command line installer for Docker and Docker Compose, which automates the performance of most installation procedures. The command line installer is also used to change configuration settings, to restart, and to upgrade Pipelines.

When using the command line installer, it will perform the following procedures on your behalf.

1. Install the following.
   1. Third-party dependencies (PostgreSQL database, RabbitMQ messaging, included in the archive)
   2. Pipelines
2. Connect to Artifactory(using joinKey and jfrogUrl).
3. Configuration of Pipelines service, including
   1. network IP/URL assignments for build node access
   2. network IP/URL assignments for REST APIs and supplemental UI
   3. connection to optional external database
   4. registry of default build images
4. Start the service.

Installation Steps

1. Download one of the JFrog Pipelines installers

   
   

2. Extract the installer from the downloaded .rpm, .deb, or .tar.gz  file (see System Directories for the value of the JFrog root directory $JFROG_HOME).

   Linux Archive (tar.gz)

   $ mkdir -p installer && tar -C installer -xvzf pipelines-<version>.tar.gz 
   $ cd installer/pipelines-<version>
   $ ./pipelines --help # prints all the available command line installer options

   RPM

   $ sudo rpm -Uvh pipelines-<version>.rpm
   $ cd $JFROG_HOME\pipelines\installer

   Debian

   $ sudo dpkg -i pipelines-<version>.deb
   $ cd $JFROG_HOME\pipelines\installer

   Installing Pipelines using RPM or Debian will make the Pipelines command line installer command accessible from any directory.

   Installing via the generic Linux installer (.tar) involves extracting the pipelines files (which is where the "pipelines" executable comes into play with "./pipelines") .

3. Run the installer. 

   $ sudo pipelines install \
       --base-url-ui <jfrog-url> \
       --artifactory-joinkey <join-key> \
       --installer-ip <new-instance-ip> \
       --api-url http://<external-ip>:8082/pipelines/api 
   

   For details on install options, external connections, and using an external database, see Product Configuration.

4. You may now perform a health check on the node to verify that it is operating properly
   

   $ curl -XGET http://localhost:8046/router/api/v1/topology/health | jq '.'

Helm Installation

Prerequisites

Before deploying Pipelines using Helm Chart, you will need to have the following in place:

• An installed Artifactory
• A pre-created repository jfrogpipelines in of an Antifactory type Generic with a maven-2-default layout, and a deployed Nginx-ingress controller

For more information, see Helm Charts for Advanced Users.

1. Add the ChartCenter Helm repository to your Helm client.
   

   helm repo add jfrog https://charts.jfrog.io
   

2. Update the repository.
   

   helm repo update

3. To connect Pipelines to your Artifactory installation, you will need to use a Join Key. To provide a Join Key, jfrogUrl, and jfrogUrlUI to your Pipelines installation, retrieve the connection details of your Artifactory installation from the UI as shown below. For more information, see Viewing the Join Key.

   pipelines:
     ## Artifactory URL - Mandatory
     ## If Artifactory and Pipelines are in same namespace, jfrogUrl is Artifactory service name, otherwise its external URL of Artifactory
     jfrogUrl: ""
     ## Artifactory UI URL - Mandatory
     ## This must be the external URL of Artifactory, for example: https://artifactory.example.com
     jfrogUrlUI: ""
   
     ## Join Key to connect to Artifactory
     ## IMPORTANT: You should NOT use the example joinKey for a production deployment!
     joinKey: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
   
     ## Pipelines requires a unique master key
     ## You can generate one with the command: "openssl rand -hex 32"
     ## IMPORTANT: You should NOT use the example masterKey for a production deployment!
     masterKey: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

4. Get the Pipelines helm chart to get the required configuration files.

   helm fetch jfrog/pipelines --untar

5. Configure the installation by editing the local copies of the values-ingress.yaml and values-ingress-passwords.yaml with the required configuration values.

   1. Edit the URLs in the values-ingress.yaml file (Artifactory URL, Ingress hosts, Ingress tls secrets).

   1. Set the passwords uiUserPassword, postgresqlPassword and auth.password in the local copies.

   2. Set the masterKey and joinKey in the values-ingress-passwords.yaml.


      Unlike other installations, Helm Chart configurations are made to the values.yaml and are then applied to the system.yaml.

      Follow these steps to apply the configuration changes.

      1. Make the changes to values.yaml. 

      2. Run the command.
         

         helm upgrade --install pipelines --namespace pipelines -f values.yaml

6. Install Pipelines.

   kubectl create ns pipelines
   helm upgrade --install pipelines --namespace pipelines jfrog/pipelines -f pipelines/values-ingress.yaml -f pipelines/values-ingress-passwords.yaml

7. Access Pipelines from your browser at: http://<jfrogUrl>/ui/, then go to the Pipelines tab in the Application module in the UI.

8. Check the status of your deployed helm releases.

   helm status pipelines

HA Installation

The following describes how to set up a Pipelines HA cluster with two or more nodes. For more information, see the System Architecture.

Choose one of the following methods for installing Pipelines in Single Node:

• Pipelines Command Line Installer 
• Helm HA Installation

Prerequisites

All nodes within the same Pipelines HA installation must run the same Pipelines version.

Licensing

Pipelines HA is supported with an Enterprise Plus License. Each node in the cluster must be activated with a different license.

Database

Pipelines HA requires an external PostgreSQL database. Make sure you have completed setting up your external database before proceeding to install the first node. The database connection details are used for each node installation.

There are several ways to setup PostgreSQL for redundancy. Including: HA, Load Balancing and Replication. For more information, see the PostgreSQL documentation..

RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ is installed as part of the Pipelines installation for every node. In HA architecture, it uses queue mirroring between the different RabbitMQ nodes.

Network

• All the Pipelines HA components (cluster nodes, database server and RabbitMQ) must be within the same fast LAN.
• All the HA nodes must communicate with each other through dedicated TCP ports.
• Network communications between the cluster nodes must be enabled for each of the cluster nodes.

Install HA Using the Pipelines Command Line Installer

Install the First Node

1. Extract the installer from the downloaded .rpm, .deb, or .tar.gz  file, as shown for the single node installation.

2. Perform the install procedure in the first node using the Pipelines command line installer.
   Note: You will need to fetch your jfrogURL (custom base URL) and join key to link your Pipelines installation to the Platform.
   

   $ sudo pipelines install \
       --base-url-ui <jfrog-url> \
       --artifactory-joinkey <join-key> \
       --db-connection-string postgres://<user>:<pass>@<ip>:<port>/<db> \
       --installer-ip <new-instance-ip> \
       --api-url http://<new-instance-ip>:8082/pipelines/api \
   

3. You may perform a health check on the node to confirm it is operating properly.

   $ curl -XGET http://localhost:8046/router/api/v1/topology/health | jq '.'

Install Additional Nodes

Repeat the following procedure for each additional node.

1. In the new node instance, extract the installer from the downloaded .rpm, .deb, or .tar.gz  file, as performed for the first node.
   
   

2. Copy from the first node instance the file $JFROG_HOME/pipelines/var/etc/system.yaml to the same location in the new instance.
   
   

3. Perform the install procedure in the new node using the Pipelines command line installer.
   

   $ sudo pipelines install --installer-ip <new-instance-ip>
   

4. You may perform a health check on the node to confirm it is operating properly.

   $ curl -XGET http://localhost:8046/router/api/v1/topology/health | jq '.'

Configure the Load Balancer

Once all additional nodes have been installed with an identical version of Pipelines, the load balancer must be configured to distribute requests made through a common base URI.

For example, if you want Pipelines to be accessible as mypipelines.jfrog.io over HTTPS, then the port mapping should be configured as follows: 

Update Nodes

On each node (including the first), run the Pipelines command line installer again to update your installation for the load balanced URI:

$ sudo pipelines install \
    --api-url https://mypipelines-api.jfrog.io/pipelines/api \

Pipelines should now be available in your JFrog Platform at https://myartifactory.jfrog.io. 

Helm HA Installation

Prerequisites

Before deploying Pipelines using Helm Chart, you will need to have the following in place:

• An installed Artifactory
• A pre-created repository jfrogpipelines in Artifactory of type Generic with a maven-2-default layout, and a deployed Nginx-ingress controller

For more information, see Helm Charts for Advanced Users.

helm upgrade --install pipelines --namespace pipelines --set replicaCount=3 jfrog/pipelines

1. Add the ChartCenter Helm repository to your Helm client.
   

   helm repo add jfrog https://charts.jfrog.io 
   

2. Update the repository.
   

   helm repo update

3. Next, create a unique master key; Pipelines requires a unique master key to be used by all micro-services in the same cluster. By default the chart has one set, the pipelines.masterKey, in the values.yaml file (unlike other installations, Helm Chart configurations are made to the values.yaml and are then applied to the system.yaml).

   For production grade installations it is strongly recommended to use a custom master key. If you initially use the default master key it will be very hard to change the master key at a later stage This key is for demo purpose and should not be used in a production environment.

4. Generate a unique key and pass it to the template during installation/upgrade.

   # Create a key
   export MASTER_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
   echo ${MASTER_KEY}
   
   # Pass the created master key to Helm
   helm upgrade --install --set pipelines.masterKey=${MASTER_KEY} --namespace pipelines jfrog/pipelines

   Alternatively, you can create a secret containing the master key manually and pass it to the template during installation/upgrade.

   # Create a key
   export MASTER_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
   echo ${MASTER_KEY}
   
   # Create a secret containing the key. The key in the secret must be named master-key
   kubectl create secret generic my-secret --from-literal=master-key=${MASTER_KEY}
   
   # Pass the created secret to Helm
   helm upgrade --install pipelines --set pipelines.masterKeySecretName=my-secret --namespace pipelines jfrog/pipelines

   In either case, make sure to pass the same master key on all future calls to helm install and helm upgrade. In the first case, this means always passing --set pipelines.masterKey=${MASTER_KEY}. In the second, this means always passing --set pipelines.masterKeySecretName=my-secret and ensuring the contents of the secret remain unchanged.

5. To connect Pipelines to your Artifactory installation, you will need to use a Join Key. To provide a Join Key, jfrogUrl, and jfrogUrlUI to your Pipelines installation, retrieve the connection details of your Artifactory installation from the UI in the following way (for more information see Viewing the Join Key).
   
   

   pipelines:
     ## Artifactory URL - Mandatory
     ## If Artifactory and Pipelines are in same namespace, jfrogUrl is Artifactory service name, otherwise its external URL of Artifactory
     jfrogUrl: ""
     ## Artifactory UI URL - Mandatory
     ## This must be the external URL of Artifactory, for example: https://artifactory.example.com
     jfrogUrlUI: ""
   
     ## Join Key to connect to Artifactory
     ## IMPORTANT: You should NOT use the example joinKey for a production deployment!
     joinKey: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
   
     ## Pipelines requires a unique master key
     ## You can generate one with the command: "openssl rand -hex 32"
     ## IMPORTANT: You should NOT use the example masterKey for a production deployment!
     masterKey: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

6. Get the Pipelines helm chart to get the required configuration files.

   helm fetch jfrog/pipelines --untar

7. Configure the installation by editing the local copies of the values-ingress.yaml and values-ingress-passwords.yaml with the required configuration values.

   1. Edit the URLs in the values-ingress.yaml file (Artifactory URL, Ingress hosts, Ingress tls secrets).

   1. Set the passwords uiUserPassword, postgresqlPassword and auth.password in the local copies.

   2. Set the masterKey and joinKey in the values-ingress-passwords.yaml.
      

      Unlike other installations, Helm Chart configurations are made to the values.yaml and are then applied to the system.yaml.

      Follow these steps to apply the configuration changes.

      1. Make the changes to values.yaml. 

      2. Run the command.
         

         helm upgrade --install pipelines --namespace pipelines -f values.yaml

8. Install Pipelines.

   kubectl create ns pipelines
   helm upgrade --install pipelines --namespace pipelines jfrog/pipelines -f pipelines/values-ingress.yaml -f pipelines/values-ingress-passwords.yaml

9. Access Pipelines from your browser at: http://<jfrogUrl>/ui/, then go to the Pipelines tab in the Application module in the UI.

10. Check the status of your deployed helm releases.

    helm status pipelines

Product Configuration

The command-line options of the Pipelines command line installer can be used to orchestrate a custom configuration of Pipelines. These can be used during the install process using pipelines install. You can also run pipelines install  to change configuration settings:

$ sudo pipelines install [flags]

All available options can be listed using the following command:

$ pipelines help
 
  Usage:
    ./pipelines <command> [flags]
 
  Examples:
    ./pipelines install
 
  Commands:
    install                 Run Pipelines installation
      --installer-ip                       Internal IP of the host [mandatory]
      --base-url-ui                        Unified UI URL  [mandatory]
      --artifactory-joinkey                Join key to connect with Artifactory [mandatory]
      --api-url                            Use provided url for API [mandatory]
      --base-url                           Internal Artifactory URL
      --global-password                    Set one password for all services (db, rabbitmq, pipelines). Can be changed later
      --install-user                       User (and Group) that owns the installer generated files and folders (vagrant by default) e.g. obie, obie:obie, 1001:obie, 1002:1002
      --artifactory-proxy                  Proxy server to use for connecting to Artifactory
      --artifactory-proxy-username         User for the proxy server
      --artifactory-proxy-password         Password for proxy server
      --artifactory-service-id             Service Id to register with Artifactory. Format 'jft@<id>'
      --image-registry-url                 Docker registry url for Pipelines component images
      --image-registry-creds               Path to a file containing Docker credentials for the image registry as an alternative to --image-registry-url
      --build-image-registry-url           Docker registry url for images used by default in Pipelines steps
      --state-bucket                       Root bucket name for storing state
      --skip-image-pull                    Do not pull images
      --db-connection-string               A connection string to use an existing Postgres database
      --vault-url                          URL to connect to an existing Vault
      --vault-root-token                   Root token of the existing Vault specified with --vault-url
      --no-verify-ssl                      If true, pass -no-verify-ssl flag to services
      --global-http-proxy                  HTTP proxy to be used in Pipelines in place of any proxy information fetched from Artifactory
      --global-https-proxy                 HTTPS proxy to be used in Pipelines in place of any proxy information fetched from Artifactory
      --global-no-proxy                    No proxy settings to be used in Pipelines in place of any proxy information fetched from Artifactory
      --access-control-allow-origins       API will return these as allowed origins. A comma-separated list of origins should be provided.
      --disable-call-home                  Disable call home functionality
      --enable-call-home                   Enables call home functionality if previously disabled
      --rabbitmq-health-check-interval     RabbitMQ health check interval in mins
      --artifactory-health-check-interval  Artifactory health check interval in mins
      --db-health-check-interval           Database health check interval in mins
      --config-backup-count                Number of upgrades for which to keep backup configurations
    upgrade                 Upgrade current installation
    restart                 Restart Pipelines
    clean                   Remove Pipelines components and files
    info                    Print information about current installation on console
      -j | --json                    Print info as json
    version                 Print current installation control and build plane versions
      -j | --json                    Print info as json
    help                    Print this message

Custom Installation Directory

The environment variable JFROG_HOME is used to determine the location of all the configuration files and data stored for the installer. In any installation command, export this variable to the location of your choice.

$ JFROG_HOME=/my/dir/location pipelines install ....
$ sudo JFROG_HOME=/my/dir/location pipelines install ....

All installer commands (upgrade, clean, etc) will need JFROG_HOME environment variable to run successfully.

$ JFROG_HOME=/my/dir/location pipelines upgrade

To avoid exporting the variable for each command, it can be added to the global environment file in /etc/environment or user specific environments in $HOME/.bashrc or $HOME/.bash_profile

Artifactory Connection Details

Pipelines requires a working Artifactory server and a suitable license. The Pipelines connection to Artifactory requires two parameters:

• baseUrlUI - URL to the machine where JFrog Artifactory is deployed, or the load balancer pointing to it. It is recommended to use DNS names rather than direct IPs. For example: http://jfrog.acme.com or http://10.20.30.40:8082
  Optionally, you may also set an internal URL baseUrl for connecting to Artifactory. You may need to do this if you have set up your JFrog Platform Deployment with a load balancer.
  Use the --base-url-ui option to set both the baseUrlUI and the internal baseUrl the same URL, or use both --base-url and --base-url-ui to set them to individual URLs.

  The --base-url-ui is the user accessible URL for Artifactory whereas the --base-url is the "internal" route for Artifactory. These URLs will be the same if the entire JFrog Platform is on a private network and users use Artifactory via a private IP. In most cases, the --base-url-ui will be a URL, and the --base-url will be an internal IP, internal domain name, or load-balancer IP. \

  In the Helm installer, the --base-url should be the internal service URL Artifactory. This is more efficient and reduces the number of network hops, thus decreasing the probability of breaking the connection during large file upload/downloads.

• joinKey - This is the "secret" key required by Artifactory for registering and authenticating the Pipelines server.
  You can fetch the Artifactory joinKey (join Key) from the JPD UI in the Administration module | Security | Settings | Join Key. 
  Use the --artifactory-joinkey option to set the joinKey through the command line installer.

External Connections 

Pipelines requires network configuration that enables the exchange of messages between the Pipelines CI server (in the controlplane) and all possible build nodes (in the buildplane). Build nodes must be able to command the controlplane through Pipelines REST APIs. Since build nodes may run outside the private network or VPC where Pipelines is installed (for example, in a public cloud), the ports for these channels should be exposed as public IP addresses. This exposure is mitigated by secure protocols and authentication.

¹ Must be accessible to users (same accessibility as base-url-ui)
² Must be accessible from build nodes (external for cloud VMs)

Example

Artifactory: jfrog.mycompany.com
Instance IP (internal): 10.128.0.16
Pipelines external IP: 34.217.93.187

API External URL (--api-url)

The API external URL provides access to the Pipelines REST APIs from outside the installation host. This URL must be defined on first install using the --api-url option; there is no default assignment by the command line installer.

The preferred form of this URL is an IP address with the port, followed by the path /pipelines/api. For example:

--api-url http://34.217.93.187:8082/pipelines/api

Alternately, if you have set up your service URL as a domain name through a NAT gateway or load balancer:

--api-url http://mypipelines-api.mycompany.com/pipelines/api

External Database

Prerequisites

When using an external PostgreSQL database, if the database user used in the connection string is not a master user, ensure that the database master user creates the Postgres pg_trgm extension before you install Pipelines.

CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_trgm;

By default, Pipelines installs and connects to a PostgreSQL database that runs in the same instance as the Pipelines service. However, it can be configured to use an external PostgreSQL database if needed. This is required for a high availability installation, so that all HA nodes of Pipelines reference a common, shared database.

Use the commands below to create a Pipelines user and database with appropriate permissions before proceeding to install Pipelines. Modify the relevant values to match your specific environment:

CREATE USER pipelines WITH PASSWORD ‘password’;
CREATE DATABASE pipelinesdb WITH OWNER=pipelines ENCODING=’UTF8';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE pipelinesdb TO pipelines;

After you have verified that the script is correct, you need to run it to create the database and proceed with configuring the database.

When installing Pipelines, you must specify the connection string using the following argument in command line installer. The database connection details are used for each node installation.

$ sudo pipelines install --db-connection-string postgres://<user>:<pass>@<ip>:<port>/<db>

External Vault

By default, Pipelines installs and connects to a vault that runs in the same instance as the Pipelines service. However, it can be configured to use an external vault if needed. 

When installing Pipelines, you must specify the vault-url string and the root token using the following argument in command line installer.

$ sudo pipelines install --vault-url <external-vault-url> --vault-root-token <external-vault-root-token>

Using Vault in Production Environments

To use vault securely, you must set the disablemlock setting in the values.yaml to false (see Hashicorp Vault recommendations.

vault:
  disablemlock: false

Proxy Setup

Pipelines installer accepts a proxy configuration to use a proxy server to connect to the JFrog Artifactory instance using the following arguments in command line installer:

$ sudo pipelines install --artifactory-proxy <proxy-server>\
    --artifactory-proxy-username <proxy-username> \
    --artifactory-proxy-password <proxy-password>

The installer also fetches proxy configurations from the connected JFrog Artifactory instance and injects them into all microservices and execution nodes. This is done to ensure that any outgoing connections use the same proxy settings as are being used by the parent Artifactory instance.

State

The installer allows users to set up state providers using command line installer. State is used by Pipelines to store

• Cache
• Test and coverage reports
• Step artifacts
• Step outputs
• Run outputs

Users can also use state indirectly to download console logs and artifacts from the UI.

Use --state-bucket <bucket name>  to configure the Artifactory repository to use for storing state. If this setting is left blank, a name is automatically generated.

Non-Root User

The --install-user <username>:<groupname> argument of the command line installer controls the user and group settings for the files created by installer. By default, the installation runs as the currently logged in user, as defined by $HOME environment variable

Prerequisites

• The user and group provided as the arguments must exist before running the installation
• ssh-keypair for the user must exist in $USER_HOME/.ssh directory
• The public key should be in file $USER_HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
• The private key should be in file $USER_HOME/.ssh/id_rsa with permissions set to 600
• The user being used must have permissions on JFROG_HOME directory (/opt/jfrog by default)
• The user being used must be part of docker group on the host to execute Docker commands
• The following dependencies must be installed: Python, jq, yq, curl, nc, psql, and Docker Compose

Install Image Registry

The --image-registry-url argument of the command line installer specifies the endpoint where the Docker images for Pipelines services are stored that will be installed by the Pipelines command line installer. By default, the command line installer will install Pipelines from the JFrog distribution registry at releases-docker.jfrog.io. This should not be changed without instruction from JFrog.

To change the registry for runtime build images, use --build_image_registry-url as described below.

Changing the Default Build Image Registry

The standard set of runtime build images are stored at releases-docker.jfrog.io and the Pipelines command line installer sets this registry location by default.

You may want to copy the build images to a local Docker registry either to improve image pull times or avoid requiring access to a remote registry. After copying the images to the new location, you'll need to update Pipelines to use this location.  This can be done during installation or as part of an upgrade. Assuming that you have simply moved all of the default images, this just requires setting the --build-image-registry-url option to the new registry to update all the default images for Pipelines when running either pipelines upgrade or pipelines install.

$ sudo pipelines upgrade --build-image-registry-url my.docker.registry.io

Alternatively, if you want to use multiple registries or change the names of the default images, you can edit the Pipelines System YAML file and then run pipelines upgrade without the --build-image-registry-url option to start using the new image settings.

Accessing Pipelines

Once the installation is complete, Pipelines can be accessed as part of the JFrog Platform Deployment.

1. Access the JFrog Platform from your browser. For example, at: http:/<jfrogUrl>/ui/.
2. For Pipelines functions, go to the Pipelines tab in the Application module.

Once the installation is complete, start configuring Pipelines to create build node pools, add integrations, and add pipeline sources.

Restarting Pipelines

It may be necessary to restart Pipelines on a node. For example, if the VM is restarted, Pipelines will need to be restarted for it to start running again.

If Pipelines was installed with sudo and the default $JFROG_HOME, run sudo pipelines restart. OFor install Pipelines HAtherwise, run pipelines restart as the user that installed Pipelines and/or with the same $JFROG_HOME environment variable.