Online multi-node HA-ready production installation

This page explains how you can perform an online Automation Suite installation with a multi-node HA-ready production setup.

Overview

Important:

You must meet the hardware and software prerequisites before proceeding with the installation. See Hardware and software requirements.

You can use a dedicated script to validate the installation prerequisites and infrastructure readiness. See Validating the prerequisites.

For a smooth installation experience, make sure to follow our best practices. See .

These steps will enable you to install the Automation Suite across multiple machines. Internet access is required for this mode of installation.

The installation process has the following general steps:

Step	Description
Step 1: Download the Installation Packages	This step needs to be performed from a machine with access to internet where Automation Suite will be deployed. While these are finishing downloading you can continue onto some of the next steps. Step 1: Download the Install script and run interactive wizard
Step 2: Configure the Installation	Step 2.1: Run the interactive install wizard to configure the installation options The tool will gather inputs for most common install options and generate a configuration file that will be used during the installation. Step 2.1: Basic configuration Step 2.2: (Optional) Configure advanced installation options The default install configuration includes the products used in core automation and a shared SQL server to be used by all products. To customize the products installed or have separate SQL servers used for specific products you can do so by editing the configuration file. Step 2.2: (Optional) Advanced configuration
Step 3: Complete the installation	Step 3: You have completed the installation successfully and can move to post-installation steps. You can now access the newly created cluster and suite, update certificates, resize the PVC, and more. Step 3: Completing the installation

Important:

RHEL kernel version kernel-4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8 is affected by an issue that interrupts the installation or management of the Automation Suite cluster. Make sure that none of the Automation Suite nodes uses this kernel version either pre- or post-installation. You can update the kernel version by running the following command:

dnf install -y kernel kernel-tools kernel-tools-libs

Step 1: Downloading the installation script and running the interactive installer

You must perform this step from a machine with internet access where Automation Suite will be deployed. While these are finishing downloading, you can continue with the next steps.

Note: The Automation Suite installer is a wrapper of multiple packages that also installs some dependencies using Red Hat Package Manager (RPM). It provides an interactive experience that helps you configure external resources such as SQL and other installation options.

To copy the interactive installer to the target machine, take the following steps:

1. Connect to the first machine using SSH.
   • If you set a password, the command is as follows:

     ssh <user>@<dns_of_vm>

   • If you used an SSH key, the command is as follows:

     ssh -i <path/to/Key.pem> <user>@<dns_of_vm>

2. Become root.

   sudo su -

3. Move to home directory:

   cd ~

4. Download the installUiPathAS.sh installer. For instructions, see installUiPathAS.sh. Make sure to download the package suitable for your Automation Suite version.
5. Install unzip and jq.

   yum install unzip jq -y

Step 2: Configuring the installation

Run the installer on the first server only.

chmod +x ~/installUiPathAS.sh
./installUiPathAS.sh

Step 2.1: Basic configuration

Run the interactive install wizard to configure the installation options. The tool gathers inputs for most common installation options and generates a configuration file that you can use during the installation.

If you run the installation using the default configuration, you opt for the default experience. You will install our core platform, Orchestrator, Insights, Action Center, Test Manager, Automation Ops, Automation Hub, and Data Service.

High Availability is enabled by default, but you can disable it using the advanced configuration.

To install Automation Suite using the interactive installer, take the following steps:

1. Select Install the UiPath Automation Suite.
2. Select the deployment mode: select multi-node.
3. Select continue.
4. Select online installation.
5. Enter the DNS hostname / load balancer URL.
6. Specify whether you want to use Kerberos Auth for SQL connections.
7. Enter the SQL Server URL. Follow the prompt to enter the connection port, username, and password.
8. Enter whether you want the installer to auto-create the necessary DBs (Select Yes unless you have existing Automation Suite Databases).
   
   

   

   
   
9. Once the configuration parameters are defined, the installer will autogenerate the configuration. You can edit the configuration parameters directly in the terminal.
   
   

   

   
   
10. You can also see guidance and more details for certificates at Configuring the certificates. Note that certificates are autogenerated, and we recommend rotating them after installation is complete.
    Note: At this point, you can directly edit the cluster_config.json file for advanced configuration settings in the UiPathAutomationSuite folder. After you edit the configuration file, you can re-run the wizard to complete the installation or complete manually. You can go to the following section here: Advanced configuration step for more details.
11. At this point, you can proceed with the installation.
    
    

    

    
    
12. The process will complete and you will have the first node set up:
    
    

    

    
    
13. To continue with the multi-node HA-ready production installation, run the command provided by the wizard on all the nodes in the terminal in sequence, specifying the agent or server for each node being joined.
    Note: You can also add additional nodes post-installation. For details, see Adding a new node to the cluster.

    
    

    

    
    
14. Once all the machines are joined, run the next command on the first server to complete installation of services:
    
    

    

    
    

Step 2.2: (Optional) Advanced configuration

This step is optional.

By running the installation using the default configuration, you are opting to run our basic product selection. You will install our core platform, Orchestrator, Insights, Action Center, Test Manager, Automation Ops, Automation Hub, and Data Service.

You can configure the file for more advanced configurations. You can enable additional products, disable any of the default products, configure your SQL DBs and their respective connection strings, and certificates. For multi-node HA-ready production mode, we enable High Availability by default, but you can disable it if needed.

For advanced configuration, you can follow the following instructions: Advanced installation experience.

Note: If you exit the interactive installer and perform advanced configuration, you need to re-run the interactive installer for the installation to be complete.

Step 3: Completing the Installation

Note: You have completed the installation successfully, and you can now move to post-installation steps.

Updating Certificates

Important:

The installation process generates self-signed certificates on your behalf. However, the Azure deployment template also gives you the option to provide a CA-issued server certificate at installation time instead of using an auto-generated self-signed certificate.

Self-signed certificates will expire in 90 days, and you must replace them with certificates signed by a trusted CA as soon as installation completes. If you do not update the certificates, the installation will stop working after 90 days.

For instructions, see Managing certificates.

Accessing Automation Suite

To access the newly created cluster and suite, see Accessing Automation Suite.

Resizing PVC

To resize the PVC, see Resizing PVC.

If you installed AI Center, we recommend resizing the PVC to 200 immediately after the installation to avoid downtimes. For more information on this, check Resizing PVC for AI Center.