Debian
On Debian and Ubuntu the Nexus Telemetry Fleet collector installs from a signed
apt repository. The packages are published for amd64 and arm64. The systemd
service is nf-collector. Installing the package starts it. Until the
enrol command joins it to a fleet server, the service exits and systemd
starts it again every 5 seconds.
Install
The Add telemetry collector window generates these commands with the
real values. They fetch the signing key, write the repository file for
the stable channel and install the package.
sudo apt-get install -y curl gpg
curl -fsSL https://nexustelemetry.com/nexustelemetry-public.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /usr/share/keyrings/nexustelemetry.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nexustelemetry.gpg] https://fleet-downloads.nexustelemetry.com/apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nexustelemetry-fleet.list
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y nf-collectorapt installs only packages signed with that key.
Installing the package creates the nexus-fleet service user, writes
/etc/nexus-fleet/collector.toml on a first install only, and does not enable the setup
page. Set setup_page = "1" in
collector.toml to enrol from a browser instead.
Enrol
Run the enrol command with sudo. The data directory belongs to the service
user.
sudo nf-collector enrol --server <your-address> --token <token> --name '<terminal name>'The service picks the new certificate up at its next restart, within seconds. If the terminal has not appeared on the dashboard after a minute, restart the service.
An enrolled collector refuses a second enrol command. To enrol it again with a
new token, add --force. The collector gets a new certificate and keeps its record on
the dashboard.
Service
Installing the package starts the service and enables it at boot.
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Stop | sudo systemctl stop nf-collector |
| Start | sudo systemctl start nf-collector |
| Restart | sudo systemctl restart nf-collector |
| Status | systemctl status nf-collector |
Installing the package also enables a second systemd unit,
nf-collector-updater.path. It runs as root and applies an update started
from the dashboard by running apt.
Logs and paths
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Binary | /usr/bin/nf-collector |
| Config | /etc/nexus-fleet/collector.toml, written on first install only, with collector.example.toml in the same directory |
| Data directory | /var/lib/nexus-fleet |
| Logs | journalctl -u nf-collector, and a rolling copy at /var/lib/nexus-fleet/logs/collector.log, 5 files of 10 MB each |
| Service names | nf-collector and nf-collector-updater.path |
| Service user | nexus-fleet |
Update
Update on the dashboard installs the newer version with apt. By hand, upgrade the package.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y nf-collectorapt verifies the package signature, and the collector stays on the channel it was installed from. An updated collector keeps its certificate and its record. Do not enrol it again.
Remove
To reinstall the collector later on the same host, remove the package. The data directory is retained. Do not decommission the collector on the dashboard.
sudo apt-get remove nf-collectorThe dashboard shows the terminal as offline until the collector is reinstalled.
The readings, the config and the certificate stay in /var/lib/nexus-fleet and
/etc/nexus-fleet, and the reinstalled collector reconnects to the same record.
Purge
To remove the collector permanently, decommission it on the dashboard first, while it is online. The collector deletes its enrolment and the dashboard marks its record decommissioned. Remove on the dashboard deletes the record. See Retire and revoke. Then purge the package. The purge removes the data directory, the config, the logs and the service user.
sudo apt-get purge nf-collectorNo collector files remain on the host. A collector installed on the host later enrols as a new collector, with a new record on the dashboard.