Step 1 of 8
1. Install sslbrain
Copy link to the page “1. Install sslbrain”Install the appliance in your network and open the setup wizard in your browser.
What you need
Copy link to the section “What you need”- An sslbrain Cloud (EU) account with accepted licensing terms and data processing agreement.
- For a virtual machine: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM and a 40 GB thin-provisioned disk.
- For Docker: a Linux server with 4 GB RAM and 20 GB of free disk space.
Choose your platform
Copy link to the section “Choose your platform”- VMware: OVA for vSphere, ESXi, Workstation or Fusion.
- Proxmox and KVM: qcow2 disk image.
- Linux with Docker:
install.shon your own server.
Hyper-V is not supported. The virtual appliance includes a console menu, firewall and Ubuntu security updates. With Docker, you maintain the server’s operating system and Docker yourself.
Open the appliance
Copy link to the section “Open the appliance”-
Install the appliance using the platform guide above.
-
Wait until the virtual machine’s console shows
Open https://<ip> in a browser to use it.With Docker, use the address printed by the script. -
Open the address in your browser. The browser warns about the self-signed certificate. On a virtual appliance, you can compare its SHA-256 fingerprint with item 1 in the console menu before continuing.
Check that it works
Copy link to the section “Check that it works”The setup wizard shows Log in with sslbrain Cloud.
Next step
Copy link to the section “Next step”Continue with 2. First-time setup.
If it fails
Copy link to the section “If it fails”- The console shows
NO NETWORK ADDRESS→ set a static address using item 3 in the console menu. - The console shows
The IP address from the deploy wizard was refused→ read the reason and set the address using item 3. The appliance continues automatically. - The software cannot be downloaded → run the connection test using item 2. Allow the required connections in your firewall and see No connection to sslbrain Cloud. The appliance retries every 30 seconds.
- The signature check fails → get the first-boot log using item 4, then 3 in the console menu, and send it to support. The appliance does not start the software and retries every 5 minutes.
- The browser cannot open the page → check the address and status using item 1 in the console menu.
Internal server names cannot be resolved
Copy link to the section “Internal server names cannot be resolved”After setup, open Appliance › Network › DNS servers as an administrator. Enter your internal DNS servers under DNS server IP addresses, separated by commas, and fill in Search domains for short names. Click Save and try an internal name under Test DNS lookup.
Active configuration shows the addresses in use. The appliance queries your internal DNS servers first, then the ones it already had, and finally 1.1.1.1.
Network and firewall
Copy link to the section “Network and firewall”The appliance only needs outbound connections to the internet. Use the names in the firewall if it supports them, because the addresses behind them can change. The fixed IP addresses are listed under Security, Network.
| From | To | Port | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| The appliance | cloud.sslbrain.com | 443 | Activation, licence and sslbrain Cloud |
| The appliance | acme.sslbrain.com | 443 | Certificate issuance |
| The appliance | registry.sslbrain.com | 443 | The appliance’s software and updates |
| The virtual appliance | archive.ubuntu.com, security.ubuntu.com | 80 | Ubuntu security updates |
Without port 80 the appliance runs, but Ubuntu gets no security updates. Ubuntu restarts at 03:00 when an update requires it.
On your own network:
| From | To | Port |
|---|---|---|
| Browsers and service agents | The appliance | 443 on the virtual appliance, 8443 with Docker |
| The appliance | Servers without a service agent, via SSH | 22 |
| The appliance | Servers managed via API | the device’s HTTPS port |
| The appliance | The DNS provider’s API, if you use DNS-API for domain validation | 443 |
Static IP address or DHCP
Copy link to the section “Static IP address or DHCP”The virtual appliance uses DHCP. A static address is entered during import: as OVF properties in VMware, or on a seed disk in Proxmox and KVM. The address is read once, at first boot. After that, you change the address with item 3 in the console menu (Console menu). Without DNS servers, the appliance uses 1.1.1.1 and 9.9.9.9.
The console menu
Copy link to the section “The console menu”The virtual machine’s console shows a menu in English instead of a login prompt. Every item is described under Console menu. A Docker installation has no console menu.
CPU and RAM are changed in the hypervisor. To enlarge the disk, grow the virtual disk while the machine is powered off, then choose items 9 and 5 in the console menu. Before the first boot, growing the disk is enough.