Installation Guide

Installation Methods

There are two ways to install ACS Monitor:

Method	Best For	What You Need
Command Line	Existing Linux servers	A supported Linux distribution already installed with root access and internet connectivity
ISO Installer	Bare metal or new VMs	A dedicated machine (physical or virtual) — the ISO installs the operating system and ACS Monitor together

The ISO installer is the simplest option if you are setting up a new dedicated monitoring server. It handles the operating system installation, first-boot configuration, and application deployment in a single guided process. See the ISO Installer guide for full details.

The rest of this page covers the command-line installation method for deploying ACS Monitor on an existing Linux server.

Supported Operating Systems

The command-line installer supports the following Linux distributions. Both x86_64 (amd64) and ARM64 (aarch64) architectures are supported.

Operating System	Version	Architecture	Status
AlmaLinux	9.x	x86_64, ARM64	Fully supported (recommended)
Rocky Linux	9.x	x86_64, ARM64	Fully supported
RHEL	9.x	x86_64, ARM64	Fully supported
Ubuntu	22.04 LTS and later	x86_64, ARM64	Fully supported
Debian	12 (Bookworm) and later	x86_64, ARM64	Fully supported
Fedora	38 and later	x86_64, ARM64	Supported
CentOS	9 Stream	x86_64, ARM64	Supported
Raspberry Pi OS	12 (Bookworm) and later	ARM64 only	Supported

AlmaLinux 9 is the recommended host OS as it is what ACS Monitor is primarily developed and tested on. All RHEL-family and Debian-family distributions use their respective official package repositories during installation.

Note: Raspberry Pi OS is supported on 64-bit (ARM64) installations only. 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS is not supported.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, ensure your server meets the system requirements. You will need:

A fresh installation of one of the supported operating systems listed above
Root or sudo access via SSH
An active internet connection for downloading application components
An ACS Monitor account with a registered server (see Quick Start Guide)

Getting Your Install Command

After creating a server in your ACS Monitor dashboard, you will receive a unique install command in this format:

curl -fsSL https://acsmon.com/install/YOUR_INSTALL_TOKEN | bash

The install token is a single-use, time-limited token that:

Expires after 6 hours by default
Is tied to your specific server registration
Embeds your license key during installation
Cannot be reused after a successful installation
Can be regenerated from the server detail page if it expires

What the Installer Does

The install script performs the following steps automatically. A fullscreen TUI (text user interface) displays real-time progress throughout the process.

1. System Detection

The installer detects which Linux distribution and version is running and adjusts its setup accordingly. RHEL-family distributions (AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, RHEL, CentOS, Fedora) and Debian-family distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS) each use their respective package managers and repositories. If an unsupported OS is detected, the installer will exit with a clear error message.

2. Runtime Setup

The installer sets up the application runtime environment, installing any required system packages for your distribution. If the runtime is already present, this step is skipped.

3. Service Deployment

The installer downloads and deploys all ACS Monitor services:

Service	Purpose
ACS Monitor Application	Web dashboard, monitoring engine, alerting, and queue workers
Application Database	Device configuration, alert rules, user accounts
Caching Layer	Performance caching and background job queue
Metrics Store	Time-series storage for monitoring metrics and performance data
Web Server	Handles incoming HTTP/HTTPS requests
Probe Service	Network diagnostics and SNMP trap receiver

4. License Key Embedding

Your unique license key is embedded into the application. This key is used for all subsequent communication with the licensing server, including heartbeat reports and cap validation.

5. Admin User Creation

The initial admin user is created with the email address and password you specified when registering the server. You can create additional users after logging in.

6. Service Startup

All services are started and health-checked. The installer waits until everything is responding before reporting success.

7. Completion

Once installation succeeds, the installer reports back to the licensing server to confirm the installation. This updates your server's status in the dashboard and records the installed version and OS details.

Post-Install Verification

After the installer completes, verify everything is working:

Access the Dashboard

Open a web browser and navigate to http://YOUR_SERVER_IP. You should see the ACS Monitor login page. Sign in with the admin credentials you specified during server registration.

Check License Status

In the ACS Monitor dashboard, navigate to Settings and confirm your license is shown as active with the correct tier and device/monitor cap.

Check Services

Navigate to Settings > System Health in the ACS Monitor dashboard to verify all services are running and healthy.

Troubleshooting

Install Token Expired

If your install token has expired, you can regenerate a new one from the server detail page in the ACS Monitor Cloud dashboard. Click "Regenerate Token" to get a fresh install command.

Runtime Setup Fails

If the runtime setup fails, ensure your server has internet access and can reach the required package repositories. On AlmaLinux, ensure the EPEL and CRB repositories are available.

Services Not Starting

Common issues include insufficient memory (ensure at least 4 GB RAM) or port conflicts (ensure ports 80/443 are not already in use). Check the System Health page in the ACS Monitor dashboard for service status details. If you installed via the ISO, the server management console also shows service status under "System Status".

Cannot Access the Dashboard

Verify that your firewall allows traffic on port 80 and/or 443. On AlmaLinux:

firewall-cmd --list-ports
firewall-cmd --add-port=80/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --add-port=443/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --reload

Next Steps

With ACS Monitor installed and running, you can now:

Add your first devices for monitoring through the ACS Monitor web dashboard
Learn about heartbeat monitoring to understand how your instance communicates with the licensing server
Review how licensing works to understand device/monitor caps
If you installed via the ISO, review the ISO Installer guide for server management console usage

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