Installing using the command line

• 1: Download and install the Vertica server package
• 2: Installing Vertica with the installation script
• 2.1: Perform a basic install
• 2.2: Install on a FIPS 140-2 enabled machine
• 2.3: Create symbolic links for OpenSSL
• 2.4: install_vertica options
• 3: Installing Vertica silently
• 4: Installing Vertica on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

1 - Download and install the Vertica server package

To download and install the Vertica server package:

1. Use a Web browser to go to the Vertica website.

2. Click the Support tab and select Customer Downloads.

3. Log into the portal to download the install package.
   Be sure the package you download matches the operating system and the machine architecture on which you intend to install it.

4. Transfer the installation package to the Administration host.

5. If you installed a previous version of Vertica on any of the hosts in the cluster, use the Administration tools to shut down any running database.

   The database must stop normally; you cannot upgrade a database that requires recovery.

6. If you are using sudo, skip to the next step. If you are root, log in to the Administration Host as root (or log in as another user and switch to root).

   $ su - root
   password: root-password
   #
   

   Caution

   When installing Vertica using an existing user as the dba, you must exit all UNIX terminal sessions for that user after setup completes and log in again to ensure that group privileges are applied correctly.

   After Vertica is installed, you no longer need root privileges. To verify sudo, see General hardware and OS requirements and recommendations.

7. Use one of the following commands to run the RPM package installer:

   • If you are root and installing an RPM:

     # rpm -Uvh pathname
     

     Note

     When installing a Vertica RPM, you might see an unexpected warning about a SHA256 signature. This warning indicates that you need to import a GPG key. Only necessary for versions after 10.0, keys can be downloaded under the Security section of your chosen release from the Vertica Client Drivers page. After downloading the key, you can import it with the following command:

     # rpm --import RPM-GPG-KEY-VERTICA

   • If you are using sudo and installing an RPM:

     $ sudo rpm -Uvh pathname
     

   • If you are using Debian:

     $ sudo dpkg -i pathname
     

   where pathname is the Vertica package file you downloaded.

   Note

   If the package installer reports multiple dependency problems, or you receive the error "ERROR: You're attempting to install the wrong RPM for this operating system", then you are trying to install the wrong Vertica server package.

2 - Installing Vertica with the installation script

Run the installation script after you install the Vertica package. The installation script runs on a single node, using a Bash shell. It copies the Vertica package to all other hosts (identified by the --hosts argument) in your planned cluster.

The installation script runs several tests on each of the target hosts to verify that the hosts meet system and performance requirements for a Vertica node. The installation script modifies some operating system configuration settings to meet these requirements. Other settings cannot be modified by the installation script and must be manually reconfigured.

2.1 - Perform a basic install

For all installation options, see install_vertica options.

1. As root (or sudo) run the install script. The script must be run by a BASH shell as root or as a user with sudo privileges. You can configure many options when running the install script. See Basic Installation Parameters below for the complete list of options.

   If the installer fails due to any requirements not being met, you can correct the issue and then rerun the installer with the same command line options.

   To perform a basic installation:

   • As root:

     # /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --hosts host_list --rpm package_name --dba-user dba_username
     

   • Using sudo:

     $ sudo /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --hosts host_list --rpm package_name --dba-user dba_username
     

   Important

   If you place install_vertica in a location other than /opt/vertica, create a symlink from that location to /opt/vertica. Create this symlink on all cluster nodes, otherwise the database will not start.

   Basic installation parameters

   Option	Description
   --hosts host_list	A comma-separated list of host names or IP addresses to include in the cluster. The list must not include embedded spaces. For example: * `--hosts node01,node02,node03` * `--hosts 127.0.0.1` * `--hosts 192.168.233.101,192.168.233.102,192.168.233.103` * `--hosts fd95:ff5d:5549:bdb0::1,fd95:ff5d:5549:bdb0::2,fd95:ff5d:5549:bdb0::3` Note Vertica stores only IP addresses in its configuration files. If you provide host names, they are converted to IP addresses when the script runs.
   --rpm package_name --deb package_name	The path and name of the Vertica RPM package. For example: --rpm /tmp/vertica-10.1.1-0.x86_64.RHEL6.rpm For Debian and Ubuntu installs, provide the name of the Debian package. For example: --deb /tmp/vertica_10.1_amd64.deb
   --dba-user dba_username	The name of the Database Superuser system account to create. Only this account can run the Administration Tools. If you omit the --dba-user parameter, then the default database administrator account name is dbadmin. This parameter is optional for new installations done as root but must be specified when upgrading or when installing using sudo. If upgrading, use the -u parameter to specify the same DBA account name that you used previously. If installing using sudo, the user must already exist. Note If you manually create the user, modify the user's .bashrc file to include the line: PATH=/opt/vertica/bin:$PATH so that the Vertica tools such as vsql and admintools can be easily started by the dbadmin user.

2. When prompted for a password to log into the other nodes, provide the requested password. Doing so allows the installation of the package and system configuration on the other cluster nodes.

   • If you are root, this is the root password.

   • If you are using sudo, this is the sudo user password.

   The password does not echo on the command line. For example:

   Vertica Database 11.1.x Installation Tool
   Please enter password for root@host01:password
   

3. If the dbadmin user, or the user specified in the argument --dba-user, does not exist, then the install script prompts for the password for the user. Provide the password. For example:

   Enter password for new UNIX user dbadmin:password
   Retype new UNIX password for user dbadmin:password
   

4. Carefully examine any warnings or failures returned by install_vertica and correct the problems.

   For example, insufficient RAM, insufficient network throughput, and too high readahead settings on the file system could cause performance problems later on. Additionally, LANG warnings, if not resolved, can cause database startup to fail and issues with VSQL. The system LANG attributes must be UTF-8 compatible. After you fix the problems, rerun the install script.

5. When installation is successful, disconnect from the Administration host, as instructed by the script. Then, complete the required post-installation steps.

   At this point, root privileges are no longer needed and the database administrator can perform any remaining steps.

2.2 - Install on a FIPS 140-2 enabled machine

Vertica supports the implementation of the Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 (FIPS). You enable FIPS mode in the operating system.

During installation, the install_vertica script detects whether the host is operating in FIPS mode. The installer searches for the file /proc/sys/crypto/fips_enabled and examines its content. If the file exists and contains a '1' in the filename, the host is operating in FIPS mode and the following message appears:

/proc/sys/crypto/fips_enabled exists and contains '1', this is a FIPS system

2.3 - Create symbolic links for OpenSSL

As part of the Vertica installation, symbolic links are created to the appropriate OpenSSL files. The steps are as follows:

1. The RPM installer places two OpenSSL library files in /opt/vertica/lib:

   • libssl.so.1.1

   • libcrypto.so.1.1

2. The install_vertica script creates two symbolic links in /opt/vertica/lib:

   • libssl.so

   • libcrypto.so

3. The symbolic links point to libssl.so.1.1 and libcrypto.so.1.1, which the RPM installer placed in /opt/vertica/lib.

To implement FIPS 140-2 on your Vertica Analytic Database, you need to configure both the server and the client you are using. To see the detailed configuration steps, go to Implementing FIPS 140-2.

2.4 - install_vertica options

The table below describes all install_vertica script options. Most options have a long and short form—for example, --hosts and -s.

install_vertica minimally requires two options:

• --hosts / -s

• --rpm / -r | --deb

For example:

 # /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --hosts node0001,node0002,node0003 \
            --rpm /tmp/vertica-10.1.1-0.x86_64.RHEL6.rpm

For details on minimal installation requirements, see Perform a basic install.

--add-hosts host01
--add-hosts 192.168.233.101

--hosts host01,host02,host03
-s 192.168.233.101,192.168.233.102,192.168.233.103

--license CE
--license /tmp/vlicense.dat

--remove-hosts host01

-R 192.168.233.101

3 - Installing Vertica silently

This section describes how to create a properties file that lets you install and deploy Vertica-based applications quickly and without much manual intervention.

Install the properties file:

1. Download and install the Vertica install package, as described in Installing Vertica.

2. Create the properties file that enables non-interactive setup by supplying the parameters you want Vertica to use. For example:

   The following command assumes a multi-node setup:

   # /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --record-config file_name --license /tmp/license.txt --accept-eula \
   # --dba-user-password password --ssh-password password --hosts host_list --rpm package_name
   

   The following command assumes a single-node setup:

   # /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --record-config file_name --license /tmp/license.txt --accept-eula \
   # --dba-user-password password
   

   Option	Description
   --record-file file_name	[Required] Accepts a file name, which when used in conjunction with command line options, creates a properties file that can be used with the --config-file option during setup. This flag creates the properties file and exits; it has no impact on installation.
   --license { license_file | CE }	Silently and automatically deploys the license key to /opt/vertica/config/share. On multi-node installations, the –-license option also applies the license to all nodes declared in the --hosts host_list. If specified with CE, automatically deploys the Community Edition license key, which is included in your download. You do not need to specify a license file.
   --accept-eula	Silently accepts the EULA agreement during setup.
   --dba-user-password password	The password for the Database Superuser account; if not supplied, the script prompts for the password and does not echo the input.
   --ssh-password password	The root password to use by default for each cluster host; if not supplied, the script prompts for the password if and when necessary and does not echo the input.
   --hosts host_list	A comma-separated list of hostnames or IP addresses to include in the cluster; do not include space characters in the list. Examples: --hosts host01,host02,host03 --hosts 192.168.233.101,192.168.233.102,192.168.233.103
   --rpm package_name --deb package_name	The name of the RPM or Debian package that contained this script. Example: --rpm vertica-12.0.x.x86_64.RHEL6.rpm This parameter is required on multi-node installations if the RPM or DEB package is not already installed on the other hosts.

See Installing Vertica with the installation script for the complete set of installation parameters.

1. Use one of the following commands to run the installation script.

• If you are root:

  /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --config-file file_name
  

• If you are using sudo:

  $ sudo /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --config-file file_name
  

  --config-file file_name accepts an existing properties file created by --record-config file_name. This properties file contains key/value parameters that map to values in the install_vertica script, many with boolean arguments that default to false

  The command for a single-node install might look like this:

  # /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --config-file /tmp/vertica-inst.prp
  

1. If you did not supply a --ssh-password password parameter to the properties file, you are prompted to provide the requested password to allow installation of the RPM/DEB and system configuration of the other cluster nodes. If you are root, this is the root password. If you are using sudo, this is the sudo user password. The password does not echo on the command line.

1. If you did not supply a --dba-user-password password parameter to the properties file, you are prompted to provide the database administrator account password.

The installation script creates a new Linux user account (dbadmin by default) with the password that you provide.

1. Carefully examine any warnings produced by install_vertica and correct the problems if possible. For example, insufficient RAM, insufficient Network throughput and too high readahead settings on file system could cause performance problems later on.

1. Optionally perform the following steps:

• Install the ODBC and JDBC driver.

• Install the vsql client application on non-cluster hosts.

1. Disconnect from the Administration Host as instructed by the script. This is required to:

• Set certain system parameters correctly.

• Function as the Vertica database administrator.

At this point, Linux root privileges are no longer needed. The database administrator can perform the remaining steps.

If you supplied the --license and --accept-eula parameters to the properties file, then proceed to Getting started and then see Configuring the database.

Otherwise:

1. Log in to the Database Superuser account on the administration host.

2. Accept the End User License Agreement and install the license key you downloaded previously as described in Install the license key.

3. Proceed to Getting started and then see Configuring the database.

Notes

• Downgrade installations are not supported.

• The following is an example of the contents of the configuration properties file:

accept_eula = True
license_file = /tmp/license.txt
record_to = file_name
root_password = password
vertica_dba_group = verticadba
vertica_dba_user = dbadmin
vertica_dba_user_password = password

4 - Installing Vertica on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Beginning with Vertica 6.1.x, you can use Vertica on AWS by utilizing a pre-configured Amazon Machine Image (AMI). For details on installing and configuring a cluster on AWS, refer to Installing and Running Vertica on AWS.