Automate your ControlUp installation and infrastructure

Ante — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 11:59:19 +0000

Want to easily automate and quickly deploy a ControlUp test environment or Proof of Concept (PoC)? Then welcome to our guide!

There is no need for any packaging knowledge or understanding of XOAP! We provide all the templates and best practices from a single source.

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Quick start in ControlUp

ControlUp is a software platform designed for monitoring, managing and troubleshooting virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and server environments. It provides IT administrators with real-time insights and tools to optimize the performance and efficiency of their virtualized infrastructure.

The following illustration will help you to get an overview of ControlUp, which components are required and which are used. We focus on the following architecture components in the provision of the PoC / test environment:

ControlUp Insights On-Premises Server (IOP);
ControlUp SOLVE On-Premises Web Console (SOP); and
ControlUp Agent.

For a Proof of Concept (POC) installation with 500 users, you can consolidate both roles onto a single machine. Due to our automation of the installation and delivery process, you can also start with multiple server systems.

Quick facts:

	ControlUp Server	ControlUp Console
Operating system	Windows Server supported versions: 2022, 2019, 2016	Windows Server supported versions: 2022, 2019, 2016 OR Windows 11, 10
System definition	min. 2 CPUs 8GB RAM 10 GB disk	min. 2 CPUs 8GB RAM 10 GB disk
Others	NET Framework 4.8 or later PowerShell 5.x or later	NET Framework 4.5 or later

Active Directory Group

Create an AD group for users requiring access to the ControlUp real-time console.

Ports and Network

Allow the following ports through any firewalls:

ControlUp Console <-> ControlUp Agent: port tcp\40705
ControlUp Console <-> ControlUp Monitor: port tcp\40706

Service accounts and permissions

Create a Service Account with the following rights:

Hypervisor: Read-only
Connectivity to Servers/VDI/RDSH: Local admin
Connection to Horizon: Read-only
Connection to Citrix Broker: Read-only
Connection to NetScaler: Read-only

SMTP Server (Optional)

If you plan to set up notifications and alerts based on KPIs, an internal SMTP server with a username, password, and port is required.

Agent deployment

To deploy the ControlUp agent and understand its requirements, refer to the following resources:

By adhering to these guidelines, you’ll pave the way for a well-optimized ControlUp environment, ensuring a smooth experience for both administrators and end-users.

Need more help? Read the official ControlUp documentation and implementation requirements.

4 steps for an automated ControlUp delivery

Use the predefined templates and best practices to deploy a standardized ControlUp On-Premises infrastructure.

Step 1: Create your XOAP account

Create your free XOAP account. Access all software installation packages and templates.

It includes all the module configurations and applications needed for this example.

Step 2: Customization

Once your XOAP workspace is ready, go to Groups in Application Management. If you search for ControlUp groups, you will find four of them.

It’s important that you edit the ControlAgent Agent installation parameters. The parameters that must be edited are:

DeviceRegistrationCode
TenantName

To do this, click on the “ControlUp Agent” group Action Menu and select Edit.

In the edit group window, expand application parameters, set the needed values and save the application installation parameters and group changes by clicking on the Save buttons.

Use the predefined server roles to deploy all ControlUp Server components and prerequisites at the push of a button. Customize the roles to your needs.

In Application Management, you will find the roles that contain the complete installation sequence. The software packages are provided in the correct order and dependency.

You can easily change versions and extend groups at any time.

Step 3: Deployment

Once saved, you are ready to push the ControlUp agent and console to your servers.

To do this, go to the Groups tab in Configuration Management, find the ControlUpConsole and ControlUpAgent config groups, and download the registration script.

To apply the configuration on the server, copy the registration script to the desired server, open PowerShell as an administrator, and run it.

Download the corresponding group in Configuration Management and simply run the script on your target system. It will appear in XOAP within a few minutes.

Note: Set the execution policy to remote-signed.

Step 4: Finish

When the script is finished, you will be able to see your server in the Nodes tab in Configuration Management.

To install only the ControlUp agent, repeat the same process using the ControlUpAgent configuration group.

If you go to the node details, you’ll see the applied configurations, installed applications and server details.

By combining the different modules within XOAP, it’s possible to roll out further infrastructure and client components to the target systems without having to set up your own infrastructure.

Furthermore, commands can be received from ControlUp via API and sent to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

This functionality is included in the platform.XO module and further information can be found here.

Conclusion

Automating the installation of the ControlUp infrastructure is a strategic decision that enhances operational efficiency, reduces errors, and facilitates the scalability and security of the environment.

It empowers organizations to deploy, manage, and maintain ControlUp infrastructures in a more streamlined and reliable manner.

With XOAP, you can easily automate Agent installations and update needed configurations. Using module image.XO, you can also include ControlUp Agent in your Azure or AWS golden image templates.

Test automated ControlUp deployment

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