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Installation > Step 2 - Install instructions > Ubuntu (DEB)
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Installing ThingsBoard Edge on Ubuntu Server

Rules of Compatibility Between ThingsBoard Edge and ThingsBoard Server Versions:

  • ThingsBoard Edge version X.Y.Z is compatible with ThingsBoard Server version X.Y.Z and subsequent versions.
  • ThingsBoard Edge version X.Y.Z is NOT compatible with ThingsBoard Server versions prior to X.Y.Z.

Example: ThingsBoard Edge version 3.3.4.1 is compatible with ThingsBoard server version 3.3.4.1 and later versions (3.4.0, 3.4.1, …). However, ThingsBoard Edge version 3.4.0 is NOT compatible with ThingsBoard server version 3.3.4.1 or earlier versions (3.3.4, 3.3.3, …). In such a case, ThingsBoard Server 3.3.4.1 or an earlier version should first be upgraded to ThingsBoard Server 3.4.0 or a later version.

Please ensure that the ThingsBoard Server is updated to the latest version before proceeding.

This guide describes how to install ThingsBoard Edge on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS / Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Prerequisites

ThingsBoard Cloud server

To begin using ThingsBoard Edge, you must have a ThingsBoard server supporting edge functionality up and running.

The easiest way is to use Live Demo server.

The alternative option is to install ThingsBoard Community Edition server on-premise. Please visit Install CE to install server.

Edge provision on cloud

Additionally, you will need to provision ThingsBoard Edge on a cloud server. If you haven’t done so yet, please follow the Provision Edge on Cloud guide.

Once the ThingsBoard Edge is provisioned on the cloud server, please follow the installation steps provided below.

Edge Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for ThingsBoard Edge depend on the number of devices connected to the edge and the extent of GUI usage locally.

If you’re planning to run ThingsBoard Edge without heavy GUI usage (local dashboards, device management, etc.), and you have a relatively small number of devices (under 100) connected to a single machine, then a minimum of 1GB of RAM should suffice.

On the other hand, if you anticipate heavy GUI usage (local dashboards, device management, etc.) and you’re connecting 100+ devices on a single machine, we recommend having at least 4GB of RAM to ensure optimal performance.

Step 1. Install Java 11 (OpenJDK)

ThingsBoard service is running on Java 11. Follow this instructions to install OpenJDK 11:

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sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

Please don’t forget to configure your operating system to use OpenJDK 11 by default. You can configure which version is the default using the following command:

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sudo update-alternatives --config java

You can check the installation using the following command:

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java -version

Expected command output is:

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openjdk version "11.0.xx"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (...)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build ...)

Step 2. Configure PostgreSQL

ThingsBoard Edge uses PostgreSQL database as a local storage.

Instructions listed below will help you to install PostgreSQL.

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# install **wget** if not already installed:
sudo apt install -y wget

# import the repository signing key:
wget --quiet -O - https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc | sudo apt-key add -

# add repository contents to your system:
RELEASE=$(lsb_release -cs)
echo "deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ ${RELEASE}"-pgdg main | sudo tee  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list

# install and launch the postgresql service:
sudo apt update
sudo apt -y install postgresql-12
sudo service postgresql start

Once PostgreSQL is installed you may want to create a new user or set the password for the the main user. The instructions below will help to set the password for main postgresql user

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sudo su - postgres
psql
\password
\q

Then, press “Ctrl+D” to return to main user console and connect to the database to create ThingsBoard Edge DB:

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psql -U postgres -d postgres -h 127.0.0.1 -W
CREATE DATABASE tb_edge;
\q

Step 3. ThingsBoard Edge service installation

Download installation package.

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wget https://github.com/thingsboard/thingsboard-edge/releases/download/v3.5.1/tb-edge-3.5.1.deb

Go to the download repository and install ThingsBoard Edge service

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sudo dpkg -i tb-edge-3.5.1.deb

Step 4. Configure ThingsBoard Edge

Edit ThingsBoard Edge configuration file

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sudo nano /etc/tb-edge/conf/tb-edge.conf

Please update the following lines in your configuration file. Make sure to replace:

  • “PUT_YOUR_POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD_HERE” with your actual postgres user password.

  • “PUT_YOUR_CLOUD_IP” with an IP address of the machine where ThingsBoard server is running. Depending on your setup:

    • If you’re connecting the edge to the ThingsBoard Live Demo for evaluation, use demo.thingsboard.io.

    • Use localhost if the edge is running on the same machine as the cloud instance.
    • Use an X.X.X.X IP address if the edge is connecting to the cloud instance in the same network or in a Docker container.
  • Replace “PUT_YOUR_EDGE_KEY_HERE” and “PUT_YOUR_EDGE_SECRET_HERE” with the respective Edge key and secret (you can find these edge credentials in your cloud instance):
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# UNCOMMENT NEXT LINES AND PUT YOUR CLOUD CONNECTION SETTINGS:
# export CLOUD_ROUTING_KEY=PUT_YOUR_EDGE_KEY_HERE
# export CLOUD_ROUTING_SECRET=PUT_YOUR_EDGE_SECRET_HERE

# UNCOMMENT NEXT LINES IF EDGE CONNECTS TO CE 'DEMO.THINGSBOARD.IO' SERVER:
# export CLOUD_RPC_HOST=demo.thingsboard.io

# UNCOMMENT NEXT LINES IF YOU CHANGED DEFAULT CLOUD RPC HOST/PORT SETTINGS:
# export CLOUD_RPC_HOST=PUT_YOUR_CLOUD_IP
# export CLOUD_RPC_PORT=7070

# UNCOMMENT NEXT LINES IF YOU ARE RUNNING EDGE ON THE SAME MACHINE WHERE THINGSBOARD SERVER IS RUNNING:
# export HTTP_BIND_PORT=18080
# export MQTT_BIND_PORT=11883
# export COAP_BIND_PORT=15683
# export LWM2M_ENABLED=false

# UNCOMMENT NEXT LINES IF YOU HAVE CHANGED DEFAULT POSTGRESQL DATASOURCE SETTINGS:
# export SPRING_DATASOURCE_URL=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/tb_edge
# export SPRING_DATASOURCE_USERNAME=postgres
# export SPRING_DATASOURCE_PASSWORD=PUT_YOUR_POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD_HERE

If ThingsBoard Edge is set to run on the same machine where the ThingsBoard server is operating, you need to update additional configuration parameters to prevent port collision between the ThingsBoard server and ThingsBoard Edge.

Please uncomment the following parameters in the ThingsBoard Edge configuration file (/etc/tb-edge/conf/tb-edge.conf):
export HTTP_BIND_PORT=18080
export MQTT_BIND_PORT=11883
export COAP_BIND_PORT=15683
export LWM2M_ENABLED=false

Ensure that the ports listed above (18080, 11883, 15683) are not being used by any other application.

Step 5. Run installation script

Once ThingsBoard Edge is installed and configured please execute the following install script:

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sudo /usr/share/tb-edge/bin/install/install.sh

Step 6. Restart ThingsBoard Edge service

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sudo service tb-edge restart

Step 7. Open ThingsBoard Edge UI

Once started, you will be able to open ThingsBoard Edge UI using the following link http://localhost:8080.

Use next ThingsBoard Edge UI link http://localhost:18080 if you updated HTTP 8080 bind port to 18080.

Please use your tenant credentials from local cloud instance or ThingsBoard Live Demo to log in to the ThingsBoard Edge.

Troubleshooting

ThingsBoard Edge logs stored in the following directory:

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/var/log/tb-edge

You can issue the following command in order to check if there are any errors on the service side:

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cat /var/log/tb-edge/tb-edge.log | grep ERROR

Start edge service:

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sudo service tb-edge start

Stop edge service:

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sudo service tb-edge stop

Restart edge service:

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sudo service tb-edge restart

Check status of ThingsBoard Edge service:

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sudo service tb-edge status

Next Steps

Congratulations! You have successfully provisioned, installed and connected ThingsBoard Edge to ThingsBoard server.

You can continue with Getting started guide to get the basic knowledge of ThingsBoard Edge or you can jump directly to more advanced topics: