Check the host before you install
Prepare the hosts and addresses for the Ubuntu .deb installer. The installer adds its build tools and missing dependencies, creates the keys, and prepares the server and device packages.
Choose the hosts
Use Ubuntu 24.04 amd64 for the installation controller. For separate Docker hosts, the Console host also needs Ubuntu 24.04 amd64 and the SSH access described under Docker on separate hosts.
For Kubernetes, provide an existing cluster, storage, enforced NetworkPolicy and LoadBalancer addresses. See Kubernetes for the controller, registry and cluster requirements.
Size the host
Start with this server budget, then measure your fleet's check-ins, telemetry, and image transfers before expanding a rollout.
| Resource | Need |
|---|---|
| Server | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM |
| Disk | Space for retained images, encrypted state, artifacts, and build output |
| NIC | Start with 1 GbE; size for your image sizes and rollout windows |
These are planning values, not a validated 200-device capacity guarantee. See Limits for the validation boundaries.
Prepare network access
Give the server a stable address that devices can reach. Choose a Console address on the management network and reserve its HTTPS port. See Open the required ports. Allow network access for package repositories and builds, and arrange protected storage for independent backups.
Restrict access to the new Console until you have claimed its administrator account. Setup displays the Console address when it finishes.
Verify time before deployment
Check time synchronization on the controller, every Docker host and each
Kubernetes node that can run an IRIS pod. Configure your approved NTP service
and confirm its selected peer, for example with chronyc tracking and
chronyc sources -v. A running service alone does not prove synchronization.
Warning
Containers take their clock from the host. Correct host time rather than
granting containers SYS_TIME or privileged mode.
Choose image and backup storage
Keep Cisco image files outside source repositories. To use an existing image
folder with Docker, pass --image-root /opt/images to setup. The folder must be
readable and traversable by uid 10001; setup checks access and preserves its
permissions. Otherwise, setup uses images inside its state directory.
See Use an existing image folder.
Keep an independent copy of the setup key folder and encrypted backups. Choose backup storage before setup and record it with the installation's addresses.