Microsoft Azure
In this section, we will look at installing MeshCentral on Microsoft Azure. Azure offers many different operating systems; we will be choosing Ubuntu Server. From the Azure portal we choose Virtual Machines from the left, then click add
Once you choose Ubuntu Server, you will see a list of available versions. In this case we will choose Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Log Term Support). We will then have to give the instance a name and choose how to authenticate to the instance.
Next is the type of instance to launch. Any instance will do, including the smallest option B1s. Of course the more systems you will be managing through MeshCentral, the more powerful instance types may make more sense for you.
After choosing the Instance Type, you will be asked to choose the amount of storage. The minimum 30GB is more than enough.
Configuring Ports
You will next be asked to use or create a network security group with the allowed inbound and outbound TCP and UDP ports. You will need the following settings for your security group:
| Type | Protocol | Port Range | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSH | TCP | 22 | Anywhere | SSH |
| HTTP | TCP | 80 | Anywhere | WWW |
| HTTPS | TCP | 443 | Anywhere | WWW Secure |
| Custom | TCP | 4433 | Anywhere | Intel AMT Cira |
| Custom | TCP | 8080 | Anywhere | Swarm Server 1) |
If you are not going to be managing Intel AMT you can remove port 4433. You could also remove port 80, but it is useful to obtain a Let's Encrypt certificate and to redirect users from the http page to the secure page.
At this point the instance will start up. It will take a few minutes to be ready. Once it is ready, you can use an SSH client such as PuTTY on Windows to connect to the public IP of the instance and get started on the MeshCentral Setup. From this point on you can follow the instructions for installing MeshCentral on Ubuntu 18.04