Setting Up Systemometer: A Step-by-Step Installation and Configuration GuideSystemometer is a comprehensive system monitoring solution designed to track performance metrics, detect anomalies, and provide actionable alerts for servers, workstations, and cloud instances. This guide walks you through planning, installing, and configuring Systemometer for a typical production environment, with tips for customization, best practices, and troubleshooting.

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Overview and prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Supported OS: Linux (Ubuntu/Debian, CentOS/RHEL), Windows Server, or macOS for clients.
• Hardware: Minimum 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 10 GB disk for small deployments; scale up for larger environments.
• Network: Ports 443 (HTTPS) and 8080 (optional API/HTTP) open between agents and the server.
• Access: Root/administrator privileges on machines where you’ll install the server and agents.
• Dependencies: Docker and Docker Compose (optional but recommended for easy deployment), OpenJDK 11+ (if using the standalone Java package), and a supported database (PostgreSQL recommended for production).

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Architecture components

Systemometer typically consists of:

• Central server (web UI, API)
• Database (PostgreSQL)
• Agent(s) (installed on monitored machines)
• Optional components: reverse proxy (Nginx), load balancer, alerting integrations (email, Slack, PagerDuty), and long-term metric storage (Prometheus + remote storage).

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Deployment strategy

Choose one of the deployment approaches:

• Docker Compose: quickest for single-server deployments and testing.
• Kubernetes: recommended for production at scale.
• Standalone packages: for environments that require traditional package installs.

Decide whether to co-locate the database and server (small setups) or run them on separate hosts (recommended for production).

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Installation — Docker Compose (recommended for first-time setup)

1. Create a working directory:

   mkdir ~/systemometer && cd ~/systemometer 

2. Create a docker-compose.yml with the essential services (server, postgres, agent GUI). Example: “`yaml version: ‘3.8’ services: db: image: postgres:14 environment: POSTGRES_USER: systemo POSTGRES_PASSWORD: securepassword POSTGRES_DB: systemometer volumes:

    - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data 

   server: image: systemometer/server:latest depends_on:

    - db 

   environment: DATABASE_URL: postgres://systemo:securepassword@db:5432/systemometer SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0 ports:

    - "443:8443"  - "8080:8080" 

   volumes:

    - ./config:/etc/systemometer 

   volumes: db_data: “`

3. Start services:

   docker compose up -d 

4. Verify server logs:

   docker compose logs -f server 

5. Access the web UI at https://your-server (accept self-signed cert if used) and complete the initial setup wizard (admin user, organization name, default alerting).

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Installation — Standalone Linux package

1. Install dependencies:

   sudo apt update sudo apt install -y openjdk-11-jre wget 

2. Download and extract:

   wget https://downloads.systemometer.example/systemometer-server-1.0.0.tar.gz tar xzf systemometer-server-1.0.0.tar.gz sudo mv systemometer-server /opt/systemometer 

3. Configure systemd service: “`ini

   /etc/systemd/system/systemometer.service

   [Unit] Description=Systemometer Server After=network.target

[Service] Type=simple User=systemometer ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -jar /opt/systemometer/systemometer.jar Restart=on-failure

[Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target

4. Start and enable: ```bash sudo useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin systemometer sudo chown -R systemometer:systemometer /opt/systemometer sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable --now systemometer 

1. Open ports in firewall (example for UFW):

   
   sudo ufw allow 443/tcp sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp 

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Agent installation and registration

Systemometer agents collect metrics and forward them to the server. Install agents on each monitored host.

Linux agent (deb/rpm or script):

1. Download and install package or run install script:

   
   curl -fsSL https://downloads.systemometer.example/install-agent.sh | sudo bash 

2. During installation, provide server URL and registration token (obtain from server UI: Settings → Agents → New token).
3. Verify agent status on server UI (Agents → online).

Windows agent:

• Run the MSI installer, enter server URL and token in the setup wizard, and start the service. Confirm in the server UI.

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Initial configuration (after first login)

• Create an admin user and organization if prompted.
• Configure global settings:
  • SMTP for email alerts
  • Slack/Teams/PagerDuty webhooks
  • Timezone and retention policies
• Add API keys for integrations (cloud providers, ticketing systems).

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Creating monitoring checks and dashboards

1. Define host groups and tags (e.g., prod, db, web).
2. Create checks:
   • CPU, memory, disk usage (built-in)
   • Custom scripts/commands for application-specific checks
   • SNMP checks for network devices
3. Set thresholds and alert conditions (e.g., CPU > 85% for 5 minutes).
4. Build dashboards:
   • Use pre-built widgets (CPU load, disk I/O, network throughput)
   • Create custom charts combining multiple metrics
   • Save and share dashboards with teams

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Alerting and escalation

• Configure notification channels (email, Slack, SMS, PagerDuty).
• Create alert policies and escalation chains:
  • Example: Warning → Email to on-call; Critical → PagerDuty + SMS
• Enable alert deduplication and suppression windows to avoid alert storms.

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Security best practices

• Use HTTPS with valid certificates (Let’s Encrypt for public servers).
• Enforce strong admin passwords and enable 2FA if available.
• Restrict agent registration with short-lived tokens.
• Run services with least privileges and keep software up to date.
• Backup PostgreSQL regularly and test restores.

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Scaling and high availability

• Split services: database on dedicated host, server nodes behind load balancer.
• Use Kubernetes for automatic scaling and rolling updates.
• Implement read replicas for PostgreSQL and regular backups to object storage.
• Use a centralized logging system (ELK/EFK) for auditing and troubleshooting.

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Maintenance and upgrades

• Review release notes before upgrading.
• Test upgrades in staging first.
• Backup database and configuration before major changes.
• Use blue/green or canary deployments for critical environments.

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Troubleshooting — common issues

• Agent not connecting: check firewall, correct server URL, registration token validity, and agent logs.
• High disk usage: verify metric retention settings, rotate logs, and expand disk.
• Slow UI: inspect server resource utilization, database performance, and optimize queries or add replicas.

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Example configuration snippets

Agent registration (API):

curl -X POST "https://your-server/api/v1/agents/register"    -H "Authorization: Bearer REGISTRATION_TOKEN"    -d '{"hostname":"db01","os":"ubuntu20.04"}' 

Sample alert rule (JSON):

{   "name": "High CPU - DB",   "condition": "cpu.avg5m > 85",   "severity": "critical",   "actions": ["pagerduty_db_oncall","email_dba"] } 

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Final checklist before going live

• [ ] Server reachable via HTTPS and valid certs
• [ ] Agents installed and reporting for all hosts
• [ ] Backup strategy in place
• [ ] Alerts configured and tested
• [ ] Dashboards created for key stakeholders
• [ ] Security hardening applied

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If you want, I can generate:

• a ready-to-use docker-compose.yml tuned for 50–200 hosts,
• example Prometheus remote write config for long-term metrics,
• or a sample alert policy and escalation workflow tailored to your environment.