Deploy Metric Insights on Amazon EC2

This article will detail how to setup and install Metric Insights on Amazon EC2. If you do not already have an Amazon EC2 account, sign up for one at http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/.  In addition, if you haven't already done so, please request the Metric Insights software at http://www.metricinsights.com/request_eval.html.  

PREREQUISITE:

Ensure that the system requirements for a Metric Insights server are met.

Starting v6.4.1. services inside containers are run by one unprivileged user. The ownership for the network shared volume must be manually set to www-data, uid: 33 before updating to v6.4.1.

1. Get your AWS Account ID

Get your AWS Account ID

1.1. Log into your AWS account

Log into your AWS account

Log into your AWS account at http://aws.amazon.com/ec2

1.2. Note your AWS account number

Note your AWS account number

You can usually find this under My Account under the AWS console.  It is a 12 digit number in the form XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

2. Get the Metric Insights AMI

After requesting the Metric Insights software from http://www.metricinsights.com/request_eval.html you will receive an email asking for your AWS Account ID and desired EC2 region. Once you share that information via email, we will respond by sharing an AMI-ID (Amazon Machine Image Id) that you can use to launch your EC2 image.

3. Launch a Metric Insights EC2 Instance

At this point, you should have received an AMI-ID (Amazon Machine Image ID) for the Metric Insights server. Use this AMI-ID to launch an EC2 instance

3.1. From the EC2 AWS Console, select the AMIs menu item

From the EC2 AWS Console, select the AMIs menu item

3.2. Find the Metric Insights AMI

Find the Metric Insights AMI

In the AMI list, insert the AMI-ID in the search bar and select 'All Images'. The search will churn for a while (maybe 30 seconds)

3.3. Select the Metric Insights AMI and Launch it

Select the Metric Insights AMI and Launch it

3.4. Launch an EC2 instance with enough resources

Launch an EC2 instance with enough resources

See the minimum system requirements for the Metric Insights Server and select an appropriate image size. M1. Mediums are the minimum recommended size.

3.5. Open the necessary ports for Metric Insights to work

Open the necessary ports for Metric Insights to work

Add inbound access the following ports to an EC2 Security Group (EC2's firewall)

  • 80
  • 443
  • 8443

If you want to lock down the subnet from which inbound connections are allowed, modify the Source ip range as well.  More information can be found in the EC2 documentation.

3.6. Launch the image!

Launch the image!

After launching the image, go back to the Instances menu and get the new image's URL.  It will appear in a display similar to the example above

4. Point your web browser to your new EC2 URL

4.1. Accept the SSL warning

Accept the SSL warning

Depending on your browser, you might get an SSL warning because the instance is using a self-signed certificate

4.2. Log in to Metric Insights!

Log in to Metric Insights!

Log in with the username and password supplied to you via email.