Page Comparison

Endpoint Name

Yes

The name of the Endpoint.

Description

No

An optional description for the Endpoint.

Active

Yes

Whether or not the endpoint is active in the system. Defaults to "Yes".

Connection Type

Yes

The connection type used for connection to the Endpoint.

Supports:

• localhost

• SSH

  • When using Windows, this is supported on Windows Server 2019+ where native OpenSSH is available.

• SSH (Cygwin)

  • This is only when using Windows as Operating System. See the Cygwin Installation Guide for more information.

• HTTPS

Operating System

Yes

Unix or Windows

Address

Yes

The DNS name or IP address of the Endpoint.

Port

Yes

The SSH port of the Endpoint (typically port 22).

Base Directory

Yes

A working directory on the Endpoint used by FlexDeploy. ~ is not supported here. See Permissions information below for details on how to create this folder automatically (Recommended).

For example, /app/flexdeploy.

If you have two FlexDeploy installations that may connect to same Endpoint, you must use unique folders for both FlexDeploy Servers. In most cases, separate FlexDeploy is installed to perform testing of FlexDeploy patches, which may connect to same Endpoint, in which case you can use different folder like /app/flexdeploytest and /app/flexdeploy.

Working directory under /var/tmp or /tmp folder is not recommended as administrators generally have cron jobs to purge files based on age and that will cause issues when plugin files are deleted. For example, Error: Could not find or load main class flexagon.fd.core.plugin.ExternalPluginServer will be encountered when plugin lib files are deleted.

Permissions

• Base directory must be owned by Username or Run as (if using privilege escalation) and it's group.

• Ideal option is to point base directory where Username or Run as (if using privilege escalation) has access to create sub-folder. In such case, FlexDeploy will automatically create folder with necessary permissions.

• Permissions required are 755. Keep in mind that FlexDeploy may temporarily change permissions specifically when using Run as option.

• When using Run as, Base Directory is owned by Run as and there is subfolder name scratch which is owned by Username. The scratch directory is used to stage files transferred by Username, and then copied to other directories for use by the Run as User. It’s not important to understand this detail, and is only provided since you may notice ownership differences on the scratch directory.

JDK Home

Yes

The JDK Home directory on the Endpoint. For example, /usr. FlexDeploy will look for /bin/java under specified JDK Home folder. Not required if the Endpoint is a Docker Host.

Source Script 

No

An optional script executed right before plugins are executed on the endpoint. Script can source some other environment script as well. Script should be Unix shell or Windows bat commands depending on type of Endpoint. If using Windows Cygwin SSH then script should be written as Unix shell.

Some usages of this script include sourcing an environment file (. $HOME/mfile.env)  or exporting a variable (export FLEXAGON_FD_PLUGIN_JAVA_ARGS="-Xmx1024m -Djava.io.tmpdir=/var/tmp"). Variables exported here will become available to plugin executions on this endpoint.

Transfer Protocol

Yes

Protocol/Tool to use to transfer files from FlexDeploy host to endpoint and vice-versa.

Options available are:

• SCP (default)

• rsync

To use the rsync option, FlexDeploy should be running on a UNIX machine, the endpoint can be UNIX or Windows (Cygwin) and rsync needs to be installed on BOTH, FlexDeploy host and endpoint and expect needs to be installed on the FlexDeploy host.

Authentication Type

Yes

Mechanism to use for authentication.  The Password, Private Key File, and Passphrase are displayed based on selected type.

Supports:

• Username and Password

• Username and SSH Key

• Username and SSH Key with Passphrase

Username

Yes

The user account on the Endpoint to connect with. All executions via this endpoint will run as this user.

Password

No

The password for the Username. Either password or Private Key File is required.

Private Key File

No

Fully-qualified path of the SSH private key file on FlexDeploy server. Either Private Key File or Password is required. ~ is not supported here.

Passphrase

No

An optional passphrase used when the private key was generated. Only valid if a Private Key File is specified.

Privilege Escalation Type

No

An optional type of privilege escalation to use after establishing connection to the endpoint.

Supports:

• sudo

• pbrun @since 6.5.0.3

• other @since 6.5.0.5

Privilege Escalation Syntax

No

@since 6.5.0.5

An optional syntax which wraps all commands to be executed on the endpoint. You can use property replacement syntax i.e. $${{RUN_AS_USER_NAME}}, with this input and the variable will be replaced with the appropriate value at runtime. The following variables are available:

• ${{USER_NAME}} - Username value on this endpoint

• ${{RUN_AS_USER_NAME}} - Run as (user) value on this endpoint

• ${{COMMAND}} - The command to be executed on this endpoint

• ${{ENDPOINT_ADDRESS}} - Endpoint Address value on this endpoint

Important notes:

• Privilege Escalation Syntax must contain ${{COMMAND}} at a minimum.

• When Privilege Escalation Type is changed the Privilege Escalation Syntax will default to sudo -u ${{RUN_AS_USER_NAME}} bash -c '${{COMMAND}}'" for sudo type and pbrun -f ${{ENDPOINT_ADDRESS}} -u ${{RUN_AS_USER_NAME}} bash -c '${{COMMAND}}'" for pbrun type. The other type has no default value. Use other to define a custom privilege escalation.

• To remove privilege escalation, first clear Run as (User) then clear Privilege Escalation Type. Host option (--host/-h) is not supported with any value except ${{ENDPOINT_ADDRESS}}

Run as (user)

No

An optional user to run as after establishing connection to the endpoint when working with Unix OS.

For example, flexdeploy

See below for necessary setup information for type of Privilege Escalation Type:

sudo:

with Unix OS.

For example, flexdeploy

See below for necessary setup information for type of Privilege Escalation Type:

sudo:

• Add sudoers rule, such that Username can sudo to Run as (user) without prompting for a password.

• After completing endpoint configuration, click “Test Connection” on the Endpoint.

pbrun:

• IP address or hostname with domain is required for the Address of your endpoint, as this is used for the host argument in the pbrun command. runhost and submithost will always be the endpoint’s Address

• The Username on the endpoint becomes the user in pbrun and Run as (user) becomes the requestuser in pbrun. Policies should be configured accordingly.

custom setup:

If there is a need to adjust privilege escalation commands or try different privilege escalation type, then it can be done by setting up a description value like shown below. Please consult with Flexagon support if you have questions on this topic.

sudoPrefix:sudo su - 
sudoSuffix:bash -c 

• something like initialLoginUser ALL=(RunAsUser) NOPASSWD: ALL

  • For example: flexdeploy ALL=(oracle) NOPASSWD: ALL

• Test by executing the following from FlexDeploy server terminal, connected as Username: “sudo -u <Run as (user)> bash -c whoami”.  Output should be the name of the Run as (user) without prompting for a password.

• After completing endpoint configuration, click “Test Connection” on the Endpoint.

pbrun:

• IP address or hostname with domain is required for the Address of your endpoint, as this is used for the host argument in the pbrun command. runhost and submithost will always be the endpoint’s Address

• The Username on the endpoint becomes the user in pbrun and Run as (user) becomes the requestuser in pbrun. Policies should be configured accordingly.