S5 - Dashboards + Analysis, Single Machine (Docker)

Overview

This guide covers installing CAST Imaging with Dashboards and Analysis capability on a single machine using Docker. Users can run analysis and view aggregated results through CAST Dashboards.

What is installed:

When to use: Environments that require analysis and Dashboards access but do not need the CAST Imaging Viewer.

Requirements

Before you start

1. Air-gapped / offline environments: If your target machine does not have internet access, you must pre-download all required Docker images on an internet-connected machine and transfer them before running the installer. See the Air-gapped installation section below.

2. Extend Local Server: If your environment does not permit access to CAST Extend  over the internet, you will need to install the Extend Local Server separately before completing this guide.

Step 1 - Download the installation media

Download the installer using curl:

$ curl -# -O -J "https://extend.castsoftware.com/api/package/download/com.castsoftware.imaging.all.docker/<version>?platform=linux_x64" \
  -H "x-nuget-apikey: <api-key>" \
  -H "accept: application/octet-stream"

Where:

• <version>: use latest for the most recent release, or a specific version such as 3.6.0-funcrel
• <api-key>: your CAST Extend API key (obtain from https://extend.castsoftware.com/#/profile/settings )

Example for latest release:

$ curl -# -O -J "https://extend.castsoftware.com/api/package/download/com.castsoftware.imaging.all.docker/latest?platform=linux_x64" \
  -H "x-nuget-apikey: a9999a9a-c999-999d-999b" \
  -H "accept: application/octet-stream"

Unzip the resulting ZIP file anywhere on your local disk:

$ unzip /path/to/<installer>.zip -d /path/to/folder

Where:

• -d /path/to/folder: tells the unzip utility to unzip to a specific folder (omitting the option will unzip to the current folder)

The following files and folders will be created:

• cast-imaging-dashboards/ (folder)
• cast-imaging-node/ (folder)
• cast-imaging-services/ (folder)
• cast-imaging-viewer/ (folder)
• tools/ (folder)
• cast-imaging-install.sh
• cast-imaging-install-podman.sh
• cast-imaging-update.sh
• configuration.conf

Air-gapped installation

If the target machine(s) has no internet access, pull and export all required images on an internet-connected machine, then transfer and load them on the target machine(s) before running the installer.

On an internet-connected machine - pull and export each image:

$ docker pull <image>:<version>
$ docker save <image>:<version> -o <filename>.tar

Transfer all .tar archives to the target machine (secure copy or removable media).

On the target machine - load each image:

$ docker load -i <filename>.tar

Verify all images are available:

$ docker image ls

Required images:

After loading all images, open configuration.conf in a text editor and set:

OFFLINE_MODE=true

Step 2 - Configure the installation

Locate the configuration.conf file at the root of the unzipped files and open it in a text editor (nano or vi). See Installation variables for a full reference of all variables.

General rules:

• Use forward slashes for all paths
• Do not use localhost, 127.0.0.1, or simple hostnames for _HOSTNAME variables
• CAST recommends leaving port numbers at default values where possible

Note in particular:

xxx_HOSTNAME variables

Locate the following variables in the configuration.conf file (they determine the hostname for each CAST Imaging component you are installing):

• IMAGING_SERVICES_HOSTNAME
• IMAGING_NODE_HOSTNAME
• IMAGING_DASHBOARDS_HOSTNAME

For each variable, configure the current machine’s FQDN (fully qualified domain name) or static IP address (use hostname -f (FQDN) or hostname -I (IP address) to determine this).

DB_MODE

Use DB_MODE (on the machine running imaging-services for multi-machine mode) to control whether the embedded PostgreSQL Docker container is used or an external PostgreSQL instance:

• DB_MODE=embedded (default) - deploys a postgres container as part of the installation
• DB_MODE=external - uses an existing external PostgreSQL instance (configure the relevant DB_* variables)

See Installation variables and Database requirements for details.

Firewall

For single-machine deployments, open only port 8090 (TCP) inbound if you or your users need to access CAST Imaging from another machine on the network.

Step 3 - Make the install script executable

Ensure the installation script is set to executable:

$ chmod +x cast-imaging-install.sh

Step 4 - Run the installation

Run the following commands (one after the other) from the root of the unzipped files:

$ ./cast-imaging-install.sh imaging-services
$ ./cast-imaging-install.sh dashboards
$ ./cast-imaging-install.sh analysis-node

Step 5 - Verify the installation

Check that all containers are running:

$ docker ps

You should see 8 containers (or 7 if using an external PostgreSQL instance):

Full list:

Set permissions on the analysis-node data volume

Run the following command to ensure the root user has access to the persistent volumes shared with the analysis-node container:

$ chown -R 0:0 /opt/cast/shared

Replace /opt/cast/shared with the shared sub-folder of your INSTALL_DIR value if you changed the default.

Data storage

All analysis data is stored under the INSTALL_DIR path (/opt/cast by default).

Database data for the embedded PostgreSQL instance (DB_MODE=embedded) is stored in the Docker volume cast-imaging-db-data (view with docker volume ls). By default the data is stored under $INSTALL_DIR/cast-imaging-db-data/data (for example /opt/cast/cast-imaging-db-data/data). From 3.6.4-funcrel you can store it on a different host path by setting CAST_IMAGING_DB_DATA_VOLUME_PATH in configuration.conf (see Installation variables). If you reinstall imaging-services and this volume already exists, it will be reused and existing applications will remain visible.

Step 6 - Initial startup configuration

Browse to:

http://<IMAGING_SERVICES_HOSTNAME>:8090

Log in using the default credentials: admin / admin

Configure the Licensing strategy. Choose one of:

• Named Application - each onboarded application requires its own dedicated license key
• Contributing Developers - a global license key based on the number of contributing developers

Configure CAST Extend settings and Proxy settings:

Verify that all components are available:

http://<IMAGING_SERVICES_HOSTNAME>:8090/admin/services

Step 7 - Configure authentication

Out-of-the-box, CAST Imaging uses Local Authentication (admin/admin) managed by Keycloak.

CAST recommends switching to your enterprise authentication system (LDAP or SAML) before onboarding applications. Access the Keycloak UI using the kcadmin account (or the value of KEYCLOAK_LOGIN_ADMIN_USER if customized during installation). See Authentication for full instructions.

Connect AI tools to your results

Next steps

• Configure HTTPS access
• Configure a reverse proxy

Uninstall