Install and Configure On-Premise Connector on an Ubuntu machine

The OPC connector being an .msi file could only be installed on Windows machines. However, with WineHQ, Scalefusion's On-Premise Connector can also be set up and installed on Ubuntu machines. The WineHQ software acts as a bridge by providing a compatibility layer for running Windows applications on Linux-like operating systems.

To start using the On-Premise Connector the first step is to configure it. Configuring it requires the flow to be started from the Scalefusion Dashboard and continued on-premise with required information exchanged between the two, that is, the Scalefusion Dashboard and the On-Premise Connector instance.

The document below describes the process to install On-Premise Connector on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for desktop.

Prerequisites

1. Scalefusion Account with Enterprise License (Legacy, Modern or Trial).
2. The administrator should have owner or co-account owner privileges to complete the setup.
3. Any other administrator (Group Admin, Device Admin or in custom role) who has write access can also do the setup.
4. Ubuntu Desktop 22.04 LTS

Overview of Setup

In a nutshell, following is the process for OPC Setup:

1. Download OPC's .msi file from Scalefusion Dashboard
2. Install WineHQ which provides a compatibility layer for running Windows applications on Linux-like operating systems.
3. Install PlayOnLinux, a graphical frontend for the Wine software compatibility layer which allows Linux users to install Windows-based applications on Linux platform.
4. Follow the steps on PlayOnLinux to install the .msi file on Ubuntu machine and to create an OPC Instance.
5. Login to OPC Instance and choose an appropriate Network Configuration scheme
6. Configure On-Premise Connector Details on Scalefusion Dashboard
7. Check Connection to validate connection between Scalefusion Dashboard and OPC Instance
8. Set-Up On-Premise Connector certificates. To do so:
   1. Generate CSR from OPC Instance
   2. Upload .csr file on Scalefusion Dashboard to generate a signed identity certificate
   3. Download the signed identity certificate from Scalefusion Dashboard
   4. Upload the signed identity certificate to OPC Instance
   5. Download the trust certificate from Scalefusion Dashboard
   6. Upload the trust certificate to OPC Instance
9. Directory (LDAP) Configuration on OPC Instance
10. Complete Setup on Scalefusion Dashboard

The steps are explained in detail below.

Setting up On-Premise Connector (OPC) on Scalefusion Dashboard

Step 1: Download and Install On-Premise Connector .msi file

Download

1. On Scalefusion Dashboard, navigate to Integrations > On-Premise Connector
2. Click Configure

   

3. The On-Premise Connector configuration page opens. Click on Download button to download On-Premise Connector file

   

4. Once download is complete, copy the opc-installer-<version>.msi file to a server within your premises that can access your on-premise resources like Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange, etc.
   If you are already working on the host machine, it is not required to copy the .msi file

Install On-Premise Connector file on Ubuntu 22.04

1. Install WineHQ on your Ubuntu machine.
2. Next, Install Play On Linux. This will allow Linux users to install the opc installer and extract all the executables required to run OPC on Linux platform. To install Play On Linux, execute the following command on terminal:

   sudo apt install playonlinux

   

3. Open the Play On Linux application.
4. You will be presented with a manual installation wizard. Click on the Next button and proceed to follow the given instructions in order to set up a virtual drive.

   

5. The steps will involve:
   1. Providing a name for the virtual drive as Scalefusion OPC.
   2. Next, select the following: Configure Wine and Use a different version of Wine.
   3. Choosing the System version of Wine.
   4. Selecting the kind of virtual drive you wish to create, select 32-bit Windows installation.

      

6. Once Virtual Drive is created, you will get the Wine Configuration window. Here,
   1. Select Default Settings
   2. In Windows Version drop-down, select Windows 10.
   3. Click Apply

      

7. Next, choose the installation file to execute.
   1. Look for the OPC installer file (.msi) that you downloaded from the Scalefusion Dashboard (Step #1 > Download above) and choose it.
   2. The installation process will commence.
   3. The OPC Setup wizard window will appear. Click on Next.
   4. Click on Install to initiate the installation.

      

8. The PowerShell Setup wizard will appear. Follow the instructions displayed on the screen to install PowerShell. Finally, click on Finish to exit the setup wizard.

   

9. The OPC Setup Installation Progress will continue. When the installation is towards completion, a message will be displayed On-Premise Connector setup is ready. Notice .exe file is created.

   

10. Next, Choose OPC.exe from the list for creating a shortcut and enter a shortcut name in the next screen. Click Next

    

11. Next, choose opc-ui.exe from the list to create shortcut and give a shortcut name in the next screen. After giving shortcut name, click Next

    

12. Now, select I do not want to make another shortcut and click Next
13. The window with both shortcuts will show up. Click on Configure on the top.

    

14. PlayOnLinux Configuration window will come up displaying the virtual drive (Scalefusion OPC as configured above) and OPC installation files under it.

    

15. Select Scalefusion OPC to configure. On the right side there are few tabs:
    1. General: Displays the virtual drive name, Wine version as created.

       

    2. Wine: Under this, click on Windows Reboot.

       

    3. Next, click on Task Manager under Wine tab. In the Task Manager window, Processes will show opc.exe and opc-ui.exe running.

       

16. If the set up is successful then the On-Premise Connector Instance's Admin UI would open with URL http://localhost:28626/opc-ui on the default browser.
    As we do NOT support IE browser, it is recommended that non-IE browser is set as default. Else the URL will need to be opened manually by admin on a non-IE browser.

1. On Scalefusion Dashboard, click Next

Step 2: Configure the On-Premise Connector Instance

The On-Premise Connector Instance can be configured once you have made the necessary network configurations to allow reachability of the On-Premise Connector Instance from Scalefusion Dashboard either via the Reverse Proxy scheme or directly. You may refer to this document for further details. Kindly ensure such network configuration is in place before proceeding ahead.

1. On the host machine where OPC Instance is created follow these steps:
   1. Login to the OPC instance using the credentials
      1. Username: admin@local
      2. Password: Aur0r@dm!n
         NOTE: You can change the password later in the Log In Settings of On-Premise Connector

         

   2. Under Network Configuration, Choose one connection method from the following:
      • Web-Server or Reverse proxy (e.g: IIS) : Selected by default
      • Static Public IP

        

   3. Next button will get enabled once you configure On-Premise Connector Details on Scalefusion Dashboard

      

1. Switch to Scalefusion Dashboard and enter the following details:
   

   Field	Description
   Scheme	Choose one from among the following: Http (Selected by default) Https
   Enter the IP Address / Domain Name where the On-Premise Connector can be reached	The public IP address of the server where OPC Instance is created if HTTP scheme is selected. The public DNS name if HTTPS scheme is selected.
   Enter the Port number for inbound connections if the default has been changed	This is set to 28767 by default if HTTP scheme is selected. Unless instructed specifically, you should not change this port. This is set to 443 by default if HTTPS scheme is selected.

1. Check Connection button will get enabled after entering the required details. Click on Check Connection which would trigger a connectivity check with OPC Instance using the details provided
2. Once the connection between Scalefusion Dashboard and OPC Instance are validated, following will reflect:
   1. On Scalefusion Dashboard, the button changes from Check Connection to Next
   2. Next button on OPC Instance > Network Configuration (mentioned on Step #1.c above) will also get enabled.

      

Step 3: Set Up On-Premise Connector Certificates

You need to setup On-Premise Connector certificates to enable encrypted communications for a secure data exchange between Scalefusion Dashboard and OPC Instance. Follow these steps:

1. In the On-Premise Connector Instance click Next at the Network Configuration step which takes you to Step 2, that is, Set Up On-Premise Connector Certificates
   1. Here click on Generate CSR button to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) file

      

   2. This opens up a dialog where you need to enter server/host information where the OPC Instance is hosted.
      1. Hostname: The IP address or hostname of the server where OPC Instance is created
      2. Department: The department "OU" that is managing the OPC Instance
      3. Organization: Name of the Organization "O" licensed to host OPC Instance
      4. City: City "L" where OPC Instance is hosted
      5. State/Province: Name of the State "ST" where OPC Instance is hosted
      6. Country: Name of the Country where OPC Instance is hosted
   3. Click Submit

      

   4. This will generate and download the CSR file on your local machine (with extension .csr).
2. On the Scalefusion Dashboard, upload the same CSR file (downloaded on your local machine) either by dropping the CSR file here or by Selecting Browse Files. This will generate a signed certificate.

   

3. Notice that Download button will get activated under both sub-sections viz. On-Premise Connector Certificate and Trust Store Certificate.
4. Click on Download button under On-Premise Connector Certificate sub-section to download the Identity Certificate.
5. Click on Download button under Download Trust Store Certificates sub-section to download the Trust Certificate

   

6. On the OPC Instance, first upload the Identity Certificate.

   

7. Next upload the Trust Certificate.

   

Step 4: Directory Configuration on OPC instance

After uploading the certificates, the next step is to configure directory settings in OPC Instance. This enables Scalefusion Dashboard to read the users' and groups information.

1. Enter following under Directory Configuration

Some fields are pre-filled as hints for understanding. These should be replaced with actual data.

1. Click Submit
   If LDAP information is not available during setup, admin can click on Later button and come back later to complete the setup.

   

2. You will land on Basic Configuration page which indicates that the integration with OPC is complete. The Basic Configuration page displays basic details like primary email, setup date, certificate details etc.

   

Step 5: Complete Setup on SF Dashboard

On Scalefusion Dashboard, click Complete Setup.

This completes the setup and displays the OPC configuration details in a single view:

• Connector IP, Port, Version
• Configuration Date
• Configured by
• Status
• Configuration Info: The directory configuration that has been set in OPC Instance.

  

Clicking on View Details to shows the Organizational Units and Security Groups

Actions on Configurations

Following actions can be performed over configuration:

1. Sync: If you want to do a manual sync with OPC Instance, click on Sync
2. Edit Config: Allows you to edit the scheme, port or IP
   Sync and Edit are available on clicking three dots under Actions menu
3. Renew Certificate: There will be an option to renew certificates if they have expired. Click on Renew and follow the same Steps to update the certificates.
4. Delete: Deletes the complete OPC configuration. When you click Delete, a confirmation box will appear. Click Confirm.

Management of On-Premise Connector Instance

OPC Instance consists of following sections when you login to it after initial setup is complete

1. Setup Configuration: This consists of two sections
   1. Basic Configuration - Displays all basic configurations that have been done in sync with Scalefusion Dashboard
   2. Network Configuration - View the network configuration options to establish connection between Scalefusion Dashboard and OPC Instance.

      

2. Directory Configuration
   1. Directory Visibility Info - Shows the list of OU's and Security Groups that would be visible to the On-Premise Connector, based on Directory Configuration. The users from these groups can be searched and synced with Scalefusion Dashboard.
   2. Directory Configuration - The directory settings that have been configured. These can be edited.

      

3. Manage Users - Manage the users who are allowed to access OPC UI. Users can be Read+Write (Admin) or Read-Only (User). The User Login Search Base in Directory Configuration must be defined.