Install the ConfigSentry Collector on Linux

1. What This Installs

The collector runs from the folder where you extract this ZIP file.

On first run, the script downloads the collector runtime, imports the collector config JSON, and opens the collector menu. From there you can enter local appliance settings and enable the background collector watchdog.

2. Before You Start

PHP CLI must already be installed.

You also need:

• Either curl or wget.
• Either unzip or bsdtar.
• The downloaded ZIP bundle, including configsentry_collector_install.json.

Common package examples:

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y php-cli php-zip curl unzip

RHEL / Rocky / Alma

sudo dnf install -y php-cli php-pecl-zip curl unzip

3. Download the Collector Bundle

Sign in to your ConfigSentry account, open your collector, and click Download - Linux.

The filename will look similar to configsentry_collector_bundle_<collector_id>_v<version>.zip.

4. Extract the Bundle

unzip configsentry_collector_bundle_<collector_id>_v<version>.zip -d configsentry_collector
cd configsentry_collector

This creates a folder called configsentry_collector and extracts the installer files into it.

5. Run the Collector Script

chmod +x ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh
./configsentry-collector-linux.sh

Important:

• Run the script from the extracted bundle folder.
• Leave configsentry_collector_install.json in the same folder as the script.

6. Enter Local Appliance Settings

In the menu, choose 5. Edit locally configured settings.

Enter the appliance Host/IP, Username, and Password if requested. These values are stored locally on the collector host.

7. Enable the Background Collector

In the menu, choose 2. Enable collector service.

On Linux this uses a crontab watchdog, not Task Scheduler.

8. Check Status

In the menu, choose 1. Show collector status.

Healthy output should normally include:

• Crontab watchdog: Enabled
• Collector service: Running
• Base heartbeat: Fresh
• Worker heartbeat: Fresh
• Syslog service: Running, if syslog is enabled.
• Local settings: Complete

9. Updating

• Option 6 installs collector runtime updates.
• Option 7 refreshes config from the website.

10. Troubleshooting

• php: not found - install PHP CLI first.
• curl or wget is required - install curl or wget.
• Unable to extract ZIP - install unzip, or use a host with bsdtar or PHP ZIP support.
• Local settings required - run the script again and choose option 5.
• Collector service is not running - run the script and choose option 2.
• Wrong OS script - use configsentry-collector-linux.sh on Linux only.

11. Firewall (Syslog)

If you enable syslog-triggered collection, ensure the host firewall, such as iptables or ufw, allows inbound UDP traffic on the configured listener port.

12. Useful Commands

• ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh - open the interactive menu.
• ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh --status - print collector status.
• ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh --install-config - install config updates from the website.
• ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh --install-updates - install runtime updates.
• ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh --schedule-enable - enable or repair the cron watchdog and background service.
• ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh --schedule-disable - disable the cron watchdog and background service.

13. Uninstalling

Before deleting the collector folder, reopen the collector and choose Disable collector service, or run ./configsentry-collector-linux.sh --schedule-disable.

After that, remove the cron entry if it still exists and delete the collector directory. No system-wide packages are installed by the collector itself.