How to Install Fleet Osquery Manager on Ubuntu Linux

Install MariaDB Database Server

Fleet needs a database to store its information. MariaDB is a great choice for this task.

Run these commands to install it:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

After installation, make sure the service starts whenever your computer turns on:

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Setup Fleet Database

Now, we need to create a specific place in the database for Fleet. Use the security script first to lock things down:

sudo mariadb-secure-installation

Follow the prompts to remove guest users and secure the root account (your main administrator account). Next, log in to MariaDB using this command: `sudo mariadb -u root -p`. Then, inside the MariaDB prompt, run these commands to create the database and user:

CREATE DATABASE fleetdb;
CREATE USER ‘fleetuser’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED BY ‘your_strong_password’;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON fleetdb.* TO ‘fleetuser’@’localhost’;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

How to install and use MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux

Install Redis Server

Fleet uses Redis to handle quick data tasks. Install it with this command:

sudo apt install redis
sudo systemctl enable redis-server
sudo systemctl start redis-server

How to install Redis on Ubuntu Linux

Install Fleet Osquery Manager

While you can run Fleet as a binary, using Docker is the recommended way to keep it updated and manageable.

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

Here’s how to get started with Docker Deployment:

First, install Docker on your Ubuntu system. Then, create a folder for your configuration and run Fleet as a container. This keeps your setup isolated and simple to update.

Manual Binary Installation

If you prefer not to use Docker, you can fetch the latest version automatically using this script:

LATEST_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/fleetdm/fleet/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d ‘”‘ -f 4)
curl -LO https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet/releases/download/$LATEST_VERSION/fleet_$LATEST_VERSION_linux.tar.gz
tar xf fleet_$LATEST_VERSION_linux.tar.gz
sudo cp fleet /usr/local/bin/

Systemd Service

Create a service file so Fleet runs in the background:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/fleet.service

Add this configuration:

[Unit]
Description=Fleet Osquery Manager
After=network.target

[Service]
User=fleet
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/fleet serve –config /etc/fleet/fleet.yml
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable fleet
sudo systemctl start fleet

Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

It’s best practice to use Nginx (a web server) in front of Fleet to handle SSL (secure connections). Install Nginx and use Certbot to get a free Let’s Encrypt certificate.

sudo apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Create an Nginx configuration file that points to your server’s domain and forwards traffic to your Fleet port (usually 8080). Use certbot --nginx to automatically attach your SSL certificate to the site.

Once finished, visit your domain in a web browser to finalize the setup.

Follow the screen prompts to create your admin account.

You can now add your devices to the dashboard.

Add hosts to Fleet

Conclusion

You have successfully installed the Fleet Osquery Manager. Your system is now ready to track and manage your devices securely. By using modern tools like Docker and Nginx, you have ensured that your management platform remains stable and safe for years to come.

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