How to Install Fleet Osquery Manager on Ubuntu Linux

Install MariaDB Database Server

Fleet Osquery Manager requires a dedicated database backend to store operational data. Run these commands to install MariaDB:

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

Setting up the Fleet database for Fleet Osquery Manager Ubuntu requires securing your MariaDB instance and creating a dedicated database. Run the secure installation script to remove test accounts and protect your root login. After that, log into MariaDB to create the new database and user account that Fleet will use to store all its data.

sudo mariadb-secure-installation

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 relies on Redis (an in-memory data store used for caching and messaging) 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

Containerizing the application via Docker remains the best practice for maintaining updates and isolating dependencies, although running Fleet as a raw binary is technically supported.

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 clean for future updates.

Manual Binary Installation

Installing Fleet Osquery Manager Ubuntu manually without Docker lets you run the software directly on your server. This process involves using terminal commands to fetch the latest release package from GitHub, unpack the files, and place the executable binaries into your system path so the application runs correctly.

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

Creating a systemd service file for Fleet Osquery Manager Ubuntu allows the application to run automatically in the background as a system process. You need to write a service configuration file that defines the execution user, the path to the binary, and automatic restart rules so the app stays online after a server reboot.

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

Configuring an Nginx reverse proxy for Fleet Osquery Manager Ubuntu handles incoming web traffic and secures your login sessions with SSL certificates. This setup routes public web requests from port 443 securely to the backend application running locally on port 8080.

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 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

Fleet Osquery Manager installation is now complete. Your infrastructure now supports enterprise-grade endpoint monitoring. Production-ready tooling like Docker and Nginx guarantees long-term stability and secure administrative access.

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