Install and Manage Wavefront Proxies

In most cases, a Wavefront proxy must be running in your installation before metrics begin streaming to Wavefront from a host or application.

We offer several deployment options. During development, a single proxy is often sufficient for all data sources. In production, place a team of proxies behind a load balancer.

Scripted and Manual Install

You can install a proxy:

• As part of an integration. Many integrations send data to a Wavefront proxy. You’re prompted to select a proxy that already exists in your enviornment or add a proxy.
• Explicitly from the UI, discussed below.
• Explicitly as a package install. Installing a proxy manually gives steps for different use cases, including install on hosts with limited network connectivity.
• If you install a proxy into a container, you might have to customize your setup.

If you don’t use the Wavefront UI to install the proxy, the installation procedures might require:

• A Wavefront API URL in the format https://<wavefront_instance>.wavefront.com/api/
• An API token, which you generate for your instance.

Proxy Host Requirements

• Internet access - run timeout 3s curl -fIsS <wavefront_api_url> from the host and make sure you get a response and not a timeout.
• Networking - For metrics, the proxy uses port 2878 by default. If you want to change this default, or if you want to set up ports for histograms or trace data, see Configuring Listener Ports for Metrics, Histograms, and Traces.
• Memory - The proxy does not use a lot of CPU, memory, or storage. However, we recommend running the proxy on a host with at least 4GB of free memory.
• Operating system
  • Linux: We’ve tested the proxy with the following versions.
    • Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, 18.04
    • CentOS 6.5, 7
    • RHEL 6, 7
    • Debian 7, 8, 9, 10
    • Amazon Linux
  • Mac - MacOS Sierra (10.12) and later
  • Windows - Windows 8 and later

You can also run a proxy in a Docker or Kubernetes container.

Proxy Installation

Many users install a proxy when they set up an integration. For other situation, we support several installation options.

Note: In development, many customers use only one proxy that receives data from many applications and sends those data to the Wavefront service. In production, consider using two proxies behind a load balancer. See Proxy Deployment Options.

Install a Proxy from the UI

To install and run a proxy on a Linux, Mac, or Windows host, or in a Docker container on a host:

1. Open the Wavefront application UI.
2. Select Browse > Proxies.
3. Select Add > New Proxy at the top of the filter bar.
4. Click the [Linux | Mac | Windows | Docker ] tab.
5. (Windows Only) Download the proxy.

6. Copy the script and run it on your host.

   Note On Windows, do not run the installer .exe file. Run the script instead.

7. After the proxy contacts the Wavefront service, the proxy name displays under “Checking for new proxies…” and the button label changes to Done.
8. Click Done and verify that your proxy is listed on the Proxies page. If not, follow the steps in Managing Proxy Services to start the proxy is running.

Install a Proxy on a Kubernetes Container

If you set up the Kubernetes integration, adding a proxy is part of the setup:

1. Log in to your Wavefront instance.
2. Click Integrations and click Kubernetes.
3. Click the Setup tab and follow the instructions to deploy a Wavefront proxy in Kubernetes and deploy Wavefront Kubernetes Collector.

Depending on your environment, you might have to customize proxy settings for best performance.

Scripted Proxy Installation

In Linux hosts, you can use the Wavefront CLI to install the Wavefront proxy and to perform certain management tasks.

In Mac and Linux hosts, you can select the integration for the host and run only the command that installs the proxy, not the command that installs the Telegraf agent.

Installing a proxy manually gives steps for performing package installs, including installation on hosts with limited network connectivity.

Manage Proxy Services

After installing a proxy, you can start and stop the proxy service, check service status, and view the logs that are generated by the service. See Logging for customizing your proxy, including its log configuration options.

Start and Stop a Proxy

You can start and stop a proxy by running the following commands on the proxy host:

• Linux

  $ service wavefront-proxy [start | stop | restart]
  

• Mac

  $ brew services [start | stop | restart] wfproxy
  

• Docker

  $ docker [start | stop ] <proxy_container_id>
  

• Windows

  $ cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Wavefront\bin
  $ ./nssm.exe [start | stop] WavefrontProxy
  

Check Proxy Service Status

To check if the proxy is running, run the following commands on the proxy host:

• Linux

  $ service wavefront-proxy status
  

  You can view the proxy log at /var/log/wavefront/wavefront.log.

• Mac

  $ brew services list
  

  You can view the proxy log at /usr/local/var/log/wavefront/wavefront.log.

• Windows

  $ cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Wavefront\bin
  $ ./nssm.exe status WavefrontProxy
  

  You can view the proxy log at Program Files (x86)\Wavefront\wavefront.log.

• Docker

  $ docker ps
  

  To view the proxy log, run docker logs <proxy_container_id>.

Set the Listener Port for Metrics, Histograms, and Traces

The proxy listens on different ports for different kinds of data. These ports are specified in the proxy configuration file.

• For metrics, you do not need to edit this file if you plan to ingest metrics using the default port (2878).
• For histogram distributions or trace data, you must edit this file, uncomment the port properties, and restart the proxy. You can optionally set nondefault port numbers.

You set the following properties to configure proxy ports:

• For metrics, set pushListenerPorts. Required only if you want to change to a port other than 2878.
• For histograms, set histogramDistListenerPorts for data in histogram format. The recommended port number is 2878 (proxy 4.29 and later) or 40000 (earlier proxy versions). See Histogram Proxy Ports for port numbers for histograms in Wavefront data format.
• For trace data, set traceListenerPorts. The recommended port number is 30000.

Note: If you are instrumenting your application with a Wavefront SDK to send data to the proxy, make sure the proxy’s port settings match the port numbers you specify during SDK setup.

Test a Proxy

You can test that a proxy is receiving and sending data as follows:

1. Run the following command:

   echo -e "test.metric 1 source=test_host\n" | nc <wavefront_proxy_address> 2878
   

   where <wavefront_proxy_address> is the address of your Wavefront proxy.

2. In the Wavefront UI, select Browse > Metrics.
3. In the Metrics field, type test.metric.
4. Click test.metric to display a chart of the metric.

Upgrade a Proxy

Wavefront frequently releases new proxy versions with new features. See Proxy Release Notes.

To upgrade, select Browse > Proxies > Add New Proxy. If an older version of the proxy exists, this process replaces it.

Note On Windows systems, you might have to uninstall the existing proxy first.

For Linux and Mac OS, can also upgrade a proxy from the command line as follows:

Uninstall a Proxy

When you upgrade a proxy, we uninstall the older version for you. You can also uninstall a proxy explicitly:

Proxy Troubleshooting