Install Prerequisites

Install Docker

Vera is designed to run inside Docker containers.  Use the following instructions to install Docker Engine Enterprise on the installation machine.

Note:  This section can be skipped if Docker is already installed on the machine.

1. The Docker website provides instructions for installing Docker:
   1. Docker CE (recommended for Linux installations):  https://docs.docker.com/install/

If the docker info command is recognized, then Docker is correctly installed.

Install Docker Compose

Docker Compose is used to setup orchestration between the Vera Server, the Vera Web Portal, and the Vera database.  Use the following instructions to install Docker Compose on the installation machine.

Note:  This section can be skipped if Docker Compose is already installed on the machine.

1. Go to the following link and follow the instructions provided:
   1. https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/

If the docker-compose --version command is recognized, then Docker Compose is correctly installed.

Install Vera

Pre-configure Storage Locations

Vera uses folder mapping (volume mounting) to create persistent storage outside of the Docker containers.  The first step of installation is to create a folder location for each storage item listed below.  Tricentis default recommendations are provided, but any storage location (drive and/or folder) may be selected.

1. Create Storage Locations:  Use the following table as guidance to select storage locations for the Vera items listed. You can choose any location you like, or you can follow Tricentis default recommendation. NOTE: For Linux, paths are case sensitive.

   Storage Item	Recommended Location (Linux)	Description
   MongoDB Data Storage	/var/lib/vera/data/db	This location will become the internal storage drive for the MongoDB database.
   Vera Server Data Directory	/var/lib/vera/	The folder containing all inputs and outputs for the Vera Server.
   Vera Web Portal Data Directory (optional)	/var/lib/vera/	The folder containing all inputs and outputs for the Vera Web Portal. Usually this is the same as the Vera Server Data Directory.

   
   

2. Create Folders:  Create the following folders within the Vera Data Directory selected above.

   Required Folder Name	Description
   Certificates	A folder for placing SSL certificates used to enable HTTPS on the Vera Server, Vera Web Portal and SSO communication.
   Configs	The folder containing the Vera Web Portal configuration file.
   Logs	The output directory for log files generated by Vera applications.
   Policies	The folder containing the Vera Server configuration files, such as the Records Management Policy, Approval Policy, and Synchronization Policy. This folder is deprecated in Vera 2023.2.  The Records Management Policy, Approval Policy, and Synchronization Policy (Connections) are managed in the Web Portal after installation.
   UserImports	A folder for placing CSV files containing user profiles to import. The Vera Server will monitor this folder for new CSV files that are dropped in.
   Mongo-Setup	A temporary folder for placing setup scripts for the MongoDB database.

   Create folders (sample script)

   sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/vera/data/db
   sudo mkdir /var/lib/vera/Policies
   sudo mkdir /var/lib/vera/Logs
   sudo mkdir /var/lib/vera/UserImports
   sudo mkdir /var/lib/vera/Certificates
   sudo mkdir /var/lib/vera/Mongo-Setup
   sudo mkdir /var/lib/vera/Configs

3. Stage Vera Web Portal Configurations:  Copy config.yaml to the Configs directory created in Step 2.

4. Stage MongoDB Setup Script:  Copy mongo-users-setup.js to the Mongo-Setup directory created in Step 2.

   You may want to change the default passwords in the script file. If you do, be sure to use the correct passwords in the docker-compose file below.

5. Stage User Import File:  If desired, copy a CSV file containing initial user definitions into the UserImports directory created in Step 2. See Import Vera users. 

   Sample User import CSV file(userimport.csv)

   User Name,Full Name,Email,Groups,IdP,IdP User Name
   vera_admin,Default Vera Administrator,vera_admin@tricentis.com,System Administrator,Vera,vera_admin:ChangeThis1Pwd

Open TCP/IP Ports

Both the Vera Web Portal and the Vera Server (API) require the ability to receive inbound HTTP traffic.  Each component can accept traffic via HTTP, HTTPS, or both.  

1. Select Ports:  Select an HTTP and/or HTTPS port for the Vera Web Portal and the Vera Server (API).  Default recommendations are provided, but any ports may be selected.
   
   

   Port	Recommendation (HTTP / HTTPS)
   Vera Web Portal	80 / 443
   Vera Server (API)	8080 / 8443
   Vera API QTest Route Action	5100 / 6100

2. Configure the installation machine's firewall to open each selected port for incoming traffic.

Create a JWT Certificate

Vera uses JSON Web Tokens (JWT) to securely transmit information between clients and the Vera Server API. These JWTs are digitally "signed" during creation so that their integrity can be verified on subsequent calls without requiring the user to provide login information. A certificate is required to "sign" the JWT. The certificate must be in the PKCS#12 format and can be from a trusted source or a self-signed certificate. The instructions below will create a self-signed certificate in the proper format and upload it to the appropriate location.

1. Create a Private Key for use in the certificate.

   openssl genrsa -aes256 -out private.pass.pem 2048
   openssl rsa -in private.pass.pem -out key.pem

2. Create the Self-Signing Request. Enter the information requested during the certificate creation.

   openssl req -new -key key.pem -out server.csr

3. Generate the Self-Sign Certificate.

   openssl x509 -req -sha256 -days 3650 -in server.csr -signkey key.pem -out jwt.crt

   The -days parameter above sets the expiration date for the self-signed certificate.  We recommend setting the expiration to be 3650 days (approx. 10 yrs), but this can be modified based on your local security requirements.  Setting a shorter expiration only requires the certificate to be regenerated more frequently.

4. Generate a PFX file from the certificate and private key. Provide a password for the PFX file, and make note of the password for a later use in the installation.

   openssl pkcs12 -export -out jwt.pfx -inkey key.pem -in jwt.crt

   You must provide a password when creating the PFX file. 

5. Copy the PFX file to the Certificates directory for Vera Server.

Create or Provide a Service Provider Certificate and Private Key

Vera acts as a SAML Service Provider for Single Sign-On. This requires Vera to have a certificate available for signing SAML Requests that are sent to the SAML Identity Provider. The certificates are required for the Web Portal to start up, even if you are not using the SSO feature. The certificate and key must be in the PEM format. The simplest way to provide these is to use the certificate and key files created above when creating the JWT certificate. If needed, you can follow the instructions below to create a new certificate and key file for the Service Provider.

1. Create a Private Key for use in the certificate.

   openssl genrsa -aes256 -out sp-private.pass.pem 2048
   openssl rsa -in sp-private.pass.pem -out sp-privatekey.pem

2. Create the Self-Signing Request. Enter the information requested during the certificate creation.

   openssl req -new -key sp-privatekey.pem -out sp-server.csr

3. Generate the Self-Sign Certificate.

   openssl x509 -req -sha256 -in sp-server.csr -signkey sp-privatekey.pem -out sp-publiccert.crt

4. Copy the certificate and private key files to the Certificates directory for Vera Server.
5. Ensure that the config.yaml file is updated with the correct filenames for the following parameters:

Configure Docker Orchestration (Docker Compose)

1. Download the Vera Docker Compose file for your corresponding operating system:  docker-compose.yml
   
2. Place the file in the Vera Data Directory selected previously.
3. Open the file in a text editor.

4. Configure Storage Volumes:  The file is pre-configured with the default recommendations for storage locations (as described above).  If any non-default storage location was selected previously, then update the Docker Compose file as necessary:
   
   

   Docker Service	Configuration Item	Default Configuration (Linux)
   Vera.Mongo	MongoDB Data Storage Location	/var/lib/vera/data/db
   Vera.Server	Vera Data Directory	/var/lib/vera
   Vera.Web.Portal	Vera Web Portal Data Directory	/var/lib/vera

   
   

5. Configure Vera Server Encryption Key:  Vera Server encrypts stored user passwords. You must supply the encryption key for Vera to use to encrypt and decrypt user passwords. The encryption key is stored in the following environment variable of the docker compose file:
   
   

   Docker Service	Configuration Item	Default Configuration
   Vera.Server	VERA_SERVER_ENCRYPTION_KEY	<Enter an encryption key>

6. Configure Vera Server JWT Certificate and Password: Vera Server uses JWTs to authenticate users. A certificate must be present on the server in order to validate incoming JWTs. The certificate is stored in the Certificates directory and must be in the PFX format.  A password-protected PFX certificate file should have been created during an earlier step of these instructions.  Provide the filename and password of the generated PFX file in the following environment variables of the docker compose file:

   Docker Service	Configuration Item	Default Configuration
   Vera.Server	VERA_SERVER_JWT_CERT_NAME	<JWT Certificate File Name, eg. jwt.pfx>
   Vera.Server	VERA_SERVER_JWT_CERT_PASSWORD	<JWT Certificate Password>

   If you use a $ character in your password, you will need to escape the character with another $. E.g. $ would be $$ in the docker-compose file. Quotes may also be needed if using other special characters.

7. Configure Ports:  The file is pre-configured with the default recommendations for TCP/IP ports (as described above).  If any non-default port was opened previously, then update the Docker Compose file as necessary:

   Configuration Item	Default Configuration
   Vera Server API Port (HTTP)	8080
   Vera Server API Port (HTTPS)	8443
   Vera API QTest Route Actions (HTTP)	5100
   Vera API QTest Route Actions (HTTPS)	6100
   Vera Web Portal Port (HTTP)	80
   Vera Web Portal Port (HTTPS)	443

   (NOTE:  For each modified configuration, be certain to only update the first number in each pair of mapped ports.  The second port number in each configuration is the internal port number of Docker's internal container network.)

Enable/Disable HTTPS for the Vera Web Portal

Choose whether to enable or disable support for HTTPS in the Vera Web Portal.

To Enable HTTPS for Web Portal

1. Obtain a valid SSL certificate registered for the installation machine's domain name.
2. Export the server's certificate as a password-protected PFX file, and store the file in the Certificates directory configured previously.

3. Edit the docker-compose.yml file as follows:

   Docker Environment Variable	Value
   VERA_WEB_HTTPS_FILE	<PFX file name> Example: My-server.pfx
   VERA_WEB_HTTPS_PASS	<PFX Password> example: crypticpassword

To Disable HTTPS for Web Portal

Delete the web portal's SSL port mapping configuration from the docker-compose.yml file.   (Unless previously edited, this configuration mapped port 443 to port 443 inside the vera.web.portal service.)

Enable/Disable HTTPS for the Vera Server (API)

Choose whether to enable or disable support for HTTPS in the Vera Server (API).

To Enable HTTPS for API

1. Export the server's certificate as a password-protected PFX file, and store the file in the Certificates directory configured previously.

2. Edit the docker-compose.yml file as follows:

   Docker Environment Variable	Value
   ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Path	<PFX file name> example: My-server.pfx
   ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Password	<PFX Password> example: crypticpassword

To Disable HTTPS for API

Edit the docker-compose.yml file by changing the following configurations;

1. Delete the server's SSL port mapping configuration.   (Unless previously edited, this configuration mapped port 8443 to port 5001 inside the vera.server service.)
2. Delete the ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Path environment variable configuration.
3. Delete the ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Password environment variable configuration.
4. Edit the ASPNETCORE_URLS environment variable configuration as follows:
   1. Old Value:https://+:5001;http://+:5000
   2. New Value: http://+:5000

Configure a MongoDB Container

Download the MongoDB Docker Compose Setup file:  setup-mongo.yaml

1. Place the file in the Vera Server Data Directory selected previously.  (NOTE:  It is important that the setup-mongo.yaml file be located in the same directory as the docker-compose.yml file.)
2. Navigate to the Vera Server Data Directory.
3. Execute the following command:  docker-compose -f ./setup-mongo.yaml up
   1. If you get the error: "Couldn't connect to Docker deamon - is it running?"
   2. Log out of the server, log back in, and start Docker with sudo service docker start
4. Wait for MongoDB to download and extract, and for the script to complete.  When completed, the user will see a message instructing them to press Ctrl+C to exit.
5. Use Ctrl + C to exit the script and to stop the MongoDB container.

Download/Launch the Vera Containers

1. Navigate to the Vera Server Data Directory.
2. Execute the following commands:
   1. docker login veraserver20190209075900.azurecr.io -u fc12bdd5-6753-40b3-a4da-32bc5d451b39 -p bhfV1g0RhN1O~xS-R-Osv67~HO.zeKMbHp

   2. docker-compose up -d
3. Wait for the MongoDB, Vera Server, and Vera Web Portal services to start.
4. Verify that you can access the Vera Web Portal at the expected port.

Resources