IBM Instana Agent Installs in 5 Minutes or Less

This video provides a step-by-step walkthrough of installing Instana agents across various environments, including on-premises servers, Linux systems, and Kubernetes clusters. Learn how to deploy agents seamlessly, configure settings, and start gathering real-time insights for effective infrastructure monitoring and application performance management. With Instana’s intuitive tools and flexibility, organizations can quickly enhance observability and optimize performance.

Video Transcript:

[00:05.1]
Welcome to C4G Insights. In today's Brief Insight, we'll be walking through how to install Instana agents across various environments to kickstart effective infrastructure monitoring. For this walkthrough, we'll use the on premises version of Instana, which functions identically to the SaaS instance, ensuring the steps apply regardless of your hosting choice.

[00:28.1]
Let's get started. When first connecting to an Instana instance without any agents deployed, you'll see a welcome screen designed to help you get started with installing your first agent. This window allows us to choose our preferred deployment option for the agent.

[00:43.2]
Before proceeding, let's take a look at the freshly installed Instana instance. Which has no infrastructure or data. It's essentially empty, so we need to start by deploying the agents. We'll begin by installing the agent on the Instana server itself.

[00:59.0]
Here we have three terminals open for three systems, each marked with different colors for clarity. The blue terminal represents the Instana server, the yellow one is a standard Linux box, and the green one is a Kubernetes cluster. On the Instana server, when installed on-prem, there's a specific process for installing the agent to self monitor the server.

[01:21.1]
This is a special kind of installation, but it's straightforward to configure the operator and deploy the agent, and within seconds it's up and running. Refreshing the console shows the Instana cluster reporting one node, 71 pods, 15 namespaces, and more.

[01:37.9]
In the Agent section we can see the agent on the host is operational. That's all it takes to get the agent up and running on the Instana server. Next, we'll install the agent on a Linux box from the main screen. Clicking Deploy Agent or navigating to the agent deployment catalog lets us select various deployment options.

[01:58.1]
For this demonstration, we'll use the Linux Automatic Installation One-Liner. On the installation screen, we'll leave the default settings for the dynamic runtime and choose the option to install and start as a service. The command includes the necessary flag.

[02:14.5]
Advanced configurations like specifying different download keys or setting up Git are available in the documentation as well. We'll simply copy the command, switch to the Linux box, and then run it. The setup script, downloads and prompts for confirmation before configuring the repository, updating it, and installing the agent.

[02:34.1]
The process is quick, as the dynamic agent is lightweight, pulling sensors on demand. After starting the agent, its status confirms it's operational. Within moments, the agent reports to the Instana server. The system initially shows the agent as initializing, but it soon fully connects and becomes active.

[02:53.5]
Finally, we'll install the agent on a Kubernetes cluster using the helm chart. Deployment after selecting this option will provide the cluster name and zone. These fields automatically populate the Helm install command with the necessary configurations, including the repository path, namespace and authentication keys.

[03:11.5]
The agent key and download key ensure secure communication with the Instana backend. After copying the command to the Kubernetes cluster, running it deploys the Instana agent pod and Kubernetes sensor pods. Unlike other technologies where sensors are dynamically loaded by the host agent, in Kubernetes, the Instana agent operates as a daemonset with one agent per node.

[03:33.0]
A separate Kubernetes sensor process collects API data and communicates with the Instana backend. Switching to the Instana console confirms the Kubernetes cluster is reporting performance metrics, configurations, nodes, namespaces, deployments, and more.

[03:49.2]
Instana applies its curated knowledge base with zero manual configuration, detecting and alerting on issues like unhealthy containers. In the Agent Management Dashboard, we can view details about deployed agents, including boot and version information, operating modes, infrastructure or APM, resource utilization, and monitoring issues like unsupported processes or outdated software.

[04:12.9]
Switching to the infrastructure map, we can see our three installed agents reporting back in the appropriate zones in real time. As you have seen through this walkthrough, setting up agents with Instana is simple, well-documented, and incredibly fast.

[04:29.2]
Thank you for joining us for this walkthrough, and we look forward to helping you unlock the full potential of Instana in your environment. Want to learn more? Reach out to us at [email protected] or request a demo, or support setting up your instana instance at c4genterprises.com/contact Let's shift your enterprise observability and application performance management to the leading edge together.