Install AWS IoT Greengrass Core software with AWS IoT fleet provisioning

1. Get the AWS IoT data endpoint for your AWS account.

   aws iot describe-endpoint --endpoint-type iot:Data-ATS

   The response looks similar to the following example, if the request succeeds.

   {
     "endpointAddress": "device-data-prefix-ats.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
   }

2. Get the AWS IoT credentials endpoint for your AWS account.

   aws iot describe-endpoint --endpoint-type iot:CredentialProvider

   The response looks similar to the following example, if the request succeeds.

   {
     "endpointAddress": "device-credentials-prefix.credentials.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
   }

To download claim certificates to the device

1. Copy the claim certificate and private key to the device. If SSH and SCP are enabled on the development computer and the device, you can use the scp command on your development computer to transfer the claim certificate and private key. The following example command transfers these files a folder named claim-certs on your development computer to the device. Replace device-ip-address with the IP address of your device.

   scp -r claim-certs/ device-ip-address:~

2. Create the Greengrass root folder on the device. You'll later install the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software to this folder.

   Linux or Unix

   • Replace /greengrass/v2 with the folder to use.

   sudo mkdir -p /greengrass/v2

   Windows Command Prompt

   • Replace C:\greengrass\v2 with the folder to use.

   mkdir C:\greengrass\v2

   PowerShell

   • Replace C:\greengrass\v2 with the folder to use.

   mkdir C:\greengrass\v2

3. (Linux only) Set the permissions of the parent of the Greengrass root folder.

   • Replace /greengrass with the parent of the root folder.

   sudo chmod 755 /greengrass

4. Move the claim certificates to the Greengrass root folder.

   • Replace /greengrass/v2 or C:\greengrass\v2 with the Greengrass root folder.

   Linux or Unix

   sudo mv ~/claim-certs /greengrass/v2

   Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

   move %USERPROFILE%\claim-certs C:\greengrass\v2

   PowerShell

   mv -Path ~\claim-certs -Destination C:\greengrass\v2

5. Download the Amazon root certificate authority (CA) certificate. AWS IoT certificates are associated with Amazon's root CA certificate by default.

   Linux or Unix

   sudo curl -o /greengrass/v2/AmazonRootCA1.pem https://www.amazontrust.com/repository/AmazonRootCA1.pem

   Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

   curl -o C:\greengrass\v2\\AmazonRootCA1.pem https://www.amazontrust.com/repository/AmazonRootCA1.pem

   PowerShell

   iwr -Uri https://www.amazontrust.com/repository/AmazonRootCA1.pem -OutFile C:\greengrass\v2\\AmazonRootCA1.pem

To set up a Linux device for AWS IoT Greengrass V2

1. Install the Java runtime, which AWS IoT Greengrass Core software requires to run. We recommend that you use Amazon Corretto or OpenJDK long-term support versions. Version 8 or higher is required. The following commands show you how to install OpenJDK on your device.

   • For Debian-based or Ubuntu-based distributions:

     sudo apt install default-jdk

   • For Red Hat-based distributions:

     sudo yum install java-11-openjdk-devel

   • For Amazon Linux 2:

     sudo amazon-linux-extras install java-openjdk11

   • For Amazon Linux 2023:

     sudo dnf install java-11-amazon-corretto -y

   When the installation completes, run the following command to verify that Java runs on your Linux device.

   java -version

   The command prints the version of Java that runs on the device. For example, on a Debian-based distribution, the output might look similar to the following sample.

   openjdk version "11.0.9.1" 2020-11-04
   OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.9.1+1-post-Debian-1deb10u2)
   OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.9.1+1-post-Debian-1deb10u2, mixed mode)

2. (Optional) Create the default system user and group that runs components on the device. You can also choose to let the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software installer create this user and group during installation with the --component-default-user installer argument. For more information, see Installer arguments.

   sudo useradd --system --create-home ggc_user
   sudo groupadd --system ggc_group

3. Verify that the user that runs the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software (typically root), has permission to run sudo with any user and any group.

   1. Run the following command to open the /etc/sudoers file.

      sudo visudo

   2. Verify that the permission for the user looks like the following example.

      root    ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

4. (Optional) To run containerized Lambda functions, you must enable cgroups v1, and you must enable and mount the memory and devices cgroups. If you don't plan to run containerized Lambda functions, you can skip this step.

   To enable these cgroups options, boot the device with the following Linux kernel parameters.

   cgroup_enable=memory cgroup_memory=1 systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0

   For information about viewing and setting kernel parameters for your device, see the documentation for your operating system and boot loader. Follow the instructions to permanently set the kernel parameters.

5. Install all other required dependencies on your device as indicated by the list of requirements in Device requirements.

To set up a Windows device for AWS IoT Greengrass V2

1. Install the Java runtime, which AWS IoT Greengrass Core software requires to run. We recommend that you use Amazon Corretto or OpenJDK long-term support versions. Version 8 or higher is required.

2. Check whether Java is available on the PATH system variable, and add it if not. The LocalSystem account runs the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software, so you must add Java to the PATH system variable instead of the PATH user variable for your user. Do the following:

   1. Press the Windows key to open the start menu.

   2. Type environment variables to search for the system options from the start menu.

   3. In the start menu search results, choose Edit the system environment variables to open the System properties window.

   4. Choose Environment variables... to open the Environment Variables window.

   5. Under System variables, select Path, and then choose Edit. In the Edit environment variable window, you can view each path on a separate line.

   6. Check if the path to the Java installation's bin folder is present. The path might look similar to the following example.

      C:\\Program Files\\Amazon Corretto\\jdk11.0.13_8\\bin

   7. If the Java installation's bin folder is missing from Path, choose New to add it, and then choose OK.

3. Open the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as an administrator.

4. Create the default user in the LocalSystem account on the Windows device. Replace password with a secure password.

   net user /add ggc_user password

   Tip

   Depending on your Windows configuration, the user's password might be set to expire at a date in the future. To ensure your Greengrass applications continue to operate, track when the password expires, and update it before it expires. You can also set the user's password to never expire.

   • To check when a user and its password expire, run the following command.

     net user ggc_user | findstr /C:expires

   • To set a user's password to never expire, run the following command.

     wmic UserAccount where "Name='ggc_user'" set PasswordExpires=False

   • If you’re using Windows 10 or later where the wmic command is deprecated, run the following PowerShell command.

     Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT * from Win32_UserAccount WHERE name = 'ggc_user'" | Set-CimInstance -Property @{PasswordExpires="False"}

5. Download and install the PsExec utility from Microsoft on the device.

6. Use the PsExec utility to store the user name and password for the default user in the Credential Manager instance for the LocalSystem account. Replace password with the user's password that you set earlier.

   psexec -s cmd /c cmdkey /generic:ggc_user /user:ggc_user /pass:password

   If the PsExec License Agreement opens, choose Accept to agree to the license and run the command.

   Note

   On Windows devices, the LocalSystem account runs the Greengrass nucleus, and you must use the PsExec utility to store the default user information in the LocalSystem account. Using the Credential Manager application stores this information in the Windows account of the currently logged on user, instead of the LocalSystem account.

To download the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software

1. On your core device, download the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software to a file named greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip.

   Linux or Unix

   curl -s https://d2s8p88vqu9w66.cloudfront.net/releases/greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip > greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

   Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

   curl -s https://d2s8p88vqu9w66.cloudfront.net/releases/greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip > greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

   PowerShell

   iwr -Uri https://d2s8p88vqu9w66.cloudfront.net/releases/greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip -OutFile greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

   By downloading this software, you agree to the Greengrass Core Software License Agreement.

2. (Optional) To verify the Greengrass nucleus software signature

   Note

   This feature is available with Greengrass nucleus version 2.9.5 and later.

   1. Use the following command to verify your Greengrass nucleus artifact's signature:

      Linux or Unix

      jarsigner -verify -certs -verbose greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

      Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

      The file name might look different depending on the JDK version you install. Replace jdk17.0.6_10 with the JDK version you installed.

      "C:\\Program Files\\Amazon Corretto\\jdk17.0.6_10\\bin\\jarsigner.exe" -verify -certs -verbose greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

      PowerShell

      The file name might look different depending on the JDK version you install. Replace jdk17.0.6_10 with the JDK version you installed.

      'C:\\Program Files\\Amazon Corretto\\jdk17.0.6_10\\bin\\jarsigner.exe' -verify -certs -verbose greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

   2. The jarsigner invocation yields output that indicates the results of the verification.

      1. If the Greengrass nucleus zip file is signed, the output contains the following statement:

         jar verified.

      2. If the Greengrass nucleus zip file isn't signed, the output contains the following statement:

         jar is unsigned.

   3. If you provided the Jarsigner -certs option along with -verify and -verbose options, the output also includes detailed signer certificate information.

3. Unzip the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software to a folder on your device. Replace GreengrassInstaller with the folder that you want to use.

   Linux or Unix

   unzip greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip -d GreengrassInstaller && rm greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

   Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

   mkdir GreengrassInstaller && tar -xf greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip -C GreengrassInstaller && del greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

   PowerShell

   Expand-Archive -Path greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip -DestinationPath .\\GreengrassInstaller
   rm greengrass-nucleus-latest.zip

4. (Optional) Run the following command to see the version of the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software.

   java -jar ./GreengrassInstaller/lib/Greengrass.jar --version

To download the AWS IoT fleet provisioning plugin

• On your device, download the AWS IoT fleet provisioning plugin to a file named aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar. Replace GreengrassInstaller with the folder that you want to use.

  Linux or Unix

  curl -s https://d2s8p88vqu9w66.cloudfront.net/releases/aws-greengrass-FleetProvisioningByClaim/fleetprovisioningbyclaim-latest.jar > GreengrassInstaller/aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar

  Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

  curl -s https://d2s8p88vqu9w66.cloudfront.net/releases/aws-greengrass-FleetProvisioningByClaim/fleetprovisioningbyclaim-latest.jar > GreengrassInstaller/aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar

  PowerShell

  iwr -Uri https://d2s8p88vqu9w66.cloudfront.net/releases/aws-greengrass-FleetProvisioningByClaim/fleetprovisioningbyclaim-latest.jar -OutFile GreengrassInstaller/aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar

  By downloading this software, you agree to the Greengrass Core Software License Agreement.

To install the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software

1. Check the version of the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software.

   • Replace GreengrassInstaller with the path to the folder that contains the software.

   java -jar ./GreengrassInstaller/lib/Greengrass.jar --version

2. Use a text editor to create a configuration file named config.yaml to provide to the installer.

   For example, on a Linux-based system, you can run the following command to use GNU nano to create the file.

   nano GreengrassInstaller/config.yaml

   Copy the following YAML content into the file. This partial configuration file specifies parameters for the fleet provisioning plugin. For more information about the options that you can specify, see Configure the AWS IoT fleet provisioning plugin.

   Linux or Unix

   ---
   services:
     aws.greengrass.Nucleus:
       version: "2.12.3"
     aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim:
       configuration:
         rootPath: "/greengrass/v2"
         awsRegion: "us-west-2"
         iotDataEndpoint: "device-data-prefix-ats.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotCredentialEndpoint: "device-credentials-prefix.credentials.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotRoleAlias: "GreengrassCoreTokenExchangeRoleAlias"
         provisioningTemplate: "GreengrassFleetProvisioningTemplate"
         claimCertificatePath: "/greengrass/v2/claim-certs/claim.pem.crt"
         claimCertificatePrivateKeyPath: "/greengrass/v2/claim-certs/claim.private.pem.key"
         rootCaPath: "/greengrass/v2/AmazonRootCA1.pem"
         templateParameters:
           ThingName: "MyGreengrassCore"
           ThingGroupName: "MyGreengrassCoreGroup"

   Windows

   ---
   services:
     aws.greengrass.Nucleus:
       version: "2.12.3"
     aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim:
       configuration:
         rootPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2"
         awsRegion: "us-west-2"
         iotDataEndpoint: "device-data-prefix-ats.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotCredentialEndpoint: "device-credentials-prefix.credentials.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotRoleAlias: "GreengrassCoreTokenExchangeRoleAlias"
         provisioningTemplate: "GreengrassFleetProvisioningTemplate"
         claimCertificatePath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\claim-certs\\claim.pem.crt"
         claimCertificatePrivateKeyPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\claim-certs\\claim.private.pem.key"
         rootCaPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\AmazonRootCA1.pem"
         templateParameters:
           ThingName: "MyGreengrassCore"
           ThingGroupName: "MyGreengrassCoreGroup"

   Then, do the following:

   • Replace 2.12.3 with the version of the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software.

   • Replace each instance of /greengrass/v2 or C:\greengrass\v2 with the Greengrass root folder.

     Note

     On Windows devices, you must specify path separators as double backslashes (\\), such as C:\\greengrass\\v2.

   • Replace us-west-2 with the AWS Region where you created the provisioning template and other resources.

   • Replace the iotDataEndpoint with your AWS IoT data endpoint.

   • Replace the iotCredentialEndpoint with your AWS IoT credentials endpoint.

   • Replace GreengrassCoreTokenExchangeRoleAlias with the name of the token exchange role alias.

   • Replace GreengrassFleetProvisioningTemplate with the name of the fleet provisioning template.

   • Replace the claimCertificatePath with the path to the claim certificate on the device.

   • Replace the claimCertificatePrivateKeyPath with the path to the claim certificate private key on the device.

   • Replace the template parameters (templateParameters) with the values to use to provision the device. This example refers to the example template that defines ThingName and ThingGroupName parameters.

   Note

   In this configuration file, you can customize other configuration options such as the ports and network proxy to use, as shown in the following example. For more information, see Greengrass nucleus configuration.

   Linux or Unix

   ---
   services:
     aws.greengrass.Nucleus:
       version: "2.12.3"
       configuration:
         mqtt:
           port: 443
         greengrassDataPlanePort: 443
         networkProxy:
           noProxyAddresses: "http://192.168.0.1,www.example.com"
           proxy:
             url: "http://my-proxy-server:1100"
             username: "Mary_Major"
             password: "pass@word1357"
     aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim:
       configuration:
         rootPath: "/greengrass/v2"
         awsRegion: "us-west-2"
         iotDataEndpoint: "device-data-prefix-ats.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotCredentialEndpoint: "device-credentials-prefix.credentials.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotRoleAlias: "GreengrassCoreTokenExchangeRoleAlias"
         provisioningTemplate: "GreengrassFleetProvisioningTemplate"
         claimCertificatePath: "/greengrass/v2/claim-certs/claim.pem.crt"
         claimCertificatePrivateKeyPath: "/greengrass/v2/claim-certs/claim.private.pem.key"
         rootCaPath: "/greengrass/v2/AmazonRootCA1.pem"
         templateParameters:
           ThingName: "MyGreengrassCore"
           ThingGroupName: "MyGreengrassCoreGroup"
         mqttPort: 443
         proxyUrl: "http://my-proxy-server:1100"
         proxyUserName: "Mary_Major"
         proxyPassword: "pass@word1357"

   Windows

   ---
   services:
     aws.greengrass.Nucleus:
       version: "2.12.3"
       configuration:
         mqtt:
           port: 443
         greengrassDataPlanePort: 443
         networkProxy:
           noProxyAddresses: "http://192.168.0.1,www.example.com"
           proxy:
             url: "http://my-proxy-server:1100"
             username: "Mary_Major"
             password: "pass@word1357"
     aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim:
       configuration:
         rootPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2"
         awsRegion: "us-west-2"
         iotDataEndpoint: "device-data-prefix-ats.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotCredentialEndpoint: "device-credentials-prefix.credentials.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com"
         iotRoleAlias: "GreengrassCoreTokenExchangeRoleAlias"
         provisioningTemplate: "GreengrassFleetProvisioningTemplate"
         claimCertificatePath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\claim-certs\\claim.pem.crt"
         claimCertificatePrivateKeyPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\claim-certs\\claim.private.pem.key"
         rootCaPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\AmazonRootCA1.pem"
         templateParameters:
           ThingName: "MyGreengrassCore"
           ThingGroupName: "MyGreengrassCoreGroup"
         mqttPort: 443
         proxyUrl: "http://my-proxy-server:1100"
         proxyUserName: "Mary_Major"
         proxyPassword: "pass@word1357"

   To use an HTTPS proxy, you must use version 1.1.0 or later of the fleet provisioning plugin. You must additionally specify the rootCaPath under system, as shown in the following example.

   Linux or Unix

   ---
   system:
     rootCaPath: "/greengrass/v2/AmazonRootCA1.pem"
   services:
     ...

   Windows

   ---
   system:
     rootCaPath: "C:\\greengrass\\v2\\AmazonRootCA1.pem"
   services:
     ...

3. Run the installer. Specify --trusted-plugin to provide the fleet provisioning plugin, and specify --init-config to provide the configuration file.

   • Replace /greengrass/v2 with the Greengrass root folder.

   • Replace each instance of GreengrassInstaller with the folder where you unpacked the installer.

   Linux or Unix

   sudo -E java -Droot="/greengrass/v2" -Dlog.store=FILE \
     -jar ./GreengrassInstaller/lib/Greengrass.jar \
     --trusted-plugin ./GreengrassInstaller/aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar \
     --init-config ./GreengrassInstaller/config.yaml \
     --component-default-user ggc_user:ggc_group \
     --setup-system-service true

   Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

   java -Droot="C:\greengrass\v2" "-Dlog.store=FILE" ^
     -jar ./GreengrassInstaller/lib/Greengrass.jar ^
     --trusted-plugin ./GreengrassInstaller/aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar ^
     --init-config ./GreengrassInstaller/config.yaml ^
     --component-default-user ggc_user ^
     --setup-system-service true

   PowerShell

   java -Droot="C:\greengrass\v2" "-Dlog.store=FILE" `
     -jar ./GreengrassInstaller/lib/Greengrass.jar `
     --trusted-plugin ./GreengrassInstaller/aws.greengrass.FleetProvisioningByClaim.jar `
     --init-config ./GreengrassInstaller/config.yaml `
     --component-default-user ggc_user `
     --setup-system-service true

   Important

   On Windows core devices, you must specify --setup-system-service true to set up the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software as a system service.

   If you specify --setup-system-service true, the installer prints Successfully set up Nucleus as a system service if it set up and ran the software as a system service. Otherwise, the installer doesn't output any message if it installs the software successfully.

   Note

   You can't use the deploy-dev-tools argument to deploy local development tools when you run the installer without the --provision true argument. For information about deploying the Greengrass CLI directly on your device, see Greengrass Command Line Interface.

4. Verify the installation by viewing the files in the root folder.

   Linux or Unix

   ls /greengrass/v2

   Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

   dir C:\greengrass\v2

   PowerShell

   ls C:\greengrass\v2

   If the installation succeeded, the root folder contains several folders, such as config, packages, and logs.