Setting up AWS IoT Greengrass core devices - AWS IoT Greengrass
Supported platforms and requirementsFeature considerations for Windows devicesSet up an AWS account

Setting up AWS IoT Greengrass core devices

Complete the tasks in this section to install, configure, and run the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software.

Note

This section describes advanced installation and configuration of the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software. If you're a first-time user of AWS IoT Greengrass V2, we recommend that you first complete the getting started tutorial to set up a core device and explore the features of AWS IoT Greengrass.

Supported platforms and requirements

Before you begin, make sure you meet the following requirements to install and run the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software.

Tip

You can search for devices that are qualified for AWS IoT Greengrass V2 in the AWS Partner Device Catalog.

Supported platforms

AWS IoT Greengrass officially supports devices running the following platforms. Devices with platforms not included in this list might work, but AWS IoT Greengrass tests on only these specified platforms.

Linux

Architectures:

  • Armv7l

  • Armv8 (AArch64)

  • x86_64

Windows

Architectures:

  • x86_64

Versions:

  • Windows 10

  • Windows Server 2019

Note

Some AWS IoT Greengrass features aren't currently supported on Windows devices. For more information, see Greengrass feature compatibility by operating system and Feature considerations for Windows devices.

Linux platforms can also run AWS IoT Greengrass V2 in a Docker container. For more information, see Run AWS IoT Greengrass Core software in a Docker container.

To build a custom Linux-based operating system, you can use the BitBake recipe for AWS IoT Greengrass V2 in the meta-aws project. The meta-aws project provides recipes that you can use to build AWS edge software capabilities in embedded Linux systems that are built with OpenEmbedded and Yocto Project build frameworks. The Yocto Project is an open source collaboration project that helps you build custom Linux-based systems for embedded applications regardless of hardware architecture. The BitBake recipe for AWS IoT Greengrass V2 installs, configures, and automatically runs the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software on your device.

Device requirements

Devices must meet the following requirements to install and run the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software v2.x.

Note

You can use AWS IoT Device Tester for AWS IoT Greengrass to verify that your device can run the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software and communicate with the AWS Cloud. For more information, see Using AWS IoT Device Tester for AWS IoT Greengrass V2.

Linux

  • Minimum 256 MB disk space available for the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software. This requirement doesn't include components deployed to the core device.

  • Minimum 96 MB RAM allocated to the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software. This requirement doesn't include components that run on the core device. For more information, see Control memory allocation with JVM options.

  • Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 8 or greater. To use Java to develop custom components, you must install a Java Development Kit (JDK). We recommend that you use Amazon Corretto 11 or OpenJDK 11.

  • GNU C Library (glibc) version 2.25 or greater.

  • You must run the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software as a root user. Use sudo, for example.

  • The root user that runs the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software, such as root, must have permission to run sudo with any user and any group. The /etc/sudoers file must give this user permission to run sudo as other groups. The permission for the user in /etc/sudoers should look like the following example.

    root    ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

  • The core device must be able to perform outbound requests to a set of endpoints and ports. For more information, see Allow device traffic through a proxy or firewall.

  • The /tmp directory must be mounted with exec permissions.

  • All of the following shell commands:

    • ps -ax -o pid,ppid

    • sudo

    • sh

    • kill

    • cp

    • chmod

    • rm

    • ln

    • echo

    • exit

    • id

    • uname

    • grep

  • Your device may also require the following optional shell commands:

    • (Optional) systemctl (to set up the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software as a system service)

    • (Optional) useradd, groupadd, and usermod (to set up the ggc_user system user and ggc_group system group)

    • (Optional) mkfifo (to run Lambda functions as components)

  • To configure system resource limits for component processes, your device must run Linux kernel version 2.6.24 or later.

  • To run Lambda functions, your device must meet additional requirements. For more information, see Lambda function requirements.

Windows

  • Minimum 256 MB disk space available for the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software. This requirement doesn't include components deployed to the core device.

  • Minimum 160 MB RAM allocated to the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software. This requirement doesn't include components that run on the core device. For more information, see Control memory allocation with JVM options.

  • Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 8 or greater. To use Java to develop custom components, you must install a Java Development Kit (JDK). We recommend Amazon Corretto 11 or OpenJDK 11.

    Note

    To use version 2.5.0 of the Greengrass nucleus, you must use a 64-bit version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Greengrass nucleus version 2.5.1 supports 32-bit and 64-bit JREs.

  • The user who installs the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software must be an administrator.

  • Each user that runs component processes must exist in the LocalSystem account, and the user's name and password must be in the Credential Manager instance for the LocalSystem account. You can set up this user when you follow instructions to install the AWS IoT Greengrass Core software.

  • The core device must be able to perform outbound requests to a set of endpoints and ports. For more information, see Allow device traffic through a proxy or firewall.

Lambda function requirements

Your device must meet the following requirements to run Lambda functions:

  • A Linux-based operating system.

  • Your device must have the mkfifo shell command.

  • Your device must run the programming language libraries that a Lambda function requires. You must install the required libraries on the device and add them to the PATH environment variable.

    • Python version 3.9 for functions that use the Python 3.9 runtime.

    • Python version 3.8 for functions that use the Python 3.8 runtime.

    • Python version 3.7 for functions that use the Python 3.7 runtime.

    • Python version 2.7 for functions that use the Python 2.7 runtime.

    • Node.js version 14.x for functions that use the Node.js 14.x runtime.

    • Node.js version 12.x for functions that use the Node.js 12.x runtime.

    • Node.js version 10.x for functions that use the Node.js 10.x runtime.

    • Java version 11 or later for functions that use the Java 11 runtime.

    • Java version 8 or later for functions that use the Java 8 runtime.

    For more information about AWS IoT Greengrass support for Lambda runtimes, see Run AWS Lambda functions.

  • To run containerized Lambda functions, your device must meet the following requirements:

    • Linux kernel version 4.4 or later.

    • The kernel must support cgroups v1, and you must enable and mount the following cgroups:

      • The memory cgroup for AWS IoT Greengrass to set the memory limit for containerized Lambda functions.

      • The devices cgroup for containerized Lambda functions to access system devices or volumes.

      The AWS IoT Greengrass Core software doesn't support cgroups v2.

      To meet this requirement, boot the device with the following Linux kernel parameters.

      cgroup_enable=memory cgroup_memory=1 systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0
      Tip

      On a Raspberry Pi, edit the /boot/cmdline.txt file to set the device's kernel parameters.

    • You must enable the following Linux kernel configurations on the device:

      • Namespace:

        • CONFIG_IPC_NS

        • CONFIG_UTS_NS

        • CONFIG_USER_NS

        • CONFIG_PID_NS

      • Cgroups:

        • CONFIG_CGROUP_DEVICE

        • CONFIG_CGROUPS

        • CONFIG_MEMCG

      • Others:

        • CONFIG_POSIX_MQUEUE

        • CONFIG_OVERLAY_FS

        • CONFIG_HAVE_ARCH_SECCOMP_FILTER

        • CONFIG_SECCOMP_FILTER

        • CONFIG_KEYS

        • CONFIG_SECCOMP

        • CONFIG_SHMEM

Feature considerations for Windows devices

Some AWS IoT Greengrass features aren't currently supported on Windows devices. Review the following considerations to confirm if a Windows device satisfies your feature requirements. For more information, see Greengrass feature compatibility by operating system.

  • You can't run Lambda functions.

  • You can't configure system resource limits to customize the maximum amount of CPU and RAM usage that each component's processes can use on a core device.

  • You can't pause and resume component processes using the PauseComponent and ResumeComponent interprocess communication operations.

  • The following AWS-provided components are not currently supported:

    • Kinesis Data Firehose

    • Lambda launcher

    • Lambda manager

    • Lambda runtimes

    • Legacy subscription router

    • Modbus-RTU protocol adapter

    • Secure tunneling

    • Amazon SNS

    • AWS IoT SiteWise OPC-UA collector

    • AWS IoT SiteWise publisher

    • AWS IoT SiteWise processor

Set up an AWS account

If you do not have an AWS account, complete the following steps to create one.

To sign up for an AWS account

  1. Open https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup.

  2. Follow the online instructions.

    Part of the sign-up procedure involves receiving a phone call and entering a verification code on the phone keypad.

To create an administrator user for yourself and add the user to an administrators group (console)

  1. Sign in to the IAM console as the account owner by choosing Root user and entering your AWS account email address. On the next page, enter your password.

    Note

    We strongly recommend that you adhere to the best practice of using the Administrator IAM user that follows and securely lock away the root user credentials. Sign in as the root user only to perform a few account and service management tasks.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose Users and then choose Add users.

  3. For User name, enter Administrator.

  4. Select the check box next to AWS Management Console access. Then select Custom password, and then enter your new password in the text box.

  5. (Optional) By default, AWS requires the new user to create a new password when first signing in. You can clear the check box next to User must create a new password at next sign-in to allow the new user to reset their password after they sign in.

  6. Choose Next: Permissions.

  7. Under Set permissions, choose Add user to group.

  8. Choose Create group.

  9. In the Create group dialog box, for Group name enter Administrators.

  10. Choose Filter policies, and then select AWS managed - job function to filter the table contents.

  11. In the policy list, select the check box for AdministratorAccess. Then choose Create group.

    Note

    You must activate IAM user and role access to Billing before you can use the AdministratorAccess permissions to access the AWS Billing and Cost Management console. To do this, follow the instructions in step 1 of the tutorial about delegating access to the billing console.

  12. Back in the list of groups, select the check box for your new group. Choose Refresh if necessary to see the group in the list.

  13. Choose Next: Tags.

  14. (Optional) Add metadata to the user by attaching tags as key-value pairs. For more information about using tags in IAM, see Tagging IAM entities in the IAM User Guide.

  15. Choose Next: Review to see the list of group memberships to be added to the new user. When you are ready to proceed, choose Create user.

You can use this same process to create more groups and users and to give your users access to your AWS account resources. To learn about using policies that restrict user permissions to specific AWS resources, see Access management and Example policies.