Installing the host agent on UNIX

You can install the Instana® agent in an online or offline (air-gapped) environment on a UNIX® host. See the following list to check the prerequisite conditions, learn about all the available installation methods, and install the agent on UNIX:

Prerequisites

Before you install the host agent, ensure that the prerequisites are met.

Installing the host agent in an online environment

To install the host agent on the UNIX host in an online environment, complete the following steps:

On the home page of the Instana UI, click Agents & collectors. On the Instana agents tab, select Install agents.
On the agent-deployment catalog page, click the tile UNIX.
Select the agent packaging mode, Dynamic or Static. For more information about dynamic and static host agents, see Host agent types.
In the Platform architecture drop-down menu, select your platform architecture.
The archive file is automatically configured with your Instana account settings.
Click the download link to download the agent archive file.
Extract the agent archive.
Note:
Use GNU tar to extract the archive file.
Start the agent by running the following command:
```
*instanaAgentDir*/bin/start
```

After you install the agent, you can manage and configure the agent as you require. For more information, see Administering the agent on UNIX.

Installing the host agent in an air-gapped environment

For AIX 64-bit systems, the Instana agent is available as an RPM package. The RPM package installs a self-contained agent with a Java runtime included and is available for both online and air-gapped environments. If the RPM package is not available in your environment, or if you are on AIX 32-bit or Solaris, use the tar archive installation described in the AIX or Solaris archive section.

AIX 64-bit

To install the host agent on an AIX 64-bit host, complete the following steps:

On the home page of the Instana UI, click Agents & collectors. On the Instana agents tab, select Install agents.
On the agent-deployment catalog page, click the tile UNIX - Air-gapped (RPM, Archive).
Select the AIX 64bit RPM package option.
Download the AIX 64-bit RPM package by using the provided link and copy the package to the AIX host.
Prepare the required environment variables and install the agent:
- Provide the Instana backend address, backend port, and agent key as environment variables:
```
export INSTANA_AGENT_HOST=<instana-backend-address> \
  INSTANA_AGENT_PORT=443 \
  INSTANA_AGENT_KEY=<agent-key> \
  INSTANA_AGENT_AUTOSTART=true
```
  Note:
  If INSTANA_AGENT_AUTOSTART is set to true, the Instana agent is installed as a service and starts automatically after system restarts. Set INSTANA_AGENT_AUTOSTART to false if you do not want to install the agent as a service on the AIX® host.
- Run the following command to install the agent (replace instana-agent-*.rpm with the file name and path of the package that you downloaded to the AIX host):
```
rpm --install instana-agent-*.rpm
```

After you install the agent, you can manage and configure the agent as you require. For more information, see Administering the agent on UNIX.

If the RPM package is not available in your environment, use the tar archive installation described in the AIX or Solaris archive section.

AIX or Solaris archive

To install the host agent on an AIX (32-bit or 64-bit) or Solaris host by using the tar archive, complete the following steps:

On the home page of the Instana UI, click Agents & collectors. On the Instana agents tab, select Install agents.
On the agent-deployment catalog page, click the tile UNIX - Air-gapped (RPM, Archive).
Select the AIX or Solaris archive option.
Download the Instana agent-installation archive file by using the provided link.
Extract the archive file on the air-gapped UNIX host.
The AIX native tar command cannot extract this archive. Install GNU tar (gtar) on AIX and run the following command to extract the archive:
```
gtar -xzf agent-assembly-offline-*.tar.gz
```
Note:
On Solaris, use GNU tar to extract the archive file.
Start the agent by running the following command:
```
*instanaAgentDir*/bin/start
```

After you install the agent, you can manage and configure the agent as you require. For more information, see Administering the agent on UNIX.