How to Install and Configure ArangoDB on CentOS 7

Introduction

ArangoDB is an open source NoSQL database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values. It is a powerful database with a wide range of features that are needed for a modern web application. The database itself can be managed easily with the bundled web or command line interface.

In this tutorial, I will explain how to install and use ArangoDB on CentOS 7.

Prerequisites

• A newly deployed Vultr CentOS 7 server instance with a static IP address. I will use 192.168.1.104 in this guide.
• A non-root user with sudo privileges setup on your server.

Step 1: System update

Before starting, update the system to the latest stable version with the following commands:

yum update -y

Step 2: Install ArangoDB

Before installing ArangoDB, you will need to create yum repo file for it.

To do this, change the directory to /etc/yum.repos.d and create arangodb.repo with the following command:

cd /etc/yum.repos.d
sudo nano /etc/yum.repos.d/arangodb.repo

Add the following content:

[arangodb]
name=ArangoDB Project
type=rpm-md
baseurl=https://strato1.arangodb.com/repositories/arangodb3/CentOS_7/
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://strato1.arangodb.com/repositories/arangodb3/CentOS_7/repodata/repomd.xml.key
enabled=1

Save the file and update the system with the following command:

sudo yum update -y

Next, install ArangoDB by running the following command:

sudo yum install arangodb3 -y

Once installation is complete, start the Arangodb service with the following command:

sudo systemctl start arangodb3

You can also check the status of Arangodb with the following command:

sudo systemctl status arangodb3

You should see the following output:

    ● arangodb3.service - SYSV: ArangoDB Server
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/rc.d/init.d/arangodb3)
   Active: active (running) since Tue 2016-11-01 21:40:43 IST; 2min 30s ago
     Docs: man:systemd-sysv-generator(8)
  Process: 2766 ExecStart=/etc/rc.d/init.d/arangodb3 start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   CGroup: /system.slice/arangodb3.service
       ├─2810 /usr/sbin/arangod --uid arangodb --gid arangodb --log.foreground-tty false --pid-file /var/run/arangodb/arangod.pid --temp.path ...
       └─2811 /usr/sbin/arangod --uid arangodb --gid arangodb --log.foreground-tty false --pid-file /var/run/arangodb/arangod.pid --temp.path ...

Nov 01 21:40:31 centOS-7 systemd[1]: Starting SYSV: ArangoDB Server...
Nov 01 21:40:43 centOS-7 arangodb3[2766]: Starting /usr/sbin/arangod:  starting up in daemon mode
Nov 01 21:40:43 centOS-7 systemd[1]: Started SYSV: ArangoDB Server.
Nov 01 21:40:43 centOS-7 arangodb3[2766]: changed working directory for child process to '/var/tmp'

Step 3: Access ArangoDB CLI

ArangoDB comes with an arangosh command line utility to access the database. You can run this utility with the following command:

arangosh

When asked for a password, enter the root password. You will see the following output:

                                       _     
  __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __   __ _  ___  ___| |__  
 / _` | '__/ _` | '_ \ / _` |/ _ \/ __| '_ \ 
| (_| | | | (_| | | | | (_| | (_) \__ \ | | |
 \__,_|_|  \__,_|_| |_|\__, |\___/|___/_| |_|
                       |___/                 

arangosh (ArangoDB 3.0.10 [linux] 64bit, using VPack 0.1.30, ICU 54.1, V8 5.0.71.39, OpenSSL 1.0.1e-fips 11 Feb 2013)
Copyright (c) ArangoDB GmbH

Pretty printing values.
Could not connect to endpoint 'http+tcp://127.0.0.1:8529', database: '_system', username: 'root'
Error message: '401: Unauthorized'

Type 'tutorial' for a tutorial or 'help' to see common examples
127.0.0.1:8529@_system> 

You can create databases, users, and perform all administrative tasks using this utility.

Step 4: ArangoDB web interface

ArangoDB comes with a built-in web interface for performing various administrative tasks. Before starting, you will need to edit ArangoDB configuration files arangod.conf and arangosh.conf:

sudo nano /etc/arangodb3/arangod.conf

Add your server's IP address as follows:

endpoint = tcp://192.168.1.104:8529

Once you are finished, open the other configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/arangodb3/arangosh.conf

Add your server's IP address as follows:

endpoint = tcp://192.168.1.104:8529

Save the file and restart the ArangoDB service:

systemctl restart arangodb3

Step 5: Allow ArangoDB through firewall

By default, ArangoDB runs on port 8529, so you will need to allow this port through your firewall. You can do this by running the following command:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8529/tcp

Now, reload the firewall service for the changes to take effect.

sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Once you are finished, it's time to access ArangoDB web interface.

Open your favorite web browser and type the URL http://192.168.1.104:8529. This will open up the login screen for the _system db. After entering your login credentials, you will see the ArangoDB splash screen. This concludes my tutorial.