Actor Installation - Before You Begin

Actor Installation Workflow

The following is the overall installation workflow for the Actor.

  1. Review and complete the Pre-Installation Checklist.
  2. Review the Network Actor Requirements and Endpoint Actor Requirements to ensure that your system is adequate.
  3. Download the installer. If you do not have access to the internet on the OS where the Actor will be installed, you can also find installer files in Library > Actor Installer Files.
  4. Complete the Required Installation Information form. Keep this list handy during installation.
  5. Install the Actor.

Pre-Installation Checklist for Software Installs

Review the following information and check off each item as you complete it.

Done? Windows Mac Linux Verify... Reference
c System on which the Actor will be installed meets or exceeds system requirements.

Network Actor Requirements (for Linux-based Network Actors)
Endpoint Actor Requirements

c

Verify that your FQDN follows RFC 1123 naming requirements.

FQDNs must comply with RFC 1123, a standard that defines the requirements for FQDNs on the internet. This standard specifies that FQDNs can only contain the following:

  • Letters (A-Z, a-z)
  • Digits (0-9)
  • Hyphens (-)

Underscores are not permitted.


For more information, see RFC 1123: Requirements for Internet Hosts.


c

System on which the Actor will be installed has the required accounts. Configure Windows Accounts
c


SSL Certs: Your organization supports self-signed certificates or you have custom certificates you can add to the Actor Adding a Custom Certificate to your Linux Actor
c Select which type of installation you will perform: easy, interactive, or automated. Pre-Installation Decisions - Actor
c

Identify the online repository you will use for package dependencies and ensure that you can access it from the system where you are installing the Actor.

Handling Software Dependencies
c Ensure that required communication ports are available for Actor traffic. Network Communication Requirements
c

If you are running a MacBook with an M1 processor, enable Rosetta by running the following command:

softwareupdate --installrosetta

c

Ensure adequate disk space is allocated to /opt on the partition where you will install the platform. System Requirements
c

Create or designate a system account to own the Validation Platform programs, data, and log files. Assign the account to the wheel group and verify it has shell capabilities. Configure the Environment - Linux Actor
c

Create or designate a system group to run the Validation Platform programs and services. Configure the Environment - Linux Actor
c

Verify that sudo is enabled.

Sudo Commands Explained - Actor

c

Configure a time service. See your operating system documentation for instructions.
c



On the host system, verify that umask has read + write permissions (022) on the “Others” group. See your operating system documentation for instructions.
c

Disable and mask firewalld. See your operating system documentation for instructions.
c

Add the Validation Platform Services, Directories, and Artifacts to your Allow list.

Windows 64-bit Actor Artifacts and Services

See instructions for your vendor's product or platform.

c

Update your Allow list to include the Security Validation Actor folder that is required to update your Actor (will contain all update artifacts):

node/update_packages/current

Only necessary if there is a security control in place that would prevent the Actor from running correctly. See instructions for your vendor's product or platform.
c

Verify that you can update sshd_config. Updating the sshd_config File

Pre-Installation Checklist for Appliance Installs

Review the following information and check off each item as you complete it.

Done? AMI OVA VHD Verify... Reference
c System on which the Actor will be installed meets or exceeds system requirements.

Network Actor Requirements

c


SSL Certs: Your organization supports self-signed certificates or you have custom certificates you can add to the Actor Adding a Custom Certificate to your Linux Actor
c
Select which type of installation you will perform: easy, interactive, or automated. Pre-Installation Decisions - Actor
c

Add the Validation Platform Services to your Allow list.


See instructions for your vendor's product or platform.

c

Update your Allow list to include the Security Validation Actor folder that is required to update your Actor (will contain all update artifacts):

node/update_packages/current

Only necessary if there is a security control in place that would prevent the Actor from running correctly. See instructions for your vendor's product or platform.

Required Installation Information

The following information is required during installation. Enter your specific information in this table and keep it handy during the install.

Requirement Install Details
Director host information (software and appliances)

Hostname:

IP address:

Privileged user account (software and appliances) Username:
Designated services group (software only) Group:
Designated interface for Director to listen for connections (software only) Interface:
Online repository (software only) Repository:

Endpoint Actor Configuration Notes

  • Endpoint Actors are always set to Pull mode
  • Two interfaces are supported
  • Supported proxy types between the Endpoint Actor and Director include
    • HTTP
    • HTTP Auth
    • HTTP NTLM
    • HTTPS
    • HTTPS Auth
    • SSL Man in the Middle
    • Kerberos
    • Socks
    • Socks Auth
  • June 5, 2022
  • March 19, 2026
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