Countly is an open source analytics and marketing platform for web and mobile applications. It supports real-time data updates and uses a plugin-based architecture for extensibility. This guide will walk you through the process of installing the Countly server on a CentOS 7 machine.
Prerequisites
- A 64-bit CentOS 7 server instance with a minimum of 2 GB RAM.
- A user with sudo privileges.
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Step 1: Update the System
Begin by logging in as the sudo user and updating your CentOS system packages using the commands below:
sudo yum -y install epel-release
sudo yum -y update
sudo shutdown -r nowOnce the server reboots, log back in with your sudo credentials to continue the setup process.
Step 2: Install the Countly Server
Use the following command to install Countly and all required dependencies. The root password will be requested:
su -c "wget -qO- http://c.ly/install | bash"Step 3: Open Firewall Ports
Allow necessary ports for HTTP, HTTPS, and SMTP through the system firewall using the following commands:
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=https --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=smtp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reloadTo check Countly’s status, run:
sudo countly statusYou can also manually start or stop Countly:
sudo countly start
sudo countly stopStep 4: Enable HTTPS with Let's Encrypt
Before proceeding, ensure your domain or subdomain points to your server’s IP. Begin by installing Certbot:
sudo yum -y install certbotReplace countly.example.com with your actual domain and <user_name> with your Linux username in the following command:
sudo certbot certonly --webroot -w /home/<user_name>/countly/frontend/express/public -d countly.example.comOnce the certificates are generated, enhance security by generating Diffie-Hellman parameters:
sudo openssl dhparam -outform pem -out /etc/letsencrypt/live/countly.example.com/dhparam2048.pem 2048Next, update the default Nginx configuration by editing the following file:
sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.confReplace the contents with this configuration:
server {
listen 80;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 443;
server_name localhost;
access_log off;
ssl on;
ssl_protocols TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;
ssl_ciphers 'kEECDH+ECDSA+AES128 kEECDH+ECDSA+AES256 kEECDH+AES128 kEECDH+AES256 kEDH+AES128 kEDH+AES256 DES-CBC3-SHA +SHA !aNULL !eNULL !LOW !kECDH !DSS !MD5 !EXP !PSK !SRP !CAMELLIA !SEED';
ssl_session_cache builtin:1000 shared:SSL:10m;
ssl_stapling on;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/live/countly.example.com/dhparam2048.pem;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/countly.example.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/countly.example.com/privkey.pem;
location = /i {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
}
location ^~ /i/ {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
}
location = /o {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
}
location ^~ /o/ {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
}
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:6001;
proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
}
}To finalize everything, restart both Countly and Nginx services:
sudo countly restart
sudo systemctl restart nginxYou can now access your Countly dashboard at:
https://countly.example.com
On first access, you'll be prompted to set up an administrator account. After that, you can begin adding applications for data collection and monitoring.
Conclusion
Countly is a powerful, open-source platform for analyzing user behavior across web and mobile apps. Its real-time data updates and modular plugin architecture make it a flexible and extensible choice for developers and marketers alike. With the successful installation and configuration on CentOS 7, you are now equipped to take full advantage of Countly’s comprehensive analytics capabilities.
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