How to Install Metabase Business Analytics on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
This tutorial exists for these OS versions
- Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa)
- Ubuntu 18.04 (Bionic Beaver)
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Metabase is a free and open-source business intelligence tool that can be used to search data sets and display information. It is a simple and powerful analytics tool that helps you to learn from your company’s data without any technical knowledge. It allows you to generate charts and dashboards, ask queries without using SQL, and see detailed information about rows in your Database.
Metabase is the right choice for you if you are looking for a high performance database lookup platform for your business.
In this tutorial, we will explain how to install Metabase on Ubuntu 20.04 with Nginx and Let's Encrypt SSL.
Prerequisites
- A server running Ubuntu 20.04.
- A valid domain name pointed with your server IP.
- A root password is configured the server.
Install Java
Metabase is a Java-based application. So Java must be installed in your server. You can install it with the following command:
apt-get install openjdk-11-jdk openjdk-11-jre -y
After successful installation, you can verify Java version with the following command:
java -version
You should see the following output:
openjdk version "11.0.8" 2020-07-14 OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.8+10-post-Ubuntu-0ubuntu120.04) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.8+10-post-Ubuntu-0ubuntu120.04, mixed mode, sharing)
Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.
Install and Configure MariaDB
Next, you will need to install the MariaDB database server in your system. You can install it by running the following command:
apt-get install mariadb-server -y
Once the MariaDB server has been installed, log in to the MariaDB shell with the following command:
mysql
Once login, create a database and user for Metabase with the following command:
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE metabase;
MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON metabase.* TO 'metabase'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY "password";
Next, flush the privileges and exit from the MariaDB shell with the following command:
MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;
Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.
Download Metabase
First, create a directory for Metabase inside /opt directory with the following command:
mkdir /opt/metabase
Next, change the directory to /opt/metabase and download the latest version of Metabase with the following command:
cd /opt/metabase
wget https://downloads.metabase.com/v0.36.2/metabase.jar
Next, you will need to create a separate user and group to run Metabase. You can create them with the following command:
addgroup --quiet --system metabase
adduser --quiet --system --ingroup metabase --no-create-home --disabled-password metabase
Next, change the ownership of the /opt/metabase to metabase and give proper permission with the following command:
chown -R metabase:metabase /opt/metabase
chmod -R 755 /opt/metabase
Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.
Create a Systemd Service File for Metabase
Next, you will need to create a systemd service file to manage the Metabase service. You can create it with the following command:
nano /etc/systemd/system/metabase.service
Add the following lines:
[Unit] Description=Metabase server [Service] WorkingDirectory=/opt/metabase/ ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -jar /opt/metabase/metabase.jar User=metabase Type=simple Restart=on-failure RestartSec=10 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Save and close the file then reload the systemd daemon with the following command:
systemctl daemon-reload
Next, start the Metabase service and enable it to start at system reboot with the following command:
systemctl start metabase
systemctl enable metabase
You can now verify the status of Metabase with the following command:
systemctl status metabase
You should see the following output:
? metabase.service - Metabase server
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/metabase.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Sat 2020-08-01 10:14:02 UTC; 12s ago
Main PID: 9650 (java)
Tasks: 18 (limit: 2353)
Memory: 150.2M
CGroup: /system.slice/metabase.service
??9650 /usr/bin/java -jar /opt/metabase/metabase.jar
Aug 01 10:14:02 ubuntu2004 systemd[1]: Started Metabase server.
Aug 01 10:14:05 ubuntu2004 java[9650]: 08-01 10:14:05 INFO metabase.util :: Loading Metabase...
Aug 01 10:14:06 ubuntu2004 java[9650]: 08-01 10:14:06 INFO metabase.util :: Maximum memory available to JVM: 498.0 MB
At this point, Metabase is started and listening on port 3000. You can check it with the following command:
netstat -tunelp | grep 3000
You should see the following output:
tcp6 0 0 :::3000 :::* LISTEN 109 35366 9650/java
Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Metabase
Next, you will need to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy for Metabase. First, install the Nginx web server with the following command:
apt-get install nginx -y
After installing Nginx, create a new Nginx virtual host configuration file with the following command:
nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/metabase.conf
Add the following lines:
upstream metabase {
server 127.0.0.1:3000;
}
server {
listen 80;
server_name metabase.linuxbuz.com;
access_log /var/log/nginx/metabase.linuxbuz.com-access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/metabase.linuxbuz.com-error.log;
location / {
proxy_pass http://metabase/;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forward-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forward-Proto http;
proxy_set_header X-Nginx-Proxy true;
proxy_redirect off;
}
}
Save and close the file when you are finished. Then, activate the Nginx virtual host with the following command:
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/metabase.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
Next, verify the Nginx for any configuration error with the following command:
nginx -t
You should see the following output:
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
Finally, restart the Nginx service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart nginx
At this point, Nginx is configured to serve Metabase on port 80. You can now proceed to the next step.
Secure Metabase with Let's Encrypt
First, you will need to install the Certbot Lets Encrypt client to install and manage SSL for your domain. You can install the Certbot client with the following command:
apt-get install python3-certbot-nginx -y
Once installed, secure the Metabase website with Let's Encrypt SSL with the following command:
certbot --nginx -d metabase.linuxbuz.com
You will be asked to provide your email and accept the terms of service as shown below:
Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log Plugins selected: Authenticator nginx, Installer nginx Enter email address (used for urgent renewal and security notices) (Enter 'c' to cancel): [email protected] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Please read the Terms of Service at https://letsencrypt.org/documents/LE-SA-v1.2-November-15-2017.pdf. You must agree in order to register with the ACME server at https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (A)gree/(C)ancel: A - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Would you be willing to share your email address with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a founding partner of the Let's Encrypt project and the non-profit organization that develops Certbot? We'd like to send you email about our work encrypting the web, EFF news, campaigns, and ways to support digital freedom. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (Y)es/(N)o: Y Obtaining a new certificate Performing the following challenges: http-01 challenge for metabase.linuxbuz.com Waiting for verification... Cleaning up challenges Deploying Certificate to VirtualHost /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/metabase.conf
Next, choose whether or not to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS as shown below:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1: No redirect - Make no further changes to the webserver configuration. 2: Redirect - Make all requests redirect to secure HTTPS access. Choose this for new sites, or if you're confident your site works on HTTPS. You can undo this change by editing your web server's configuration. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Select the appropriate number [1-2] then [enter] (press 'c' to cancel): 2
Tyep 2 and hit Enter to install the Let's Encrypt SSL for your domain.
Redirecting all traffic on port 80 to ssl in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/metabase.conf - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Congratulations! You have successfully enabled https://metabase.linuxbuz.com You should test your configuration at: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=metabase.linuxbuz.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IMPORTANT NOTES: - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/metabase.linuxbuz.com/fullchain.pem Your key file has been saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/metabase.linuxbuz.com/privkey.pem Your cert will expire on 2020-10-30. To obtain a new or tweaked version of this certificate in the future, simply run certbot again with the "certonly" option. To non-interactively renew *all* of your certificates, run "certbot renew" - Your account credentials have been saved in your Certbot configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Certbot so making regular backups of this folder is ideal. - If you like Certbot, please consider supporting our work by: Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt: https://letsencrypt.org/donate Donating to EFF: https://eff.org/donate-le - We were unable to subscribe you the EFF mailing list because your e-mail address appears to be invalid. You can try again later by visiting https://act.eff.org.
Now, your Metabase website is secured with Let's Encrypt SSL.
Access Metabase Web Interface
Now, open your web browser and type the URL https://metabase.linuxbuz.com. You will be redirected to the Metabase welcome screen as shown below:
Now, click on the Let's get started button. You should see the following screen:
Select your desired language and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:
Provide your name, email address, password and click on the Next button. You should see the Metabase database configuration screen:
Provide your database information and click on the Next button. You should see the Metabase usage data preferences screen:
Enable your desired option and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:
Provide your email address and click on the Take me to Metabase. You should see the Metabase dashboard in the following screen:
Conclusion
Congratulations! you have successfully installed Metabase with Nginx and Let's Encrypt SSL on Ubuntu 20.04 server. You can now explore the Metabase for new features. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.
