Node Exporter Installation Guide (for Systemd)

Step 1: Create the `node_exporter` User

The node_exporter user should be non-privileged with a shell of /sbin/nologin. This user will own the necessary directories and will run the service.

sudo useradd --system --shell /sbin/nologin --no-create-home --home-dir /var/lib/node_exporter node_exporter

This command creates a system user without login access, with the home directory set to /var/lib/node_exporter.

Step 2: Download Node Exporter Binary

Go to the official Prometheus Node Exporter GitHub releases page and download the latest release for your operating system (usually Linux). Replace x.y.z with the latest version number.

wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/vx.y.z/node_exporter-x.y.z.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded file:

tar -xvzf node_exporter-x.y.z.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Move the node_exporter binary to /usr/sbin/:

sudo mv node_exporter-x.y.z.linux-amd64/node_exporter /usr/sbin/

Example, using version 1.8.2 (linux-amd64):

wget https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/download/v1.8.2/node_exporter-1.8.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -zxvf node_exporter-1.8.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv node_exporter-1.8.2.linux-amd64/node_exporter /usr/sbin/

Step 3: Create Required Directories

Create the directory /var/lib/node_exporter/textfile_collector and set the appropriate ownership.

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/node_exporter/textfile_collector
sudo chown -R node_exporter:node_exporter /var/lib/node_exporter

Step 4: Create Sysconfig File

The sysconfig file will be placed in /etc/sysconfig/node_exporter and will contain configuration options for the Node Exporter.

sudo mkdir -p /etc/sysconfig/
sudo touch /etc/sysconfig/node_exporter
sudo chown root:root /etc/sysconfig/node_exporter

You can now edit the file and configure any environment variables or options for Node Exporter.

OPTIONS="--collector.textfile.directory=/var/lib/node_exporter/textfile_collector"

Step 5: Create Systemd Service Unit File

Create the systemd service unit file for Node Exporter in /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.service

Paste the following content into the file:

[Unit]
Description=Node Exporter
Requires=node_exporter.socket

[Service]
User=node_exporter
# Fallback when environment file does not exist
Environment=OPTIONS=
EnvironmentFile=-/etc/sysconfig/node_exporter
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/node_exporter --web.systemd-socket $OPTIONS

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Also create the socket file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/node_exporter.socket

Paste the following content into the file:

[Unit]
Description=Node Exporter

[Socket]
ListenStream=9100

[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

Step 6: Reload Systemd and Enable Node Exporter Service

After creating the service file, reload systemd to apply the new service configuration:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable the Node Exporter service so it starts automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl enable node_exporter

Step 7: Start Node Exporter

Finally, start the Node Exporter service:

sudo systemctl start node_exporter

To verify that the service is running correctly, check the status:

sudo systemctl status node_exporter

Step 8: Verify Node Exporter

Ensure that Node Exporter is running and accessible by visiting http://<your-server-ip>:9100/metrics in a browser or via curl from the command line:

curl http://localhost:9100/metrics

If you see Prometheus metrics, the Node Exporter is installed and running correctly.

azlkiniue/node-exporter-installation-guide-systemd.md