Getting started and plan changes
This guide explains how to prepare your server, how onboarding works, and how to change or cancel a plan. Onboarding starts after you order a plan together with a server, or after you open a ticket to add a running server.
System and network requirements
Supported systems
| System | Versions |
|---|---|
| Linux | Ubuntu Server, Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS Stream: currently vendor-supported releases |
| Proxmox VE | currently vendor-supported releases |
| Windows Server | currently vendor-supported releases |
Outgoing access from the server
No incoming ports are required. The server needs outgoing access to our servers in the Netherlands.
| Purpose | Default protocol and port |
|---|---|
| Zabbix server or proxy | TCP 10051 |
| Wazuh manager, events | TCP 1514 |
| Wazuh manager, agent enrollment | TCP 1515 |
| OpenObserve, log shipping | HTTPS |
Warning
If your firewall blocks these outgoing connections, monitoring cannot see the server. In this case, alert response obligations do not apply.
Time, resources and compatibility
- Time synchronization (NTP) must be running on the server. Without it, alerts and logs arrive with the wrong time.
- The agents are lightweight and use a negligible amount of CPU and memory.
- The agents work alongside control panels, Docker, third-party firewalls, antivirus software and EDR.
- On the Premium plan, monitoring a hardware RAID controller may require the controller vendor's utility.
Info
Third-party firewalls, antivirus software and EDR must not block the Zabbix, Wazuh and OpenObserve agents. If you have such software installed, let us know during onboarding.
Server onboarding
What we will ask you for:
- consent to log collection, given separately (see the Logs, data access and privacy document for details);
- for the Premium plan, a list of services that are important to you, so that we can set up custom monitoring and triggers. Without this list, standard templates and triggers are used.
Engineer account:
- We create a separate account with root or Administrator privileges on the server. For security reasons, we do not name this account in public documentation.
- Access: password on Windows Server, SSH key on Linux and Proxmox VE. The password and key are unique for each client server and are generated when the service is enabled.
- You can see this account and can disable it at any time, or keep it active for fast emergency help.
Info
You can disable or remove the engineer account, but then you will have to grant us root or Administrator access again for every request or scheduled maintenance in the OS.
Agents we install
| Agent | Purpose | Connections |
|---|---|---|
| Zabbix (active mode) | server metrics | outgoing only |
| Wazuh | security monitoring | outgoing only |
| OpenObserve | log shipping, only after your consent | outgoing only |
No incoming ports are opened on the server. The agents only need outgoing connections to our servers in the Netherlands, as described in System and network requirements above.
Proxmox VE
For Proxmox VE, hypervisor monitoring is added as well. Each cluster node requires its own plan.
Initial assessment
- In the first hours after the agents are installed, we assess the configuration.
- We send you a report on the current security settings.
- We fix the issues found according to the checklist for your OS, only after you approve.
New and running servers
New server. We set up the engineer account and the agents before handing the server over to you.
Running server. First we agree on a time window with you for installing the agents, then we follow the same steps.
Onboarding completion
You receive a ticket that:
- confirms that onboarding is complete;
- includes the initial assessment report;
- contains the engineer account details.
Onboarding time
For new orders, onboarding time depends mostly on how long OS updates take to install.
- Linux and Proxmox VE: 5 to 10 minutes.
- Windows Server: 1 to 2 hours, because updates take longer to install.
Changing the plan
- Open a ticket and specify the server and the new plan.
- The new plan takes effect once it is enabled. When you upgrade to a higher plan, you receive an invoice for the price difference for the current billing period. When you downgrade, the amount already paid for the current billing period is not refunded or recalculated.
- We reconfigure monitoring: on an upgrade we add checks, on a downgrade we disable the ones no longer needed.
Each server or node can have its own plan, for example Premium for a production database and Starter for a test server.
Canceling the service
- Open a ticket asking to cancel the plan on the server.
- The service usually stays active until the end of the paid period, or it can be canceled immediately.
- We remove the agents and the engineer account from the server.
- The collected logs are deleted.
If you cancel the server itself, the service ends together with it.
Reinstalling the OS on a managed server
After the OS is reinstalled, the agents and the engineer account have to be set up again. Reinstalling the agents after an OS reinstallation does not use plan hours.
Info
Let us know about the reinstallation in advance so that we can schedule re-enabling the service in the newly installed OS.
