.. meta::
   :description: Learn how to install the ThinLinc server, configure it
                 using ThinLinc setup, and set up additional features.

.. _install_install:

Installing the ThinLinc server
------------------------------

For information on where to find the ThinLinc server software, see
:ref:`obtaining_thinlinc`. For instructions on how to upgrade a
pre-existing ThinLinc installation, see :ref:`install_upgrade`.

Start by downloading the ThinLinc server, extracting the ZIP file and
running the :program:`install-server` script in the extracted archive's
root directory:

.. code:: console

   $ unzip tl-x.y.z-server.zip
   $ cd tl-x.y.z-server
   $ sh ./install-server

:program:`install-server` will install the ThinLinc server package
suitable for your system from the :file:`packages` subdirectory. It
will then ask if you want to run ThinLinc setup. Answer yes to this
prompt or start ThinLinc setup manually by running
:program:`/opt/thinlinc/sbin/tl-setup`.

Moreover, remember to review the platform-specific notes that apply
to your server platform: https://www.cendio.com/thinlinc/docs/platforms/

.. note::

   The ThinLinc server can also be installed and configured
   non-interactively, see :ref:`install_automatic` for more information.

.. _install_tl_setup:

ThinLinc setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ThinLinc setup is responsible for configuring ThinLinc and installing
any missing dependencies. When installing ThinLinc on a new machine,
ThinLinc setup always needs to be run.

ThinLinc setup will give you the choice to configure ThinLinc as a
master or an agent. Selecting master will configure the system as a
standalone ThinLinc server, while selecting agent will configure it as
an agent node that is part of a load-balanced ThinLinc cluster. If this
is the first ThinLinc system you are configuring, select master.

.. note::

   In case you want to redo any of the configuration steps done by
   ThinLinc setup, you can always re-run it by running
   :file:`/opt/thinlinc/sbin/tl-setup`.

On SELinux enabled distributions, ThinLinc setup will optionally modify
the local system policy. See :ref:`install_selinux` for more
information.

.. _install_sudo_configuration:

Sudo configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ThinLinc ships with an array of administration commands. Some of these
needs root privileges to run. To use these commands with :command:`sudo`
and not have to specify the entire path to the command, :command:`sudo`
needs to be configured to trust ThinLinc paths. This is achieved by
editing :command:`sudo`’s ``secure_path`` in :file:`/etc/sudoers` using
:command:`visudo`:

.. code:: console

   $ sudo visudo

Add :file:`/opt/thinlinc/bin` and :file:`/opt/thinlinc/sbin` to
``secure_path`` and save the file.

.. admonition:: Example

   If this was in :file:`/etc/sudoers` before::

     Defaults    secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin

   Then after you add the ThinLinc paths it should be::

     Defaults    secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/opt/thinlinc/bin:/opt/thinlinc/sbin

.. _install_agent_hostname:

External access behind NAT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As described in :ref:`architecture`, the ThinLinc client first connects
to the master machine. The master responds with the IP or domain name of
the agent machine assigned to host the session. The client will then
directly connect to this agent machine. This is true in all cases, even
when you have a standalone ThinLinc server (where a single machine acts
both as the master and agent).

By default, the master will respond with the IP address assigned to the
agent machine. As this IP will generally only be reachable from within
the local area network, ThinLinc requires you to specify the public IP
or domain name through which the agent machine in question is externally
reachable.

This is done by selecting one of the external connections options in
tl-setup or by setting the parameter
:servconf:`/vsmagent/agent_hostname` to the machine's publicly reachable
IP or domain name and restarting the agent service:

.. code:: console

   $ sudo tl-config /vsmagent/agent_hostname=thinlinc.example.com
   $ sudo systemctl restart vsmagent

As described in :ref:`network`, each ThinLinc machine should have its
own publicly reachable IP. :servconf:`/vsmagent/agent_hostname` will
thus be unique for each individual machine.

.. _install_next_steps:

Next steps
~~~~~~~~~~

Assuming you have a desktop environment installed alongside the ThinLinc
server, you should now be able to connect using either the :ref:`Native
Client<client>` or the browser based :ref:`ThinLinc Web
Access<tlwebaccess>` using the same credentials as when logging in to
your server over SSH. See :ref:`clientcomparison` and
:ref:`authentication` for further information.

.. note::

   Having issues connecting to your ThinLinc server? Take a look at the
   :ref:`troubleshoot` chapter.

You should now have a fully functioning ThinLinc setup. If you want to
make additional tweaks to your setup, a few starting points are listed
below:

* :ref:`Installing license files to accommodate more than 10 concurrent
  users<licensehandling>`

* :ref:`Spreading the session load over multiple
  machines<install_cluster>`

* :ref:`Configuring high availability<HA>`

* :ref:`Enabling hardware accelerated 3D graphics with
  VirtualGL<virtualgl>`