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Introduction

Edge Synchronization (Edge Sync, formerly called Local Operator Console) is an HTTP server that you run on your local network to manage nodes when they cannot reach Edge Infrastructure Services. Edge Sync stands in for Edge Infrastructure Services as a controller during planned outages, in airgapped environments, or during the transition from an airgapped network to a cloud-connected one. Diagram showing the Edge Sync server on the local network standing in for Edge Infrastructure Services as a controller for airgapped nodes Edge Sync handles node and edge application configuration management and collects runtime metrics from nodes and applications. It does not replace Edge Infrastructure Services entirely. When a node can reach Edge Infrastructure Services, it always prioritizes cloud configurations. When it cannot, it falls back to Edge Sync. You can run Edge Sync on any machine that your nodes can reach over a local network (for example, a LAN or WLAN). Edge Sync runs as a Docker container and exposes two ports: 1180 for the API and GUI, and 8100 for the local datastore.

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Prerequisites

  • Nodes must be running EVE-OS (Edge Virtualization Engine) 9.7 or greater.
  • Nodes must already be onboarded to Edge Infrastructure Services before using Edge Sync. Edge Sync does not support onboarding.
  • Docker must be installed on the machine that will run the Edge Sync server.
  • Edge Sync cannot manage a node that it runs on. Run it on a separate machine.
  • You have the SysManager or SysAdmin role in your enterprise. See Manage Roles.
  • To use the collect-info.sh diagnostic feature with Edge Sync (requires EVE-OS 14.5.2-LTS or greater): a local HTTP datastore configured within the airgapped environment.

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Set Up the Edge Sync Server

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Download Edge Sync

The Edge Sync Docker image is hosted on Docker Hub.
  1. Open a terminal on the machine that will run Edge Sync.
  2. Pull the Edge Sync image:
  1. Verify the image downloaded successfully:
Confirm that the output includes a row for zededa/edge-sync.

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Start Edge Sync

Run the Edge Sync container. This command opens port 1180 for the API and GUI, and port 8100 for the local datastore:
After the container starts, the Edge Sync GUI is available at http://<YOUR_EDGE_SYNC_IP_ADDRESS>:1180.

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Enable Edge Sync on Nodes

Nodes will only fall back to Edge Sync if you enable the feature for each node. You can enable it per-node or across all nodes in a project.

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On an individual node

  1. Open Infrastructure > Fleet > Nodes.
  2. Click the name of the node you want to configure.
  3. Click the Configure (⚙) button in the top-right corner of the node detail page.
  4. In the Configure overlay, select General Settings > Administration.
  5. Enable the Edge Sync toggle.
  6. In the Edge Sync URL field, enter the URL of your Edge Sync server in the format http://<YOUR_EDGE_SYNC_IP_ADDRESS>:1180.
  7. Optionally, in the Data Store selector, select a local HTTP or HTTPS datastore. This is required if you intend to use the collect-info.sh diagnostic feature.
  8. Click Save.

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In a project policy (new project)

  1. Open Infrastructure > Fleet > Projects.
  2. Click the Add button (floating button in the lower right of the page).
  3. Select Standard or Deployment as the project type.
  4. Complete the Identity step and click Next.
  5. On the Policies step, locate the Edge Sync Policy card and enable its toggle.
  6. Click Configure on the Edge Sync Policy card to open the configuration dialog.
  7. In the Edge Sync URL field, enter your Edge Sync server URL.
  8. Optionally, select the local datastore in the Data Store field.
  9. Click Save, then proceed to the Review step and click Create Project.

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In a project policy (existing project)

  1. Open Infrastructure > Fleet > Projects.
  2. Click the name of the project.
  3. Click the Configure (gear) button in the upper right.
  4. Click the Policies tab.
  5. Enable the Edge Sync Policy toggle and enter the Edge Sync URL.
  6. Click Save Changes.

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Download Node Configurations from Edge Infrastructure Services

Before your Edge Sync server can serve configurations to nodes, you must download the configuration from Edge Infrastructure Services and import it into Edge Sync. Download one node at a time.
  1. Open Infrastructure > Fleet > Nodes.
  2. Click the name of the node.
  3. In the node detail page header, click the … (More actions) button and select Download Edge Sync Config.
  4. Locate the downloaded configuration file. The file is named edge_sync_config_{timestamp}.json.
Repeat this for each node you want to manage from Edge Sync.

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Import and Apply Configurations in Edge Sync

After downloading configurations from Edge Infrastructure Services, import them into your Edge Sync server.

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Import configurations

  1. In your browser, navigate to http://<YOUR_EDGE_SYNC_IP_ADDRESS>:1180.
  2. Click the Nodes tab.
  3. Click the Import Configuration menu.
  4. Drag and drop or select the downloaded configuration file.
  5. Click Import Configuration.

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Apply configurations

After importing, apply configurations to nodes that have updates available.
  1. In the Edge Sync GUI, click the Nodes tab.
  2. Select the checkboxes for the nodes you want to update.
  3. Click the Apply Configuration menu.
  4. Click Apply Configuration.

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Manage Nodes and Applications from Edge Sync

Management actions in Edge Sync are only available for nodes that are not currently connected to Edge Infrastructure Services.

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Node actions

  1. In the Edge Sync GUI, click the Nodes tab.
  2. Select the checkboxes for the nodes you want to manage.
  3. Click the … icon and select an action:
  1. Confirm the action when prompted.

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Application instance actions

  1. In the Edge Sync GUI, click the Edge Apps tab.
  2. Select the checkboxes for the app instances you want to manage.
  3. Click the … icon and select an action:
  1. Confirm the action when prompted.

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Use the Edge Sync API

You can also manage nodes and applications programmatically using the Edge Sync REST API. Set the base URL:
Key endpoints under /api/v1/user:

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Next Steps

Node Details

Monitor node health and run states.

Manage Datastores

Create a local HTTP datastore for use with Edge Sync.

Enable Offline Mode on a Node

Additional ZCLI-based configuration to keep nodes running without cloud connectivity.