Deploy an Edge Application Instance

Introduction

This article describes how to deploy an Edge Application (App) Instance to one or more edge nodes.

Deploying an app instance is the process of creating a specific running instance of an edge application on an edge device (sometimes known as “instantiation”).

Each deployed app instance runs in its own environment, allowing multiple instances of the same application or different applications to run concurrently on the same edge device without interference.

After an app is deployed, the edge application instance can be managed through ZEDEDA Cloud. This includes monitoring its performance, scaling the instance, updating or patching the application, and managing its lifecycle (starting, stopping, or deleting the instance).

This is a series of articles. You will likely follow them in this order.

1. Edge Application Overview
2. Manage an Edge App Image 
3. Manage an Edge Application
   • Add a Module as an Edge App Type
   • Add a Container as an Edge App Type 
   • Add a Virtual Machine as an Edge App Type
4. Deploy an Application Instance - You are here!

Prerequisites 

• You have the SysManager role in your enterprise.
• You have already Onboarded an edge node to ZEDEDA Cloud.
• You have already Configured a network instance to enable network connectivity for your edge apps. 
• You have already identified or created an Edge Application that you’re ready to push to your edge device.

Access the Edge App Instance Wizard

To deploy an edge app instance, you must first access the Edge App Wizard. From there, you can follow the Wizard's prompts to complete your deployment. The Wizard can be accessed within the ZEDEDA GUI in the following ways:

• The Dashboard's Quick Links widget.
• Edge App Instances List View:
  1. Click on Edge App Instances in the left-hand side nav.
  2. Click on the + button in the upper right corner.
• Marketplace Card View:
  1. Hover over Marketplace and click Edge Apps.
  2. Use the Deploy icon on an Edge App card.
• Marketplace Edge Application detail view:
  1. Hover over Marketplace and click Edge Apps.
  2. Select an edge app card.
  3. Click the Deploy button, on the upper right corner.

Configure Edge App & Edge Nodes

1. Specify the Edge App name if not auto populated.
2. Select your Project from the drop down. 
3. The Drives, Resources, and Edge Nodes from the selected project are displayed. 
4. Check the box for the Edge Node where you want to deploy the app instance.
5. Click Next. 

Configure the Edge App Instance Identity

1. Enter a Name for your Edge App Instance. This value can't be changed later.
2. Enter a Title for your Edge App Instance. This value is for flexibility. You can change it at any time. 
3. Enter a Description. You can use this to help other admins understand the purpose of the app instance or any important details about the Edge App Instance.
4. Enable Logs Access to collect and access logs generated by the Edge App Instance. 
5. Configure Staggered Start Delay in Seconds, Minutes, or Hours to make sure that your instances start at different intervals rather than all at once. 
6. Enable VMM Overhead per instance when deploying the app. This allows you to fine-tune memory allocation based on the specific edge device's resources and the requirements of that deployment (versus when creating an edge app, which is more of a default global setting for the app). 
7. Select or enter Tags to help you group and identify instances based on specific criteria. For example: environment, such as production or testing.
8. Click Next. 

Configure Adapters & Networks

1. The Network Adapter Name and Firewall Rules are auto populated. 
2. Select a Network Instance that you configured to specify how the adapter port will connect to local networks or external resources. 
3. Select an IO Adapter Bundle to facilitate the types of input/output capabilities for your edge application instance.
4. Click Next.

Configure a Custom Config Script

1. See Custom Configuration Edge Application.
2. Click Next. 

Review & Deploy

1. Review your configuration.
2. Click Deploy.

View Deployment Status Indicators

After you deploy your Edge App Instance, a notification will show the status. If successful, it will then appear in the list view with its run state indicated by a colored dot.

• Green: The instance is functioning correctly.
• Red: The instance is stopped.
• Blue: Configuration details received and processing.
• Yellow: Suspect state if no communication for 3 minutes.
• Purple: Invalid or unknown state.
• Grey: Other reasons not specified in the table.

Next steps

See Lifecycle Operations on Edge Application Instances.