Configuring CAS

This guide covers how to configure the Connector Automation Service (CAS) for the first time and how to manage it afterward.

Overview

CAS is an on-prem service that runs automations locally and connects them back to ASCERA SaaS. During setup, you'll create the CAS instance in ASCERA, download the install package, and run the local CLI to configure the host and start the stack.

Set Up a New CAS Instance

1. In ASCERA, go to ConMon: Maintain > Connectors.
2. Open the CAS Instances tab.
3. Click Add CAS Instance.
4. On the first page of the modal, choose how you want to get the install package:
   • Preferred: Copy the wget command and download it directly on the destination machine
   • Copy the curl command and download it directly on the destination machine
   • Download the CAS stack and move it to the target machine manually
5. After copying the download command, click Next.
6. On the second page, enter a descriptive name for the CAS instance.
7. Click Create.
8. Copy and securely store the CAS instance ID and API key. The API key is shown only once. If it is lost, you must generate a new key or create a new CAS instance.

Environment Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A Linux host running Ubuntu 26.04 with at least 4 vCPUs, 8GB RAM, and 60GB of free disk space
• Docker and Docker Compose installed and working
  • Docker and Docker Compose installation guide for Ubuntu
  • Additional Recommended Docker Post-Installation Steps for Ubuntu
• The CAS install package staged on the host
• The ability to copy and paste commands and values into the host terminal. This is highly recommended for enclave environments because some commands, instance IDs, and API keys can be long and difficult to enter manually.
• Network access from the host to ASCERA SaaS

  • You can test this by running:

    curl -I https://app.ascera.com

    Verify that you get an HTTP 200 response.

• Your CAS instance ID and CAS API key from the ASCERA UI

First-Time Configuration

1. Extract the package if you haven't already:

   sudo tar -zxvf ascera-cas-deployment-latest.tar.gz -C /opt/

2. Update permissions for the extracted directory:

   sudo chown -R $USER: /opt/ascera-cas

3. Change into the package directory:

   cd /opt/ascera-cas

4. Run the start command to begin the setup flow:

   ./cas.sh start

5. Follow the prompts to provide the required values.

After Starting CAS

Once cas.sh start completes, use the status command printed by the script to confirm the stack is healthy:

./cas.sh status

You can also use the logs command if you need to inspect container output:

./cas.sh logs

Back in the CAS Instances tab, the instance you started should now show Online in the Status column.

More on CAS Commands

The cas.sh script has several optional commands you can use after the initial setup. The following are the most common commands. You can view all available commands by running:

./cas.sh help

Common commands include:

• Cleanly stop the CAS stack without uninstalling it, allowing you to start it again later with ./cas.sh start:

  ./cas.sh stop

• Stop and start the stack in one command, which is useful for applying configuration changes that require a restart:

  ./cas.sh restart

• Tail logs from a selected container, which is useful for troubleshooting and monitoring the stack:

  ./cas.sh logs

• Re-run the setup prompts, allowing you to update any configuration values. Existing values are shown as defaults, so you can keep them by pressing Enter.

  ./cas.sh reconfigure

• Completely remove the CAS stack, including containers, images, networks, and volumes. Use this if you want to start fresh or no longer need the CAS instance.

  ./cas.sh uninstall

Using CAS with Connectors

Once CAS is running, you can use it as the execution environment for new or existing connector instances.

New Connector Instances

To create a new connector instance that runs through CAS:

1. In ASCERA SaaS, go to ConMon: Maintain > Connectors.
2. Open the Available tab.
3. Select the connector you want to configure and start the setup flow.
4. Enter the credentials and any other required configuration values for the connector.
5. In the connector form, find the Execution Environment setting and select the CAS instance you started instead of Run in cloud (default).
6. Click Create to create the connector instance.

After the connector is saved, its automations will run through CAS.

Existing Connector Instances

To update an existing connector instance:

1. In ASCERA SaaS, go to ConMon: Maintain > Connectors.
2. Open the Configured tab.
3. Select the connector you want to update and click Edit Connector.
4. In the edit form, find the Execution Environment setting and select the CAS instance you started instead of Run in cloud (default).
5. Click Save for the changes to take effect.

Once an execution environment is set to CAS, all automations for that connector will run through CAS instead of directly from ASCERA SaaS.