How to Start with IGEL with Limited or No Internet Access

This article gives you an overview on how you can operate your IGEL environment with limited or no internet access. We list here the topics that require special handling in such an environment and links to detailed instructions. The order of topics follows the logic of starting new with IGEL.

What You Need for the IGEL Environment

Similar to a normal IGEL environment, you will use several products and services to operate IGEL without internet.

The core environment that requires no internet access is made up of:

IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) 12 - for managing IGEL OS 12 and IGEL OS 11 devices.

Use version UMS 12.04.120 or higher, as some features supporting the internetless operation are available from this version.

IGEL OS 12 or IGEL OS 11

Essential cloud-based services that require internet access, but are not connected to the IGEL UMS or the IGEL OS:

https://cosmos.igel.com/csm - where you register your company account, invite other users and assign them specific roles, e.g. for opening support cases.
https://app.igel.com/ - where you can find and download all applications currently available for IGEL OS 12 to then distribute them through the UMS.
https://activation.igel.com/login - where you manage licenses for your IGEL OS devices.

Using the IGEL Customer Portal

Registering your company account in the IGEL Customer Portal is the first step to start using IGEL products. After registration, you can also reach IGEL Support through the IGEL Customer Portal. For detailed instructions, see https://kb.igel.com/display/howtocosmos/Registering+for+the+IGEL+Customer+Portal and https://kb.igel.com/display/howtocosmos/Managing+Users+and+Roles+in+the+IGEL+Customer+Portal

Installing and Configuring UMS 12

For details on how to install IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) 12 and what should be considered during the installation, see https://kb.igel.com/display/howtocosmos/Installing+or+Upgrading+to+IGEL+UMS+12 .

For the basic configuration of the UMS, follow the section First Steps in the IGEL UMS in https://kb.igel.com/display/howtocosmos/IGEL+UMS+12%3A+Basic+Configuration .

Distributing Apps to OS 12 Devices - UMS as App Proxy

To distribute apps to the IGEL OS 12 devices, first you have to configure your UMS as an Update Proxy under Apps > Settings > UMS as an Update Proxy:

Under Devices should download the apps from select Download from UMS.
Enable the Enable Automatic Cleanup of unused Versions parameter.
Enable the Block devices from downloading apps from the public App Portal as a fallback option parameter.

For details, see Configuring Global Settings for the Update of IGEL OS Apps .

To distribute apps, you will have to manually download them from the IGEL App Portal and upload them to the UMS as described in How to Install OS 12 Apps in a UMS Environment with Limited or No Internet Access .

Keep this difference in mind as you follow the instruction in https://kb.igel.com/display/howtocosmos/IGEL+UMS+12%3A+Basic+Configuration , and instead of importing IGEL OS Apps from the IGEL App Portal, use the manual process.

Installing the IGEL OS 12 Base System on the Device

IGEL OS 12

For instructions on how to install the OS 12 Base System on the device, see https://kb.igel.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=77865870 or https://kb.igel.com/display/basesystem124/How+to+Use+IGEL+OS+12+with+UD+Pocket , depending on your use case.

IGEL OS 11

For instructions on how to install the OS 11 on the device, see the following methods:

Licencing Devices

Licenses for IGEL products can be managed through the IGEL License Portal (ILP). Since the UMS does not have access to the internet, it cannot connect to the ILP. Therefore, you need to use the manual license deployment process described in https://kb.igel.com/display/licensesmoreigelos11/Manual+License+Deployment+for+IGEL+OS .

Onboarding Devices

Options to onboard OS 12 devices

Alternative Onboarding with One-time password method as described here: https://kb.igel.com/display/howtocosmos/Onboarding+IGEL+OS+12+Devices (Second Subtitle)
Scanning the Network , as described here: How to Scan the Network for Devices and Register Devices on the IGEL UMS
Importing device data beforehand: Importing Devices

Options to onboard OS 11 devices

Scanning the Network , as described here: How to Scan the Network for Devices and Register Devices on the IGEL UMS
Importing device data beforehand: Importing Devices
Use the UMS Registration to trigger the onboarding from the device: https://kb.igel.com/display/igelos1107/Using+UMS+Registration+Function

Managing Devices

Upgrading from IGEL OS 11 to IGEL OS 12

Use IGEL OS 11.09.260 or later as a starting point, as many upgrade-related issues have been fixed with that version. You can find further requirements in https://kb.igel.com/en/igel-os/11.10/upgrading-migration-from-igel-os-11-to-igel-os-12 .

For the upgrade you need to download the Base System app from the IGEL App Portal and import in the UMS Web App, as described in How to Install OS 12 Apps in a UMS Environment with Limited or No Internet Access.

If you are planning to use the unattended upgrade method, download IGEL OS 12.2.1 or later. With lower versions of IGEL OS 12, a manual reboot is required to finish the upgrade.

You can do the rest of the upgrade as described in https://kb.igel.com/en/igel-os/11.10/upgrading-migration-from-igel-os-11-to-igel-os-12 .

Updating the Base System & App Versions

After the manual upload of apps to the UMS Web App, app management is the same as for any other environment. For information on how to manage apps through the UMS Web App, see: