---
title: "Installation Overview"
description: "The full path from a bare machine to a running, licensed Koios server"
source_url: https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/overview
---
# Installation Overview
This section takes you from nothing to a running, licensed Koios server. It assumes no prior experience with Linux, Docker, or virtual machines — every command you need is written out.
Koios runs on an Ubuntu Server machine, either a virtual machine on a hypervisor you already have or a physical computer. All of Koios runs inside a single container on that machine, and you administer it from a browser on your own computer. Nothing is installed on the machines your operators use.
## Before You Start
Gather these four things. Two of them come from someone else, so ask early:
| What | Where it comes from |
|------|---------------------|
| **A license key** | Your Ai-OPs representative |
| **A static IP address, gateway, and subnet mask** | Whoever runs your network. You are asked for these partway through the Ubuntu install, so have them before you start |
| **A machine, or the ability to create a virtual machine** | See [Choosing a Host](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/virtual-machine.md) |
| **The Ubuntu Server installer image** | A free download from Ubuntu. Covered in [Installing Ubuntu](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/installing-ubuntu.md) |
### Record your network settings
Enter them here once and every command in this section shows your values instead of placeholders. They are kept in this browser only.
## Two Decisions
Make both before you begin. They change which pages you read.
### Virtual machine or physical computer?
A **virtual machine** is the usual choice, and Hyper-V is our recommendation if you have Windows Server. A **physical computer** — including a small industrial PC — is equally supported and is often the better answer at a small site or on a plant floor. [Choosing a Host](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/virtual-machine.md) covers both and explains what differs.
### Does the machine have internet access?
| Situation | What changes |
|-----------|--------------|
| **Has internet access** | Docker and the Koios image download directly. Follow the path below as written |
| **No internet access** | Read [Installing Without Internet Access](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/offline-install.md) first. The easiest route is to build the machine somewhere with internet and carry its virtual disk to the site — it changes the order of everything below |
## The Path
Follow these in order. Times are rough, and most of the total is unattended downloading.
| Step | Page | What it does | Time |
|------|------|--------------|------|
| 1 | [System Requirements](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/system-requirements.md) | Confirm the machine is big enough | 5 min |
| 2 | [Choosing a Host](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/virtual-machine.md) | Decide where Koios will run | 5 min |
| 3 | [Creating the Virtual Machine](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/hyper-v.md) | Hyper-V only. Skip on a physical machine | 15 min |
| 4 | [Installing Ubuntu](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/installing-ubuntu.md) | Install the operating system, set its address, enable remote access | 20 min |
| 5 | [Network Configuration](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/network-configuration.md) | Confirm the address, open the ports | 10 min |
| 6 | [Time Synchronization](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/time-synchronization.md) | Keep the clock accurate | 5 min |
| 7 | [Installing Docker Engine](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/installing-docker.md) | Install the runtime Koios needs | 10 min |
| 8 | [Getting the Koios Image](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/pulling-koios-image.md) | Download Koios itself | 15 min |
| 9 | [Running Koios as a Service](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/running-as-a-service.md) | Make Koios start on boot and stay running | 10 min |
| 10 | [Licensing Koios](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/licensing.md) | Activate your license | 10 min |
Steps 1 through 6 are ordinary Ubuntu setup, unrelated to Koios. If you already have an Ubuntu machine with a static address, start at step 7.
A hypervisor console window has no copy and paste, so everything typed there is typed by hand. That is why step 4 sets the machine's address and installs an SSH server: from there on you work from your own computer and paste commands instead of retyping them.
## What You End Up With
- Koios reachable at `https://` from any browser on the network
- A login of `admin` / `koios`, which you change immediately
- Koios restarting by itself after a crash or a power cut, with no one logged in
- All data held outside the container, so updating Koios never puts it at risk
## No Internet on the Machine?
[Installing Without Internet Access](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/offline-install.md) covers both routes: preparing a virtual disk on a connected computer, which is the one to prefer, and transferring the files by hand.
## If Something Goes Wrong
[If the Install Goes Wrong](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/install-troubleshooting.md) collects the failures that actually come up — ports already in use, an image that will not run, a machine that takes two minutes to boot — with the cause and the fix for each.
## What's Next
- [System Requirements](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/system-requirements.md): confirm your machine is suitable