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Deploying to a VM

October 15, 2026 76 views

Deploying to a VM

Slipstream (cantainer-slipstream) can be deployed on a single Linux virtual machine with Docker and Docker Compose. The recommended installation path uses the hosted installer, which prepares the VM, writes the runtime configuration, starts the service, and can optionally provision TLS for device connections with Let's Encrypt.

This guide covers the full production setup, including authentication, storage, TLS, and what to expect during installation.

curl -fsSL https://cantainer-slipstream-81c41b.gitlab.io/slipstream/latest/install.sh | sh

The installer will:

  • Install Docker and the Docker Compose plugin

  • Create the required directories on the virtual machine

  • Generates a strong default admin token

  • Provisions a certbot certificate for device TLS (strongly recommended)

  • Starts Slipstream and verifies health


Before starting

Prepare a virtual machine with:

  • Debian or Ubuntu

  • Public endpoint devices can use to connect to Slipstream

    • Note: configure a A / AAAA record on a domain if you intend to enable TLS

  • Outbound internet access for installation, renewal and image pulls

  • At least 20 GB free disk space

  • At least 2 GB RAM / 2 vCPU

And open the ports:

  • 9100/tcp for device connections

  • 8080/tcp for the operations API

  • 80/tcp to have the installer obtain a certbot (LetsEncrypt) certificate

Configuration options

The Slipstream (cantainer-slipstream) server can be configured to use different storage methods for auth and cold storage.

The installer takes you through these step by step, but the most vital configuration options include:

  • Authentication storage backends

    • SQLite enables quick setup, preferable if you expect a one server deployment

    • Postgres enables shared authentication storage, preferable if you intend to do multi-server deployment (thousands of devices or more all streaming high volume data)

  • Cold storage

    • No storage, only enables live data streaming

    • S3, enables historical retrieval from S3, requires S3 compatible bucket configuration

  • TLS and certificates

    • Lets Encrypt allows you to configure a domain to assign to the virtual machine IPv4 / IPv6 address (recommended)

    • Self issued cert


For more detailed instructions, you can also check

https://cantainer-slipstream-81c41b.gitlab.io/

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