Server Commissioning

How ACT sets up your servers and what happens during the commissioning process.

Updated Feb 14, 2026 Edit this page

Server Commissioning

Commissioning is the process by which ACT takes a “vanilla” Linux server and prepares it to host your applications. This process uses a lightweight agent that is automatically provisioned via SSH.

What happens during Commissioning?

When you click the Commission button, ACT performs the following steps in sequence:

  1. SSH Connection: ACT establishes a secure SSH connection to the server using the provided IP and Private Key.
  2. System Audit: ACT checks the OS version (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended) and architecture.
  3. Dependency Installation:
    • Installs docker.io and docker-compose-v2.
    • Installs wireguard for the mesh network.
    • Installs ufw for firewall management.
  4. Firewall Configuration:
    • Resets UFW and denies all incoming traffic by default.
    • Allows SSH (22/tcp).
    • Allows HTTP (80/tcp) and HTTPS (443/tcp).
    • Allows WireGuard (51820/udp).
  5. Infrastructure Setup:
    • Creates the act-infra Docker network.
    • Deploys the Traefik Ingress Proxy.
    • Deploys the Docker Socket Proxy (for secure, restricted access to the Docker API).
  6. Mesh Networking & Agent:
    • Creates a non-privileged system user and group named act.
    • Installs the act-agent binary and sets up a systemd service.
    • Generates WireGuard keys for the server.
    • Configures the WireGuard interface (wg0).
    • Starts the agent, which pulls the initial MeshState via HTTP.
  7. Health Check: ACT verifies that Docker is responsive and Traefik is reachable.

Troubleshooting Commissioning

Permission Denied (Public Key)

  • Cause: The SSH private key provided does not match any authorized keys on the server.
  • Fix: Ensure your public key is in /root/.ssh/authorized_keys (if using root) or the appropriate user’s folder.

Firewall Lockout

  • Cause: You have an external firewall (AWS Security Group, etc.) that is blocking the ports ACT is trying to use.
  • Fix: Ensure ports 22, 80, 443, and 51820 are open in your cloud provider’s console.

Docker Installation Failure

  • Cause: Existing package manager locks or broken repositories.
  • Fix: Run apt-get update manually on the server to check for errors.

Post-Commissioning

Once a server is commissioned, it is marked as Ready. You can then:

  • Link it to one or more Environments (in Advanced Mode).
  • Deploy Services or Databases to it.
  • View real-time Metrics (CPU, RAM, Disk).
  • Access the SSH Terminal directly from the ACT dashboard.