End-of-Life (EoL)
Amazon ECS
This quickstart guide shows you how to deploy Prisma Cloud on a simple cluster that has a single infrastructure node and two worker nodes.
Console runs on the infrastructure node, and an instance of Defender runs on each of the worker nodes.
Console is the Prisma Cloud management interface, and it runs as a service.
The parameters of the service are described in a task definition, and the task definition is written in JSON format.
Defender protects your containerized environment according to the policies you set in Console.
To automatically deploy an instance of Defender on each worker node in your cluster, you will use a user data script in the worker node launch configuration.
User data scripts run custom configuration commands when a new instance is started.
You will set up the user data script to call the Prisma Cloud API to download, install, and start Defender.
This guide assumes you know very little about AWS ECS.
As such, it is extremely prescriptive.
If you are already familiar with AWS ECS and do not need assistance navigating the interface, simply read the section synopsis, which summarizes all key configurations.
The installation described in this article is meant to be "production grade" in that data is persisted across restarts of the nodes.
If an infrastructure node were to go down, ECS should be able to reschedule the Console service on any healthy node, and Console should still have access to its state.
To enable this capability, you must attach storage that is accessible from each of your infrastructure nodes, and Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) is an excellent choice.
When you have more than one infrastructure node, ECS can run Console on any one of them.
Defenders need a reliable way to connect to Console, no matter where it runs.
A load balancer automatically directs traffic to the the node where Console runs, and offers a stable interface that Defenders can use to connect to Console and that operators can use to access its web interface.
We assume you are deploying Prisma Cloud to the default VPC.
If you are not using the default VPC, adjust your settings accordingly.
Key identifiers
There are a number of AWS resource identifiers that used throughout the install procedure.
The important ones are highlighted here.
Cluster name
: tw-ecs-clusterSecurity group
: tw-security-groupInfrastructure node’s IP address
: <ECS_INFRA_NODE> (Retrieve this value from the AWS Management Console after the infrastructure EC2 instance starts.)Console task definition
: tw-console (This value is specified in the task definition JSON.)Download the Prisma Cloud software
The Prisma Cloud release tarball contains all the release artifacts.
- Go to the Releases page, and copy the link to current recommended release.
- Retrieve the release tarball.$ wget <LINK_TO_CURRENT_RECOMMENDED_RELEASE_LINK>Unpack the Prisma Cloud release tarball.$ mkdir twistlock $ tar xvzf twistlock_<VERSION>.tar.gz -C twistlock/
- Log into the AWS Management Console.
- Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service.
- ClickCreate Cluster.
- SelectEC2 Linux + Networking, then clickNext Step.
- Enter a cluster name, such astw-ecs-cluster.
- SelectCreate an empty cluster.
- ClickCreate.
- Go toServices > Compute > EC2.
- In the left menu, clickNETWORK & SECURITY > Security Groups.
- ClickCreate Security Group.
- InSecurity group name, enter a name, such astw-security-group.
- InDescription, enterPrisma Cloud ports.
- InVPC, select your default VPC.
- Under theInboundtab, clickAdd Rule.
- UnderType, selectCustom TCP.
- UnderPort Range, enter8083-8084.
- UnderSource, selectAnywhere.
- ClickAdd Rule.
- UnderType, selectCustom TCP.
- UnderPort Range, enter2049.
- UnderSource, selectAnywhere.
- ClickAdd Rule.
- UnderType, selectSSH.
- UnderSource, selectAnywhere.
- ClickCreate.
- Performance mode:General purpose.
- Throughput mode:Provisioned. Provision 0.1 MiB/s per deployed Defender. For example, if you plan to deploy 10 Defenders, provision 1 MiB/s of throughput.
- Log into the AWS Management Console.
- Go toServices > Storage > EFS.
- ClickCreate File System.
- Select a VPC, select thetw-security-groupfor each mount target, then clickNext.
- Enter a value for Name, such astw-nlb-console, then clickNext.
- Review your settings and create the file system.
- Click on theAmazon EC2 mount instructions (from local VPC)link and copy the mount command (Using the NFS client) and set it aside as the Console mount command.You will use this mount command to configure your launch configuration for the Console.
- Log into the AWS Management Console.
- Go toServices > Storage > EFS.
- ClickCreate File System.
- Select a VPC, select thetw-security-groupfor each mount target, then clickNext.
- Enter a value for Name, such astw-nlb-defender, then clickNext.
- Review your settings and create the file system.
- Click on theAmazon EC2 mount instructions (from local VPC)link and copy the mount command (Using the NFS client) and set it aside as the Defender mount command.You will use this mount command to configure your launch configuration for the Defenders.
- Creates an instance type of t2.large, or higher. For more information about Console’s minimum requirements, see System requirements.
- Runs Amazon ECS-Optimized Amazon Linux AMI.
- Uses the ecsInstanceRole IAM role.
- Runs a user data script that joins the tw-ecs-cluster and defines a custom attribute named purpose with a value of infra. Console will be pinned to this instance.
- Go toServices > Compute > EC2.
- In the left menu, clickAUTO SCALING > Launch Configurations.
- ClickCreate launch configuration.
- Choose an AMI.
- ClickAWS Marketplace.
- In the search box, enterecs.
- ClickSelectforAmazon ECS-Optimized Amazon Linux AMI.
- Choose an instance type.
- Selectt2.large.
- ClickNext: Configure details.
- Configure details.
- InName, enter a name for your launch configuration, such astw-infra-node.
- InIAMrole, selectecsInstanceRole.If this role doesn’t exist, see Amazon ECS Container Instance IAM Role.
- SelectMonitoring.
- ExpandAdvanced Details,
- InUser Data, enter the following text in order to install the NFS utilities and mount the EFS file system:#!/bin/bash cat <<'EOF' >> /etc/ecs/ecs.config ECS_CLUSTER=tw-ecs-cluster ECS_INSTANCE_ATTRIBUTES={"purpose": "infra"} EOF yum install -y nfs-utils mkdir /twistlock_console <CONSOLE_MOUNT_COMMAND> /twistlock_consoleECS_CLUSTER must match your cluster name. If you’ve named your cluster something other than tw_ecs_cluster, then modify your User Data script accordingly.<CONSOLE_MOUNT_COMMAND> is the Console mount command you copied from the AWS Management Console after creating your EFS file system. The mount target must be /twistlock_console, not the efs mount target provided in the sample command.(Optional) UnderIP Address Type, selectAssign a public IP address to every instance.With this option, you can easily SSH to this instance to troubleshoot issues.ClickNext: Add Storage.
- Add Storage.
- Accept the defaults, and clickNext: Configure Security Group.
- Configure security group.
- UnderAssign a security group, chooseSelect an existing security group.
- Selecttw-security-group.
- ClickReview.
- Review.
- ClickCreate launch configuration.
- Select an existing key pair, or create a new key pair so that you can access your instance.
- ClickCreate launch configuration.
- Go toServices > Compute > EC2.
- In the left menu, clickAUTO SCALING > Auto Scaling Groups.
- ClickCreate Auto Scaling group.
- Selecttw-infra-node.
- ClickNext Step.
- Configure Auto Scaling group details.
- InGroup Name, enter tw-infra-autoscaling.
- SetGroup sizeto the desired value (typically, this is a value greater than1).
- UnderNetwork, select your default VPC.
- UnderSubnet, select a public subnet, such as 172.31.0.0/20.
- ClickNext: Configure scaling policies.
- Configure scaling policies.
- SelectKeep this group at its initial size.
- ClickNext: Configure Notifications.
- Configure Notifications.
- ClickNext: Configure Tags.
- Configure Tags.
- UnderKey, enterName.
- UnderValue, entertw-infra-node.
- ClickReview.
- ClickCreate Auto Scaling Group.After the auto scaling group spins up (it will take some time), validate that your cluster has one container instance, where a container instance is the ECS vernacular for an EC2 instance that has joined the cluster and is ready to accept container workloads.Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service. The count forContainer instancesshould be 1.Click on the cluster, then click on theECS Instancestab. In the status table, there should a single entry. Click on the link under theEC2 Instancecolumn. In the details page for the EC2 instance, copy theIPv4 Public IP, and set it aside. You will use it to create a launch configuration for your worker nodes.
- To initialize the file structure in the EFS mount:SSH to the infrastructure node$ ssh -i <PATH-TO-KEY-FILE> ec2-user@<ECS_INFRA_NODE>Set up the following directory structure$ sudo mkdir -p /twistlock_console/var/lib/twistlock $ sudo mkdir -p /twistlock_console/var/lib/twistlock-backup $ sudo mkdir -p /twistlock_console/var/lib/twistlock-config
- Upload twistlock.cfg to the infrastructure node.
- Go to the directory where you unpacked the Prisma Cloud release tarball.
- Copy twistlock.cfg to the infrastructure node.$ scp -i <PATH-TO-KEY-FILE> twistlock.cfg ec2-user@<ECS_INFRA_NODE>:~
- SSH to the infrastructure node.$ ssh -i <PATH-TO-KEY-FILE> ec2-user@<ECS_INFRA_NODE>Copy the twistlock.cfg file into place.$ sudo cp twistlock.cfg /twistlock_console/var/lib/twistlock-config
Create a Prisma Cloud Console task definitionPrisma Cloud provides a task definition template for Console. Download the template, then update the variables specific to your environment. Finally, load the task definition in ECS.Prerequisites:- The task definition provisions sufficient resources for Console to operate. Our template specifies reasonable defaults. For more information, see System requirements.
- Download the Prisma Cloud Console task definition, and open it for editing.
- Update the value for image to point to Prisma Cloud’s cloud registry.Replace the following placeholder strings with the appropriate values:
- <ACCESS-TOKEN> — Your Prisma Cloud access token. All characters must be lowercase. To convert your access token to lowercase, run:$ echo <ACCESS-TOKEN> | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
Update the value for CONSOLE_SAN to the DNS name and/or IP address for your infra node.Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service.In the left menu, clickTask Definitions.ClickCreate new Task Definition.InStep 1: Select launch type compatibility, selectEC2, then clickNext step.InStep 2: Configure task and container definitions, scroll to the bottom of the page and clickConfigure via JSON.Delete the contents of the window, and replace it with the Prisma Cloud Console task definitionClickSave.- (Optional) Change the task definition name before creating. The JSON will default the name totw-console.
ClickCreate.
Launch the Prisma Cloud Console serviceCreate the Console service using the previously defined task definition. A single instance of Console will run on the infrastructure node.- Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service.
- In the left menu, clickClusters.
- Click on your cluster.
- In theServicestab, then clickCreate.
- InStep 1: Configure service:
- ForLaunch type, selectEC2.
- ForTask Definition, selecttw-console.
- InService Name, entertw-console.
- InNumber of tasks, enter1.
- ClickNext Step.
- InStep 2: Configure network, accept the defaults, and clickNext.
- InStep 3: Set Auto Scaling, accept the defaults, and clickNext.
- InStep 4: Review, clickCreate Service.
- ClickView Service.
Configure Prisma Cloud ConsoleNavigate to Console’s web interface, create your first admin account, then enter your license.- Start a browser, then navigate to https://<ECS_INFRA_NODE>:8083
- At the login page, create your first admin account. Enter a username and password.
- Enter your license key, then clickRegister.
Set up a load balancer and Target GroupAfter you deploy Console, set up Amazon Network Load Balancers (NLB). You should use anetworkload balancer.You’ll create two load balancer listeners. One is used for Console’s UI and API, which are served on port 8083. Another is used for the websocket connection between Defender and Console, which is established on port 8084.For detailed instructions on how to create an NLB load balancer for Console, please refer to our Configure an AWS Network Load Balancer article.Prerequisites:- Console is fully operational. You have created your first admin user, entered your license, and you can access Console’s web interface.
- Copy the DNS name for your load balancer and set it aside. You will need it to configure the launch configuration for your worker nodes.
- Add the DNS names for your load balancers to the Subject Alternative Name field in Console’s certificate.Log into Prisma Cloud Console, go toManage > Defenders > Names, and add the DNS names for your load balancers to theSubject Alternative Nametable.
- Retrieve the service parameter from the Prisma Cloud API.$ curl -k -s \ -u <USER> \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -X GET \ https://<CONSOLE>:8083/api/v1/certs/service-parameter \ -o service-parameter<CONSOLE> is the address the curl command uses to access Console.Retrieve the certificate bundle from the Prisma Cloud API, and save it to a file. It’s returned as a base64 string.Depending on the Console version the API call will be different.For Console version 19.11.480:$ curl -k -s \ -u <USER> \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -X GET \ https://<CONSOLE>:8083/api/v1/defenders/install-bundle?consoleaddr=<CONSOLE_CONN>&defenderType=rasp \ | jq -r '.installBundle' > INSTALL_BUNDLEFor Console versions greater than or equal to 19.11.506:$ curl -k -s \ -u <USER> \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -X GET \ https://<CONSOLE>:8083/api/v1/defenders/install-bundle?consoleaddr=<CONSOLE_CONN>&defenderType=appEmbedded \ | jq -r '.installBundle' > INSTALL_BUNDLE<CONSOLE_CONN> is the address the Defenders use to connect to the Console. Use the address of your load balancer.Using the output from the previous command, decode the base64 string into each of the three separate files: ca.pem, client-cert.pem, and client-key.pem. This following command also replaces the \n values in the output to UNIX-style line endings.$ for file in "ca.pem" "client-cert.pem" "client-key.pem"; \ do cat INSTALL_BUNDLE | base64 --decode \ | jq --arg i "$file" -r '.secrets[$i]' \ | awk '{gsub(/\\n/,"\n")}1' > $file; \ doneCopy the certs into place.
- Mount the Defender EFS file system temporarily on a system of your choosing. Use the mount command you saved when you created your EFS file system.
- Copy the following files to the EFS file system:
- service-parameter
- ca.pem
- client-cert.pem
- client-key.pem
- Set the ownership and permissions for each file.$ chown root:root ca.pem client-cert.pem client-key.pem service-parameter $ chmod 600 ca.pem client-cert.pem client-key.pem service-parameterUnmount the EFS file system.$ umount <filesystem>
Create a launch configuration for worker nodesCreate a launch configuration named tw-worker-node that:- Runs the Amazon ECS-Optimized Amazon Linux AMI.
- Uses the ecsInstanceRole IAM role.
- Runs a user data script that joins the tw-ecs-cluster and runs the commands required to install Defender.
- Go toServices > Compute > EC2.
- In the left menu, clickAUTO SCALING > Launch Configurations.
- ClickCreate launch configuration.
- Choose an AMI.
- ClickAWS Marketplace.
- In the search box, enterecs.
- ClickSelectforAmazon ECS-Optimized Amazon Linux AMI.
- Choose an instance type.
- Selectt2.medium.
- ClickNext: Configure details.
- Configure details.
- InName, enter a name for your launch configuration, such astw-worker-node.
- InIAMrole, selectecsInstanceRole.
- SelectMonitoring.
- ExpandAdvanced Details,
- InUser Data, enter the following text:#!/bin/bash echo ECS_CLUSTER=tw-ecs-cluster >> /etc/ecs/ecs.config yum install -y nfs-utils mkdir /twistlock_certificates chown root:root /twistlock_certificates chmod 700 /twistlock_certificates <DEFENDER_MOUNT_COMMAND> /twistlock_certificatesWhere:
- ECS_CLUSTER must match your cluster name. If you’ve named your cluster something other than tw_ecs_cluster, then modify your User Data script accordingly.
- <DEFENDER_MOUNT_COMMAND> is the mount command you copied from the AWS Management Console after creating your Defender EFS file system. The mount target must be /twistlock_certificates, replacing the efs mount target provided in the sample mount command.
(Optional) UnderIP Address Type, selectAssign a public IP address to every instance.With this option, you can easily SSH to any worker node instance and troubleshoot issues.ClickNext: Add Storage. - Add Storage.
- Accept the defaults, and clickNext: Configure Security Group.
- Configure security group.
- UnderAssign a security group, chooseSelect an existing security group.
- Selecttw-security-group.
- ClickReview.
- Review.
- ClickCreate launch configuration.
Create an auto scaling group for the worker nodesLaunch two worker nodes into your cluster.- Go toServices > Compute > EC2.
- In the left menu, clickAUTO SCALING > Auto Scaling Groups.
- ClickCreate Auto Scaling group.
- SelectCreate an Auto Scaling group from an existing launch configuration.
- Selecttw-worker-node.
- ClickNext Step.
- Configure Auto Scaling group details.
- InGroup Name, enter tw-worker-autoscaling.
- LeaveGroup sizeset to2.
- UnderNetwork, select your default VPC.
- UnderSubnet, select a public subnet, such as 172.31.0.0/20.
- ClickNext: Configure scaling policies.
- Configure scaling policies.
- SelectKeep this group at its initial size.
- ClickNext: Configure Notifications.
- Configure Notifications.
- ClickNext: Configure Tags.
- Configure Tags.
- UnderKey, enterName.
- UnderValue, entertw-worker-node.
- ClickReview.
- ClickCreate Auto Scaling Group.After the auto scaling group spins up (it will take some time), validate that your cluster has two more container instances. Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service. The count forContainer instancesin your cluster should now be a total of three.
Create a Prisma Cloud Defender task definitionPrisma Cloud provides a task definition template for Defender. Download the template, then update the variables specific to your environment. Finally, load the task definition in ECS.- Download the Prisma Cloud Defender task definition, and open it for editing.
- Update the value for image to point to Prisma Cloud’s cloud registry.Replace the following placeholder strings with the appropriate values:
- <ACCESS-TOKEN> — Your Prisma Cloud access token. All characters must be lowercase. To convert your access token to lowercase, run:$ echo <ACCESS-TOKEN> | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'<NLB-8084> — The DNS name for the load balancer you created for port 8084.
Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service.In the left menu, clickTask Definitions.ClickCreate new Task Definition.InStep 1: Select launch type compatibility, selectEC2, then clickNext step.InStep 2: Configure task and container definitions, scroll to the bottom of the page and clickConfigure via JSON.Delete the contents of the window, and replace it with the Prisma Cloud Console task definitionClickSave.ClickCreate.Launch the Prisma Cloud Defender serviceCreate the Defender service using the previously defined task definition. Using Daemon scheduling, one Defender will run per node in your cluster.- Go toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service.
- In the left menu, clickClusters.
- Click on your cluster.
- In theServicestab, then clickCreate.
- InStep 1: Configure service:
- ForLaunch type, selectEC2.
- ForTask Definition, selecttwistlock_defender.
- InService Name, entertwistlock_defender.
- InService Type, selectDaemon.
- ClickNext Step.
- InStep 2: Configure network, accept the defaults, and clickNext.
- InStep 3: Set Auto Scaling, accept the defaults, and clickNext.
- InStep 4: Review, clickCreate Service.
- ClickView Service.
- Verify that you have Defenders running on each node in your ECS cluster.Go to your Prisma Cloud Console and viewing the list of Defenders inManage > Defenders > Manage.
Using a private registryFor maximum control over your environment, you might want to store the Console container image in your own private registry, and then install Prisma Cloud from your private registry. When the Console service is started, ECS retrieves the image from your registry. This procedure shows you how to push the Console container image to Amazon’s Elastic Container Registry (ECR).Prerequisites:- AWS CLI is installed on your machine. It is required to push the Console image to your registry.
- Go to the directory where you unpacked the Prisma Cloud release tarball.$ cd twistlock/Load the Console image.$ docker load < ./twistlock_console.tar.gzGo toServices > Compute > Elastic Container Service.In the left menu, clickRepositories.ClickCreate repository.Follow the AWS instructions for logging in to the registry, tagging the Console image, and pushing it to your repo.Be sure to update your Console task definition so that the value for image points to your private registry.
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Create a cluster
Create an empty cluster named tw-ecs-cluster.
Later, you will create launch configurations and auto-scaling groups to start EC2 instances in the cluster.
Create a security group
Create a new security group named tw-security-group that opens ports 8083 and 8084.
In order for Prisma Cloud to operate properly, these ports must be open.
This security group will be associated with the EC2 instances started in your cluster.
Console’s web interface and API are served on port 8083.
Defender and Console communicate over a secure web socket on port 8084.
Inbound connection to port 2049 is required to setup the NFS.
For debugging purposes, also open port 22 so that you can SSH to any machine in the cluster.
Create an EFS file system for Console
Create the Console EFS file system, set up the directory hierarchy expected by Console, then capture the mount command that will be used to mount the file system on every infrastructure node.
Prerequisites:
Prisma Cloud Console depends on an EFS file system with the following performance characteristics:
The EFS file system and ECS cluster must be in the same VPC and security group.
Create EFS file system for Defender
Create the Defender EFS file system, copy the service-parameter and certificates to the file system, then capture the mount command that will be used to mount the file system on every worker node.
The EFS file system and ECS cluster must be in the same VPC and security group.
Deploy Console
Launch an infrastructure node that runs in the cluster, then start Prisma Cloud Console as a service on that node.
Create a launch configuration for the infrastructure node
Launch configurations are templates that are used by an auto-scaling group to start EC2 instances in your cluster.
Create a launch configuration named tw-infra-node that:
Create an auto scaling group for the infrastructure node
Launch a single instance of the infrastructure node into your cluster.
Copy the Prisma Cloud config file into place
The Prisma Cloud API serves the version of the configuration file used to instantiate Console.
Use scp to copy twistlock.cfg from the Prisma Cloud release tarball to /twistlock_console/var/lib/twistlock-config on the infrastructure node.
Deploy Defender
After deploying Console, you are now ready to deploy your worker nodes.
You will create an ECS Task Definition for the Prisma Cloud Defender, then create a service of type Daemon to ensure that the Defender is deployed across your ECS cluster.
For this reason, it is imperative that Console be fully operational before worker nodes are instantiated in the cluster.
Copy Defender’s certificates into place
Get the certificates Defender requires to securely connect to Console, and then copy them to the EFS partition that worker nodes will mount.