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Factory provisioning

Audience: Redd Ash / integrator staff preparing a node before it ships to a site. Time: ~15 minutes of touch time per node.

The goal of factory provisioning: a box leaves the bench such that the on-site installer only has to plug it in and type one code.

1. Pre-load the node in the portal

In the console, open Nodes → Pre-load node. Enter the serial number and (optionally) a human-friendly site code — if you leave it blank, one is derived from the serial.

Nodes page The node fleet page. Pre-load registers hardware into inventory before it ever boots.

The portal responds with the site code and a first-boot link pre-filled with the server coordinates. Print or note the site code — it is what the installer types on site, and it appears exactly once.

The site code is the credential

Treat the site code like a key until the node is commissioned: whoever has it can register a node against that site. Don't email it alongside the shipping label.

2. Flash the image

Write the current Reddwatch Node ISO to the appliance (USB boot → guided install). The image is self-contained: agent, local UI, monitoring proxy, frame collector, trap receiver, and the updater are all baked in — the node needs no internet-time package installs at the site.

3. Bench test

Boot the node on the bench network and open its local UI (http://<bench-ip>:5000):

  1. The first-boot wizard appears. Feed it the first-boot link (or type the site code) and confirm the server URL is pre-filled.
  2. Watch the wizard reach "Registered — awaiting site network".
  3. Open the Node info tab and verify every service shows green.

Node UI What a healthy node looks like. Every service active, heartbeat fresh, control plane reachable.

4. Ship it

Power off, box it, ship it with the printed site code on a separate channel. The node appears in the portal's fleet page as inventory until it comes alive on site.

Checklist

  • [ ] Pre-loaded in portal, site code recorded
  • [ ] Current ISO flashed, boots clean
  • [ ] Wizard completes against production
  • [ ] All services green on the diagnostics tab
  • [ ] Site code shipped separately from hardware