How to install Elasticsearch on CentOS, RHEL, or Fedora

Elasticsearch is an open-source search and analytics engine. It is not available in the default package repositories of CentOS, RHEL, or Fedora. To install it, a dedicated repository must be manually configured. This repository is provided by the developers which contain RPM packages and supports yum or dnf package managers.

Elasticsearch requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to run. Installing a compatible JRE before Elasticsearch is essential to avoid dependency issues. The installation process involves adding the Elasticsearch repository, installing the required packages, and configuring Elasticsearch for proper operation.

After installation, Elasticsearch needs to be configured to start automatically. Network access must be enabled for Elasticsearch to communicate with external systems through its default ports (9200 and 9300). Basic firewall rules should also be set up to allow traffic on these ports.

1. Launch terminal.
2. Install the Java Runtime Environment.

   $ sudo dnf install --assumeyes java-11-openjdk
   [sudo] password for user: 
   Last metadata expiration check: 1 day, 0:28:04 ago on Fri 30 Apr 2021 07:01:52 AM +08.
   Dependencies resolved.
   ================================================================================
    Package                  Arch   Version                        Repo       Size
   ================================================================================
   Installing:
    java-11-openjdk          x86_64 1:11.0.11.0.1-0.2.ea.el8       appstream 260 k
   Installing dependencies:
    copy-jdk-configs         noarch 3.7-4.el8                      appstream  27 k
    java-11-openjdk-headless x86_64 1:11.0.11.0.1-0.2.ea.el8       appstream  39 M
    javapackages-filesystem  noarch 5.3.0-1.module_el8.0.0+11+5b8c10bd
                                                                   appstream  30 k
    lksctp-tools             x86_64 1.0.18-3.el8                   baseos    100 k
    ttmkfdir                 x86_64 3.0.9-54.el8                   appstream  62 k
    tzdata-java              noarch 2021a-1.el8                    appstream 192 k
    xorg-x11-fonts-Type1     noarch 7.5-19.el8                     appstream 522 k
   Enabling module streams:
    javapackages-runtime            201801                                        
   
   Transaction Summary
   ================================================================================
   Install  8 Packages
   
   Total download size: 41 M
   Installed size: 173 M
   ##### snipped

3. Download and install the GPG key for Elasticsearch repository.

   $ sudo rpm --import https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch

4. Add the Elasticsearch repository to yum or dnf.

   $ sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/elasticsearch.repo <<EOF
   [elasticsearch-7.x]
   name=Elasticsearch repository for 7.x packages
   baseurl=https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/7.x/yum
   gpgcheck=1
   gpgkey=https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch
   enabled=1
   autorefresh=1
   type=rpm-md
   EOF

5. Install the Elasticsearch package using dnf.

   $ sudo  dnf install --assumeyes elasticsearch
   Elasticsearch repository for 7.x packages        17 MB/s |  24 MB     00:01    
   Last metadata expiration check: 0:00:05 ago on Sat 01 May 2021 07:34:39 AM +08.
   Dependencies resolved.
   ================================================================================
    Package             Architecture Version         Repository               Size
   ================================================================================
   Installing:
    elasticsearch       x86_64       7.12.1-1        elasticsearch-7.x       311 M
   
   Transaction Summary
   ================================================================================
   Install  1 Package
   
   Total download size: 311 M
   Installed size: 518 M
   ##### snipped

   Even though dnf and yum supposedly resolve and install package dependencies, elasticsearch might not list java as a dependency thus you might come to this error if you don't manually install java as in the previous step.

   Running transaction
   which: no java in (/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin)
   could not find java; set JAVA_HOME or ensure java is in PATH
   error: %pre(elasticsearch-0:6.4.0-1.noarch) scriptlet failed, exit status 1
   Error in PREIN scriptlet in rpm package elasticsearch-6.4.0-1.noarch
     Verifying  : elasticsearch-6.4.0-1.noarch                             1/1
   
   Failed:
     elasticsearch.noarch 0:6.4.0-1

6. Open the Elasticsearch configuration file to edit configuration options if necessary.

   $ sudo vi /etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml

   Configure network.host to allow connections from remote systems. Use 0.0.0.0 to listen on all network interfaces.

   network.host: 0.0.0.0

   Related: How to install Kibana on CentOS, Red Hat, or Fedora

7. Allow access to Elasticsearch through firewall ports 9200 and 9300.

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=9200/tcp
   success
   # firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=9300/tcp
   success

8. Reload firewall rules.

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload
   success

9. Enable Elasticsearch service to start on boot.

   $ sudo systemctl enable elasticsearch
   Synchronizing state of elasticsearch.service with SysV service script with /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
   Executing: /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable elasticsearch
   Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/elasticsearch.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/elasticsearch.service.

10. Start Elasticsearch service.

    $ sudo systemctl start elasticsearch

    The service will take a while to start

11. Verify Elasticsearch service is running by accessing it locally.

    $ curl 127.0.0.1:9200
    {
      "name" : "host",
      "cluster_name" : "elasticsearch",
      "cluster_uuid" : "L0drd8tURQSPpAvNzboGwQ",
      "version" : {
        "number" : "7.12.1",
        "build_flavor" : "default",
        "build_type" : "rpm",
        "build_hash" : "3186837139b9c6b6d23c3200870651f10d3343b7",
        "build_date" : "2021-04-20T20:56:39.040728659Z",
        "build_snapshot" : false,
        "lucene_version" : "8.8.0",
        "minimum_wire_compatibility_version" : "6.8.0",
        "minimum_index_compatibility_version" : "6.0.0-beta1"
      },
      "tagline" : "You Know, for Search"
    }

    You will not be able to connect immediately to Elasticsearch because the service takes quite a while to start and will get the following error if you try to connect immediately.

    $ curl 127.0.0.1:9200
    curl: (7) Failed to connect to 127.0.0.1 port 9200: Connection refused