Configuring the IBM Aspera NodeD Service

The IBM Aspera NodeD Service handles HTTP/HTTPS requests to HST Server. You can configure server settings including the hostname, HTTP/HTTPS ports, the address and port of the Redis database, and SSL certificates.

Configuration Methods

The server can be configured for the Node API by using the asconfigurator command-line tool or by editing the <server> section of aspera.conf:

Asconfigurator: Use the following syntax, substituting option with the option from the following table and value with the desired value:
```
# /opt/aspera/bin/asconfigurator -x "set_server_data;option,value"
```
To view the current settings, run the following command:
```
# /opt/aspera/bin/ asuserdata -a
```
Aspera.conf: Open it in a text editor with administrative privileges from the following location:
```
/opt/aspera/etc/aspera.conf
```
See the sample aspera.conf following the table.

After manually editing aspera.conf, validate your XML by running the following command:
```
# /opt/aspera/bin/asuserdata -v
```

Node API Configuration Options

Important configuration considerations:

Certain services must be restarted for changes in the settings to take effect, as described in the To Activate Changes column. The commands to restart these services are given following the table.
In addition to the Aspera server configuration, if you plan to transfer many small files with the Node API, you might need to increase the number of file descriptors available on your system. If too few descriptors are available, the Redis database and the transfer fail. For instructions, see Node API Transfers of Many Small Files Fails.

asconfigurator option aspera.conf setting	Description and Values	To Activate Changes...
`server_name <server_name>`	Hostname or IP address. Default: `hostname`	Restart asperanoded
`http_port <http_port>`	HTTP service port. Value is an integer 1 - 65535, default 9091. This setting is overridden by `<listen>`.	Restart asperanoded
`https_port <https_port>`	HTTPS service port. Value is an integer 1 - 65535, default 9092. This setting is overridden by `<listen>`.	Restart asperanoded
`enable_http <enable_http>`	Enable HTTP for the Node API services by setting to `true`. Default: `false`. This setting is overridden by `<listen>`.	Restart asperanoded
`enable_https <enable_https>`	Enable HTTPS for the Node API services by setting to `true` (default). This setting is overridden by `<listen>`.	Restart asperanoded
`workers <workers>`	Number of worker threads. Default: 20.	Restart asperanoded
`transfers_multi_session_default <transfers_multi_session_default>`	Number of ascp workers per transfer. Default: 1.	Restart asperanoded
`transfers_retry_duration <transfers_retry_duration>`	If a transfer fails, node will try to restart it for the specified time, default 20m. If a transfer restarts and makes some progress, then the retry timer is reset and the next time if fails, it will again try to restart it for 'retry_duration'. The backoff interval for retrying within this duration is internal to the application, and the number of retries may vary depending on the transfer queue.	Restart asperanoded
`transfers_retry_all_failures <transfers_retry_all_failures>`	Setting to `true` will retry all transfers, including transfers otherwise considered unretriable. Default: `false`.	Restart asperanoded
`listen` `<listen>`	To bind asperanoded on a specific address (or addresses), specify a comma-delimited list of listening ports. Ports have the format `[ip_address:]port[s]`. To specify a secure port, add 's' to the end of the port number, for example `127.0.0.1:9092s`. The IP address is optional; however, if no IP address is specified then the port binds to all network interfaces on the server, rather than to the single address. Setting this option overrides`<http_port>`, `<https_port>`,`<enable_http>`, and `<enable_https>`.	Restart asperanoded
`cert_file <cert_file>`	Full pathname of the SSL certificate, which must be in .pem format. Default: /opt/aspera/etc/aspera_server_cert.pem	Restart asperanoded
`max_response_entries <max_response_entries>`	Maximum number of entries to return in a response. Default: 1000.	Reload node configuration.
`max_response_time <max_response_time>`	Maximum amount of time to wait for a long-running operation. Default: 10.	Reload node configuration.
`db_dir <db_dir>`	Path to the directory where the database file is saved. Before changing this value, you should back up your database. See Backing up and Restoring the Node User Database Records. Default: /opt/aspera/var	Restart asperanoded and the Redis database
`db_port <db_port>`	Database service port. Value is an integer 1 - 65535, default: 31415. Before changing this value, you should back up your database. See Backing up and Restoring the Node User Database Records.	Restart asperanoded and the Redis database
`ssl_ciphers <ssl_ciphers>`	The SSL encryption ciphers that the server will allow, each separated by a colon (:). Default: all of the following: `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA AES256-SHA AES128-SHA256 DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA RC2-CBC-MD5` This option may also be set in the `<client>` section, in which case, when this machine functions as a client, the specified ciphers are requests to the server. If any of the ciphers in the server's allow list coincide with those in the client's request list, communication is allowed; otherwise it is denied. If you override this setting, the override is always used. However, if you do not override it, the default setting depends on the settings for `<ssl_protocol>`. If `<ssl_protocol>` is set to `sslv23`, then a large, relatively weak selection of suites is allowed. If the protocol is anything else, then a smaller, stronger selection of suites is allowed. Many older web browsers cannot handle the stronger set of suites, in which case you may encounter compatibility issues.	Restart asperanoded
`ssl_protocol <ssl_protocol>`	The SSL protocol versions that the server will allow. This option may also be set in the `<client>` section, in which case, when this machine is a client, the specified protocols function as requests to the server. If any of the protocols in the server's allow list coincide with those in the client's request list, communication is allowed; otherwise it is denied. Supported values: `tlsv1`, `tlsv1.1`, and `tlsv1.2`. Default: `tlsv1`.	Restart asperanoded
`activity_logging <activity_logging>`	If true, enable querying transfers by using GET /ops/transfers or to retrieve usage data by using GET /usage. Default is false.	Restart asperanoded
`activity_event_logging <activity_event_logging>`	If true, allow the Node API to query transfers that are associated with this access key through the /events endpoint. The server configuration can be overridden by the access key configuration. This option must be enabled for event reporting to IBM Aspera on Cloud. Default is false.	Restart asperanoded
`files_recursive_counts_enabled <files_recursive_counts_enabled>`	If true, enable recursive counts. This option must be enabled for event reporting to IBM Aspera on Cloud. The server configuration can be overridden by the access key configuration. Default is false.	Restart asperanoded

Example Node API Configuration in aspera.conf

<server>
   <server_name>your_hostname</server_name>  
   <http_port>9091</http_port>
   <https_port>9092</https_port>
   <enable_http>false</enable_http>
   <enable_https>true</enable_https>
   <workers>20</workers>
   <transfers_multi_session_default>1</transfers_multi_session_default>
   <transfers_retry_all_failures>false</transfers_retry_all_failures>
   <transfers_retry_duration>20m</transfers_retry_duration>
   <listen> </listen>
   <cert_file>/opt/aspera/etc/aspera_server_cert.pem</cert_file>
   <max_response_entries>1000</max_response_entries> 
   <max_response_time_sec>10</max_response_time_sec> 
   <db_dir>/opt/aspera/var</db_dir>
   <db_port>31415</db_port>   <proxy>
      ...
   </proxy>
   <ssl_ciphers>TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA:…:RC2-CBC-MD5</ssl_ciphers>
   <ssl_protocol>tlsv1</ssl_protocol>
   <activity_logging>true</activity_logging>
   <activity_event_logging>true</activity_event_logging>
   <files_recursive_counts_enabled>true</files_recursive_counts_enabled>
</server>

Restarting and Reloading Services

Note: Running the commands below requires root privileges.

Restart asperanoded:

Run the following commands to restart asperanoded:

# /etc/init.d/asperanoded restart

Reload the Node Configuration:

# sudo /opt/aspera/bin/asnodeadmin --reload

Restart asperanoded and the Redis database:

Stop asperanoded:

# systemctl stop asperanoded

or for Linux systems that use init.d:

# service asperanoded stop

Shutdown the database:

# /opt/aspera/bin/asnodeadmin --db-shutdown

Start asperanoded:

# systemctl start asperanoded

or for Linux systems that use init.d:

# service asperanoded start

Note: The database service is started automatically when you restart the node service.