The output from this command should include the following:
```
gpg: Good signature from "InfluxDB Packaging Service <support@influxdb.com>" [unknown]
```
## Configuring InfluxDB OSS
The system has internal defaults for every configuration file setting.
View the default configuration settings with the `influxd config` command.
> **Note:** If InfluxDB is being deployed on a publicly accessible endpoint, we strongly recommend authentication be enabled.
Otherwise the data will be publicly available to any unauthenticated user. The default settings do **NOT** enable
authentication and authorization. Further, authentication and authorization should not be solely relied upon to prevent access
and protect data from malicious actors. If additional security or compliance features are desired, InfluxDB should be run
behind a third-party service. Review the [authentication and authorization](/influxdb/v1.8/administration/authentication_and_authorization/)
settings.
Most of the settings in the local configuration file
(`/etc/influxdb/influxdb.conf`) are commented out; all
commented-out settings will be determined by the internal defaults.
Any uncommented settings in the local configuration file override the
internal defaults.
Note that the local configuration file does not need to include every
configuration setting.
There are two ways to launch InfluxDB with your configuration file:
* Point the process to the correct configuration file by using the `-config`
option:
```bash
influxd -config /etc/influxdb/influxdb.conf
```
* Set the environment variable `INFLUXDB_CONFIG_PATH` to the path of your
configuration file and start the process.
For example:
```
echo $INFLUXDB_CONFIG_PATH
/etc/influxdb/influxdb.conf
influxd
```
InfluxDB first checks for the `-config` option and then for the environment
variable.
See the [Configuration](/influxdb/v1.8/administration/config/) documentation for more information.
### Data and WAL directory permissions
Make sure the directories in which data and the [write ahead log](/influxdb/v1.8/concepts/glossary#wal-write-ahead-log) (WAL) are stored are writable for the user running the `influxd` service.
> **Note:** If the data and WAL directories are not writable, the `influxd` service will not start.
Information about `data` and `wal` directory paths is available in the [Data settings](/influxdb/v1.8/administration/config/#data-settings) section of the [Configuring InfluxDB](/influxdb/v1.8/administration/config/) documentation.
## Hosting InfluxDB OSS on AWS
### Hardware requirements for InfluxDB
We recommend using two SSD volumes, using one for the `influxdb/wal` and the other for the `influxdb/data`.
Depending on your load, each volume should have around 1k-3k provisioned IOPS.
The `influxdb/data` volume should have more disk space with lower IOPS and the `influxdb/wal` volume should have less disk space with higher IOPS.
Each machine should have a minimum of 8GB RAM.
We’ve seen the best performance with the R4 class of machines, as they provide more memory than either of the C3/C4 class and the M4 class.
### Configuring InfluxDB OSS instances
This example assumes that you are using two SSD volumes and that you have mounted them appropriately.
This example also assumes that each of those volumes is mounted at `/mnt/influx` and `/mnt/db`.
For more information on how to do that see the Amazon documentation on how to [Add a Volume to Your Instance](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-attaching-volume.html).
### Configuration file
You'll have to update the configuration file appropriately for each InfluxDB instance you have.
```
...
[meta]
dir = "/mnt/db/meta"
...
...
[data]
dir = "/mnt/db/data"
...
wal-dir = "/mnt/influx/wal"
...
...
[hinted-handoff]
...
dir = "/mnt/db/hh"
...
```
### Authentication and Authorization
For all AWS deployments, we strongly recommend authentication be enabled. Without this, it is possible that your InfluxDB
instance may be publicly available to any unauthenticated user. The default settings do **NOT** enable
authentication and authorization. Further, authentication and authorization should not be solely relied upon to prevent access
and protect data from malicious actors. If additional security or compliance features are desired, InfluxDB should be run
behind additional services offered by AWS.
Review the [authentication and authorization](/influxdb/v1.8/administration/authentication_and_authorization/) settings.
### InfluxDB OSS permissions
When using non-standard directories for InfluxDB data and configurations, also be sure to set filesystem permissions correctly:
```bash
chown influxdb:influxdb /mnt/influx
chown influxdb:influxdb /mnt/db
```
For InfluxDB 1.7.6 or later, you must give owner permissions to the `init.sh` file. To do this, run the following script in your `influxdb` directory:
```sh
if [ ! -f "$STDOUT" ]; then
mkdir -p $(dirname $STDOUT)
chown $USER:$GROUP $(dirname $STDOUT)
fi
if [ ! -f "$STDERR" ]; then
mkdir -p $(dirname $STDERR)
chown $USER:$GROUP $(dirname $STDERR)
fi
# Override init script variables with DEFAULT values
