Installing ProGet on AWS Lightsail

One of the easiest ways to try ProGet without having a dedicated server available or without using your desktop is to use a cloud-hosted Windows Server instance.

This tutorial will teach you how to set up an AWS Lightsail instance with ProGet. ProGet is automatically installed via a PowerShell script and you will not need a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

Please note that this method is only recommended for evaluation purposes, as using Lightsail can cause additional costs for your business. Please refer to the AWS billing FAQ for the exact costs of using the service.

See how quick and easy it is to install ProGet in this 3-minute video:

Setting Up Windows Server 2019 and SQL Server 2016 Using Lightsail

To begin, create a free Amazon Web Services (AWS) account using the “Sign in to the Console” on https://aws.amazon.com/account/.

Once you have created your account, go to https://lightsail.aws.amazon.com/, and click “Create Instance” to start setting up a Windows Server with SQL Server hosted on AWS.

On the “Create an Instance” page, you will be prompted to configure various settings:

• Select your instance location: You can choose any location, but it is advisable to choose one closest to you in order to reduce latency and speed up access times
• Pick your instance image: Choose “Microsoft Windows”
• Select a blueprint: Choose “Apps + OS” and “SQL Server 2016 Express”
• Click “+ Add launch script:” and paste in the following code:

<powershell>
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "ProGet" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 8624 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow
mkdir C:\InedoHub
Set-Location -Path C:\InedoHub
Invoke-WebRequest https://proget.inedo.com/upack/Products/download/InedoReleases/DesktopHub?contentOnly=zip"&"latest -OutFile C:\InedoHub\InedoHub.zip
Expand-Archive -Path InedoHub.zip -DestinationPath C:\InedoHub
.\hub.exe install ProGet -ConnectionString="Data Source=localhost;Integrated Security=True;"
</powershell>

• Choose your instance plan: ProGet will run on any configuration, but we suggest picking one with at least 8GB of RAM to ensure that Microsoft’s services run smoothly
• Identify your instance: Especially if you are running multiple instances and need to keep track of which one is which, give your instance a unique name
• Tags: This allows you to enter additional tags to help you organize your instances, but it is unnecessary for this setup.

Once you added these settings, click “Create Instance.” It will only take a few seconds for AWS to create the instance, but it may take up to 30 minutes for it to be fully available. You'll know it's ready when clicking on "show default password" (under connect category) results in showing you a password instead of stating it's not ready yet.

Once Lightsail has finished creating your instance, select your newly created instance for ProGet to use.

Ensure that the service has started by checking for a “Running” Status message on the right of the page. If it isn’t “Running,” click the “Start” button.

Open Port 8624 on Lightsail to Access ProGet

To access your ProGet installation from any machine, you will need to open port 8624 to connect to your Lightsail instance. Port 8624 is the default firewall port ProGet uses for communication. As only one application can use a port at any time, there is no security risk.

To open this port, go to the “Networking” tab.

Under “Firewall,” click “+Add rule,” which will prompt you to configure several options:

• Application: Default is “Custom”—do not change
• Protocol: Default is “TCP”—do not change
• Port or range: Enter the port you would like to open. For this tutorial, enter 8624.
• Restrict to IP address: Specify which IP addresses can connect to your instance. This provides additional security, though it isn’t strictly necessary.

Once you have entered your desired options, click “Create.”

Write down or copy the “Public IP” of your server. You will use this later to access ProGet from any machine.

Access ProGet from Your Browser

Open your preferred browser, and enter "http://" and the public IP address for your instance followed by “:8624” (e.g., 12.345.567.89:8624).

If ProGet opens, everything is configured correctly. It may take up to 30 minutes for Lightsail to finish creating the instance and installing ProGet. If you cannot connect to ProGet from your browser, please wait a few minutes and refresh the page.

Congratulations, you are now ready to access your ProGet feeds directly from any machine.

What’s Next?

Once you’ve set up a ProGet instance, it’s time to learn some of ProGet’s basic features. This tutorial will teach you everything you need to get started.

You can also check out our documentation for more details on ProGet features.