Install and manage GroundRunners

GroundRunners enable chain commands to interact with on-premises systems or remote data sources not otherwise accessible over the internet. They're typically installed on a dedicated server, such as the one that hosts your connected data source, by an IT professional or someone otherwise familiar with your organization's network settings.

Before setting up a GroundRunner, we recommend reviewing the Chain Builder security architecture.

Requirements

GroundRunners require Java version 8 and a supported operating system. If the GroundRunner will access shared resources such as a Windows Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, a user account with sufficient privileges is also needed.

GroundRunners can be run only on Java version 8.

Java version 8 can be downloaded directly from Oracle® or OpenJDK. Once downloaded, install it in the PATH variable to enable global access via the java in a command prompt. After you install Java or edit its configuration, reboot your server.

Note: When installing Java, you may be asked whether to install the Java Development Kit (JDK) or Java Runtime Environment (JRE). For GroundRunners, only the JRE is required.

If using a self-signed certificate or one not issued by Certificate Authority, import it into your Java keystore to enable Java/SSL security:

Contact your IT admin to obtain a copy of the certificate used to secure your site, or export it from your browser.
Copy the certificate to your GroundRunner's installation.

In a CLI, import the certificate into your Java keystore. For example:

keytool -import -trustcacerts -keystore "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_251\lib\security\cacerts" -storepass changeit -noprompt -alias [alias name] -file [path_to_exported_file]

GroundRunners support these operating systems, with no external library dependencies:

Microsoft Windows® Desktop 10, 32- and 64-bit
Microsoft Windows® Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, and 2022
Linux® Redhat and Ubuntu
macOS® Mojave or greater

While GroundRunners require limited server resources, we recommend at least:

512MB of available random access memory (RAM)
100GB of available disk space

Note: To help calculate the required disk space, know that a chain with five commands that each produce 10MB ephemeral outputs requires 50MB to complete.

The recommended host configuration includes a virtual machine configured with:

Two to four processors
8GB of system memory
A solid state drive (SSD) storage device

This server must be available 24/7 to communicate with the GroundRunner.

By default, GroundRunners use a local administrative account with inadequate access to remote resources such as shared drives.

To access a shared resource such as a Windows UNC path, start the GroundRunner under a user account with adequate privileges to the resource. If using a user account other than the default local system administrator, grant it permissions to manage the GroundRunner's installation directory to enable automatic updates.

Download the GroundRunner

To download a GroundRunner for installation or manual update:

In Chain Builder, select Settings settingsfrom the sidebar.
Click Downloads at the top.
Find the GroundRunner for your operating system, and click Download on the right side.

Install the GroundRunner

The Microsoft Installer (MSI) requires .NET 3.5 or higher. If you can't meet this requirement, install the GroundRunner via command line interface instead.

To install the GroundRunner:

Unzip the windows_amd64_ground_runner.zip file.
Run GroundRunner.msi to begin the GroundRunner Setup Wizard.
Click Next.
Review and accept the terms in the license agreement, and click Next.
For the Destination Folder, enter the path where the GroundRunner will be installed (such as C:\Program Files\GroundRunner\) and click Next.
In Platform company token, enter your company token.
In Platform auth host:
- If in North America, enter h.app.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
- If in Europe, enter h.eu.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
- If in APAC, enter h.apac.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
If using a proxy server, enter its URL and port in Proxy host. (For example, http://yourproxy:3000.)
- To bypass the proxy server, enter a comma-separated list of hosts under No proxy host.
Click Next, Install, and Finish.
Once installed, right-click on the GroundRunner from Windows Service Manager and select Start.

Your GroundRunner has now been installed and is ready for activation.

To install via command line interface, you must download the GroundRunner's installation to its own directory within your program files (such as c:\Program Files (x86)\wdata). You can then unzip the installation file and extract it to the root of the directory.

You can then install the GroundRunner :

From the Windows CLI, run the command c:\Program Files (x86)\wdata\installer.exe install and accept all defaults.
- For the path, create a Files folder within the new directory (such as C:\Program Files (x86)\Wdata\Files).
- For the authorization hostname (AUTH_HOST):
  - If in North America, enter h.app.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
  - If in Europe, enter h.eu.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
  - If in APAC, enter h.apac.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
- Enter your company token.
Delete all files from the directory except the GroundRunner executable directory.
Select whether to run the GroundRunner as a service or a foreground process.
- If running as a service, do one of the following:
  - In the CLI, enter the command sc start GroundRunner
  - In Windows Service Manager, start the HostRunner service
- If running as a foreground process, enter these commands in the CLI:
```
cd c:\Program Files (x86)\wdata
GroundRunner.exe
```

Your GroundRunner has now been installed and is ready for activation.

Step 1. Install the GroundRunner

Download the GroundRunner's installation file to its own directory, such as /home/<username>/wdata/.
In a CLI, unzip the installation file:
- For Linux, use the command unzip linux_amd64_ground_runner.zip
- For macOS, use the command unzip GroundRunner.zip
Enter the details of the GroundRunner.
- For both Linux and Mac OS, use command ./installer install
- For the authorization hostname (AUTH_HOST):
  - If in North America, enter h.app.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
  - If in Europe, enter h.eu.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
  - If in APAC, enter h.apac.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
- Enter your company token.
Delete all files from the directory except the GroundRunner executable directory.

Step 2. Select whether to run as a service or foreground process

In the CLI, enter the following commands to run the GroundRunner as either a background service or a foreground process.

Background service

If executed from the default OS init program, you can run it as a background service:

/home/[username]/wdata/Contents/GroundRunnerMonitor

Foreground process

To run it as a foreground process with logs written to console:

cd home/[username]/wdata/Contents
sudo ./GroundRunner

To run it as a foreground process with logs written to logfile:

cd home/[username]/wdata/Contents
sudo ./GroundRunnerMonitor

Activate the GroundRunner

After installing your GroundRunner, you must activate it within Chain Builder.

In Chain Builder, select Settings settingsfrom the sidebar.
Click Runners at the top.
Under Pending Registration, enter a short, descriptive name for the runner (such as <datasource>-GroundRunner).
Click Activate.

Manually update a GroundRunner

While rare, you may need to manually upgrade a GroundRunner.

Download and install the latest MSI, and uninstall any previously downloaded versions.

Download the latest GroundRunner for your operating system.
In Windows Services Manager, stop the GroundRunner service.
Move the downloaded GroundRunner installation file to its own directory—such as c:\groundrunner_upgrade—and unzip its files.
Copy and paste GroundRunner.exe and GroundRunnerMonitor.exe to the directory where the GroundRunner binaries are installed.
In Windows Services Manager, restart the GroundRunner service.

Download the latest GroundRunner for your operating system.
On the server hosting the GroundRunner, go to the directory where the service runs.
In a CLI, stop the GroundRunner service.
Move the downloaded GroundRunner installation file to its own directory—such as /home/<username>/groundrunner_upgrade/—and unzip its files.
Copy and paste GroundRunner.exe and GroundRunnerMonitor.exe to the directory where the GroundRunner binaries are installed.
To restart the GroundRunner service, enter these commands in the CLI:
```
cd /home/<username>/wdata/Contents
./GroundRunner
```

Uninstall a GroundRunner

If you no longer need a GroundRunner, you can uninstall it.

From Windows Settings, go to Apps & features, select GroundRunner (64 bit), and click Uninstall.

Stop the GroundRunner service.
- If running as a service, use Windows Service Manager or enter the command sc stop GroundRunnerin the CLI.
- If running as a foreground process, press the key sequence <ctrl> <c>.
In the CLI, as an administrator, enter the command installer.exe uninstall.
Delete the GroundRunner executable directory.

In the CLI, stop the GroundRunner service and delete its executable directory (e.g., /home/<username>/wdata/Contents).

GroundRunner configuration settings and outbound domains

To enable communication with its data source, you may need to open firewall ports on the server where the GroundRunner is installed. To change the configuration settings of some GroundRunners, you can edit the GroundRunner.config file in the directory where the binaries are installed.

Configuration	Settings
PORT	0 to 65535. By default, GroundRunners use port 8821 to communicate with one another. However, a port is required only if GroundRunners on different servers share command outputs inside your network.
COMPANY_TOKEN	Leave as default, unless the GroundRunner is configured for a different tenant.
LOG_LEVEL	Info or debug
PROTOCOL	Leave as default.
HTTP_PROXY_URL	If using a proxy server, enter its URL and port (if necessary). For example, `http://yourproxy:3000` Note: GroundRunners may use proxy servers, but not those authenticated via New Technology LAN Manager (NTLM). Instead, whitelist the server's IP address.
LONG_POLL	If using a proxy server, set to true to instruct the runner to use long-polling to retrieve commands. To ensure performance, use long-polling only if web sockets aren't supported by your proxy server or firewall.
NO_PROXY	To bypass the proxy server, provide a comma-separated list of hosts to reach directly instead. To include multiple hosts based on a common pattern, use the * wildcard.
GROUNDRUNNER_CERT	Needed if using more than one GroundRunner and wishing to send encrypted information to the second GroundRunner. Must be used in conjunction with PORT. You must also specify the PROTOCOL field as HTTPS when activating the runner.
GROUNDRUNNER_CERT_KEY	Needed if using more than one GroundRunner and wishing to receive encrypted information from a second GroundRunner. Must also be used in conjunction with PORT.

Note: Your self-signed certificate must have a Subject Alternative Name (SAN). If it does not, when your GroundRunner attempts to download files, it will show an error message referencing the missing SAN.

If your network must allow outbound domains, these apply to GroundRunners:

Domain	Purpose
`h.app.wdesk.com` `h.eu.wdesk.com` `h.apac.wdesk.com`	The main subdomains for common Workiva services, including Wdata.
`*.wdesk.com`	The main domain for the production Workiva platform.
`..wdesk.com`	The subdomains for supporting components in the Workiva platform.

Security

GroundRunners never collect or aggregate data; they retain data only during transmission. An extended validation (EV) certificate always encrypts and protects traffic between a GroundRunner and its data source via DigiCert®.

Note: To secure on-premises data, CloudRunners can share output with GroundRunners, but GroundRunners can't share file outputs with CloudRunner.

Troubleshoot GroundRunner errors

If you receive these errors when a chain runs, check the command's GroundRunners.

Tip: To help ease troubleshooting, you can create a chain to automatically download a GroundRunner's log file to a table.

Error message	Cause	Resolution
Failed to communicate with agent—this command was not executed	The command couldn't communicate with its GroundRunner. If this happens, the GroundRunner didn't start or a network disruption occurred between the GroundRunner and Chain Builder.	Verify: The GroundRunner's service is working. The GroundRunner's server is connected to the internet.
Unable to download resources associated with command. Please contact Support if error persists.	The runners associated with these chain's commands can't communicate with one another. This often occurs when commands use different runners and the CloudRunner is trying to use a file output from a GroundRunner-based command.	Use the same runner with all commands in the chain. If the chain's commands require multiple runners, verify no commands with GroundRunners pass file outputs to commands that use the CloudRunner.
Error starting command: exec: \"\\[connector].exe\": file does not exist" commandExecutorId=[ID]	A malware- or antivirus-application incorrectly identified the connector and intercepted its communication with the GroundRunner.	Exclude the GroundRunner installation directory from the application's scans.
Certificate Errors	Using Self Signed Certificates	In many cases, it will be convenient to use self-signed certificates to encrypt GroundRunner communication. If you are using a self-signed certificate, be sure that the Common Name of the certificate matches the URL at which the server can be accessed. For example, if your GroundRunner is listening on port 8821 and you can access the server from your network localhost, the certificate's Common Name would be localhost.
Intermittent chain failure with error: "Connection reset by peer"	When multiple runners are installed on the same machine, they must each have a unique GUID. If the same GUID is used, the runners may overlap and enter into an update loop -- causing occasional chain failures.	We recommend a complete reinstall of the GroundRunner.

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