1.2. FRED demo

The demo environment differs from a production deployment in several important ways:

• Sample data. The database is already filled in with a sample zone (.demo), two registrars (an internal REG-SYSTEM and an external REG-DEMO), a set of test contacts and domains. In regular deployment, you initialize the zone, registrar, and price list by yourself during registry initialization.

• Relaxed security. TLS certificates, EPP passwords and database credentials are set to well-known test values.

• Single-node layout. All FRED services run on one machine. More details about the differences are explained in registry infrastructure basics section.

• No mail or DNS integration. The demo does not send emails or publish zone files to a live DNS server. Emails are created and processed by messenger, so it is possible to find them in messenger db (sudo -u postgres psql messenger) or Ferda.

1. For testing and demonstration purposes, we provide a virtual image of Debian server with uninitialized instance of FRED. Download the image here. For building the demo we use script in the repository fred/demo-install.

2. Import the .qcow2 image.

3. After importing, you can launch the server and ssh into the machine with user: fred, password: password.

   Note

   One of the possible ways to import and run the image is using Virtual Machine Manager on Linux. The steps are as follows:

   • Install Virtual Machine Manager:

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install virt-manager
   

   • Import the Image:

   sudo virt-install --name fred-demo --import \
      --disk=/home/$USER/path-to-image/fred-v2026.1-debian12.qcow2 \
      --vcpus=6 \
      --memory=8192 \
      --os-variant=debian12 \
      --noautoconsole
   

   • Find the IP Address:

   virsh domifaddr fred-demo
   

   Note the IP address assigned to the interface.

   • Connect to the Virtual Machine:

   ssh -L 8445:localhost:8445 \
      -L 8443:localhost:8443 \
      -L 8444:localhost:8444 \
      -L 8446:localhost:8446 \
      fred@<IP_ADDRESS>
   

   (Replace <IP_ADDRESS> with the address obtained in the previous step.)

   Tip

   The -L flags forward the specified local ports to the corresponding ports on the remote VM. Accessing the services via localhost only works after establishing the SSH tunnel shown above or adding an alias in /etc/hosts – otherwise, use the VM’s IP address directly.

4. After successfully logging in, you can see all registry services via command:

   sudo systemctl status 'fred-*'
   

   and the containers status via:

   sudo docker ps
   

   Note

   At this point, the registry is running, but the billing is not enabled and the price for domain registration is not set. This is done to allow you to explore the registry without worrying about the billing.

   However, to make the registry fully functional, you should follow the next steps described in chapter registry initialization.

5. The registry is ready to use. You can find the following services running on these locations:

   • Browser:

     • FERDA – web based administration interface: https://localhost:8445 login admin / password

     • Secretary – django admin app for editing mail templates: https://localhost:8443 login admin / password

     • WebWHOIS – simple website for searching domains using whois protocol: https://localhost:8444

       • block objects: https://localhost:8444/block_objects

       • unblock objects: https://localhost:8444/unblock_objects

       • send AuthInfo: https://localhost:8444/send-password

   • Protocols:

     • EPP localhost:700

     • WHOIS https://localhost:8444

     • RDAP https://localhost:8446

   • CLI Tools:

     • fred-admin – Administrate the registry, registrars and customise pricing (some of these actions are also available in more user-friendly FERDA administration interface) - see repository

     • eppic – A Python EPP client for registrars to allow administration of registry objects without having to write their own implementation of EPP - see repository.

     • C++ and python daemons as described here

   • Databases: Database cluster is accessible from the VM with sudo -u postgres psql. Access from external client is also feasible with appropriate modifications.

     After logging in, you can see the list of all available databases with command: \l.

   Note

   Please note that for full functionality you should configure periodic tasks, as described in chapter periodic tasks.