# Installation

> Install the OpenShield-XDP agent on a Linux server with the one-line installer, and verify it attached to your network interface.
>
> Canonical: https://xdp.network/docs/openshield-xdp/installation · Updated 2026-08-09

This page walks you through installing the OpenShield-XDP agent on your own Linux server
and confirming it is filtering traffic. It takes a few minutes and needs root access.

## Requirements

Before you install, make sure you have:

- A Linux server you own, running a recent kernel with XDP support.
- Root or sudo access on that server.
- An XDP.NETWORK account with an OpenShield product assigned to it.

## Run the install script

The same installer works across supported distributions — it detects your system and does
the rest:

:::tabs
```bash title="Ubuntu / Debian"
curl -fsSL https://get.xdp.network/openshield | sudo sh
```

```bash title="RHEL / Rocky"
curl -fsSL https://get.xdp.network/openshield | sudo sh
```
:::

## What the installer places

The installer sets up everything the agent needs to run at boot:

- The `openshield` binary — the CLI and agent in one.
- The `openshield` systemd unit, so the agent starts automatically and restarts on failure.
- A default config file at `/etc/openshield/openshield.yaml`.

## Verify the installation

Check that the agent is running and attached:

```bash
openshield status
```

On start, the agent attaches its XDP program to the server's primary network interface,
so mitigation applies to the traffic your server actually receives. If `openshield status`
does not report a healthy attach, that is the first thing to fix before moving on.

:::note
Your license details — tier, hardware ID (HWID), and expiry — are reported in the metrics
payload the agent exposes, so the console can show them once the server is connected.
:::

## Next steps

- [Configuration](/docs/openshield-xdp/configuration)
- [Enabling metrics](/docs/openshield-xdp/enabling-metrics)
- [Connecting a server to the dashboard](/docs/openshield-xdp/connecting-a-server)