For the latest version, please use Virtual Appliance 1.0.3!

Prepare the Management Container Image

Use this page when deploying Management with Docker or Docker Compose. For the ISO deployment, download the ISO and checksum from the Management ISO Instructions instead.

Check the runtime requirements before running these commands. Use MTG-provided repository credentials and the Management tag supplied for your deployment. The Management image tag and Appliance release need not have identical version numbers.

Choose Download Location

  • For a connected Management host, sign in and pull the image on that host, then continue to container deployment.

  • For an air-gapped Management host, sign in and pull on a connected workstation, then save, transfer and load the image as described below. Before entering the isolated environment, obtain the host runtime. If Docker Compose is used, also obtain Docker Compose and its configuration files.

Sign in to the MTG Repository

Enter the MTG repository username. Docker will then prompt for the MTG-provided password or token. Continue only after login succeeds.

The export examples use docker image save --platform. Both the Docker CLI and engine must meet the version requirements above.

read -r -p 'MTG repository username: ' MTG_REPOSITORY_USER
docker login repo.mtg.de --username "$MTG_REPOSITORY_USER"

Pull the Management Image

Select the destination Management engine’s native platform. Use linux/arm64 only when the destination engine is ARM64 and MTG supplies that variant.

MANAGEMENT_PLATFORM='linux/amd64'
MANAGEMENT_TAG='REPLACE_WITH_MTG_MANAGEMENT_TAG'
MANAGEMENT_IMAGE="repo.mtg.de/releases/ers/vapp/management:${MANAGEMENT_TAG}"
docker pull --platform "$MANAGEMENT_PLATFORM" "$MANAGEMENT_IMAGE"

Transfer to an Air-gapped Host

Save the Management image, transfer the file to the disconnected host, then load it with Docker on that host. Use a Docker-format archive to retain Management’s health check metadata.

docker image save --platform "$MANAGEMENT_PLATFORM" --output management.docker.tar "$MANAGEMENT_IMAGE"
# On the destination Docker host, after transferring the file:
docker image load --input management.docker.tar

For Docker Compose, transfer compose.yaml and template.env too. Set MTG_MANAGEMENT_VERSION to the loaded image’s tag and MTG_MANAGEMENT_PULL_POLICY=never in .env on the destination host. The direct Docker launch command already uses --pull=never.

Verify Downloads and sign out

Repository credentials are separate from the mtg-admin account used to sign in to Management. A successful local CLI login does not populate Settings > Registries. Configure that connection separately if Management will retrieve bundles itself.

Keep certificate verification enabled when logging in and pulling. For a company proxy or private CA, configure trust in the container engine. Record the image reference and the digest reported by the pull with your deployment records. Verify transferred files against their recorded SHA-256 checksums before loading or uploading them.

After completing downloads, remove the local registry login when it is no longer needed:

docker logout repo.mtg.de

For CLI details, see Docker image save.

Continue with Deployment

Once the image is in the destination Docker engine’s local image store, deploy Management with Docker Compose. Pulling or loading the image alone does not start Management.