Install Couchbase

Install Couchbase on GCP VM

This section walks you through how to install and configure Couchbase Server on a GCP Linux VM (SUSE or RHEL-based).

To ensure a successful setup, follow each step in order and check the output after each command. This helps you catch issues early and confirms that Couchbase is installed and running correctly.

Set up your environment

Before installing Couchbase, update the system and install the required tools:

    

        
        
sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update -y
sudo zypper install -y curl wget net-tools lsb-release

    

Download Couchbase server

Download the Couchbase server package for ARM64 architecture.

    

        
        
cd ~
wget -O couchbase-server-8.0.0-linux.aarch64.rpm \
https://packages.couchbase.com/releases/8.0.0/couchbase-server-community-8.0.0-linux.aarch64.rpm

    

After downloading, verify that the file exists and check its size.

    

        
        
ls -lh couchbase-server-8.0.0-linux.aarch64.rpm

    

This helps confirm the file was downloaded correctly and not truncated or corrupted.

Install Couchbase server

Now that you’ve downloaded the Couchbase Server RPM, install it using the following command. This step sets up Couchbase and prepares all required directories, binaries, and services:

    

        
        
sudo rpm -ivh couchbase-server-8.0.0-linux.aarch64.rpm

    

The rpm -ivh command installs the package, shows verbose output, and displays progress with hash marks. If the installation completes without errors, Couchbase Server is ready for configuration.

Confirm that Couchbase has been installed successfully:

    

        
        
rpm -qa | grep couchbase

    

You should see an output similar to:

    

        
        couchbase-server-community-8.0.0-3777.aarch64

        
    

Start Couchbase service

Start and enable the Couchbase service so that it runs automatically on startup:

    

        
        
sudo systemctl start couchbase-server
sudo systemctl enable couchbase-server

    

Verify service status:

    

        
        
sudo systemctl status couchbase-server

    

You should see the following snippet as part of your output:

    

        
        Active: active(running) since YYY XXXX-XX-XX

        
    

Check required ports

To confirm Couchbase is ready to accept connections, check that the required ports are open and listening. If you see “LISTEN” next to these ports, Couchbase is running and network services are available.

Couchbase uses these ports for core functions:

• Web console: 8091
• Data service: 11210
• Query service: 8093 (for N1QL queries, optional)

Run the following command to verify the ports are active:

    

        
        
sudo ss -tuln | grep -E '8091|11210|8093'

    

The output is similar to:

    

        
        tcp   LISTEN 0      128          0.0.0.0:8091       0.0.0.0:*
tcp   LISTEN 0      1024         0.0.0.0:11210      0.0.0.0:*
tcp   LISTEN 0      1024            [::]:11210         [::]:*

        
    

If you see “LISTEN” for these ports, Couchbase is ready for baseline testing and further configuration. This confirms that the core Couchbase services are running and accessible on your Arm-based GCP VM.

    

        
        tcp   LISTEN 0      128          0.0.0.0:8091       0.0.0.0:*
tcp   LISTEN 0      1024         0.0.0.0:11210      0.0.0.0:*
tcp   LISTEN 0      1024            [::]:11210         [::]:*

        
    

Once you’ve finished installing and setting up Couchbase, you’re ready to move on to baseline testing. This next phase checks that your Couchbase Server is running correctly and ready for use.