Installing and Using Digi On Prem Manager on Ubuntu Server via Windows WSL

Introduction

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows you to run a full Linux environment directly on Windows without the need for a virtual machine. This guide walks you through installing Digi On Prem Manager (DOM) on an Ubuntu Server running inside WSL, with network bridging to make the server reachable on your LAN

Prerequisites

Windows 11 and a valid Digi OnPrem Manager License Key available

1. Install WSL and Ubuntu

On Windows 11, you can install WSL and Ubuntu with a single command.

Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click → Run as administrator) and run the following command: 

wsl -install

This installs WSL and sets Ubuntu as the default Linux distribution.

To install a different distribution, refer to official Windows codumentation (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install)

Once installed, launch Ubuntu via wsl.exe or from the Start Menu.

Verify the installed Ubuntu version and network interface using:

2. Configure bridged networking for LAN access

By default, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) uses a NAT (Network Address Translation) architecture for networking. This allows Linux applications running in WSL to communicate with Windows applications using localhost, which is ideal for development scenarios such as accessing a web server from a browser like Edge or Chrome.

However, applications running inside WSL are not accessible from other devices on your local network (LAN) by default. This is because WSL 2 operates with a virtualized Ethernet adapter that has its own internal IP address (see above screenshot), isolated from the host network.

To make your WSL-based Ubuntu server reachable on the LAN—such as for hosting Digi On Prem Manager—you’ll need to configure bridged networking. A way to do that, is through enabling Hyper-V, creating a virtual switch, and modifying WSL settings to support this setup:

Enable Hyper-V and Management Features in PowerShell:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-Management-PowerShell

Reboot your system.

Create an External Virtual Switch:

1. Open Hyper-V Manager, Go to Virtual Switch Manager and Create an External Virtual Switch, linked to theLAN adapter (in this example ist he WiFi adapter):

Configure WSL to Use Bridged Networking:

Create or edit the .wslconfig file in your user profile directory (%USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig) with:

To apply the changes, Stop the WSL via powershell with the command:

And re-launch it via WSL settings as before.

Once in Ubuntu terminal, Edit the /etc/wsl.conf file and add the following lines:

To apply the changes, Stop/launche WSL again.

Configure Network Addressing:

In this example we use dynamic address configuration, for this, must be ensured that the following is present in /etc/systemd/network/10-eth0.network:

[Match]

Name=eth0

[Network]

DHCP=yes

If instead Static IP is needed, use the following:

Finally, create a symbolic link to link resolv.conf from systemd:

Restart the WSL  instance again as before and verify the network configuration with ifconfig command:

Now the Eth interface of the Ubuntu server has an IP on the same LAN of the Windows system.

3. Install Digi On Prem Manager (DOM)

To begin the installation, first switch to the root user:

Then, execute the following command to download and install Digi OnPrem Manager:

This script will automatically download, install, and configure Digi On Prem Manager on your server.

Note: A valid license key is required to complete the setup process.

4. Enroll a DAL Device

Access via SSH to the Admin CLI of the DAL Device You Must Enroll and enable shell access:

Open a browser and navigate to the Digi OnPrem Manager server using its hostname or IP address:

Navigate to the Enroll Section and copy the Shell Command for Enrollment:

Access via SSH to the Shell of the DAL Device You Must Enroll and paste the Enrollment Shell Command​ to complete the enrollment:

Once the enrollment script has fully loaded and executed, you should see a connection request appear in the "Inbox" section of the Digi OnPrem Manager server's Web UI, click on Allow to accept it:

Once accepted, the device will appear in the Devices section and you can start manage your devices with Digi OnPrem Manager: