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info: For assistance with this TAM Onboarding page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments-to-other-projects-and-subjects.
stage: none
group: unassigned
---

# Get started administering GitLab **(FREE)**

Get started with GitLab administration. Configure your organization and its authentication, then secure, monitor,
and back up GitLab.

## Authentication

Authentication is the first step in making your installation secure.

- [Enforce two-factor authentication (2FA) for all users](../security/two_factor_authentication.md). We highly recommended 2FA for self-managed instances.
- Ensure users do the following:
  - Choose a strong, secure password. If possible, store it in a password management system.
  - If it is not configured for everyone, enable [two-factor authentication (2FA)](../user/profile/account/two_factor_authentication.md) for your account.
    This one-time secret code is an additional safeguard that keeps intruders out, even if they have your password.
  - Add a backup email. If you lose access to your account, the GitLab Support team can help you more quickly.
  - Save or print your recovery codes. If you can't access your authentication device, you can use these recovery codes to sign in to your GitLab account.
  - Add [an SSH key](../ssh/index.md) to your profile. You can generate new recovery codes as needed with SSH.
  - Enable [personal access tokens](../user/profile/personal_access_tokens.md). When using 2FA, you can use these tokens to access the GitLab API.

## Projects and groups

Organize your environment by configuring your groups and projects.

- [Projects](../user/project/working_with_projects.md): Designate a home for your files and code or track and organize issues in a business category.
- [Groups](../user/group/index.md): Organize a collection of users or projects. Use these groups to quickly assign people and projects.
- [Roles](../user/permissions.md): Define user access and visibility for your projects and groups.

<i class="fa fa-youtube-play youtube" aria-hidden="true"></i>
Watch an overview of [groups and projects](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqb2m41At6s).

Get started:

- Create a [project](../user/project/working_with_projects.md#create-a-project).
- Create a [group](../user/group/index.md#create-a-group).
- [Add members](../user/group/index.md#add-users-to-a-group) to the group.
- Create a [subgroup](../user/group/subgroups/index.md#creating-a-subgroup).
- [Add members](../user/group/subgroups/index.md#membership) to the subgroup.
- Enable [external authorization control](../user/admin_area/settings/external_authorization.md#configuration).

**More resources**

- Learn more about [running multiple Agile teams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR2r1TJCDew).
- Sync group memberships [by using LDAP](../administration/auth/ldap/ldap_synchronization.md#group-sync).
- Manage user access with inherited permissions. Use up to 20 levels of subgroups to organize both teams and projects.
  - Learn more about [inherited permissions](../user/project/members/index.md#inherited-membership).
  - View [nested category examples](../user/group/subgroups/index.md#overview).

## Import projects

You may need to import projects from external sources like GitHub, Bitbucket, or another instance of GitLab. Many external sources can be imported into GitLab.

- Review the [GitLab projects documentation](../user/project/index.md#project-integrations).
- Consider [repository mirroring](../user/project/repository/mirror/index.md)—an [alternative to project migrations](../ci/ci_cd_for_external_repos/index.md).
- Check out our [migration index](../user/project/import/index.md) for documentation on common migration paths.
- Schedule your project exports with our [import/export API](../api/project_import_export.md#schedule-an-export).

### Popular project imports

- [GitHub Enterprise to self-managed GitLab](../integration/github.md): Enabling OAuth makes it easier for developers to find and import their projects.
- [Bitbucket Server](../user/project/import/bitbucket_server.md#limitations): There are certain data limitations.
  For assistance with these data types, contact your GitLab account manager or GitLab Support about our professional migration services.

## GitLab instance security

Security is an important part of the onboarding process. Securing your instance protects your work and your organization.

While this isn't an exhaustive list, following these steps gives you a solid start for securing your instance.

- Use a long root password, stored in a vault.
- Install trusted SSL certificate and establish a process for renewal and revocation.
- [Configure SSH key restrictions](../security/ssh_keys_restrictions.md#restrict-allowed-ssh-key-technologies-and-minimum-length) per your organization's guidelines.
- [Disable new sign-ups](../user/admin_area/settings/sign_up_restrictions.md#disable-new-sign-ups).
- Require email confirmation.
- Set password length limit, configure SSO or SAML user management.
- Limit email domains if allowing sign-up.
- Require two-factor authentication (2FA).
- [Disable password authentication](../user/admin_area/settings/sign_in_restrictions.md#password-authentication-enabled) for Git over HTTPS.
- Set up [email notification for unknown sign-ins](../user/admin_area/settings/sign_in_restrictions.md#email-notification-for-unknown-sign-ins).
- Configure [user and IP rate limits](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/05/20/gitlab-instance-security-best-practices/#user-and-ip-rate-limits).
- Limit [webhooks local access](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/05/20/gitlab-instance-security-best-practices/#webhooks).
- Set [rate limits for protected paths](../user/admin_area/settings/protected_paths.md).
- Sign up for [Security Alerts](https://about.gitlab.com/company/preference-center/) from the Communication Preference Center.
- Keep track of security best practices on our [blog page](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/05/20/gitlab-instance-security-best-practices/).

## Monitor GitLab performance

After you've established your basic setup, you're ready to review the GitLab monitoring services. Prometheus is our core performance monitoring tool.
Unlike other monitoring solutions (for example, Zabbix or New Relic), Prometheus is tightly integrated with GitLab and has extensive community support.

- [Prometheus](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/index.md) captures
  [these GitLab metrics](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/gitlab_metrics.md#metrics-available).
- Learn more about GitLab [bundled software metrics](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/index.md#bundled-software-metrics).
- Prometheus and its exporters are on by default. However, you need to [configure the service](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/index.md#configuring-prometheus).
- Learn more about [GitLab architecture](../development/architecture.md).
- Find out why [application performance metrics](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/05/07/working-with-performance-metrics/) matter.
- Create a [self-monitoring project](../administration/monitoring/gitlab_self_monitoring_project/index.md) to track the health of your instance.
- Integrate Grafana to [build visual dashboards](https://youtu.be/f4R7s0An1qE) based on performance metrics.

### Components of monitoring

- [Web servers](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/gitlab_metrics.md#puma-metrics): Handles server requests and facilitates other back-end service transactions.
  Monitor CPU, memory, and network IO traffic to track the health of this node.
- [Workhorse](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/gitlab_metrics.md#metrics-available): Alleviates web traffic congestion from the main server.
  Monitor latency spikes to track the health of this node.
- [Sidekiq](../administration/monitoring/prometheus/gitlab_metrics.md#sidekiq-metrics): Handles background operations that allow GitLab to run smoothly.
  Monitor for long, unprocessed task queues to track the health of this node.

## Back up your GitLab data

GitLab provides backup methods to keep your data safe and recoverable. Whether you use a self-managed or a GitLab SaaS database, it's crucial to back up your data regularly.

- Decide on a backup strategy.
- Consider writing a cron job to make daily backups.
- Separately backup the configuration files.
- Decide what should be left out of the backup.
- Decide where to upload the backups.
- Limit backup lifetime.
- Run a test backup and restore.
- Set up a way to periodically verify the backups.

### Back up a GitLab self-managed instance

The routine differs, depending on whether you deployed with Omnibus or the Helm chart.

When you backing up an Omnibus (single node) GitLab server, you can use a single Rake task.

Learn about [backing up Omnibus or Helm variations](../raketasks/backup_restore.md).
This process backs up your entire instance, but does not back up the configuration files. Ensure those are backed up separately.
Keep your configuration files and backup archives in a separate location to ensure the encryption keys are not kept with the encrypted data.

#### Restore a backup

You can restore a backup only to **the exact same version and type** (Community Edition/Enterprise Edition) of GitLab on which it was created.

- Review the [Omnibus backup and restore documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/backups).
- Review the [Helm Chart backup and restore documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/charts/backup-restore/).

### Back up GitLab SaaS

Backups of GitLab databases and filesystems are taken every 24 hours, and are kept for two weeks on a rolling schedule. All backups are encrypted.

- GitLab SaaS creates backups to ensure your data is secure, but you can't use these methods to export or back up your data yourself.
- Issues are stored in the database. They can't be stored in Git itself.
- You can use the project export option in:
  - [The UI](../user/project/settings/import_export.md#export-a-project-and-its-data).
  - [The API](../api/project_import_export.md#schedule-an-export).
- [Group export](../user/group/settings/import_export.md) does *not* export the projects in it, but does export:
  - Epics
  - Milestones
  - Boards
  - Labels
  - Additional items

For more information about GitLab SaaS backups, see our [Backup FAQ page](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/infrastructure/faq/#gitlabcom-backups).

### Alternative backup strategies

In some situations the Rake task for backups may not be the most optimal solution. Here are some
[alternatives](../raketasks/backup_restore.md) to consider if the Rake task does not work for you.

#### Option 1: File system snapshot

If your GitLab server contains a lot of Git repository data, you may find the GitLab backup script to be too slow. It can be especially slow when backing up to an offsite location.

Slowness typically starts at a Git repository data size of around 200 GB. In this case, you might consider using file system snapshots as part of your backup strategy.
For example, consider a GitLab server with the following components:

- Using Omnibus GitLab
- Hosted on AWS with an EBS drive containing an ext4 file system mounted at `/var/opt/gitlab`.

The EC2 instance meets the requirements for an application data backup by taking an EBS snapshot. The backup includes all repositories, uploads, and PostgreSQL data.

In general, if you're running GitLab on a virtualized server, you can create VM snapshots of the entire GitLab server.
It is common for a VM snapshot to require you to power down the server.

#### Option 2: GitLab Geo **(PREMIUM SELF)**

Geo provides local, read-only instances of your GitLab instances.

While GitLab Geo helps remote teams work more efficiently by using a local GitLab node, it can also be used as a disaster recovery solution.
Learn more about using [Geo as a disaster recovery solution](../administration/geo/disaster_recovery/index.md).

Geo replicates your database, your Git repositories, and a few other assets.
Learn more about [replication limitations](../administration/geo/replication/datatypes.md#limitations-on-replicationverification).

## Support for GitLab self-managed

GitLab provides support for self-managed GitLab through different channels.

- Priority support: [Premium and Ultimate](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) self-managed customers receive priority support with tiered response times.
  Learn more about [upgrading to priority support](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#upgrading-to-priority-support).
- Live upgrade assistance: Get one-on-one expert guidance during a production upgrade. With your **priority support plan**,
  you're eligible for a live, scheduled screen-sharing session with a member of our support team.

To get assistance for self-managed GitLab:

- Use the GitLab documentation for self-service support.
- Join the [GitLab Forum](https://forum.gitlab.com/) for community support.
- Gather [your subscription information](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#for-self-managed-users) before submitting a ticket.
- [Submit a support ticket](https://support.gitlab.com/hc/en-us/requests/new).

## Support for GitLab SaaS

If you use GitLab SaaS, you have several channels with which to get support and find answers.

- Priority support: Gold and Silver GitLab SaaS customers receive priority support with tiered response times.
  Learn more about [upgrading to priority support](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#upgrading-to-priority-support).
- GitLab SaaS 24/7 monitoring: Our full team of site reliability and production engineers is always on.
  Often, by the time you notice an issue, someone's already looking into it.

To get assistance for GitLab SaaS:

- Access [GitLab Docs](../index.md) for self-service support.
- Join the [GitLab Forum](https://forum.gitlab.com/) for community support.
- Gather [your subscription information](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#for-self-managed-users) before submitting a ticket.
- Submit a support ticket for:
  - [General assistance](https://support.gitlab.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=334447)
  - [Account or sign-in issues](https://support.gitlab.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000803379)
- Subscribe to [the status page](https://status.gitlab.com/) for the latest on GitLab performance or service interruptions.

## API and rate limits for self-managed GitLab

Rate limits prevent denial-of-service or brute-force attacks. In most cases, you can reduce the load on your application
and infrastructure by limiting the rate of requests from a single IP address.

Rate limits also improve the security of your application.

### Configure rate limits for self-managed GitLab

You can make changes to your default rate limits from the Admin Area. For more information about configuration, see the [Admin Area page](../security/rate_limits.md#configurable-limits).

- Define [issues rate limits](../user/admin_area/settings/rate_limit_on_issues_creation.md) to set a maximum number of issue creation requests per minute, per user.
- Enforce [user and IP rate limits](../user/admin_area/settings/user_and_ip_rate_limits.md) for unauthenticated web requests.
- Review the [rate limit on raw endpoints](../user/admin_area/settings/rate_limits_on_raw_endpoints.md). The default setting is 300 requests per minute for raw file access.
- Review the [import/export rate limits](../user/admin_area/settings/import_export_rate_limits.md) of the six active defaults.

For more information about API and rate limits, see our [API page](../api/index.md).

## API and rate limits for GitLab SaaS

Rate limits prevent denial-of-service or brute-force attacks. IP blocks usually happen when GitLab.com receives unusual traffic
from a single IP address. The system views unusual traffic as potentially malicious based on rate limit settings.

Rate limits also improve the security of your application.

### Configure rate limits for GitLab SaaS

You can make changes to your default rate limits from the Admin Area. For more information about configuration, see the [Admin Area page](../security/rate_limits.md#configurable-limits).

- Review the rate limit page.
- Read our [API page](../api/index.md) for more information about API and rate limiting.

### GitLab SaaS-specific block and error responses

- [403 forbidden error](../user/gitlab_com/index.md#gitlabcom-specific-rate-limits): If the error occurs for all GitLab SaaS requests, look for an automated process that could have triggered a block. For more assistance, contact GitLab support with your error details, including the affected IP address.
- [HAProxy API throttle](../user/gitlab_com/index.md#haproxy): GitLab SaaS responds with HTTP status code 429 to API requests that exceed 10 requests per second, per IP address.
- [Protected paths throttle](../user/gitlab_com/index.md#protected-paths-throttle): GitLab SaaS responds with HTTP status code 429 to POST requests at protected paths that exceed 10 requests per minute, per IP address.
- [Git and container registry failed authentication ban](../user/gitlab_com/index.md#git-and-container-registry-failed-authentication-ban): GitLab SaaS responds with HTTP status code 403 for one hour if it receives 30 failed authentication requests in three minutes from a single IP address.

## GitLab training resources

You can learn more about how to administer GitLab.

- Get involved in the [GitLab Forum](https://forum.gitlab.com/) to trade tips with our talented community.
- Check out [our blog](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/) for ongoing updates on:
  - Releases
  - Applications
  - Contributions
  - News
  - Events

### Paid GitLab training

- GitLab education services: Learn more about [GitLab and DevOps best practices](https://about.gitlab.com/services/education/) through our specialized training courses. See our full course catalog.
- GitLab technical certifications: Explore our [certification options](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/customer-success/professional-services-engineering/gitlab-technical-certifications/) that focus on key GitLab and DevOps skills.

### Free GitLab training

- GitLab basics: Discover self-service guides on [Git and GitLab basics](../gitlab-basics/index.md).
- GitLab Learn: Learn new GitLab skills in a structured course at [GitLab Learn](https://about.gitlab.com/learn/).

### Third-party training

- Udemy: For a more affordable, guided training option, consider
  [GitLab CI: Pipelines, CI/CD, and DevOps for Beginners](https://www.udemy.com/course/gitlab-ci-pipelines-ci-cd-and-devops-for-beginners/) on Udemy.
- LinkedIn Learning: Check out [Continuous Delivery with GitLab](https://www.linkedin.com/learning/continuous-delivery-with-gitlab) on LinkedIn Learning
  for another low-cost, guided training option.
