---
stage: Systems
group: Geo
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
type: howto
---

# Setting up Geo **(PREMIUM SELF)**

These instructions assume you have a working instance of GitLab. They guide you through:

1. Making your existing instance the **primary** site.
1. Adding **secondary** sites.

You must use a [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) license or higher,
but you only need one license for all the sites.

WARNING:
The steps below should be followed in the order they appear. **Make sure the GitLab version is the same on all sites. Do not create an account or log in to the new secondary.**

## Using Omnibus GitLab

If you installed GitLab using the Omnibus packages (highly recommended):

1. Confirm the [requirements for running Geo](../index.md#requirements-for-running-geo) are met.
1. [Install GitLab Enterprise Edition](https://about.gitlab.com/install/) on the nodes that serve as the **secondary** site. **Do not create an account or log in** to the new **secondary** site. The **GitLab version must match** across primary and secondary sites.
1. [Add the GitLab License](../../../user/admin_area/license.md) on the **primary** site to unlock Geo. The license must be for [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) or higher.
1. [Confirm network connectivity](../index.md#firewall-rules) between the **primary** and **secondary** site.
1. [Set up the database replication](database.md) (`primary (read-write) <-> secondary (read-only)` topology).
1. [Configure fast lookup of authorized SSH keys in the database](../../operations/fast_ssh_key_lookup.md). This step is required and needs to be done on **both** the **primary** and **secondary** sites.
1. [Configure GitLab](../replication/configuration.md) to set the **primary** and **secondary** sites.
1. Optional: [Configure Object storage](../../object_storage.md)
1. Optional: [Configure a secondary LDAP server](../../auth/ldap/index.md) for the **secondary** sites. See [notes on LDAP](../index.md#ldap).
1. Optional: [Configure Geo secondary proxying](../secondary_proxy/index.md) to use a single, unified URL for all Geo sites. This step is recommended to accelerate most read requests while transparently proxying writes to the primary Geo site.
1. Follow the [Using a Geo Site](../replication/usage.md) guide.

## Post-installation documentation

After installing GitLab on the **secondary** sites and performing the initial configuration, see the [following documentation for post-installation information](../index.md#post-installation-documentation).