Avocent ACS V6000 User Manual

ACS v6000

Installation/Administration/User Guide

ACS v6000

Installation/Administration/User Guide

Avocent, the Avocent logo, The Power of Being There, DSView and Cyclades are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avocent Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft and Internet Explorer are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Mozilla and Firef ox are r egistered trademarks of the Mozilla Foundation. VMware, ESX, ESXi and VSphere are registered trademarks of VMware, Inc. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus T orvalds in the United States and other countries.

T A B L E  O F  C ON T E N T S

Introduction 1

Features and Benefits 1

Access options 1

Web Manager 2

IPv4 and IPv6 support 2

Flexible users and groups 2

Security 3

Authentication 3

VPN based on IPSec with NAT traversal 3

Packet filtering 3

SNMP 3

Data logging, notifications, alarms and data buffering 4

Auto discovery 4

Installation 5

ACSv6000 virtual console server requirements 5

Using Telnet or SSH 7

Accessing a Virtual Console Server via the Web Manager 11

Web Manager Overview for Administrators 11

Wizard Mode 12

Expert Mode 15

Access 15

System Tools 16

System 16

Security profiles 16

Date and Time 18

Help and Language 18

Information 19

Usage 19

VM Settings 19

Network 21

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Settings 22

Devices 22

IPv4 and IPv6 static routes 22

Hosts 23

Firewall 23

IPSec(VPN) 25

SNMP Configuration 27

Ports 28

Serial ports 28

CAS Profile 32

Authentication 35

Appliance authentication 36

Authentication servers 36

Users Accounts and User Groups 38

Local accounts 39

User groups 40

Event Notifications 46

Event List 46

Event Destinations 46

Data Buffering 47

Appliance Logging 48

Active Sessions 48

Monitoring 48

Change Password 49

Web Manager Overview for Regular Users 49

Appendix A: BootP Configuration Retrieval 51

Appendix B: Technical Support 52

Introduction

The Avocent ACS v6000 virtual advanced console server serves as a single point for access and administration of connected virtual machines. Virtual console servers support secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from any location worldwide.

Multiple administrators can be logged into the virtual console server at the same time and can use the web manager, the Command Line Interface (CLI) or DSView™ 3 management software (version 3.6.0.152 and greater) to access and configure the virtual console server.

Features and Benefits

Access options

Secure access is available through the following options:

• LAN IP network connection.

• Target device connection. An authorized user can make a Telnet, SSH v1 or SSH v2 connection to a target device. For Telnet or SSH to be used for target device connections, the Telnet or SSH service must be configured in the Security Profile that is in effect.

• ACS v6000 virtual console server console connection. An administrator can log in using the Console via vSphere application and can use the CLI utility. The CLI utility prompt (--|cli>) displays at login.

More than one administrator can log into the virtual console server and have an active CLI or web manager session. All sessions receive the following warning message when the configuration is changed by another administrator or by the system: The appliance configuration has been altered from outside of your session. Upon receipt of this message, each administrator needs to verify that changes made during the session were saved.

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Web Manager

Users and administrators can perform most tasks through the web manager (accessed with HTTP or HTTPS). The web manager runs in the Microsoft®Internet Explorer®6.0 and 7.0 internet browser, and the Mozilla®Firefox®2 and 3 internet browser on any supported computer that has network access to the virtual console server.

An administrator can use the web manager to create user accounts, authorize groups and configure security and ports. Authorized users can access connected devices through the web manager to troubleshoot, maintain, reboot connected devices and change their password. For more information on the web manager, see Accessing a Virtual Console Server via the Web Manager on page 11.

IPv4 and IPv6 support

The virtual console server supports dual stack IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. The administrator can use the web manager or CLI to configure support for IPv4 addresses only or for both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. The following list describes the IPv6 support provided in the virtual console server:

• DHCP

• DSView software integration

• eth0 Ethernet interface

• Firewall (IP tables)

• HTTP/HTTPs

• Linux kernel

• Remote authentication: Radius, Tacacs+, LDAP and Kerberos servers

• SNMP

• SSH and Telnet access

• Syslog server

NOTE: Remote authentication NFS, NIS and IPSec ar e not supported with IPv6.

Flexible users and groups

An account can be defined for each user on the virtual console server or on an authentication server. The admin and root users have accounts by default, and either can add and configure other user accounts. Access to ports can be optionally restricted based on authorizations an

administrator can assign to custom user groups. For more information, see Users Accounts and User Groups on page 38.

Security

Security profiles determine which network services are enabled on the virtual console server. Administrators can either allow all users to access enabled ports or allow the configuration of group authorizations to restrict access. You can also select a security profile, which defines which services (FTP, ICMP, IPSec and Telnet) are enabled and SSH and HTTP/HTTPS access. The administrator can select either a preconfigured security profile or create a custom profile. See Security profiles on page 16.

Authentication

Authentication can be performed locally, with One Time Passwords (OTP), a remote Kerberos, LDAP, NIS, RADIUS, TACACS+ authentication server or a DSView 3 server. The virtual console server also supports remote group authorizations for the LDAP, RADIUS and TACACS+ authentication methods. Fallback mechanisms are also available.

Any authentication method configured for the console server or the ports is used for authentication of any user who attempts to log in through Telnet, SSH or the web manager.

VPN based on IPSec with NAT traversal

Chapter 1: Introduction 3

If IPSec is enabled in the selected security profile, an administrator can use the VPN feature to enable secure connections. IPSec encryption with optional NAT traversal (which is configured by default) creates a secure tunnel for dedicated communications between the virtual console server and other computers that have IPSec installed. ESP and AH authentication protocols, RSA Public Keys and Shared Secret aresupported.

Packet filtering

An administrator can configure a virtual console server to filter packets like a firewall. Packet filtering is controlled by chains, which are named profiles with user-defined rules. The virtual console server filter table contains a number of built-in chains that can be modified but not deleted. An administrator can also create and configure new chains.

SNMP

If SNMP is enabled in the selected security profile, an administrator can configure the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent on the virtual console server to send notifications or traps to an SNMP management application.

The virtual console server SNMP agent supports SNMP v1/v2 and v3, MIB-II and Enterprise MIB.

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Data logging, notifications, alarms and data buffering

An administrator can set up data logging, notifications and alarms to alert administrators of problems with email, SMS, SNMP trap or DSView 3 software notifications. An administrator can also store buffered data locally, remotely or with DSView 3 software. Messages about the virtual console server and connected servers or devices can also be sent to syslog servers.

Auto discovery

An administrator can enable auto discovery to find the hostname of a target connected to a serial port. Auto discovery’s default probe and answer strings have a broad range. An administrator can configure site-specific probe and answer strings. Auto discovery can also be configured through DSView 3 software.

Installation

ACSv6000 virtual console server requirements

The virtual console server runs as a virtual machine and it requires a VMware®ESX®or ESXi server running version 4.1 and one vCenter server. A client PC running the VMware infrastructure client software (vSphere®)is also necessary. The following are the minimum system requirements for the ACSv6000 virtual console server in the host system (VMware ESX or ESXi server).

• 2 GB hard drive space

• 512 MB memory

• Network adaptor

• Access to the ACS v6000 virtual console server ISO file

An ACSv6000 virtual console server can be installed from an ISO file. The installation procedure is a two-stage process: creating the virtual machine and installing the virtual console server onto the virtual machine.

To create the virtual machine using the vSphere client:

1. From the ESX or ESXi server home screen, click the Virtual Machine Wizard icon.

2. For the Virtual Machine configuration click Typical, then click Next.

3. Choose an appropriate name for your virtual console server, then click Next.

4. Select the data storage volume on which you wish to create the new virtual console server, then click Next.

5. Under Guest Operating System click Linux, and from the pull-down menu select Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2, then click Next.

6. Confirm the number of virtual processors is 1 and click Next.

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7. In the Number of NICs field, type 1. Confirm the network is VM Network and the adaptor is Flexible, then click Next.

8. Confirm the Disk Size is 2 GB, then click Next.

9. Click Finish to complete the configuration of the virtual console server on the ESX or ESXi server.

10. In the Side Navigation Bar, click the name of the virtual console server.

11. Click Edit Virtual Machine Settings in the Getting Started page.

12. Enter 512 MBin the Memory Size field and click OK to save the configuration.

To install the virtual console server onto the virtual machine:

1. Click the Console tab from the summary screen of the created virtual machine for the virtual console server.

2. Turn on the virtual machine.

NOTE: The virtual machine will fail to boot since there is no operating system installed.

3. Click Connect CD/DVD, and in the drop-down box select the virtual console server's ISO image.

4. Reboot the virtual console server by clicking CTL-ALT-INSERT in the console area. The virtual console server will reboot from the ISOimage.

5. Read and accept the End User License Agreement. The virtual console server will reboot after installation.

6. After the virtual console server has rebooted, disconnect from the ISO image.

The virtual console server will now boot from GNU GRUB. Press Enter to boot the image or wait for the image to boot automatically. After booting the image, the virtual console server interface will be available. The virtual console server is ready to be configured and have the license for virtual serial ports installed.

It is necessary create and configure the virtual serial ports used by the virtual server. The serial port created on the virtual server will be connected to one of the serial ports created on the ACS v6000 virtual console server.

To add a virtual serial port to the virtual machine to be used as console:

1. Using the VMware vSphere client, log in to the vCenter.

2. Select the virtual machine.

NOTE: The virtual machine must be turned off.

Chapter 2: Installation 7

3. Click Edit Virtual Machine Settings from the Getting Started tab.

4. Click Add, click Serial Port and then click Next.

5. Click Connect Via Network in the Select Port Type field, then click Next.

6. Click Project. In the Port URIfield, enter the serial port on the virtual console server the virtual machine will use to connect. The syntax of this field is ACSID://ttySxx, where xx is the serial port number on virtual console server. You can enter just ACSIDif you do not have a specific serial port you want to use for the association.

NOTE: The virtual console server will append a unique IDafter ttySxxto associate this virtual serial port to the specific virtual console server.

7. Enable use of the Virtual Serial Port Concentrator and enter the location in the vSPCURI field. The syntax of this field is telnet://<ACS v6000>:<vSPC port> where <ACS v6000> is the IPaddress or hostname of the virtual console server and <vSPC port>is the vSPC port configured in the virtual console server to listen for connections.

NOTE: You can skip step 7 if you do not know the virtual console server's IPaddressor the vSPC port.

8. Click Next, review the information on the Ready to Complete page and click Finish.

NOTE: To complete the association between the virtual machine's serial port and the virtual console server's serial port, you can use the the virtual console server's webmanager or CLI. See Chapter 3 or the ACSv6000 Command Reference Guide for more information.

To complete configuration, you must redirect the virtual machine's console to the created serial port. Refer to the documentation included with your virtual machine for instruction on how to perform this step.

Using Telnet or SSH

An authorized user can use a Telnet or SSH client to make a connection directly to the console of a device if all of the following are true:

The Telnet or SSH:

• protocol is enabled in the selected security profile

• protocol is configured for the port

• client is available, and it is enabled on the computer from which the connection is made

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To use Telnet to connect to a device through a serial port:

For this procedure, you need the username configured to access the serial port, the port name (for example, 14-35-60-p-1), device name (for example, ttyS1), TCP port alias (for example,

7001) or IP port alias (for example, 100.0.0.100) and the hostname of the virtual console server

or its IP address.

To use a Telnet client, enter the information in the dialog boxes of the client.

-or-

To use Telnet in a shell, enter the following command:

# telnet [hostname | IP_address]

-or-

# telnet [hostname | IP_address] TCP_Port_Alias

-or-

# telnet IP_Port_Alias

To close a Telnet session:

Enter the Telnet hotkey defined for the client. The default is Ctrl ] + q to quit, or enter the text session hotkey for the CLI prompt and then enter quit.

To use SSH to connect to a device through a serial port:

For this procedure, you need the username configured to access the serial port, the port name (for example, 14-35-60-p-1), TCP port alias (for example, 7001), device name (for example, ttyS1), and the hostname of the virtual console server, IP address or IP Port alias (for example,

100.0.0.100).

To use an SSH client, enter the information in the dialog boxes of the client.

-or-

To use SSH in a shell, enter the following command:

ssh -l username:port_name [hostname | IP_address]

-or-

ssh -l username:device_name [hostname | IP_address]

Chapter 2: Installation 9

-or-

ssh -l username:TCP_Port_Alias [hostname | IP_address]

-or-

ssh -l username IP_Port_Alias

To close an SSH session:

At the beginning of a line, enter the hotkey defined for the SSH client followed by a period. The default is ~. Or, enter the text session hotkey for the CLI prompt and then enter quit.

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Accessing a Virtual Console Server

Once you’ve connected your ACS v6000 virtual console server to a network, you can access the virtual console server via the web manager. The web manager provides direct access to the virtual console server via a graphical user interface instead of a command-based interface.

NOTE: For instructions on accessing the virtual console server via the CLI or DSView 3 software see the Avocent ACS v6000 Command Reference Guide or the DSView 3 Installer/User Guide.

via the Web Manager

Web Manager Overview for Administrators

NOTE: For an overview of the web manager for regular users, see Web Manager Overview for Regular Users on

page 49.

To log into the web manager:

1. Open a web browser and enter the virtual console server IP address in the address field.

2. Log in as either admin with the password avocent or as root with the password linux.

Figure 3.1 shows a typical web manager screen for an administrator and descriptions follow in Table 3.1.

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Figure 3.1: Administrator Web Manager Screen

Table 3.1: Web Manager Screen Areas

Number

2 Tab bar. Displayswhether the admin is in Expert or Wizard mode.

Description

Top option bar. The name of the appliance and of the logged in user appear on the left side. Refresh, Print, Logout and Help buttons appear on the right.

Side Navigation Bar . Menu options for configuration, viewing of system information and accessto devices. The options change based on user rights.

Content area. Contents change based on the options selected in the side navigation bar.

Wizard Mode

The Wizard mode is designed to simplify the setup and configuration process by guiding an administrator through the configuration steps. An administrator can configure all ports in the

Chapter 3: Accessing a Virtual Console Server via the Web Manager 13

CAS Profile and set the Security Profile, Network, Users Settings and add licenses using the Wizard.

By default, the first time an administrator accesses the virtual console server through the Web Manager, the Wizard will be displayed. Subsequent log-ins will open in Expert mode, and once the virtual console server has been configured, Expert mode becomes the default mode. An administrator can toggle between Expert and Wizard modes by clicking the tab bar on the Web Manager administrator screen.

NOTE: The virtual console server has one serial port licensed by default. Click the License tab to configure the license before starting the Wizard configuration.

Figure 3.2 shows a typical screen when an administrator is in Wizard mode.

Figure 3.2: Wizard Screen

The following procedures describe how to configure the virtual console server from the Wizard.

To configure security parameters and select a Security Profile:

1. Select the Security link in the content area.

2. Select the desired Security Profile. If using a Custom Security Profile, click the checkboxes and enter values as needed to configure the services, SSH and HTTP and HTTPS options to conform with your site security policy.

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