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DSView
®
Installer/User Guide
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INSTRUCTIONS
This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and
maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.
DANGEROUS VOLTAGE
This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous
voltage within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to
constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
POWER ON
This symbol indicates the principal on/off switch is in the on position.
POWER OFF
This symbol indicates the principal on/off switch is in the off position.
PROTECTIVE GROUNDING TERMINAL
This symbol indicates a terminal which must be connected to earth ground prior to
making any other connections to the equipment.
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DSView
Management Sof tware
Installer/User Guide
Avocent, the Avocent logo, The Power of Being There, DSView, DSR,
AutoView, OutLook, OSCAR, AVWorks and Dambrackas Video
Compression are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avocent
Corporation or its affiliates. All other marks are the property of their
respective owners.
2005 Avocent Corporation. All rights reserved. 590-395-001C
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
List of Figures .................................................................................................................xi
List of Tables................................................................................................................. xiii
Chapter 1: Product Overview.......................................................................................... 1
Features and Benefits ........................................................................................................................ 1
System Components ...........................................................................................................................2
Supported Units .......................... ..................................................... ..................................................3
About the DSView Explorer Windows ...............................................................................................7
Accessing target devices.............................................................................................................8
Using the side navigation bar...................................................................................................11
Sorting information in a window..............................................................................................12
Filtering information in a window......................................... ... ................................................12
Saving information in a window............................................................................................... 14
Using the Customize link in windows.......................................................................................14
Displaying pages ......................................................................................................................15
Bookmarking a window ............................................................................................................15
Printing a window ....................................................................................................................16
Refreshing a window ................................................................................................................16
Using keyboard commands.......................................................................................................16
Changing the color scheme ......................................................................................................17
Changing user options..............................................................................................................18
Built-in User Groups .......................................................................................................................18
Preemption Levels............................................................................................................................20
Other Features and Considerations ................................................................................................21
Configuring Internet Explorer..................................................................................................22
Using certificates........................................................................................................ ..............27
Using Integrated Windows Authentication...............................................................................28
Using the software through a firewall......................................................................................28
Using a VPN.............................................................................................................................29
Using a NAT device............................................ ......................................................................30
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Chapter 2: Installation ................................................................................................... 33
About Installation ............................................................................................................................33
Installing the DSView Management Software.................................................................................34
Configuring the DSView Management Software.............................................................................37
Installing the DSR Remote Operations Software (Optional)...........................................................39
Running the DSView Management Software...................................................................................40
Changing Your Password................................................................................................................42
Uninstalling the DSView Management Software.............................................................................42
Ending a DSView Software Session.................................................................................................43
Java Installation ..............................................................................................................................43
Chapter 3: DSView Software Servers........................................................................... 45
Server Properties...................................... .......................................................................................45
Certificates................................................................................................................................47
Proxy servers............................................................................................................................48
Server trap destinations........................................................................................... .................49
Client session information........................................................................................................50
Email.........................................................................................................................................50
Unit status polling ....................................................................................................................51
Manually Backing up and Restoring Hub Servers...........................................................................51
Managing Authentication Services ..................................................................................................53
Managing Spoke Servers .................................................................................................................65
Managing Licenses ..........................................................................................................................70
Chapter 4: Managing Units............................................................................................ 73
About Unit Views .............................................................................................................................73
Showing and hiding units .............................................. ...................................................... .. . ..76
Customizing Unit Views windows.............................................................................................78
Adding Units ....................................................................................................................................81
Managing Units ...............................................................................................................................86
Displaying unit information......................................................................................................86
Changing Unit Overview Information.............................................................................................86
Changing Unit Properties................................................................................................................88
Changing Unit Access Rights ............................................ ...................................................... .. ......91
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Changing Managed Appliance Settings...........................................................................................95
Managing and changing port settings ....................................................................................100
Displaying and changing session settings on managed appliances .......................................108
Changing local account settings............................................... ..............................................114
Managing Active Sessions .............................................................................................................116
Managing Connections to Units ....................................................................................................119
Connection display format......................................................................................................119
Adding target device connections...........................................................................................121
Unit Grouping................................................................................................................................122
Grouping units by site.............................................................................................................122
Grouping units by department................................................................................................125
Grouping units by location.....................................................................................................127
Grouping units by unit group .................................................................................................128
Managing units by custom fields ............................................................................................131
Chapter 5: Managing User Accounts ......................................................................... 137
About the User Accounts Windows................................................................................................137
Customizing the User Accounts window ................................................................................139
Adding User Accounts ...................................................................................................................141
Deleting User Accounts .................................................. ...................................................... .........142
Unlocking User Accounts ..............................................................................................................143
Resetting a User Account Password..............................................................................................143
Changing User Account Properties...............................................................................................143
Changing usernames ..............................................................................................................144
Changing certificates associated with users ..........................................................................144
Changing user passwords.......................................................................................................145
Specifying user account restrictions.......................................................................................145
Changing user group membership..........................................................................................146
Changing a user’s preemption level.......................................................................................146
Specifying user address information ......................................................................................146
Specifying user phone contact information ............................................................................147
Specifying email contact information for users......................................................................147
Specifying user notes ..............................................................................................................148
Changing custom field properties...........................................................................................148
Displaying User Access Rights......................................................................................................148
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Managing User-Defined User Groups ..........................................................................................150
Adding user-defined user groups............................................................................................151
Deleting user-defined user groups..........................................................................................153
Displaying and changing user group members......................................................................153
Displaying user group unit access rights ...............................................................................155
Chapter 6: Using the Video Viewer............................................................................. 157
About the Video Viewer Window ...................................................................................................157
Video Viewer minimum requirements.....................................................................................158
Launching a KVM Session.............................................................................................................158
Launching an exclusive KVM session.....................................................................................159
Connecting to an existing session...........................................................................................160
Window Features...........................................................................................................................161
Specifying Video Viewer Session Settings .....................................................................................163
Changing the toolbar..............................................................................................................163
Toggling menu and toolbar activation ...................................................................................164
Setting the Window Size.................................................................................................................164
Adjusting the View .........................................................................................................................165
Using background refresh ........................................................ ..............................................166
Adjusting color depth..............................................................................................................167
Additional Video Adjustment ......................................................................................................... 167
Adjusting Mouse Options...............................................................................................................170
Cursor Type ...................................................................................................................................171
Cursor settings........................................................................................................................172
Scaling ....................................................................................................................................172
Alignment................................................................................................................................172
Using Scan Mode................................................................................ ........................................... 173
Thumbnail Viewer features.....................................................................................................174
Performing Thumbnail Viewer tasks......................................................................................176
Using Keyboard Pass-through.......................................................................................................177
Using Global and Personal Macros........................................ ..................................................... .178
Power Controlling Target Devices................................................................................................185
Displaying Video Viewer Users.....................................................................................................186
Saving the View..............................................................................................................................186
Closing a Video Viewer Window Session......................................................................................187
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Using Virtual Media ........................ ...................................................... ........................................187
Virtual Media dialog box........................................................................................................188
Virtual media session settings ................................................................................. ...............188
Opening a virtual media session.............................................................................................189
Closing a virtual media session ..............................................................................................191
Chapter 7: Using the Telnet/SSH Applet.................................................................... 193
About the Telnet/SSH Applet..........................................................................................................193
Telnet/SSH Applet Window Features.............................................................................................194
Telnet/SSH applet window toolbar .........................................................................................195
Security Property...........................................................................................................................196
Opening a Session..........................................................................................................................196
Customizing the Telnet/SSH Applet...............................................................................................197
Customizing Session Properties.....................................................................................................198
Login scripts .................................................... .......................................................................201
Telnet/SSH Applet History Mode...................................................................................................202
Macros ...........................................................................................................................................204
Logging..........................................................................................................................................208
Log files ..................................................................................................................................208
Copying, Pasting and Printing Session Data ................................................................................211
Power Controlling Target Devices (Serial Session Only).............................................................212
Closing a Telnet/SSH Applet Session.............................................................................................213
Chapter 8: Working with IPMI 1.5 Target Devices..................................................... 215
Adding and Changing DSI5100 Appliance BMCs.........................................................................215
Adding BMCs for use with a DSI5100 appliance...................................................................216
Displaying Sensor Information Using the IPMI Viewer................................................................218
Launching an IPMI Viewer session....................................... .................................................218
IPMI Viewer Window Features..............................................................................................218
Refreshing the IPMI Viewer window......................................................................................221
Closing an IPMI Viewer window............................................................................................221
Displaying Sensor Information by Selecting an IPMI 1.5 Target Device .....................................221
Displaying IPMI 1.5 target device BMC information........................................ ....................222
Displaying LAN configuration information............................................................................223
Displaying field replaceable unit (FRU) information ............................................................223
Displaying IPMI 1.5 target device discrete sensor information.............................................224
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Displaying IPMI 1.5 target device numeric sensor information.......................... ..................225
Displaying the BMC system log and log events......................................................................228
Chapter 9: Using Tools................................................................................................ 231
Using Unit Tools............................................................................................................................231
Exporting units .......................................................................................................................232
Exporting unit rights...............................................................................................................233
Merging target devices............................................................................................... ............235
Importing DSView 2.x software databases.............................................................................236
Using the Managed Appliance Tools............................................ .................................................239
Rebooting................................................................................................................................240
Upgrading firmware...............................................................................................................240
Resynchronizing managed appliances....................................................................................241
Saving a managed appliance configuration ...........................................................................242
Restoring a managed appliance configuration.......................................................................243
Saving the user database of a managed appliance.................................................................243
Restoring the user database of a managed appliance............................................................244
Managing Tasks.............................................................................................................................244
Adding tasks............................................................................................................................245
Specifying when to run tasks...................................................................................................246
Adding tasks using the Add Task Wizard................................................................................248
Running tasks manually..........................................................................................................259
Displaying task results............................................................................................................259
Deleting tasks..........................................................................................................................260
Changing tasks .......................................................................................................................260
Firmware Management..................................................................................................................261
Chapter 10: Audit Logs................................................................................................ 263
About Audit Logs ...........................................................................................................................263
DSView management software events....................................................................................266
Displaying Audit Logs ...................................................................................................................270
Using the Date Filter.....................................................................................................................272
Displaying the Details of Audit Log Events...................................................................................273
Deleting Audit Log Events.............................................................................................................273
Enabling and Disabling Audit Log Events ....................................................................................273
Retaining the Audit Log.................................................................................................................274
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Configuring Email Notifications....................................................................................................274
Changing email notifications..................................................................................................275
Deleting email notifications....................................................................................................276
Testing email notifications......................................................................................................276
Using the Audit Log Tool................................................................................................ ...............277
Appendices................................................................................................................... 279
Appendix A: Technical Support.....................................................................................................279
Appendix B: TCP Ports..................................................................................................................280
Appendix C: DSR Remote Operations Software............................................................................289
Appendix D: Terminal Emulation..................................................................................................299
Appendix E: Regaining Access to the DSView Software...............................................................315
Appendix F: Glossary....................................................................................................................316
Index.............................................................................................................................. 327
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LIST OF FIGURES
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Example System Configuration Using the DSView Management Software...................6
Figure 1.2: Avocent DSView Explorer Window................................................................................7
Figure 1.3: Launching DSView Management Software Sessions....................................................10
Figure 1.4: Side Navigation Bar......................................................................................................11
Figure 1.5: Typical DSView Software System Firewall Configuration...........................................29
Figure 1.6: DSView Software System on a VPN .............................................................................30
Figure 1.7: Single NAT Configuration (Client Only)............................ ..........................................31
Figure 1.8: Double-NAT Configuration (Client and Corporate)....................................................31
Figure 4.1: Target Devices - All Window........................................................................................74
Figure 4.2: Shown and Hidden Units in a Recently Accessed Units Window.................................77
Figure 4.3: Alternate Actions Arrow in a Unit Views Window .......................................................79
Figure 4.4: Displaying Sites..........................................................................................................123
Figure 4.5: Units in Custom Field Window...................................................................................132
Figure 4.6: Custom Fields Example: Side Navigation Bar...........................................................135
Figure 5.1: User Accounts - All Window.......................................................................................138
Figure 6.1: Video Viewer Window (Normal Window Mode) ........................................................ 161
Figure 6.2: Manual Video Adjust Dialog Box...............................................................................168
Figure 6.3: Video Viewer Window with Local and Remote Cursors Displayed ...........................171
Figure 6.4: Thumbnail Viewer.......................................................................................................175
Figure 7.1: Telnet/SSH Applet Window.........................................................................................194
Figure 8.1: IPMI Viewer Window ............................. ....................................................................219
Figure 8.2: Upper and Lower Threshold Values...........................................................................221
Figure 8.3: Numeric Sensor Threshold Gauge..............................................................................227
Figure 9.1: Units Tools Window....................................................................................................232
Figure 10.1: Audit Log - All Window............................................................................................264
Figure B.1: Ports Used with a DS1800 Digital Switch or DSR Switch Connection (KVM)
Without Proxy.........................................................................................................................281
Figure B.2: Ports Used with a DS1800 Digital Switch or DSR Switch Proxy Server
Connection (KVM)..................................................................................................................282
Figure B.3: Ports Used with a CPS or CCM Appliance Connection (Serial) Without Proxy ....... 283
Figure B.4: Ports Used with a CPS or CCM Appliance Proxy Server Connection (Serial).........284
Figure B.5: Generic Appliance Session Ports............................................................. ..................285
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Figure B.6: External Authentication Server Ports ........................................................................286
Figure B.7: Ports Used by SNMP (No External SNMP Manager) ...............................................286
Figure B.8: Ports Used by SNMP (with External SNMP Manager).............................................287
Figure B.9: Ports Used by DSI5100 Appliances ...........................................................................288
Figure C.1: Using the DSR Remote Operations Software with a DSR Switch..............................290
Figure C.2: DSR Remote Operations Window ..............................................................................291
Figure C.3: DSR Remote Operations Window (Servers View) .....................................................292
Figure C.4: DSR Remote Operations Window (Power View).......................................................293
Figure C.5: DSR Remote Operations Window (Versions View) ...................................................294
Figure C.6: DSR Remote Operations Window ..............................................................................295
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LIST OF TABLES
List of Tables
Table 1.1: DSView Explorer Window Area Descriptions..................................................................7
Table 1.2: Managed Appliance Icons................................................................................................8
Table 1.3: DSView Explorer Window Links......................................................................................8
Table 1.4: Side Navigation Bar Icons..............................................................................................11
Table 1.5: Filter Field Text Strings .................................................................................................13
Table 1.6: DSView Explorer Page Navigation Buttons...................................................................15
Table 1.7: General Keyboard Commands.......................................................................................16
Table 1.8: Calendar Keyboard Commands.....................................................................................17
Table 1.9: Spinner Keyboard Commands........................................................................................ 17
Table 1.10: Built-in User Groups and Allowed Operations............................................................19
Table 1.11: User and User Group Preemption Levels....................................................................21
Table 3.1: Server Properties............................................................................................................45
xiii
Table 3.2: DSView Software Spoke Server Status Icons .................................................................66
Table 4.1: Unit Status Icons ............................................................................................................79
Table 4.2: Actions to Initiate DSView Software Sessions ................................................................80
Table 4.3: CCM Appliance NFS Status Values ............................................................................... 96
Table 4.4: Windows Containing a Site, Department or Location Column....................................123
Table 4.5: Links for Adding, Changing or Removing Site, Department or
Location Association.................................................................................................................125
Table 5.1: User Status Icons..........................................................................................................139
Table 6.1: Video Viewer Window Descriptions.............................................................................162
Table 6.2: Manual VIdeo Adjust Dialog Box Descriptions...........................................................169
Table 6.3: Thumbnail Viewer Descriptions...................................................................................175
Table 6.4: Virtual Media Session Settings.....................................................................................188
Table 7.1: Telnet/SSH Applet Window Descriptions.....................................................................194
Table 7.2: Telnet/SSH Applet Window Toolbar Icons...................................................................195
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Table 7.3: Arrow Key Sequences...................................................................................................199
Table 7.4: Terminal Emulation and Type......................................................................................200
Table 8.1: IPMI Viewer Window Descriptions..............................................................................219
Table 8.2: IPMI Viewer Window Status Icons...............................................................................220
Table 8.3: Upper and Lower Threshold Gauge Colors.................................................................220
Table 8.4: Numeric Sensor Threshold Icons .................................................................................226
Table 9.1: Task Status Icons..........................................................................................................245
Table 10.1: Audit Log Severity Icons.............................................................................................265
Table 10.2: Appliance Events........................................................................................................266
Table 10.3: System Events .............................................................................................................266
Table 10.4: Authentication Events.................................................................................................267
Table 10.5: User and User Group Events .....................................................................................268
Table 10.6: Unit Events.................................................................................................................268
Table 10.7: Task Events .................................................................................................................269
Table 10.8: Unit Status Events ......................................................................................................269
Table 10.9: Access Control Events................................................................................................269
Table 10.10: Session Events ..........................................................................................................270
Table 10.11: Top Navigation Bar Audit Log Icons .......................................................................271
Table C.1: DSR Remote Operations Descriptions.........................................................................291
Table C.2: DSR Remote Operations Content Area Icons (Servers View) .....................................292
Table C.3: DSR Remote Operations Content Area Icons (Power View).......................................293
Table D.1: VT Key and Keypad Numeric Codes ...........................................................................299
Table D.2: VT100+ Function Key Support ...................................................................................300
Table D.3: VT102 Receive Codes..................................................................................................300
Table D.4: VT100 Special Keys and Control Keys........................................................................301
Table D.5: VT100 ANSI Set and Reset Mode Cursor Keys ........................... ................................302
Table D.6: VT100 PF1-PF4 Key Definitions ................................................................................303
Table D.7: VT100 ANSI Mode Control Sequences........................................................................303
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Table D.8: VT220 Encoding........................................... ...................................................... .........307
Table D.9: VT220 Decoding.................................................... ......................................................308
Table D.10: VT52 Encoding..........................................................................................................310
Table D.11: VT52 Decoding..........................................................................................................310
Table D.12: VT52 ANSI Mode Auxiliary Keypad Definitions.......................................................311
Table D.13: VT320 Encoding........................................................................................................311
Table D.14: VT320 Decoding........................................................................................................313
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CHAPTER
Product Overview
1
The DSView® 3.1 management software is a secure, web browser-based, centralized enterprise
management solution that allows users to remotely access, manage, monitor and control target
devices through Avocent managed appliances. A session may be launched to a target device with a
single point of access.
Features and Benefits
Network rebooting and troubleshooting
The DSView management software uses industry standard IP connections so that you can easily
troubleshoot a server, or even reboot it, from the Network Operations Center (NOC), from your
desk or from any location in the world. With the DSView software, you can access all of your data
center devices from a single screen - making complex network access and control remarkably easy.
1
Web-based access and control
The DSView management software provides secure “point-and-click” web browser-based access
to control virtually any data center device using managed appliances from DSView software clients
that may be located anywhere in the world.
The DSView software supports the following browsers:
• Microsoft
• Mozilla version 1.7.3 and later
• Firefox version 1.0 and later
• Netscape version 7.2 and later
It is recommended that the browser be kept up to date with the latest version.
A Video Viewer window allows you to control the keyboard, monitor and mouse functions of
individual target devices connected to a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch in real time. You
may also use predefined global macros to perform actions within the Video Viewer window, or
create new macros within the window for the device.
Devices connected to a CPS serial over IP network appliance or a CCM console management
appliance may be accessed using a Telnet/SSH applet window.
Devices connected to a DSI5100 proxy appliance may be accessed using an IPMI Viewer window.
®
Internet Explorer version 6.0 SP1 and later
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Secure authentication and communication
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption may be used to encrypt data traveling within the DSView
software system. Users may be authenticated using the DSView software server internal database,
or using a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Active Directory
domain external authentication server.
Creating and managing user permissions
The DSView management software provides centralized network access, control and security for
managed appliances. A DSView software administrator may add, remove, delete and change
settings for managed appliances and target devices, including assigning permissions and per-device
contact information, which are stored on the DSView software server. A DSView software
administrator may also assign unique permissions which allow individual users or a group of users
access to units.
Users may be authenticated using the local DSView software internal database or by an
external server.
Proxy server access
The DSView management software also contains a proxy server feature that allows keyboard,
video and switch (KVM) and serial sessions to be proxied through the DSView software server.
When a session is initiated with a target device, the Video Viewer communicates using the Avocent
Proxy Protocol (APP) and the DSView software server makes a direct connection to the appliance.
®
or Windows NT®
Virtual media
On certain DSR switch models, the DSRIQ-USB2 module and the virtual media feature allows the
client workstation user to load files onto USB2-compatible target devices when the usual network
resources are unavailable.
Mapping physical drives or image files on the client system as virtual drives on the target device
can accommodate critical tasks required on the target device, such as operating system installation
or recovery, BIOS updating and configuration backups.
System Components
The following components comprise a DSView software system.
DSView management software
The DSView management software resides on the DSView software server (host computer) and
provides a web gateway and services for managing units (managed appliances and target devices)
using a web browser. The gateway allows for IP-based video, serial management, Telnet/SSH
applet or web browser sessions.
Users may connect to the DSView software server from DSView software clients and use the
DSView Explorer window to communicate with the system.
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 3
DSView software server
The DSView software server contains the DSView management software that enables users to
securely access, manage, monitor and control remote target devices through managed appliances.
The DSView software server provides a centralized database repository for storing configuration
and user, unit and system information. The software server also provides services for
authentication, access control, auditing, monitoring and license management.
You may configure one or more spoke (backup) servers in addition to the hub server.
The hub server is responsible for maintaining the master copy of the database in a DSView
software system. Only one server in a DSView software system may be configured as the
hub server.
Spoke servers perform database replication with the hub server. The hub server acts as the
coordinator for database replication between itself and all of the other spoke servers in a DSView
software system. A hub server and a spoke server both offer the same DSView management
software functionality to a user. The distinction of hub or spoke refers only to the database
replication role that the server plays and not with the functionality that the server provides. Adding
one or more spoke servers to a DSView software system provides redundancy and the ability to
distribute DSView software functionality across multiple sites.
After the hub server and optional spoke server(s) are configured, you may create and configure the
type of access levels for users within your network environment. You may also set up audit logs to
record full details of user access and other events.
DSView software client
A DSView software client is a computer with a web browser that may access the DSView
management software installed on the DSView software server. A user may access and administer
the DSView software server and units using the DSView software client.
Third party products
External authentication servers - An external authentication server enables the DSView software
server to broker authentication requests from users requesting access to the DSView
software system.
SNMP managers - The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) manager monitors th e
managed appliances and receives SNMP traps from the DSView software on the server. An
example of an SNMP manager is the HP OpenView product.
Supported Units
A managed appliance may provide KVM, serial over IP or IPMI connectivity to target devices. The
DSView management software supports the following managed appliances.
CPS and CCM appliances
The CPS and CCM appliances allow users to access serially attached devices over a standard TCP/
IP connection using a Telnet/SSH applet. The DSView software supports:
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• CPS810 and 1610 serial over IP network appliances
• CCM850, 1650 and 4850 console management appliances.
DSView software clients communicate with target device serial ports using a Telnet/SSH
connection between the client and the appliance. The appliance converts the Telnet data to a serial
stream, which is then sent to the target device.
For management functions, the DSView software client sends an HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer
Protocol with SSL encryption) with a request to the DSView software server, which then sends a
command to the managed appliance. The appliance then performs the requested
management function.
CPS and CCM appliances also support SPC target devices.
DS1800 digital switches and DSR switches
The DS1800 digital switch and DSR switches are managed appliances that allow KVM signals to
be transmitted over a standard TCP/IP network connection. Some DSR switches may alternately be
connected using a modem, which provides benefits for branch offices such as low cost and dialup performance.
The DSView software supports DS1800 digital switches and the following DSR switch models:
DSR800, 1010, 1020*, 1021*, 1022*, 1024*, 1030, 1031, 1161, 201 0, 2020*, 2030, 2161,
4010, 4020*, 4030, 4160, 8020*, 8030
* These models contain a modem port for use with the DSR Remote Operations Software. See DSR
Remote Operations Software on page 289 for more information .
A target device is first attached to DSRIQ module, which is then attached to a DSR switch. A
DSRIQ module converts KVM signals to Application Data Protocol (ADP) packets that are sent
between the DSRIQ and the managed appliance.
DSView software clients communicate with target devices ports using a Video Viewer connection
between the client and the managed appliance. The managed appliance converts packets received
from the Video Viewer into packets that are sent and may be read by a DSRIQ module. The DSRIQ
module then converts the data to KVM signals that are sent to target devices.
For management functions, the DSView software client sen ds an HTTPS request to the DSView
software server, which sends a command to the managed appliance. The managed appliance then
performs the requested management function.
These managed appliances also support SPC devices.
The DS1800 digital switches and DSR switches allow the cascading of legacy analog KVM
switches from DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch ports, which may be managed in a DSView
software system.
The following legacy KVM switches are supported:
• AutoView 200-4, 200-8, 400-4, 400-8, 416, 424 and 2000-AM switches (these switches must
be Flash upgraded to be added to a DSView software system)
• OutLook 140ES, 180ES, 280ES, 1160ES, 2160ES and 4160ES switches
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 5
PEM cascade devices are not supported)
DSI5100 proxy appliances
The DSI5100 appliance is an IPMI proxy network product that securely interfaces with IPMIcapable target devices to access, aggregate and report IPMI information in the DSView software.
DSView software clients interface with IPMI 1.5 target devices connected to the DSView
software system.
The DSI5100 appliance collects baseboard management controller (BMC) data from internal IPMI
1.5 target device sensors and allows you to display a variety of IPMI information.
A DSI5100 appliance may be attached to only one DSView software system at a time.
EVR1500 environmental monitors
The EVR1500 environmental monitor is a managed appliance that uses standard web browser
communication between DSView software clients and a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch.
Generic appliances
Generic appliances manage data center devices such as routers. These devices may be managed
within a DSView software system by launching a standard web browser to the device URL or by
opening a Telnet session.
Target devices
Target devices encompass a wide range of data center components such as servers and routers that
a DSView software administrator may manage virtually through the DSView software system. A
target device is added automatically to your DSView software system when the supported managed
appliance is added. A target device may also be added individually when not attached to a
supported managed appliance.
SPC devices
An SPC device is a type of target device that may be cascaded from a CPS or CCM appliance serial
port or connected to the SPC port of a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch. One or more CPS or
CCM appliance serial ports may be attached to the SPC power control device. When a DSView
software client sends a power control request to a target device, an HTTPS request is sent to the
DSView software server, which then sends a command to the appliance. The command is
converted and serially sent to the SPC device. The SPC device then turns the appropriate power
outlet on or off.
Figure 1.1 illustrates an example7 system configuration using the DSView man agement software.
For information about the TCP ports that the DSView software uses, see TCP Ports on page 280.
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6 DSView Installer/User Guide
DSView Software Client
(*) Optional
(#) SPC devices are supported by DSR1021, DSR1022, DSR1024,
DSR1020, DSR2020, DSR4020 and DSR8020 switches
TCP/IP
CPS/CCM
Appliance
Target
Devices
SPC
Device
Hub
DSView
Software
Server
Replication
DS1800/DSR
Switch (#)
Spoke
DSView
Software
Servers (*)
DSRIQ
Module
Cascade
Switch
External
Authentication
Servers (*)
OSCAR Interface
Target
Devices
SNMP Manager (*)
SPC
Device
Generic Appliance
EVR1500
Environmental
Monitor
DSI5100 IPMI
Proxy Appliance
Figure 1.1: Example System Configuration Using the DSView Management Software
Page 25
About the DSView Explorer Windows
When a user has been logged in and authenticated, the Avocent DSView Explorer window appears.
From the DSView Explorer window, users may view, access and manage units. Custom groupings
may be created for managed appliances. The window may also be used to specify system settings,
display report information and change profile settings.
Figure 1.2 shows the DSView Explorer window areas.
A
B
C
D
Chapter 1: Product Overview 7
Figure 1.2: Avocent DSView Explorer Window
Table 1.1 describes some of the DSView Explorer window areas.
Table 1.1: DSView Explorer Window Area Descriptions
Letter Description
Top option bar - Use the top option bar to bookmark a DSView management software window,
A
B
refresh the display of a DSView management software window, print a web page, log out of a
software session or access online help. The name of the logged in user appears on the left side of
the top option bar.
Tab bar - Use the tab bar to display and manage units, user accounts, reports, system settings and
user profiles.
E
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8 DSView Installer/User Guide
Table 1.1: DSView Explorer Window Area Descriptions (Continued)
Letter Description
C
D
E Content area - Use the content area to display or make changes to the DSView software system.
Top navigation bar - The selections in the top navigation bar vary, depending on the active tab in
the tab bar. These options display in the side navigation bar
Side navigation bar - Use the side navigation bar to display the system information you wish to
display or edit, which displays in the content area. The side navigation bar also contains icons in
the top left corner which, when clicked, expand or collapse all nodes.
When a Units View is displayed, the unit entries often contain icons.
• T ar get device icons may be changed. See Changing Unit Overview Information on page 86 for
more information.
• The managed appliance icons, which are listed in Figure 1.2, may not be changed.
Table 1.2: Managed Appliance Icons
Icon Description
CPS or CCM appliance
DS1800 digital switch, DSI5100 appliance or DSR switch
EVR1500 environmental monitor
Generic appliance
Accessing target devices
Target devices that may be accessed system-wide are displayed in a Unit Views window. Table 1.3
lists the Action links (connection methods) that may be be used to initiate sessions with a target
device connected to a managed appliance or to display a generic appliance or EVR 1500
environmental monitor.
Table 1.3: DSView Explorer Window Links
Clicking this link... That is associated with... Displays...
Browser Session
IPMI Session IPMI 1.5 target devices IPMI Viewer window
EVR1500 environmental monitors, generic appliances,
standalone target devices and target devices attached
to DS1800 digital switch, CPS appliance, CCM
appliance or DSR switch channels or ports
Web browser
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Table 1.3: DSView Explorer Window Links (Continued)
EVR1500 environmental monitors, generic appliances,
Telnet Session
standalone target devices and target devices attached
to DS1800 digital switch, CPS appliance, CCM
appliance or DSR switch channels or ports
Chapter 1: Product Overview 9
Telnet/SSH applet
window
Serial Session
KVM Session
Virtual Media Session DSR1030, 1031, 2030, 4030 and 8030 switches Video Viewer window
Reserved Virtual Media
Session
Exclusive KVM Session *
* An Exclusive KVM Session link appears only when the alternate actions arrow is selected.
Target devices attached to a CPS or CCM appliance
serial port
Target devices attached to a DS1800 digital switch or
DSR switch channels or ports
DSR1030, 1031, 2030, 4030 and 8030 switches Video Viewer window
Target devices attached to a DS1800 digital switch or
DSR switch channels or ports
Telnet/SSH applet
window
Video Viewer window
Video Viewer window
If multiple connection methods are available, an alternate actions arrow will appear to the right of
the action. Clicking the alternate action arrow will di splay a list of other actions, in descending
order of priority. These alternate actions may then be selected to launch the corresponding
connection type.
NOTE: The message Exclusive KVM Session appears only when the alternate actions arrow is selected in the
Action column.
Figure 1.3 illustrates using the Action links.
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10 DSView Installer/User Guide
DSView Explorer Window
Access the Video Viewer window
by clicking KVM Session in a
Unit Views window.
Access a Telnet/SSH applet
window by clicking Telnet
Session or Serial Session in a
Unit Views window.
Figure 1.3: Launching DSView Management Software Sessions
Access an IPMI Viewer window by
clicking IPMI Session in a Unit
Views window.
Access a web browser by
clicking Browser Session in a
Unit Views window.
Page 29
You may also connect to a target device attached to a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch with a
KVM session from the Unit Overviews window. See Changing Unit Overview Information on
page 86 for more information.
Using the side navigation bar
The side navigation bar may be used to displ a y windows to specify settings or perform operations.
The contents of the side navigation bar may vary, depending on the tab bar selection, top navigation
bar selection and the window that is displayed. Figure 1.4 illustrates some of the side navigation
bar features.
Click the Expand All Nodes icon in the upper right corner
of the side navigation bar to expand all nodes. Click the
Collapse All Nodes icon to collapse all nodes.
Click the Collapse
Node arrow to
collapse a link.
Chapter 1: Product Overview 11
Click the Expand
Node arrow to
expand a link.
Figure 1.4: Side Navigation Bar
Table 1.4 describes the icons that may appear in the side navigation bar.
Table 1.4: Side Navigation Bar Icons
Icon Description
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12 DSView Installer/User Guide
Table 1.4: Side Navigation Bar Icons (Continued)
Expand All Nodes - Click this button in the upper right corner of the side navigation
bar to expand all nodes and display additional links.
Collapse All Nodes - Click this button in the upper right corner of the side navigation
bar to collapse all nodes and their links.
Collapse Node - Click this button to collapse an opened tree branch in the side
navigation bar and its links.
Expand Node - Click this button to expand a closed tree branch in the side
navigation bar and display its links.
You may choose whether an expanded node will collapse when another Expand Node arrow is
selected. See Changing user options on page 18 for more information.
Clicking on a link that does not contain an arrow will display its corresponding window. Some
windows contain additional links, which may display another window and a different side
navigation bar.
Sorting information in a window
The order of rows in a list displayed in a DSView Explorer window may be changed by clicking the
heading of one of the displayed columns. When you click a column heading, the order of the list
rows will change to alphabetically ascending, based on that column. If you click the column
heading a second time, the order will change to an alphabetically descending order. An up arrow
indicates ascending order and a down arrow indicates descending order.
If you are using the Topology view, sorting is first performed on parents (managed appliances) and
then on the children (target devices) beneath the managed appliances.
Filtering information in a window
Some DSView management software windows allow you to filter list information by providing a
text string that will be used to retrieve matching items. Filtering is useful if you have many target
devices or other items that extend over many pages. Windows that allow filtering contain a text
field and Filter button in the upper right portion of the window, as shown in Figure 1.2.
Filtering is performed over the entire list of items, not just those displayed in the current window,
and can provide a shorter, more exact list of items. When filtering is performed, the text in every
row and column in the window is searched for the specified text string. For example, you may wish
to perform filtering to list only DSR1021 switches in the Name column, target devices with KVM
connections in the Action column, CPS appliances that are idle in the Status column and so on.
If the Topology window is filtered, both parent and child units will display in the filtered view. For
example, if you filter for a child named target device 1 that is attached to a DSR1021 switch, target
device 1 will appear below the DSR1021 switch in the filtered view.
Table 1.5 lists the ways you may specify text strings for filtering.
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NOTE: Searches are non-case sensitive.
Table 1.5: Filter Field Text Strings
Typed in the Filter Field Results
Chapter 1: Product Overview 13
<String>
“<String>”
(<String>)
<String1> AND <String2>
<String1> OR <String2>
NOT <String>
*
Displays a filtered list of items that contain the word specified. For example,
typing email would list any items that contain the word “email.”
Displays a filtered list of items containing the exact phrase, including spacing
and punctuation, surrounded by quotation marks. For example, typing email
server will display items that contain the phrase, “email server.” The DSView
management software will provide a closing quotation mark if it is omitted.
Overrides the default (that is, left to right) order of precedence during evaluation
of a filter string using parenthesis (). For example, searching for email or Email
and server or service would be the equivalent of
( ( ( email or Email ) and server ) or service )
which may not be the intended search. The user may choose to instead group
the search terms with parenthesis, such as using ( email or Email ) and
( server or service ).
Displays the items that contain both of the strings of text. For example, typing
email AND server will display items named email-server-3, email-server-2,
server email and so on.
Displays all items that contain at least one of the strings of text. For example,
typing email OR server will find any items that contain the string email or the
exact string server.
Displays all items that do not contain the string of text. For example, typing NOT
email will display all items except those containing email (email, email server,
email-server-1 and so on will not display).
Acts as a wildcard before and/or after a text string. For example, typing
emailserver* and clicking Filter will display items with emailserver at the
beginning (emailserver, emailserverbackup and so on). Typing *emailserver
and clicking Filter will display items ending with emailserver
(obsolete_emailserver, betaemailserver and so on). Typing *emailserver* and
clicking Filter will display items containing emailserver in any part of the name
(emailserver, emailserverstore, tdemailserver, tdemailserver1, newemailserver
and so on.)
To filter the list in the current window:
1. From a window containing a Filter field, type a text string in the field. Searches are not
case sensitive.
2. Click Filter. A filtered list of the information in the window will be displayed.
3. Click Clear to return to a non-filtered list.
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Saving information in a window
When you change information in a DSView Explorer window, you must click Save in order to
apply the changes. By default, a message box will appear if you click Close or try to exit the
window by clicking a link in the top bar, top navigation bar or side navigation bar without first
clicking Save.
Clicking OK in the message box will exit the current window without saving the changes. If you
wish to save the changes you have made, click Cancel in the message box and then click Save in
the window.
You may choose whether or not to be reminded to save changes made to windows before exiting
them. See Changing user options on page 18 for more information.
Using the Customize link in windows
DSView Explorer windows that contain a Customize link allow you to change the
following information:
• Which columns of information are displayed
• The number of items displayed per page in the window
• Showing units that have been hidden (Unit Views windows)
The items available for customizing and methods for changing them will vary, depending on the
window you choose to customize. Although the items that appear in windows may vary (depending
on the window you customize), the items that do appear are modified identically regardless of the
window from which you clicked the Customize link.
To customize a window using the Customize link:
1. In a window containing a Customize link in the upper right corner, click the link. A View
Customization window will open.
2. Customize the window.
To add a field to the window display:
a. Select the field in th e Available Fields list. Multiple fields may be selected by pressing
Ctrl or Shift while clicking on the field names.
b. Click Add. The field(s) will be moved to the Fields to Show list.
To change the order that fields display from left to right in the window:
a. Select a field in the Fields to Show list.
b. Use the up or down arrow to change its order in the list. Multiple fields may be selected by
pressing
To remove a field from displaying in the window:
a. Select the field from the Fields to Show list. Multiple fields may be selected by pressing
Ctrl or Shift while clicking on the field names.
b. Click Remove. The field(s) will be moved to the Available Fields list.
Ctrl or Shift while clicking on the field names.
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To specify the number of items that appear in a window, use the arrow keys to specify a
number or type a number in the Items per Page field.
To show hidden items in a window:
a. Click Show hidden items.
b. Select the Visibility column from the Available Fields list and click Add to move Visibility
to the Fields to Show list.
3. Click Save when you are finished.
4. Click Finish. The window being customized will open with the modifications.
Displaying pages
Multiple page DSView Explorer windows contain navigation buttons which may be used to
quickly move among pages. Table 1.6 describes the page navigation buttons.
Table 1.6: DSView Explorer Page Navigation Buttons
Button Description
Chapter 1: Product Overview 15
First Page - Navigates to the beginning of a list displayed in a window.
Previous Page - Navigates to the previous page of a list displayed in a window.
The number of items that display in a window page is specified by using the Customize link. The
current page and total number of pages appear in the top left corner of the window.
The navigation buttons are enabled only if there are enough pages available to make
them necessary.
Bookmarking a window
Many DSView Explorer windows contain a bookmark icon and text in the top option bar.
Bookmarking a window will add a link to the window in the Favorites drop-down menu. You may
select the link at any time to quickly access the bookmarked window.
If you bookmark a window and information related to the window changes, this new information
will appear in the window when you next display the bookmarked window. For example, if you
bookmark the Recently Accessed window and then access other units, the bookmarked window
will contain these other units the next time you display the bookmarked page.
Next Page - Navigates to the next page of a list displayed in a window.
Last Page - Navigates to the end of a list displayed in a window.
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16 DSView Installer/User Guide
If you click BOOKMARK or the bookmark icon after the DSView software server session has
timed out, the User Login window will open and you must log in again. After you log in, you will
be redirected to the bookmarked page.
To bookmark a window:
1. In the top option bar, click BOOKMARK or the bookmark icon. The Add Favorite dialog box
will appear.
2. If you wish, type a name for the window. You may also click the Create in button to create or
specify a folder in which to place the window.
3. Click OK to close the Add Favorite dialog box.
Printing a window
All DSView management software windows contain a print icon and text in the top option bar.
To print a DSView software window:
1. In the top option bar, click PRINT or the print icon. The Print dialog box will appear.
2. Specify the options you wish to use for printing the DSView management software window.
3. Click Print to print the DSView management software window and close the Print dialog box.
Refreshing a window
A DSView Explorer window may be refreshed at any time by clicking REFRESH or the refresh
icon in the top option bar.
By default, status information automatically refreshes every 30 seconds. The automatic refresh
interval may be changed or disabled. See Changing user options on page 18 for more information.
Using keyboard commands
In addition to using your mouse, certain keyboard commands may be used to select and change
items in DSView Explorer windows.
Table 1.7 lists general keyboard commands that may be used in DSView Explorer windows.
Table 1.7: General Keyboard Commands
Key Description
Tab Transfers focus to the next control in the window, including the calendar
Shift-Tab Transfers focus to the previous HTML control
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 17
Table 1.8 lists the keyboard commands that may be used in DSView Explorer windows when a
calendar is enabled and has focus.
Table 1.8: Calendar Keyboard Commands
Key Description
Enter or Space Displays or closes the calendar.
Esc Closes the calendar.
Page Up Decrements the month by one month and selects the first day of the month.
Page Down Increases the month by one month and selects the first day of the month.
Right Arrow
Left Arrow
Up Arrow
Down Arrow
Increments the day by one day. If the last day of the month is selected and the Right
Arrow key is pressed, the month is incremented to the next month.
Decrements the day by one day. If the first day of the month is selected and the Right
Arrow key is pressed, the month is decremented to the previous month.
Decrements the weekday by one week. If the first weekday type of the month is selected
and the Up Arrow key is pressed, the month is decremented to the previous month.
Increments the weekday by one week. If the last weekday type of the month is selected
and the Down Arrow key is pressed, the month is incremented to the next month.
Table 1.9 lists the keyboard commands that may be used in DSView Explorer windows when a
spinner is enabled and has focus.
Table 1.9: Spinner Keyboard Command s
Key Description
Up Arrow Increments the spinner number by one
Down Arrow Decrements the spinner number by one
Changing the color scheme
When the color scheme is changed, it is changed only for the logged in user. Each user may specify
their own color scheme.
To change the color scheme of the DSView Explorer:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the Profile tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click Preferences.
3. From the side navigation bar, click Color Scheme. The Color Scheme window will open.
4. Click a color scheme to use.
5. Click Save. The color scheme will be applied to the DSView Explorer window.
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18 DSView Installer/User Guide
Changing user options
User options enable/disable features or affect actions when using the DSView Explorer.
To customize user options:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the Profile tab. Preferences will automatically be selected in
the top option bar. Options will automatically be selected in the side navigation bar and the
Options window will open.
2. Select Automatically collapse navigation tree nodes for the currently-expanded tree node in
the side navigation bar to be collapsed when another tree node is selected.
-orUncheck Automatically collapse navigation tree nodes for any expanded tree nodes in the side
navigation to remain expanded. (This is the default value.)
3. Select Skip prompt when leaving pages with unsaved changes, if you do not want a message
box to appear reminding you to save modified information when you leave a window.
-orUncheck Skip prompt when leaving pages with unsaved changes if you wish for a message box
to appear reminding you to save modified information when you leave a window.
4. Select a refresh rate. By default, windows automatically refresh every 30 seconds. You may
specify another rate from five seconds to five minutes. If you select Never, windows will only
be refreshed when you click the REFRESH icon or text in the top option bar.
5. Select Skip Welcome Pages in Wizards to disable the welcome page of all wizards.
-orUncheck Skip Welcome Pages in Wizards to enable the welcome page in all wizards.
6. Click Save.
Built-in User Groups
The user group to which a user belongs determines the actions the user may perform during a
DSView management software session. A user may be assigned to any of the following five builtin user groups when they are added to the DSView management software system:
• DSView software administrators
• Appliance administrators
• Auditors
• User administrators
•Users
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 19
Table 1.10 lists the operations that may or may not be performed by users that are members of a
build-in user group.
Table 1.10: Built-in User Groups and Allowed Operations
Operations
Configure DSView software
system-level settings
Backup and restore the
DSView software database
Register the DSView
software spoke server
Define, display and change
user account custom
field labels
View, add, change and
delete external
authentication servers
Configure audit log
retention time
Configure events that are
logged to the audit log
View and delete events in an
audit log
Access events from the top
navigation bar
Built-in User Groups
S/W Admin. User Admin. Appl. Admin. Auditors Users
YesNoNoNoNo
YesNoNoNoNo
YesNoNoNoNo
Yes Yes No No No
Yes Yes No No No
YesNoNoYesNo
YesNoNoYesNo
YesNoNoYesNo
YesNoNoYesNo
View, add, change, import
and delete DSView software
View user account custom
field labels and properties
View, add, change and
delete user-defined
user groups
Reset account passwords Yes Yes No No No
Configure the preemption
level for an added
user group
Yes Yes No No No
Yes Yes No No No
Yes Yes No No No
Yes Yes No No No
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20 DSView Installer/User Guide
Table 1.10: Built-in User Groups and Allowed Operations (Continued)
Operations
Change the preemption level
for users and user groups
View and select external
authentication server names
View, add, change and
delete unit entries
View, add, change and
delete unit groups
Configure unit access
control settings
Add, change and delete
sites, departments
and locations
View and select user
account names and user
group names
Change your own password Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
View managed appliances
that have one or more
access rights including
status or appliance status
S/W Admin. User Admin. Appl. Admin. Auditors Users
Yes Yes No No No
Yes Yes No No No
Yes No Yes No No
Yes Yes Yes No No
Yes Yes No No No
Yes No Yes No No
Yes Yes No No No
Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Built-in User Groups
Users may also be added to user-defined user groups; see Managing User-Defined User Groups on
page 150
Preemption Levels
The preemption level of users determine whether they may interrupt or disconnect another user’s
serial or video (KVM) session with a target device. This also applies to virtual media sessions,
which are initiated from the Video Viewer.
DSView software administrators and user administrators may specify the preemption level for user
accounts or user-defined user groups when an account or group is created. The preemption level
may be changed later. See Changing a user’s preemption level on page 1 46 or Displaying and
changing user group members on page 153 for more info rmation.
By default, the preemption level used by the DSView management software (the effective user
preemption level) is the highest level of all of the user groups to which the user belongs.
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 21
Preemption levels range from 1-4, with 4 being the highest level. For example, a user or a user
group with a preemption level of 4 may preempt other level 4 users or user groups, as well as those
with a level 1, 2 or 3 setting.
Table 1.11: User and User Group Preemption Levels
Preemption Level Description
4
3
2 The default preemption level for the user administrator user group.
1 The default preemption level for the users and auditors groups.
The default preemption level for a new local user of a DS1800 digital switch, CPS
appliance, CCM appliance or DSR switch.
The default preemption level for the DSView software administrator and appliance
administrator user groups by the DSView management software.
The preemption levels may be used in the following ways:
• User preemption level - This is the preemption level assigned to a user by a DSView software
administrator or user administrator. If this value is larger than the highest preemption level of
the user group to which the user belongs, the value will be used as the effective user
preemption level.
• Group preemption level - This is the preemption level assigned to user groups to which the
user belongs. If the user is assigned to multiple user groups with different preemption levels,
this will be the preemption level of the user group with the highest level. For example, if a user
belongs to the administrators (level 3) and auditors (level 1) user groups, this value will be
defined as 3. If this value is larger than the highest preemption level of the user, the value will
be used as the effective user preemption level.
• Effective user preemption level - This is the largest value between the user and group
preemption level, and is the actual preemption level that will be recognized by the DSView
software when the user attempts to preempt another user’s session. For example, if user
belongs to the auditors group (level 1) but is assigned a user preemption level of 4, the user
will have an effective user preemption level of 4. Although a member of the auditors group,
this user would also be able to preempt the session of a user belonging to the administrators or
appliance administrators user groups.
An administrator or user administrator may also specify an OSCAR graphical user interface
preemption level that is applied to users accessing target devices through the OSCAR interface. See
Managing and changing port settings on page 100 for more information.
Other Features and Considerations
This section includes information that is useful when using the DSView software with:
• Internet Explorer
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22 DSView Installer/User Guide
• Certificates
• Integrated Windows Authentication
• A firewall
• A Virtual Private Network (VPN)
• A Network Address Translation (NAT) device
Configuring Internet Explorer
When the Internet Explorer web browser is used, specific settings are required to enable the
DSView software to operate correctly.
• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates - Used for secure authentication between the DSView
software client and DSView software hub server.
• ActiveX controls - Used to display Telnet application, serial and KVM sessions.
• Security Zones - Used to control the actions that may be performed within Internet Explorer.
For example, the operation of JavaScript, which is used by the DSView software, is dependent
on security zone settings.
• Advanced Internet options - Used for miscellaneous settings that enhance the use of the
DSView software.
Correcting certificate security alerts
®
The DSView management software uses SSL to securely communicate between the DSView
software hub server and DSView software clients. SSL provides secure authentication using
certificates, which is data that identifies the PC with which communication will occur. A certificate
is typically verified by another certificate from a trusted certificate authority. See Using certificates
on page 27 for more information.
When the DSView management software is initially installed, it generates a self-signed certificate
for use with DSView software clients. An administrator may replace the generated certificate with
a certificate signed by a trusted third party. If the generated certificate is not replaced, the web
browser will prompt a user whether to trust the generated certificate when a DSView software
client session is started.
Three tests are performed on a certificate each time a DSView software client connects to the
DSView software hub server:
• Does the client web browser trust the certificate issuer?
• Has the certificate expired?
• Does the name on the DSView software server certificate match the name the DSView
software client used to access the DSView software server?
A Security Alert dialog box will appear if the answer to any of the three questions is No. To prevent
the Security Alert message box from appearing when you connect to a the DSView software hub
server, all three questions must be answered Yes.
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 23
To correct certificate security alerts for client and hub server connections:
1. From the DSView software client server, connect to the DSView software hub server using
Internet Explorer. The Security Alert dialog box will appear.
2. In the Security Alert dialog box, click View Certificate. The Certificate dialog box will appear.
If you click No, a connection will not be made with the DSView software hub server and the
DSView software User Login window will open. If you click Yes, a connection will be made
with the DSView software hub server and the DSView software Login Screen will appear, but
the Security Alert dialog box will continue to appear each time you connect to the hub server.
3. Click Install Certificate to install a new certificate. See the Internet Explorer documentation
for more information.
4. Once the certificate is installed, ensure that the time setting on the DSView software client PC
is within the Valid from...to... dates and that the Issued to and Issued by fields exactly match.
Invalid to...from dates typically occur when the DSView software is installed on a server that
is set to an invalid time. When a DSView software client that is set to a valid time connects to
the DSView software server that is set to an invalid time, a “The security certificate date is
invalid” warning will appear in the Security Alert dialog box.
Serial session security alerts
The Serial Session Viewer, which is used during a serial session, is a Java-based applet or
application. Three certificate tests are performed by Java when the DSView management software
connects to a serial device:
• Does the serial device trust the certificate issuer?
• Has the certificate expired?
• Does the name on the serial device certificate match the name of the DSView software hub
server certificate?
A Warning - Security dialog box will appear if the answer to all three questions is No. If the
answers to the first two questions are Yes and the last question is No, a Warning - HTTPS dialog
box will appear. To prevent either of these warning dialog boxes from appearing when you connect
to a serial device, all three questions must be answered Yes.
To correct certificate security alerts when connecting to a serial session:
1. From a Unit Views window Action column for a CPS or CCM appliance, click Serial Session.
-orFrom a Unit Views window, click on the name of a CPS or CCM appliance. Overview will
automatically be selected, the name of the appliance will appear at the top of the side
navigation bar and the Overview window will open. Click the Serial Session icon or text.
2. If a Warning - Security dialog box appears, continue to step 3.
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24 DSView Installer/User Guide
If the certificate is trusted and has not expired, but there is a mismatch of the name on the
DSView software client certificate and the name on the DSView software hub server
certificate, a Warning - HTTPS dialog box will appear. Contact the issuer of your certificate.
3. Click Always to add the certificate to the Java certificate store.
If you click No, a connection will not be made with the CPS or CCM appliance. If you click
Yes, a connection will be made with the appliance and the viewer/applet will open, but the
warning dialog box will continue to appear each time you connect to the managed appliance.
Managing ActiveX
®
The DSView management software uses the two following ActiveX controls to provide
interactive content:
• Java 1.4.2_04 - Used to display a T elnet/SSH applet window during a Telnet application or
serial session.
• Avocent Video Viewer - Used to display a Video Viewer window during a KVM session.
The functionality of the ActiveX controls is determined by the settings for the security zone being
used by the DSView management software. See Specifying security zones on page 25 for
more information.
To download an ActiveX control on a DSView software hub server using Windows
(all operating systems except Windows XP using Service Pack 2):
controls
1. From a Unit Views window Action column for a CPS or CCM appliance, click Serial Session.
-orFrom a Unit Views window, click on the name of a CPS or CCM appliance. Overview will
automatically be selected, the name of the appliance will appear at the top of the side
navigation bar and the Overview window will open. Click the Serial Session icon or text.
-orFrom a Unit Views window Action column for a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch, click
KVM Session.
-orFrom a Unit Views window, click on the name of a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch.
Overview will automatically be selected, the name of the DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch
will appear at the top of the side navigation bar and the Overview window will open. Click the
KVM Session icon or text.
If this is the first time the ActiveX control has been requested by the DSView management
software, an Avocent Session Viewer message box will appear, followed by a Security
Warning dialog box.
2. Select Always trust content from Avocent Huntsville Corporation.
3. Click Yes to download the ActiveX control. When the control has been downloaded, a KVM
session will start in a Video Viewer window or a serial session will start in a Telnet/SSH applet
window, depending on the supported action for the managed appliance.
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 25
If the required ActiveX control could not be loaded, a red X will appear in the Avocent Session
Viewer message box. The ActiveX control may fail to load for one of the following reasons:
• The user did not select Always trust content from Avocent Huntsville Co rpo ration.
• The DSView software client security zone settings are not correct
• The ActiveX control failed to properly install.
To download an ActiveX control on a DSView software hub server using Windows
Service Pack 2 (Windows XP only):
1. From a Unit Views window Action column for a CPS or CCM appliance, click Serial Session.
-orFrom a Unit Views window, click on the name of a CPS or CCM appliance. Overview will
automatically be selected, the name of the appliance will appear at the top of the side
navigation bar and the Overview window will open. Click the Serial Session icon or text.
-orFrom a Unit Views window Action column for a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch, click
KVM Session.
-orFrom a Unit Views window, click on the name of a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch.
Overview will automatically be selected, the name of the DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch
will appear at the top of the side navigation bar and the Overview window will open. Click the
KVM Session icon or text.
If this is the first time the ActiveX control has been requested by the DSView management
software, an Avocent Session Viewer message box will appear.
2. Click in the top yellow bar. A pop-up menu will appear. Click Install. A Security Warning dialog box will appear.
3. Click Install to install the ActiveX control.
Specifying security zones
Internet Explorer restricts actions performed by the web browser, based on the security zone
membership of the web site being accessed. Each security zone typically has its own security
restrictions. The following four security zones are available in Internet Explorer:
• Trusted Sites - Web sites contained in the list of trusted sites.
• Restricted Sites - Web sites contained in the list of restricted sites.
• Local Intranet - Web sites accessed using a host name (for example, https://sun-e2-callisto).
• Internet - All other web sites, including those accessed using standard dot notation (for
example, https://10.0.0.1).
By default, the DSView management software operates correctly in the Internet, Local Intranet and
Trust Sites security zones when accessing a hub server.
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26 DSView Installer/User Guide
NOTE: A DSView software hub server installed on a PC running the Windows 2003 Server will not operate
correctly in the Internet security zone.
The current security zone appears in the lower right corner of the DSView Explorer window.
To ensure that the DSView management software works correctly:
Specify settings for the Local Intranet and Internet security zones. When a DSView software
client accesses a hub server using a host name (for example, https://avocent), the Local Intranet
security zone will be used. When a client accesses a hub server using a web address with
periods (for example, https://www.avocent.com), the Internet security zone will be used.
-orAdd the DSView software hub server to the Trusted Sites list. The DSView software client
will always connect to the hub server using the Trusted Sites security zone. The Trusted Sites
zone contains very low security settings and ensures successful communication between the
client and the hub server.
To display or change the restrictions of a security zone:
1. From Internet Explorer, select Tools - Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box
will appear.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Select the security zone you wish to view.
4. Click the Custom Level button. The Security Settings dialog box will appear.
5. Ensure that the following security settings are set to Enabled or Prompt. The Active Scripting
setting should be set to Enabled.
• Download Signed ActiveX Controls
• Run ActiveX Controls and Plug-Ins
• Launching Programs and Files in an IFRAME
• Active Scripting
6. Click OK to save the settings and close the Security Settings dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.
To add a hub server to the Trusted Sites list:
NOTE: If Trusted Sites security zone settings have been modified from their defaults, ensure that the correct
settings required for the DSView software are specified, as indicated above.
1. From Internet Explorer, select Tools - Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box
will appear.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Select Trusted Sites.
4. Click the Sites button. The Trusted Sites dialog box will appear.
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 27
5. Type the web site address, in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx), for the DSView software
hub server (for example, https://10.0.0.1).
6. Click Add. The web site address will appear in the web sites list box.
7. Ensure that Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone is selected.
8. Click OK to save the settings and close the Trusted Sites dialog box.
9. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.
Specifying advanced Internet options
Internet Explorer contains advanced settings that may be specified to enhance use of the DSView
software. Changing these settings is not required, but is recommended for optimum results.
To specify advanced Internet options for the DSView software:
1. From Internet Explorer, select Tools - Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box
will appear.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Select the following settings:
• Always send URLs as UTF-8
• Disabled script debugging
• Play animations in web pages
• Show pictures
• Print background colors and images
• Use SSL 2.0
• Use SSL 3.0
4. Select Enable Integrated Windows Authentication if the DSView software is using Integrated
Windows Authentication. See Using Integrated Windows Authentication on page 28 for more
information.
5. Uncheck the following settings:
• Always expand ALT text for images
• Display a notification about every script error
6. Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.
Using certificates
The DSView software system uses certificates to provide secure transactions between components
and to uniquely identify components in the system.
NOTE: A Security Alert, Warning - Security or Warning - HTTPS dialog box may appear if there are issues with a
certificate. See Correcting certificate security alerts on page 22 for more information.
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28 DSView Installer/User Guide
Server certificate
A DSView software server certificate is used to:
• Uniquely identify the DSView software server to DSView software clients connecting to the
server using web browsers
• Uniquely identify the DSView software server to other DSV iew software servers in the system
and provide for secure transactions between them
• Provide for secure transactions between DSView software clients and the DSView
software server
By default, a self-signed certificate that uniquely identifies the server is created when the server is
installed. The server certificate may be replaced with a certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA)
using the Update DSView Server Certificate Wizard.
Client certificates
DSView software client certificates are used for authentication of client users during log in. To use
DSView software client certificates for authentication, a DSView software administrator must first
enable certificate authentication. See Client session information on page 50 for more information.
Once this option is enabled, the DSView software server will prompt the client web browser to
send its user certificates.
The DSView software client certificate must first be loaded into the client web browser and be
associated with a user account. See Changing certificates associated with users on page 144 for
more information.
Managed appliance certificates
Certificates are also used for authenticating and authorizing managed appliance sessions when a
managed appliance is added in secure mode. See Adding Units on page 81 for more information.
Using Integrated Windows Authentication
The DSView management software allows DSView software clients to authenticate against
Microsoft Windows NT domain and Microsoft Active Directory external authentication servers
using Integrated Windows Authentication. This feature allows Single Sign-On (SSO) and is
disabled by default.
NOTE: Integrated Windows Authentication cannot be used if the DSView software server name contains
periods (.).
To use Integrated Windows Authentication for authentication, a DSView software administrator
must first enable it. See Client session information on page 50 for more information.
Using the software through a firewall
In a typical network configuration, as shown in Figure 1.5, the DSView software client is located
outside of the firewall and the DSView software server and managed appliances reside inside the
firewall. In this case, the firewall must be configured to allow two TCP/IP ports inside the firewall.
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 29
One TCP port (default=443) is used for the HTTPS web browser connection between the DSView
software client and the DSView software server. The other TCP port (default=1078) is used for the
Avocent Proxy Protocol to tunnel video and Telnet traffic. Both ports are configurable.
If you are using the DSView management software through a firewall, we recommend
the following:
• Place the DSView software server and all managed appliances within the same firewall
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). If the managed appliances are not in the same DMZ with the
DSView software server, you must configure the firewall so all data may pass between the
zones using TCP/IP ports 22 (SSH), 3211, 2068, 8192 and 3871. You must also configure the
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 3211 so it may pass through the firewall for initial
network discovery of appliances that do not have an IP address.
DSView Software
Client
Figure 1.5: Typical DSView Software System Firewall Configuration
Using a VPN
A VPN is a secure network that uses public infrastructure and typically includes several Wide Area
Network (WAN) components that may impact performance of the VPN.
Typically, two sites are connected in a VPN network using WANs and a router. This setup provides
a secure network between the two sites, but processing is slow.
HTTPS
Proxy
DSView Software Server
Proxy
Firewall
DSR Switch,
CCM or CPS
Appliance
Target Devices
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30 DSView Installer/User Guide
Several factors related to the network setup, including the DSView software database replication
schedule and methods of device access, can affect the speed of a multi-site VPN network. The
trade-off must be made based on the network setup.
Frequent replication of the DSView software database will increase WAN/VPN traffic but provide
steady data reception at the local sites. Infrequent database replication made at the various sites
decreases the WAN/VPN traffic but delays the reception of changes at the local site.
In addition, the methods used to access devices affects network speed. VPN access of a managed
appliance is always slower than local access.
The DSView management software supports VPNs that provide full transparency for IP addresses,
as well as ports between sites and many VPNs that perform network address translation (NAT)
between sites. For example, the VPN in Figure 1.6 could use NAT if Site A and Site B are separate
companies that merged but have not resolved their IP addresses. See Using a NAT device on
page 30 for more information.
DSView Software
Client
Site A
Target Devices
Figure 1.6: DSView Software System on a VPN
Using a NAT device
NAT devices enable a company to use more internal IP addresses than they have assigned to
managed appliances. The IP addresses are not exposed outside of the NAT device.
NAT devices are typically used with a DSL broadband router. A DSV iew s of tware client is
connected to the NAT device, as shown in Figure 1.7, which then connects to the corporate
network using a VPN.
Firewall
Hub Server
Replication
Spoke Server
VPN
DSView Software Client
Site B
Target Devices
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Chapter 1: Product Overview 31
Private
DSView Software
Client
Client
Figure 1.7: Single NAT Configuration (Client Only)
NAT Device
Public
VPN
Firewall
Managed
Appliance
Corporate
Private
DSView
Software
Server
Another scenario, shown in Figure 1.8, is when the corporate site also uses a NAT device to save IP
addresses (double-NAT). Since the DSView software client is trying to access a private resource
inside the corporate site, the TCP/IP ports used for HTTPS and the proxy server must be configured
to be exposed on the corporate NAT device.
DSView Software
Client
Client
NAT Device
Public
VPN
NAT Device
Managed
Appliance
Corporate
PrivatePrivate
DSView
Software
Server
Figure 1.8: Double-NAT Configuration (Client and Corporate)
NOTE: NAT devices may not be connected between the DSView software server and any managed appliances.
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32 DSView Installer/User Guide
Page 51
0CHAPTE
Installation
2
This chapter describes the following installation sequence:
• What you should do before installing the DSView software
• Installing the DSView software
• Configuring the DSView software, plus considerations when upgrading
• Installing the Remote Operations software (if you will be using it)
• Running the DSView software, that is, start a client session
Final sections describe how to change your password, uninstall the software, end a DSView
software session and install Java.
About Installation
33
When the DSView management software is installed, the DSView software database and a hub
server are also installed on the dedicated server.
The DSView management software may be installed on a computer containing an existing DSView
2.x software authentication server without causing any interference with the operation of the
DSView 2.x software system. The DSView 2.x software authentication server and the DSView
management software may run on the same dedicated server at the same time.
Rebooting the dedicated server is not required prior to using the DSView management software.
Once the DSView management software is installed and you have configured the hub server, users
may log in at another computer as a DSView software client, using a supported web browser.
You may also install the DSView management software on additional computers and configure
them as spoke servers. See Managing Spoke Servers on page 65 and Running the DSView
Management Software on page 40.
NOTE: A license key permits the operation of the DSView software on the dedicated server. The license key also
specifies the number of clients that may use the software and the number of spoke servers allowed on a system.
Contact your Avocent sales representative for more information about licenses.
Before installing the DSView software
Before installing the DSView management software:
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34 DSView Installer/User Guide
• Install the managed appliance hardware.
• Access the mouse settings on each server connected to a DS1800 digital switch, DSI5100, CPS
or CCM appliance or DSR switch and set mouse acceleration to Slow or None.
Minimum requirements for the DSView software
The following are the minimum requirements for installing the DSView management software on a
dedicated server or a computer that will function as a DSView software spoke server:
• 1GHz Pentium 3 (2GHz Pentium 4 recommended)
• 512 MB of RAM (1GByte recommended)
• 100BaseT NIC (1GByte LAN recommended)
• One of the following operating systems:
Microsoft Windows NT
Server
- or Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server with the latest
service package
- or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard, Enterprise and Web Edition
• 1GB of free disk space
Installing the DSView Management Software
The DSView management software may be installed using the DSView management software CD
or by downloading the software in a self-extracting .zip file from the Avocent web site.
To install the DSView management software:
1. Log on to the dedicated server as Administrator.
2. To install from a CD:
a. Insert the DSView software CD. An autorun file will bri ng up a menu of
installation options.
b. Click Install DSView Software.
-orIf autorun is not enabled, type
<drive:>\DSView\win32\setup.exe, where <drive:>
is the letter of your CD-ROM drive.
c. A dialog box will indicate that the server will be verified to ensure it m eets the min imum
requirements for installing the DSView software.
-orTo install from a downloaded file:
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Chapter 2: Installation 35
a. Using your web browser, download the DSView management software from the Avocent
web site. Go to www.avocent.com and click the Support link. On the Technical Support
page, click the Product Upgrades link, then select DS Software Upgrades.
b. Double-click on the downloaded installation package (setup.exe).
c. A dialog box will indicate that the server will be verified to ensure it m eets the min imum
requirements for installing the DSView management software.
3. If the current or an earlier version of the DSView software is already installed, the Installed
Product Found: Same Version message box will appear.
Click OK to reinstall the DSView management software.
-orClick Cancel to exit setup.
4. The Check for an UPDATED version window will open.
(If the DSView software is already installed on the dedicated server, a message box will
display. Click OK to close the message box.)
Click Next in the Check for UPDATED Version window to reinstall the software, or click
Cancel to stop the reinstallation.
Click Check for UPDATES and then click Next to check the Avocent web site for the most
recent DSView software installation package. Continue to step 5.
-orClick Next to install the CD or downloaded version of the DSView software. Go to step 6.
5. If a newer version of the DSView software is found, an Update Available message box
will appear.
a. Click OK to download the latest DSView software installation package. The installation
will be cancelled and the dedicated server’s default web browser will launch and open in
the Product Upgrades and Options page of the Avocent web site.
-orClick Cancel to resume installation of the older version of the DSView software. Go to
step 6.
b. Type your email address and password and click Submit to log in to the web site.
c. Download the DSView software installation package, log out and close the web browser.
Return to step 2.
6. The Introduction window will open. Click Next.
7. The License Agreement window will open.
Click I accept the terms of the License Agreement and then click Next. Continue to step 8.
-orClick I do NOT accept the terms of the License Agreement. A License Agreement Warning
message box will appear. If you click Quit, the installati on will exit without installing the
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36 DSView Installer/User Guide
DSView management software. If you click Resume, you will be returned to the License
Agreement window.
The DSView management software license agreement may also be viewed from the User
Login window by clicking the Avocent DSView End User License Agreement link. The
agreement will appear in a separate web browser window.
8. If the default TCP port used by the dedicated server hosting the DSView software (TCP port
443) is not available, the Define Web Application Server TCP port window will open.
Type the port you want to use in the TCP port # field, then click Next. (Clicking Cancel exits
the Checking for an Updated version installation program.)
9. If the default TCP port used by the Video Viewer proxy (TCP port 1078) is not available, the
Define TD (target device) Session Viewer Proxy TCP port window will open.
Type the port you want to use in the TCP port # field, then click Next.
10. The Choose Destination Location window will open.
a. Click Choose and use the Browse for Folder dialog box to select a directory in whi ch to
install the DSView management software.
-orClick Restore Default Folder to restore the installation directory to the default
(C:\Program Files\Avocent DSView 3.0).
b. Click Install when you are finished.
The Installing... window will open and display the progress of the installation. The software
will be installed in the specified folder, a Start - Programs - DSView 3.0 shortcut menu will be
generated and the DSView management software service startup will be verified. You may
cancel the installation by clicking Cancel.
If a previous version of the DSView management software already exists on the dedicated
server, message boxes may appear, prompting you to confirm overwriting existing files. Click
Yes to All.
11. When the software has finished installing, the Successful Service Startup message box will
appear. Click Continue.
12. The Installation Complete window will open.
Click Done to begin configuration of the DSView management software.
A Security Alert dialog box will appear containing certificate information and a warning that
the generator of the certificate is not trusted. This occurs because the DSView software server
certificate created when the server is installed is a self-signed certificate. You may either
import the certificate into the DSView software client web browser (choosing to trust the
certificate) or obtain a server certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA) trusted by the
web browser.
-orClick the X (Cancel) button in the top right corner of the window to configure the DSView
management software at a later time by launching the software from the Start menu.
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Configuring the DSView Management Software
After the DSView software has been installed, it must be configured using a web browser. During
the installation process, you are given the choice of launching the web browser or quitting the
installation and configuring the software at a later time.
When you initially configure the DSView software installation, a Security Alert dialog box will
appear and prompt you to verify that the certificate on the dedicated system is valid before you may
proceed. During configuration, you specify whether the computer will be a hub server or a
spoke server.
NOTE: If this is your first DSView software server installation, hub should be selected in the Select DSView
Server Role window. The hub server should be installed before any spoke servers are added.
If the computer will be a hub server, you will need the license key obtained from Avocent and
provide a username and password to use for initial log in.
If the computer will be a spoke server, you will need to identify the associated hub server and
provide the name/password of the hub server’s DSView software administrator
To configure the DSView management software:
1. If you are configuring the DSView management software during the installation process, click
Done in the Launch Default Browser window.
-orIf you quit the DSView management software installation process before configuring the
software, select Start - Programs - Avocent DSView Software - DSView 3.0.
A security alert box will appear containing certificate information. See Using certificates on
page 27 for more information.
The DSView Explorer will open with the Welcome page of the DSView Server
Configuration Wizard.
Click Next.
2. The Select DSView Server Role window opens.
a. Click Hub to assign the dedicated server as the hub server. Continue to step 3.
-orClick Spoke to assign the dedicated server as a spoke server. Go to step 9.
b. Click Next.
3. The Type in Master License Key window opens.
a. Type the Avocent-provided licen se key for the DSView software hub server. (DSView
management software license keys prior to version 3.0 are not valid.)
If you did not receive a license key, click the http://www.avocent.com/activation link to
obtain a license key.
Chapter 2: Installation 37
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38 DSView Installer/User Guide
If the entered license is already in use on another dedicated server, you will receive a
license violation when you log in, and you must then configure the server as a
spoke server.
b. Click Next.
4. The Type in Initial Administrator Account window opens.
5. Type a username, a password and confirm the password of the user to whom you wish to give
administrator privileges. Usernames are case sensitive and may contain up to 64 characters.
The at (@) symbol may not be used. Passwords may contain 3-64 characters.
Click Next.
6. The Updating hub Configuration window will open with the message Request In Progress
Please Wait. The license key will be installed and a DSView software administrator account
will be created. The built-in user groups will also be created.
7. The Completed Successful window will open when configuration is completed. Click Finish.
8. The User Login window will open in the DSView Explorer.
You may now log in using the username and password specified during configuration.
If you chose to configure the server as a spoke server in the Select DSView Server Role window or
if you entered a duplicate software license key in the Type in Master License Key window,
complete steps 9-13.
NOTE: The DSView management software versions of the spoke server and the hub server must match in order
to register the spoke server. For example, you may not register a spoke server running DSView management
software version 3.0 with a hub server running DSView management software 3.1.
9. The Type in Hub Server Address and Port window will open.
Type the address of the DSView software hub server using standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx)
or type the DNS name in the Address field. Click Next.
10. The Accept DSView Server Certificate window will open. Click Next to accept the certificate.
11. The Type in Hub Administrator Credentials window will open. Type a valid username and
password for a user with DSView software administrator privileges on the DSView software
hub server. Click Next.
12. The Registering Spoke Server window will open with the message Request In Progr ess Please
Wait. The configuration of the spoke server will be saved to the database of the hub server and
the spoke server’s certificates will be installed on the hub server.
13. The Completed Successful window will open when the spoke server has been added.
Click Finish.
Upgrading the DSView software
When upgrading to a newer version of the DSView management software, it is recommended that
all DSView software servers are upgraded at the same time. The DSView software hub server
should be upgraded first, followed by each spoke server.
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Chapter 2: Installation 39
A backup of the hub server should be created prior to and after upgrading the hub server. See
Manually Backing up and Restoring Hub Servers on page 51 for more information.
Installing the DSR Remote Operations Software (Optional)
If your DSView software system includes DSR1021, 1022, 1024, 1020, 1030, 1031, 2020, 2030,
4020, 4030, 8020 or 8030 switches, you may use the DSR Remote Operations software for switch
access using a dial-up point to point protocol (PPP) modem connection when an Ethernet
connection is unavailable.
The DSR Remote Operations software plus its online help and the JRE (Java Runtime Environment
will be installed. See DSR Remote Operations Software on page 289 for more information.
Minimum requirements for the DSR Remote Operations software
The following are the minimum requirements for installing the DSR Remote Operations software
as a DSView software client:
• 650 MHz Pentium or equivalent processor
• 256 MB RAM minimum (256 MB recommended)
• XGA video with graphics accelerator
• Desktop size setting of at least 800 x 600
• Color palette of at least 256 colors
• One of the following operating systems:
• Windows NT 4.0 Workstation or Server with Service Pack 6a or later
• Windows 2000 Workstation or Server with Service Pack 2 or later
• Windows XP Home Edition or Professional
The DSR Remote Operations software is installed from the DSView Management Software CD.
To install the DSR Remote Operations software:
1. Log on to the host system as Administrator.
2. Insert the DSView Management software CD. An autorun file will bring up a menu of
installation options.
3. Click Install DSR Remote Operations.
-orIf autorun is not enabled, type
where <drive:> is the letter of your CD-ROM drive.
4. An installation preparation dialog box displays and the installation program will verify that the
client computer meets the minimum requirements for installing the DSR Remote
Operations Software.
5. The Introduction window will open. Click Next.
6. The License Agreement window will open.
<drive:>\DSR Remote Operations\win32\setup.exe,
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40 DSView Installer/User Guide
Click I accept the terms of the License Agreement and then click Next. Continue to step 7.
-orClick I do NOT accept the terms of the License Agreement. A License Agreement Warning
message box will appear. If you click Quit, the installation will exit without installing the DSR
Remote Operations software. If you click Resume, you will be returned to the License
Agreement window.
7. The Choose Destination Location window will open.
a. Click Choose and use the Browse for Folder dialog box to select a directory in whi ch to
install the DSR Remote Operations software.
-orClick Restore Default Folder to restore the installation directory to the default
(C:\Program Files\Avocent DSView 3.0\DSR Remote Operations).
b. Click Next when you are finished.
8. The Installing... window will open and displays the progress of the installation. The software
will be installed in the specified folder and a Start - Programs - Avocent DSView 3.0 - DSR
Remote Operations shortcut menu will be created. You may cancel the installation by
clicking Cancel.
If a previous version of the DSR Remote Operations software already exists on the Client
computer, message boxes may appear asking if you want to overwrite existing files. Click Yes
to All.
9. When the software has finished installing, the DSR Remote Operations Installation window
will open.
a. If you wish to start the DSR Remote Operations, select Click here to invoke the DSR
Remote Operations application.
b. Click Done when you are finished.
Running the DSView Management Software
DSView software clients access the DSView management software host using a web browser. Any
software required by the client, such as applets and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), will be
automatically installed by the DSView software server host.
The DSView management software uses Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) encryption to send data
between the DSView management software host and the web browser on the client to ensure data
integrity and privacy. When a user attempts to log in to a DSView software client session, the
authentication service configured in the DSView software by the DSView software administrator
verifies the credentials of the user. Security alerts related to the certificates on the DSView software
host may appear. The DSView software may also use certificates from a third party Certificate
Authority (CA), your own internal CA or Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). See Using cert ificates
on page 27 for more information.
The following are the minimum requirements for a DSView software client:
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Chapter 2: Installation 41
• 650 MHz Pentium or equivalent processor
• 256 MB of RAM
• 10 or 100BaseT NIC (100 recommended)
• XGA video with graphics accelerator
• Desktop size setting of at least 800 x 600
• Color palette of at least 256 colors
• One of the following operating systems:
• Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Server or Terminal Server with Service Pack 6a or later
• Windows 2000 Workstation, Server or Terminal Server with Service Pack 2 or later
• Windows XP Home Edition or Professional
• Windows 2003 Server Standard, Enterprise or Web Edition
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (WS v3, AS v3, ES v3; kernel version 2.4.21)
• One of the following browsers:
• Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later web browser (Windows operating systems only)
• Mozilla version 1.7.3 and later
• Firefox version 1.0 and later
• Netscape version 7.2 and later
If you are using Mozilla, Firefox or Netscape, the Video Viewer and the Telnet/SSH applet
clients require Java; see Java Installation on page 43 for more information.
Before opening a client session
• Enable cookies and JavaScript on the client’s web browser.
• Configure the web browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, see Configuring Internet
Explorer on page 22 for more information.
To open a client session:
NOTE: If DSView Software Client Certificate Authentication or DSView Software Client Integrated Windows
Authentication is being used, the user will not be required to log in. See Using certificates on page 27 for
more information.
1. From the DSView software client web browser, enter the URL of the server host in the address
bar in the format:
https://<servername>/dsview
In this case, <servername> is the IP address of the host system, in standard dot notation
(xx.xx.xx.xx) or the DNS name.
-orIf you are opening the session on the DSView software server, you may also select Start -
Program Files - Avocent DSView 3.0 - DSView Software.
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2. Accept all security alerts that may appear as the client computer connects to the DSView
software server. The DSView Explorer User Login window will open.
3. Type a valid username and password in the fields provided.
Depending on the settings specified by the administrator, you may be required to change your
password before being allowed to complete the login process. See Adding User Accounts on
page 141 for more information.
4. Click Login. The window that appears depends on the rights assigned to the DSView user that
is logging in.
If the client machine uses an onboard video controller and experiences video problems, be sure the
BIOS is updated to the latest version.
Changing Your Password
Users may change their passwords only if the Administrator has set appropriate permissions See
Adding User Accounts on page 141 for more information.
By default, passwords must contain at least three characters and will never expire. A DSView
software administrator may specify a different minimum character length and an expiration date.
See Managing Authentication Services on page 53 for more information.
To change your password:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the Profile tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click Preferences.
3. From the side navigation bar, click Change Password. The Change Password window
will open.
4. Type your current password.
5. Type and confirm the new password.
6. Click Save.
Uninstalling the DSView Management Software
To uninstall the DSView management software:
1. Select Start - Settings - Control Panel. The Control Panel will appear.
2. From the Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs. The Add/Remove Programs dialog box
will appear.
3. Select Avocent DSView 3.0 and then click Change/Remove. The Uninstall Avocent DSView
window will open.
4. Click Uninstall.
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Ending a DSView Software Session
To end a DSView software session:
From the DSView Explorer, click LOGOUT or the logout icon.
NOTE: Files are copied to DSView software clients when you log in to the DSView software. When using Internet
Explorer, temporary files may be removed by selecting the Delete Temporary Internet Files command and active
web components may be uninstalled by selecting the Remove Objects command. See the Internet Explorer
documentation for more information.
Java Installation
The Video Viewer and the Telnet/SSH applet clients require Java when launched from Mozilla,
Netscape or Firefox browsers. The supported Java version is 1.4.2_04. The Telnet/SSH applet may
work with other versions; the Video Viewer requires that version.
The DSView software client automatically downloads and installs the JRE (Java Runtime
Environment) the first time the Video Viewer or Telnet/SSH applet is launched.
On a Windows client, it is recommended that the JRE be installed in the C:\Program Files\ location.
If your system automatically installs programs in another location, you may not be able to launch
the Video Viewer. In this case, you should access the Java Web Start console, select File -
Preferences - Java, and then set the installed location of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine).
Chapter 2: Installation 43
To install on a Windows client without JRE previously installed:
1. From the DSView Explorer Units View window, click an Action link.
2. A window will open, containing a link for downloading the JRE installer. Download the JRE
installer, then close all browser windows.
3. Click on the JRE icon to launch the installer.
4. Restart the browser, and click an Action link.
• If you chose a Telnet or Serial Session Action link, the Telnet/SSH applet will
launch immediately.
• If you chose a KVM Session Action link, Java Web Start is launched and will download
its own JRE for running the Video Viewer. (This registers the JRE with Web Start; it does
not install the JRE a second time.)
To install on a Windows client with JRE previously installed:
From the DSView Explorer Units View window, click an Action link.
• If you chose a Telnet or Serial Session Action link, the Telnet/SSH applet will
launch immediately.
• If you chose a KVM Session Action link, Java Web Start is launched and will download its
own JRE for running the Video V i ewer. (This step registers the existing JRE with Web Start; it
does not install another JRE.)
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44 DSView Installer/User Guide
To install on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux client:
1. From the DSView Explorer Units View window, click an Action link.
2. A window will open, containing a link for downloading the JRE installer. Download the JRE
installer, then close all browser windows.
3. Run the installer.
4. Restart the browser, and click an Action link.
• If you chose a Telnet or Serial Session Action link, the Telnet/SSH applet will
launch immediately.
• If you chose a KVM Session Action link, Java Web Start is launched and will download
its own JRE for running the Video Viewer. (This step registers the JRE with Web Start; it
does not install the JRE a second time.)
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CHAPTER
DSV iew Software Servers
3
This chapter describes how to:
• Configure DSView software server properties
• Backup and restore hub servers
• Manage spoke servers
• Manage DSView software licenses
Server Properties
Table 3.1 lists the DSView software server properties.
45
Table 3.1: Server Properties
Property Description
Identity Name of the DSView software server and the server’s role (hub or spoke).
Network
Certificate
Proxy Server
IP address and port used by clients to access the server using the HTTPS (SSL)
protocol. You may change the port number used for the HTTPS connection.
DSView server certificate presented to DSView software client web browsers.
When a DSView software client connects to the server host containing the DSView
software, a Security Alert dialog box will appear. If the client user clicks Yes, the web
browser will accept the certificate for the current session and future sessions to that
server will display the Security Alert dialog box. If the client user chooses Install
Certificate, the self-signed certificate will be installed and trusted on the client and
future sessions to the server will not display the Security Alert dialog box.
You may create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) that can be submitted to a
Certificate Authority (CA) to obtain a signed server certificate.
When the Avocent proxy server is used, DSView software client KVM and serial
session requests are sent through the DSView software server rather than directly to
the DS1800 digital switch, CPS or CCM appliance or DSR switch, which prevents
the exposure of the internal address of the managed appliance. You may change the
proxy server configuration.
EVR1500 environmental monitor, DSI5100 IPMI and generic appliance sessions are
not sent through the DSView software server, even when the proxy is enabled.
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Table 3.1: Server Properties (Continued)
Property Description
Trap Destinations
The DSView software server polls DS1800 digital switches, DSI5100, CPS and CCM
appliances and DSR switches to determine if they are responding. If the managed
appliance does not respond, the DSView software server sends an SNMP Loss Of
Communication (LCM) trap or alert to the external SNMP manager. When the
DSView software server detects that the appliance is once again communicating, a
Regained Communication (RCM) trap is sent from the DSView software server.
When a response change occurs during communication between the DSView
software server and a managed appliance, the DSView software writes the event to
the audit log and sends an SNMP trap to the configured trap destinations.
Trap destinations may also be specified by clicking on a managed appliance and
changing the SNMP appliance settings.
DSView Client
Sessions
Email
Unit Status Polling
Spoke Servers Enables you to manage the DSView software spoke servers in your system.
Settings for inactivity time-out, Single Sign-On (SSO) for the session or restrictions to
use specific IP addresses to start the sessions.
IP address of the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server that is used by the
DSView software to send email notifications.
Enables/disables unit status polling for the DSView software server, and specifies
the delay between polling cycles and the number of managed appliances that will be
concurrently polled.
To display server properties:
Click the System tab. DSView Server will automatically be selected in the top navigation bar and
Identity will automatically be selected in the side navigation bar. The DSView Server Identity
Properties window will open. The top of the side navigation bar will indicate the name of the
DSView softwareserver.
To change server network properties:
1. From the side navigation bar, click Network. The DSView Server Network Properties window
will open.
2. Type a new DSView software server port number in the HTTPS Port field.
If the default value (443) is modified, the port number in the URL must be specified when
accessing the DSView software. For example, if the IP address of the hub server is 10.0.0.1
and the port number is changed to 444,
https://10.0.0.1:444/dsview must be typed in the
Address field of the web browser to access the DSView software.
The selected port must be available on the DSView software server. If DSView software
clients are located on an external connection, the specified port must be open on the firewall.
3. Click Save. A confirmation dialog box will appear.
A web browser error message will appear when Save is clicked. This error message is a normal
occurrence. To reestablish connection to the DSView software, you must reconnect to the hub
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server by typing the URL with the new port number. For example, if you changed the port
number to 334 for a hub server with an IP address of 10.0.0.1, type
dsview
4. Click Yes to change the HTTPS port number.
-orClick No to cancel the action.
Certificates
To create a CSR:
NOTE: Certificates may only be viewed by DSView software administrators. See Using certificates on page 27
for more information.
1. From the side navigation bar, click Certificate. The DSView Server Certificate Properties
window will open.
2. Click Get CSR. A File Download dialog box will appear.
3. Click Open. The CSR is downloaded and displays in the configured text editor.
-orClick Save. The Save As dialog box will appear. Select a directory and filename and click Save
to save the CSR.
-orClick Cancel to cancel the action.
4. Submit the CSR generated request to a Certificate Authority (CA) to obtain a signed
server certificate.
5. Update the DSView software server to use the certificate created by the CA (see
next procedure).
Chapter 3: DSView Software Servers 47
https://10.0.0.1:334/
to access the DSView management software.
To update a certificate on the DSView software server:
NOTE: Certificates may only be viewed by DSView software administrators.
1. From the side navigation bar, click Certificate. The DSView Server Certificate Properties
window will appear.
2. Click Update. The Update DSView Server Certificate Wizard will appear. Click Next.
3. The Select Operation to Perform window will open.
4. Select Create a new self-signed SSL server certificate to create a minimal security SSL
certificate without incurring the costs and overhead involved with a Certificate Authority
(CA). Continue to step 5.
-orSelect Import a signed SSL server certificate to import a more secure SSL certificate that has
been approved (perhaps by a CA). The public key of the imported certificate must match the
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public key in the certificate that the DSView software server is currently using. This requires
that both certificates be made on the same DSView software server. Go to step 6.
Click Next.
5. The Type in Certificate Information window will open.
a. Type the name of the computer that will serve as the DSView software server on your
intranet in the Common Name field.
-orIf the DSView software server is outside the intranet, type the server’s full domain name
in dot notation format (xx.xx.xx.xx).
b. Type the name of the organization (or country).
c. Type the name of the organizational division or name under which the organization is
doing business.
d. Type the complete city or location name. The City or Location field is required for
organizations registered only at the local level.
e. Type the complete name of the state or province where the organization is located.
f. Type the two-character ISO country code for the country where the organization
is located.
g. Click Next. Go to step 7.
6. The Select Certificate to Import window will open.
a. Type the full directory and filename for the SSL certificate file you wish to import to the
DSView software server.
-orClick the Browse button and specify the SSL certificate file.
The name of the SSL certificate file must be entered in case sensitive text if your
operating system supports case sensitive filenames.
Imported certificates must have been generated from a CSR created on the same DSView
software Server to which you are importing the certificate.
b. Click Next.
7. The Completed Successful window will open.
8. Click Finish. The DSVi ew Server Certificate Properties window will open containing updated
certificate information.
Proxy servers
To specify a proxy se rve r :
NOTE: This procedure is valid for the following managed appliances: DS1800 digital switches, CPS appliances,
CCM appliances and DSR switches.
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Chapter 3: DSView Software Servers 49
1. From the side navigation bar, click Proxy Server. The DSView Server Proxy Properties
window will open.
a. Type a new port number to use for DSView software client communication with the
Avocent proxy to the logged in DSView software server.
NOTE: If DSView software clients are located on an external connection, the specified TCP/IP proxy port must
be opened on your firewall.
b. Select the type of Proxy Invocation:
•Click Disable the proxy server to allow all internal and external DSView software
clients to communicate directly with the managed appliances. (This is the default.)
•Click Use the proxy server for all KVM and serial sessions to enable all DSView
Clients to communicate with the managed appliances using the DSView software
proxy server.
•Click Use the proxy server only for clients not on the same network as this DSView
Server to enable all external and internal clients on a different network than the current DSView software server to communicate with the managed appliances using the
DSView proxy server. All other external and internal clients will communicate
directly with the managed appliances.
•Click Use the proxy server only for clients connecting with the following addresses to
enable only DSV iew software clients with IP addresses e ntered in the Address List to
communicate with the managed appliances using the DSView proxy server. All other
clients communicate directly with the managed appliances.
NOTE: Changing the Proxy Port or Proxy Invocation setting will disconnect active DSView software
client sessions.
2. Click Save. A confirmation dialog box will appear.
3. Click OK to save your changes.
-orClick Cancel to cancel the action.
Server trap destinations
To specify trap destinations:
1. From the side navigation bar, click Trap Destinations. The DSView Server Trap Destinations
window will open.
2. In each address field, type the IP addresses in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx) or the
domain name for the computer that handle traps. Up to four computers may be specified.
3. Click Save to store the trap information in the DSView software database on the host.
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Client session information
To specify client session information:
1. From the side navigation bar, click DSView Client Sessions. The DSView Server Client
Session Properties window will open.
a. Use the arrows to specify a time-out value (from 5-60 minutes) for inactivity of a DSView
user client session. The default is 15 minutes. When the time-out value has been exceeded,
the session will end and the user must log in again.
b. Select Enable certificate authentication to allow the DSView management software to
automatically log in internal users if the user certificate (X.509 digital ID) installed in the
DSView software client web browser matches the certificate configured for the user.
Certificates for users may be modified. See Changing certificates associated with users on
page 144 for more information.
Web browser settings may need to be modified to allow users to automatically log in using
certificates. See your web browser documentation for more information.
-orSelect Enable Integrated Windows Authentication to automatically log a user into the
DSView management software using the user’s NT domain or Active Directory
credentials and Integrated Windows Authentication.
Web browser settings may need to be modified to allow users to automatically log in using
Integrated Windows Authentication. See your web browser documentation for
more information.
c. Select Restrict by address range to enable only DSView software clients with IP
addresses entered in the Address List to communicate with DS1800 digital switches, CPS
appliances, CCM appliances and DSR switches.
-orDo not select Restrict by address range to disable address restrictions for logging into the
DSView management software.
2. Click Save to store client session information in the DSView software database on the host.
To specify email properties:
1. From the side navigation bar, click Email. The DSView Server Email Server Properties
window will open.
2. T ype a new address for the SMTP server that sends email notifications as a domain name or an
IP address in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx).
3. If your SMTP server requires login credentials, select Login required to access SMTP server
and type a user name and password, then confirm the password.
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Chapter 3: DSView Software Servers 51
4. Click Save to store DSView software email property information in the DSView software
database on the host.
Unit status polling
To use unit status polling:
1. From the side navigation bar, click Unit Status Polling. The DSView Server Unit Status
Polling Properties window will open.
2. Select Enable unit status polling.
3. Type the number of seconds to wait between polling cycles (from 30-999 seconds). The
default is 900 seconds (15 minutes). A smaller value results in greater accuracy.
4. Type the number of managed appliances that may simultaneously be polled to obtain status
information (from 1-25 units). The default is 5. A larger number results in faster speed.
5. Click Save to store unit status property information in the DSView software database on
the host.
Manually Backing up and Restoring Hub Servers
NOTE: You may only restore a DSView software hub server with a backup archive made using an identical
DSView management software version. For example, you may not restore a hub server running DSView
management software version 3.1 using a backup archive made with DSView management software 3.0.
If your DSView management software is installed on a Windows based operating system, you may
manually create a backup of your hub server. You may create the backup using one of the
following methods:
• From a command line in an MS-DOS window.
• Using the Backup and Restore Utility delivered with the DSView software. The backup is
saved as a .zip file containing the files needed to restore the DSView management software.
Hub server backups may also be automatically created as a task within the DSView software. See
Managing Tasks on page 244 for more information.
Client sessions will be temporarily disconnected during a manual backup. The sessions will be
automatically reconnected when the backup is completed. If you use the Backup DSView database
and system files task, client sessions will not be temporarily disconnected. See Managing Tasks on
page 244 for more information.
To manually back up or restore a hub server using a command line:
NOTE: This procedure requires DSView software administrator privileges.
1. Select Start - Programs - Accessories - Command Prompt. A command prompt window
will open.
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2. Change directories to the directory in which the DSView software is installed (typically
C:\Program Files\Avocent DSView 3.0\bin).
3. Enter
DSViewBackupRestore to display the DSView 3.0 Backup/Restore Utility dialog box.
Follow the directions in To manually back up a DSView software hub server using the Backup
and Restore Utility dialog box to back up the DSView software hub server using the dialog box
or To manually restore a DSView software hub server using the Backup and Restore Utility
dialog box to restore the DSView software hub server using the dialog box.
-orEnter
DSViewBackupRestore -backup -archive “<archive name>” -passwd to back up the
DSView software hub server.
-orEnter
DSViewBackupRestore -restore -archive “<archive name>” -passwd to restore the
DSView software hub server. Where:
“<archive name>” - The name of the archive, which must be enclosed by quotation marks (for
example, “myarchive”). The -archive option and an archive name are required to create or
restore a DSView software hub server backup.
-passwd - A password which encrypts the archive. The password is optional when creating a
backup. The password is required when restoring a backup that was created using a password.
NOTE: To display help information, type DSViewBackupRestore -h or DSViewBackupRestore -help.
For example, entering the following in a command prompt window will create a backup named
db.zip with the password “test”:
DSViewBackupRestore.exe -backup -archive “db.zip” -passwd test
Entering the following in a command prompt window will restore a backup named db.zip with the
password “test”:
DSViewBackupRestore.exe -restore -archive “db.zip” -passwd test
To manually back up a hub server using the Backup and Restore Utility dialog box:
NOTE: This procedure requires DSView software administrator privileges.
1. Select Start - Programs - Avocent DSView 3.0 - Backup and Restore Utility. The DSView 3.0
Backup/Restore Utility dialog box will appear.
2. Click Backup Database to a file.
3. If you wish to password-protect the backup file, click Enabled and type a password in the
Password field.
4. Click Browse and use the Save As dialog box to specify a directory and name for the backup
file. Click Save when you are finished.
5. Click Backup. The DSView software system backup files are saved.
6. Click Close to close the DSView 3.0 Backup/Restore Utility dialog box.
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To manually restore a hub server using the Backup and Restore Utility:
1. Select Start - Programs - Avocent DSView 3.0 - Backup and Restore Utility. The DSView 3.0
Backup/Restore Utility dialog box will appear.
2. From the DSView 3.0 Backup/Restore Utility dialog box, click Restore the database from
a file.
3. If the backup file is password-protected, click Enabled and type its password in the
Password field.
4. Click Browse and use the Save As dialog box to find the backup file.
5. Click Restore. The DSView software system is restored from the backup files.
6. Click Close to close the DSView 3.0 Backup/Restore Utility dialog box.
Managing Authentication Services
Users must be authenticated before they may access or perform any tasks in the DSView
management software system.
When users log in, they will be prompted for a username and password. The DSView software will
look up the login, determine the authentication service to use and forward the login credentials to
the appropriate authentication service for verification. All authentication is performed over an
HTTPS (SSL) encrypted link.
Chapter 3: DSView Software Servers 53
NOTE: Some web browsers may store password information. See your web browser documentation for
more information.
The DSView software is delivered with the DSView internal authentication service, which verifies
a log in and password against user account information stored in the database on the DSView
software server. The DSView internal authentication service may store over 2000 user accounts.
The DSView software also supports the following external authentication services:
• Microsoft Active Directory
•IBM
• Novell
•Sun
• Sun ONE
®
SecureWay Directory Server *
®
LDAP Services *
®
Solaris™ R9 LDAP Directory Server *
™
LDAP Directory Server *
*
• Microsoft Windows NT domain
* Uses LDAP V3
If the DSView software server is configured for external authentication, login requests are re-
directed to the configured external authentication server. Up to 50 external authentication servers
may be added to the DSView software.
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NOTE: The DSView software obtains external group membership and external user information when a user
logs in. If a user’s group membership changes or the user is deleted externally, the DSView software will not see
these changes until the next time the user logs in.
The User Authentication Services window may be customized by using the Customize link. See
Using the Customize link in windows on page 14 for more information.
You may schedule a task that will automatically verify LDAP and Active Directory external
authentication servers to ensure that accounts are still valid. See Managing Tasks on page 244 for
more information.
To display configured authentication services:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the Users tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click Authentication Services. The User Authentication Services
window will open.
To add an Active Directory external authentication service:
NOTE: Only User Administrators and DSView software administrators may add authentication services.
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click Add. The welcome window of the Add
Authentication Service Wizard will appear. Click Next.
2. The Provide Authentication Service Name and Type window will open.
a. Type a name for the external authentication service.
b. Select Active Directory from the drop-down menu.
c. Click Next.
3. The Specify Active Directory Connection Settings window will open.
a. Type the Active Directory domain name for the dom ain yo u wish to add in the AD
Domain Name field.
b. In the User Container field, specify the name of the container to search for user accounts.
This will limit the search scope to that container. The name may be entered in several
forms, optionally including a sub-domain. Valid forms are explained below by example.
Assume an Active Directory domain name of “sunrise.mycompany.com” with users in
subfolder “sun/myusers”. The User Container field may be entered as:
Example 1 (no sub-domain): “sun.myusers”
Example 2 (no sub-domain): “ou=myusers,ou=sun”
If users are contained in a sub-domain such as “mktg.sunrise.mycompany.com”, valid
forms are:
Example 1 (with sub-domain): “mktg.sunrise.mycompany.com/sun/myusers”
Example 1 (with sub-domain and no container specified):
“mktg.sunrise.mycompnay.com/”
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Chapter 3: DSView Software Servers 55
Example 2 (with sub-domain):
“ou=myusers,ou=sun,dc=mktg,dc=sunrise,dc=mycompany,dc=com”
c. In the Group Container field, specify the name of the container to search for user groups.
This will limit the search scope to that container. The name may be entered in several
forms, optionally including a sub-domain. Valid forms are explained in step 3b above.
d. Specify a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption mode:
•Click Do Not Use SSL to have authentication performed using unencrypted clear text
instead of SSL encryption. This method is the least secure.
•Click Use SSL in Trust All Mode to use SSL encryption for data transmission. All
server certificates will be trusted and automatically accepted by the DSV iew s oftware
for transmitting data. This SSL method provides medium security.
This encryption mode is not recommended for wide area networks (WANs).
•Click Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode to use SSL encryption for data trans-
mission. The DSView management software will approve the server and then the certificate before transmitting data. This SSL method provides maximum security.
e. Click Use Kerberos for User Authentication to use the Kerberos protocol for
authentication requests, including the browsing. If enabled, you must use DES encryption
types for this account. If an account was created prior to Active Directory, the user’s
password must be changed after this setting is changed. When this is not checked, the
LDAP protocol will be used.
f. Click Enable Chasing of Referrals to allow the Active Directory server to refer DSView
software clients to additional directory servers.
g. Click Use an Active Directory Global Catalog to have the AD service access the global
catalog for the specified domain name.
h. Click Next.
If you selected Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode, continue to step 4.
If you selected Do Not Use SSL or Use SSL in Trust All Mode, go to step 6.
4. The Accept Certificate window will open and list all servers that belong to the domain.
5. Click Next to accept the certificate.
6. The Select Browsing Method window will open.
Click Browse Anonymously to browse users on the external Active Directory
authentication server.
-orClick Browse with user credentials to browse users on the external Active Directory
authentication based on credentials configured on the server. If this option is selected, do
the following:
a. Type the username for an Active Directory account that has browse rights in the User
Name field. The log in ID must be entered in case sensitive text if the Active Directory
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server is set up to user Kerberos. If the username is in a sub-domain of the Active
Directory domain (specified in step 3a), then the username should be specified as
<username>@<subdomain>.
b. Type the password for an Active Directory account that has browse rights in the
Password field.
c. Click Next.
7. The Establish Connection with Authentication Service window will open briefly. If the
external authentication service is added successfully, the Completed Successful window
will open.
8. Click Finish. The User Authentication Services window will open with the new service listed.
To add a Windows NT external authentication service:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click Add. The Add Authentication Service
Wizard will appear. Click Next.
2. The Provide Authentication Service Name and Type window will open.
a. Type a name for the external authentication service.
b. Select Windows NT Domain from the drop-down menu.
c. Click Next.
3. The Specify Windows NT Connection Settings window will open.
a. Type the Windows NT domain name you wish to add in the Domain Name field.
b. Click Next.
4. The Select Browsing Method window will open.
Click Browse Anonymously to browse users on the external Windows NT
authentication server.
-orClick Browse with user credentials to browse users on the external Windows NT
authentication based on credentials configured on the server. If this option is selected, do
the following:
a. Type the username for a Windows NT account that has browse rights in the User
Name field.
b. Type the password for a Windows NT account that has browse rights in the
Password field.
c. Click Next.
5. The Establish Connection with Authentication Service window will briefly appear. If the
external authentication service is added successfully, the Completed Successful window
will open.
6. Click Finish. The User Authentication Services window will open with the new service listed.
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To add an LDAP external authentication service:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click Add. The Add Authentication Service
Wizard will appear. Click Next.
2. The Provide Authentication Service Name and Type window will open.
a. Type a name for the external authentication service.
b. Select LDAP from the Type drop-down menu.
c. Click Next.
3. The Specify LDAP Connection Settings window will open.
a. Type the address of the LDAP host in dot notation format (xx.xx.xx .xx) or type the DNS
host name in the Host Address field.
b. Type the number of the port you wish to use for connecting to the LDAP host in the Port
Number field.
c. Specify an SSL encryption mode:
•Click Do Not Use SSL to have authentication performed using unencrypted clear text
instead of SSL encryption. This method is the least secure and automatically sets the
Port Number field to a default port number of 389.
•Click Use SSL in Trust All Mode to use SSL encryption for data transmission. All
server certificates will be trusted and automatically accepted by the DSView management software for transmitting data. This SSL method provides medium security and
automatically sets the Port Number field to a default port number of 636.
This encryption mode is not recommended for wide area networks (WANs).
•Click Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode to use SSL encryption for data trans-
mission. The DSView management software will approve the server and then the certificate before transmitting data. This SSL method provides maximum security and
automatically sets the Port Number field to a default port number of 636.
d. Click Enable Chasing of Referrals if you wish to allow the LDAP server to refer DSView
software clients to additional directory servers.
e. Click Next.
If you selected Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode, continue to step 4.
If you selected Do Not Use SSL or Use SSL in Trust All Mode, go to step 8.
4. The Accept Certificate window will open and list all servers that belong to the domain.
5. Click Next to accept the certificate.
6. The Specify LDAP User Schema window will open.
a. Type the Base distinguished name (DN) from which to begin searches
. This is a required
field unless the Directory Service has been configured to allow anonymous search. Each
Search DN value must be separated by a comma.
b. Type the key attribute. The default value is common name (cn).
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c. Type the object class. The default value is person.
d. Type the full name attribute. The default value is surname (sn).
e. Click Next.
7. The Specify LDAP Group Schema window will open.
a. Type the Base distinguished name (DN) from which to begin searches.
field unless the Directory Service has been configured to allow anonymous search. Each
Search DN value must be separated by a comma.
b. Type the object class. The default value is group.
c. Type the member attribute. The default value is member.
d. Click Next.
8. The Select Browsing Method window will open.
Click Browse Anonymously to browse users on the external LDAP authentication server.
-orClick Browse with user credentials to browse users on the external LDAP authentication based
on credentials configured on the server. If this option is selected, do the following:
a. Type a log in ID in the User Name field, in one of two forms: a fully qualified
distinguished name or the username of an account in the base user DN.
b. Type the password for the LDAP user account in the Password field.
c. Click Next.
9. The Establish Connection with Authentication Service window will open briefly. If the
external authentication service is added successfully, the Completed Successful window
will open.
10. Click Finish. The User Authentication Services window will open with the new service listed.
This is a required
To change the DSView internal authentication service:
NOTE: Only user administrators and DSView software administrators may change authentication services.
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click DSView Internal. The side navigation
bar will change to include DSView Internal at the top and, below the name, the information
you may define.
2. Click Account Policies. The Authentication Service User Account Policies - DSView Internal
window will open.
3. Specify the password policies for the authentication service:
a. Type a number (from 1-64) in the Minimum Password Length field, or click the arrows to
select a number.
b. Check the Passwords Expire checkbox if you wish to require a user to change their
password after a certain amount of time. Specify the time by typing a number (from 1-
365) in the Maximum Expiration (days) field, or click the arrows to select a number.
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c. Select Passwords must contain both alpha and numeric characters if new passwords must
contain at least one letter and one number.
d. Select Passwords must contain both lower and upper case characters if new passwords
must contain at least one uppercase and one lowercase letter.
4. Specify the lockout policy for the authentication service:
a. Select Lockout users after invalid login attempts to assign a specific number of user login
attempts. Continue to step b.
-orLeave the checkbox unselected to specify unlimited user login attempts. Go to step 6.
b. Type the number of allowable user login failures (from 1-25) in the Maximum Login
Failures field, or select it using the drop-down menu.
c. Select Automatically unlock users after the lockout period to permit user logins after a
certain amount of time. Specify the lockout period (in minutes) by typing a number (from
1-1,440) in the Maximum Lockout Period (minutes) field, or select it using the dropdown menu. Specifying 1,440 minutes is equivalent to 24 hours.
-orLeave the checkbox unselected if you do not wish to specify a lockout period. If you do
not specify a lockout period, a user administrator or administrator must manually unlock
locked user accounts. See Unlocking User Accounts on page 143 for more information.
5. Click Save to save your changes.
6. Click Close. The User Authentication Services window will open.
To change custom field labels for user accounts that use internal authentication:
1. From the User Authentication Service window, click DSView Internal. The side navigation bar
will change to include DSView Internal at the top and, below the name, information you
may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click Custom Field Labels. The Authentication Service User
Account Custom Field Labels - DSView Internal window will open.
3. Type the text that you wish to appear in each of the six custom field labels.
4. Click Save to save your changes.
5. Click Close. The User Authentication Services window will open.
By default, the custom field labels do not display in the User Accounts - All window, but they may
be added to the display, using the Customize link. See Using the Customize link in windows on
page 14 for more information.
To change connections for Windows NT external authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the Windows NT service.
The side navigation bar will change to include the name of the service at the top and, below the
name, the information you may define.
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2. From the side navigation bar, click Connection. The Authentication Service Connection
Settings - NT window will open.
3. Type a name in the Service Name field to change the name of the service that appears in the
Name column of the User Authentication Services window.
4. Type the name of the Windows NT domain in the Domain Name field.
5. Click Save to save your changes.
6. Click Close. The User Authentication Services window will open.
To change user browsing settings for Windows NT external
authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the Windows NT service.
The side navigation bar will change to include the name of the Windows NT service at the top
and, below the name, the information you may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click User Browsing. The Authentication Service User Browsing
- NT window will open.
3. Click Browse Anonymously to anonymously browse users on the external Windows NT
authentication server.
-orClick Browse with User Credentials to browse users on the external Windows NT
authentication based on credentials configured. If this option is selected, do the following:
a. Type the username for an NT domain account that has browse rights in the User
Name field.
b. Type the password for an NT domain account that has browse rights in the Password field.
4. Click Save to save your changes.
5. Click Close. The User Authentication Services dialog box will appear.
To change settings for Active Directory external authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the Active Directory (AD)
service. The side navigation bar will change to include the name of the AD service at the top
and, below the name, the information you may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click Connection. The Authentication Service Connection
Settings - AD window will open.
3. Type a name in the Service Name field to change the name of the service that appears in the
Name column of the User Authentication Services window.
4. Type the domain name of the Active Directory service in the AD Domain Name field.
5. In the User Container field, specify the name of the container to search for user accounts. This
will limit the search scope to that container. The name may be entered in several forms,
optionally including a sub-domain. See To add an Active Directory external authentication
service: on page 54 for an explanation of the valid forms.
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6. In the Group Container field, specify the name of the container to search for user groups. This
will limit the search scope to that container. The name may be entered in several forms,
optionally including a sub-domain. See To add an Active Directory external authentication
service: on page 54 for an explanation of the valid forms.
7. Specify a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption mode:
•Click Do Not Use SSL to have authentication performed using unencrypted clear text
instead of SSL encryption. This method is the least secure.
•Click Use SSL in Trust All Mode to use SSL encryption for data transmission. All server
certificates will be trusted and automatically accepted by the DSView management
software for transmitting data. This SSL method provides medium security.
This encryption mode is not recommended for wide area networks (WANs).
•Click Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode to use SSL encryption for data
transmission. The DSView management software will approve the server and then the
certificate before transmitting data. This SSL method provides maximum security.
8. Click Use an Active Dir ectory Global Catalog to have the AD service access the global catalog
for the specified domain name.
9. Click Use Kerberos for User Authentication to use the Kerberos protocol for authentication
requests, including the browsing. If enabled, you must use DES encryption types for this
account. If an account was created prior to Active Directory, the user’s password must be
changed after this setting is changed. When this is not checked, the LDAP protocol will
be used.
10. Click Save to save your changes.
If you selected Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode, the Certificates heading will appear
in the side navigation bar. Continue to step 11.
-orIf you selected Do Not Use SSL or Use SSL in Trust All Mode, go to step 14.
11. Click Certificates. The Authentication Service Certificate Management - AD window will
open and list all servers that in the domain.
12. To register certificates:
a. To select one or more certificates, click the checkbox to the left of the server IP addresses.
-orTo select all certificates, click the checkbox to the left of the IP Address heading.
b. Click the Register button above the IP Address list to register the certificates. The Accept
SSL Certificate window will open.
c. Click Save to store the certificate values to the DSView software database on the host.
-orClick Close if you do not wish to save the certificate values.
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The Authentication Service Certificate Management window will open if only one
certificate was selected. If more than one certificate was selected, each will appear in
order in subsequent Accept SSL Certificate windows.
13. To unregister certificates:
a. To select one or more certificates, click the checkbox to the left of the server IP addresses.
-orb. To unregister all certificates, click the checkbox to the left of the IP Address heading.
c. Click the Unregister button to unregister the certificates.
d. A confirmation message box will appear. Click OK to unregister the server.
-or-
Click Cancel to cancel the action.
14. Click Close. The User Authentication Services window will open.
To change user browsing settings for Active Directory external
authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the AD service. The side
navigation bar will change to include the name of the AD service at the top and, below the
name, the information you may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click User Browsing. The Authentication Service User Browsing
- AD window will open.
3. Click Browse Anonymously to browse users on the external Active Directory
authentication server.
-orClick Browse with User Credentials to browse users on the external Active Directory
authentication based on credentials configured on the server. If this option is selected, do
the following:
a. Type the username for an Active Directory account that has browse rights in the User
Name field. The log in ID must be entered in case sensitive text if the Active Directory
server is set u to use Kerberos.
b. Type the password for an Active Directory account that has browse rights in the
Password field.
4. Click Save to save your changes.
5. Click Close. The User Authentication Services dialog box will appear.
To change connections for LDAP external authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the LDAP service. The side
navigation bar will change to include the name of the LDAP service at the top and, below the
name, the information you may define.
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2. From the side navigation bar, click Connection. The Authentication Service Connection
Settings - LDAP window will open.
3. Type a name in the Service Name field to change the name of the service that appears in the
Name column of the User Authentication Services window.
4. Type the address of the LDAP host, in dot notation format (xx.xx.xx .xx) in the Host
Address field.
5. Type the number of the port you with to use for connecting to the LDAP host in the Port
Number field.
6. Specify a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption mode:
•Click Do Not Use SSL to have authentication performed using unencrypted clear text
instead of SSL encryption. This method is the least secure and automatically sets the Port
Number field to a default port number of 389 .
•Click Use SSL in Trust All Mode to use SSL encryption for data transmission. All server
certificates will be trusted and automatically accepted by the DSView management
software for transmitting data. This SSL method provides medium security and
automatically sets the Port Number field to a default port number of 636.
This encryption mode is not recommended for wide area networks (WANs).
•Click Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode to use SSL encryption for data
transmission. The DSView management software will approve the server and then the
certificate before transmitting data. This SSL method provides maximum security and
automatically sets the Port Number field to a default port number of 636.
7. Click Save to save your changes.
If you selected Use SSL in Certificate-based Trust Mode, the Certificates heading will appear
in the side navigation bar. Continue to step 8.
-orIf you selected Do Not Use SSL or Use SSL in Trust All Mode, go to step 15.
8. Click Certificates. The Authentication Service Certificate Management - LDAP window will
open and list all servers that belong to the domain.
9. To register certificates, click the checkbox to the left of the server IP address(es).
-orClick the checkbox to the left of the IP Address heading to select all server IP addresses listed
in the window.
10. Click the Register button to register the certificates. The Accept SSL Certificate window
will appear.
11. Click Save to store the certificate values to the DSView software database on the host.
-orClick Close if you do not wish to save the certificate values.
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The Certificate Management window will open only one certificate was selected. If more than
one certificate was selected, each will appear in order in subsequent Accept SSL
Certificate windows.
12. To unregister certificates, click the checkbox to the left of the server IP address(es).
-orClick the checkbox to the left of the IP Address heading to select all server IP addresses listed
in the window.
13. Click the Unregister button to unregister the certificates.
14. A confirmation message box will appear. Click OK to unregister the server.
-orClick Cancel to cancel the action.
15. Click Close. The User Authentication Services window will open.
To change user schema settings for LDAP external authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the LDAP service. The side
navigation bar will change to include the name of the LDAP service at the top and, below the
name, the information you may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click Schema. Users is automatically selected and the
Authentication Service User Schema - LDAP window will open.
3. Type the Base distinguished name (DN) from which to begin searches.
unless the Directory Service has been configured to allow anonymous search. Each Search DN
value must be separated by a comma.
4. Type the key attribute. The default value is comm on name (cn).
5. Type the object class. The default value is person.
6. Type the full name attribute for the user. The default value is surname (sn).
7. Click Save to save your changes.
8. Click Close. The User Authentication Services dialog box will appear.
This is a required field
To change group schema settings for LDAP external authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the LDAP service. The side
navigation bar will change to include the name of the LDAP service at the top and, below the
name, the information you may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click Schema.
3. From the side navigation bar, click Groups. The Authentication Service Group Schema LDAP window will open.
4. Type the Base distinguished name (DN) from which to begin searches.
This is a required field
unless the Directory Service has been configured to allow anonymous search.
5. Type the object class. The default value is groupOfNames.
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6. Type the members attribute. The default value is member.
7. Click Save to save your changes.
8. Click Close. The User Authentication Services dialog box will appear.
To change user browsing settings for LDAP external authentication services:
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the name of the LDAP service. The side
navigation bar will change to include the name of the LDAP service at the top and, below the
name, the information you may define.
2. From the side navigation bar, click User Browsing. The Authentication Service User Browsing
- LDAP window will open.
3. Click Browse Anonymously to browse users on the external LDAP authentication server.
-orClick Browse with User Credentials to browse users on the external LDAP authentication
based on credentials configured on the server. If this option is selected, do the following:
a. Type a log in ID in the User Name field, in one of two forms: a fully qualified
distinguished name or the username of an account in the base user DN.
b. Type the password for the LDAP user account in the Password field.
4. Click Save to save your changes.
5. Click Close. The User Authentication Services dialog box will appear.
To remove authentication services:
NOTE: Only user administrators and DSView software administrators may remove authentication services. The
DSView internal authentication service may not be removed.
1. From the User Authentication Services window, click the checkbox to the left of the
authentication service(s) you wish to delete.
-orClick the checkbox to the left of Name to select all external authentication services listed in the
window for deletion.
2. Click Delete. A confirmation dialog box will appear.
3. Click Yes to delete the external authentication service(s).
-orClick No to cancel the action.
Managing Spoke Servers
Information on the hub server is replicated on the spoke server. The spoke server’s information,
such as its IP address, port number and certificate, is stored in the hub server’s database.
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You may optionally specify up to 15 computers as spoke servers. Contact your Avocent sales
representative for information about spoke server licenses.
NOTE: The DSView management software versions of the spoke server and hub server must match in order to
register a spoke server. For example, you may not register a spoke server running DSView management
software version 3.0 with a hub server running DSView management software 3.1.
A spoke server may be created by:
• Specifying a spoke server when installing the DSView management software.
• Converting a hub server to a spoke server by registering it as a spoke to another DSView
software hub server. The DSView software system data on the hub server being converted will
be lost and the converted hub server will replicate the data of the new specified hub server.
You may also change the properties of a spoke server or remove spoke servers from your system.
To display a list of spoke servers:
NOTE: The Spoke Servers window is only available on the hub server.
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the System tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click DSView Server. The side navigation bar will include the
name of the server to which you are logged in.
3. From the side navigation bar, click Properties.
4. From the side navigation bar, click Spoke Servers. The Spoke Servers window will open.
Each spoke server in the display has a status icon.Table 3.2 lists the possible status values.
Table 3.2: DSView Software Spoke Server Status Icons
Icon Description Cause
Responding
Not responding
Hub/Spoke Versions
Not Compatible
Certificates Do Not Match
Normal operation. The hub and spoke servers are communicating with
each other using HTTPS.
The hub and spoke servers cannot communicate with each other using
HTTPS. This typically indicates a network communication error. Ensure
that network connectivity is occurring between the two servers.
The versions of DSView management software on the hub server and
spoke servers are not compatible.
Certificates on the hub server and spoke servers do not match. See
Managing hub and spoke server certificates on page 68 for information
about updating the server certificates so that they will match.
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Table 3.2: DSView Software Spoke Server Status Icons (Continued)
A server responded, but it is not compatible with the DSView
Invalid Server or Versions
Not Compatible
management software. This typically occurs when communication is
attempted with a server that does not contain the software, or if either
server contains an older version of the software. Ensure that both
servers are running the same DSView management software version.
You may remove some fields from the display by using the Customize link. See Using the
Customize link in windows on page 14 for mo re information.
To add a spoke server:
1. Install the DSView management software on the computer you wish to use as a spoke server.
See Installing the DSView Management Software on page 34 for more information.
2. Configure the computer as a spoke server. See Configuring the DSView Management Software
on page 37 for more information.
To register a hub server as a spoke server:
NOTE: Only DSView software administrators may register a hub server as a spoke server.
NOTE: When registering a hub server as a spoke server on another DSView software system, the information on
the hub server being registered will be lost. Its database will be updated to match the new hub server to which it
is being registered.
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the System tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click DSView Server. The side navigation bar will include the
name of the server to which you are logged in.
3. From the side navigation bar, select Tools. The DSView Server Tools window will open.
4. Click the Register as Spoke Server icon or text. The Register Spoke Server Wizard will appear .
Click Next.
5. The Type in hub DSView Server Address window will open.
a. Type the IP address of the hub server in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx).
-orType the domain name of the hub server.
b. Type the port number for the hub server.
If the default hub server port value (443) is modified, you must specify it when registering
a spoke server so that register requests will be sent to the correct port on the hub server.
For example, if the IP address of the hub server is 10.0.0.1 and the port number is changed
to 444, type
https://10.0.0.1:444/dsview in the Address field of the Register Spoke
Server Wizard.
6. Click Next.
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7. The Operation in Progress window will open briefly, followed by the Accept hub DSVi ew
Server Certificate window. Click Next.
8. The Type in hub DSView Server Administrator Credentials window will open.
9. Click Next.
a. Type the name of a user with DSView software administrator privileges on the hub server.
b. Type a password for the user.
10. The Operation In Progress window will open with the message Request In Progress Please
Wait. The configuration of the spoke server will be saved to the database of the hub server and
the spoke server’s certificates will be installed on the hub server.
11. The Completed Successful window will open when the spoke server has been added.
12. Click Finish. The Audit DSView Server Tools window will open.
To change spoke server network properties:
NOTE: Spoke server network settings may need to be modified by DSView software administrators when
network settings are changed and the the hub server did not automatically detect the changes. When changing
the network settings, ensure that a port mismatch does not occur between the hub server and the spoke server.
1. From the Spoke Servers window, click on the name of the spoke server whose network
properties you wish to change. The Spoke Server Network Properties window will open.
2. Change any of the following network settings:
a. Type a new computer name to use as the spoke server.
b. Type a new address in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx) for the spoke server.
c. Type a new port number for the spoke server.
3. Click Save to save your changes.
4. Click Close. The Spoke Servers window will open.
Managing hub and spoke server certificates
When a spoke server is registered with a hub server, a certificate trust relationship is established
between the two servers. Certificate information must match on the hub server and the spoke
servers for communication to take place between the servers. If the spoke server certificate is
subsequently changed, a certificate mismatch will occur.
To display or update the certificate of a spoke server on the hub server :
NOTE: Certificates may only be viewed by DSView software administrators and user administrators.
1. From the hub server’s DSView Explorer , click System. DSView Server is automatically
selected in the top navigation bar and the name of the DSView software hub server appears at
the top of the side navigation bar.
2. From the side navigation bar, click Spoke Servers. The Spoke Servers window will open.
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3. From the Spoke Servers window, click Certificate. The Spoke Server Certificate window will
open including information about the spoke server certificate (Actual Certificate) and the
certificate registered for this spoke server on the hub server (Registered Certificate).
4. The window displays the certificate on the spoke server and the certificate registered on the
hub server.
If the DSView management software cannot obtain the certificate information from the spoke
server, a message will appear at the bottom of the DSView Server Certificate - Spoke Server
window. The message states: Remote server is not responding. Information displayed may not
match remote side.
If the certificate information does not match, continue to step 5.
- or If the certificate information matches, go to step 6.
5. Click Update. The spoke server certificate informatio n will be updated on the hub server.
6. Click Close. The Spoke Servers window will open.
To update the certificate of a hub server on the spoke server:
1. From the spoke server’s DSView Explorer, click System. DSView Server is automatically
selected in the top navigation bar and the name of the spoke server appears at the top of the
side navigation bar.
2. From the side navigation bar, click Hub Server. The Hub Server window will open.
3. From the hub Server window, click Certificate. The Hub Server Certificate window will open
including information about the spoke server certificate (Actual Certificate) and the certificate
registered for this spoke server on the hub server (Registered Certificate).
If the DSView software cannot obtain the certificate information from the hub server, a
message will appear at the bottom of the DSView Server Certificate - Hub Server window. The
message states: Remote server is not responding. Information displayed may not match
remote side.
If the certificate information does not match, continue to step 4.
4. Click Update. The hub server certificate information will be updated on the spoke server.
To delete a spoke server:
1. From the Spoke Servers window, click the checkbox to the left of the spoke servers you wish
to delete.
-orClick the checkbox to the left of Name at the top of the list to select all spoke servers listed in
the window for deletion.
2. Click Delete. A confirmation dialog box will appear.
3. Click OK to delete the spoke servers.
-or-
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Click Cancel to cancel the action.
NOTE: When a spoke server is deleted, it is no longer allowed to communicate with the hub server. Only spoke
servers that are no longer active should be deleted. If a spoke server is still active, it may be re-registered using
the Register Spoke Server wizard.
Managing Licenses
License keys permit the operation of the DSView management software on the dedicated server
and specify the number of clients that may use the software and the number of spoke servers
allowed on a system.
To display license information:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the System tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click Licenses.
3. From the side navigation bar, click Summary. The License Summary window will open. The
display includes:
• The serial number of the license key for the DSView software on the dedicated server.
• The number of licensed clients and the number of users currently logged in as clients. If a
site license has been purchased, the Unlimited heading will appear instead of the number
of licenses.
• The total number of licensed spoke servers and the number of these licenses currently in
use on the DSView software system.
To display license keys:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the System tab.
2. From the top navigation bar, click Licenses.
3. From the side navigation bar, click License Keys. The License Keys window will open and list
each installed license key and a description of the key. One of the following descriptions will
display beside each key:
• Master License Key - The key used when the software was initially installed on the
dedicated server.
• Adds <N> Spoke Servers - A key that adds <N> spoke servers.
• Adds <N> Client Session(s) - A key that enables <N> simultaneous DSView software
client sessions across all servers.
• Client Session Site License - A key that is installed as a site license, which allows an
unlimited number of DSView software client sessions. This will appear for any key that
has been purchased as a site license.
To add a new license key:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the System tab.
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2. From the top navigation bar, click Licenses.
3. From the side navigation bar, click License Keys. The License Keys window will open.
4. Click the Add button. The Add Add-On License Key window will open.
5. If you did not receive a license key, click the http://www.avocent.com/activation link to obtain
a license key.
6. Type a valid (new 25-character) license key in the License Key field. (License keys from a
DSView software release prior to version 3.0 are not valid.)
7. Click Save. The License Keys window appears containing the new license key.
-orClick Close. A dialog box will appear and prompt you to save any changes. Click Yes to add
the license key, or click No to cancel the action. The License Keys window will open and
contain the license key if you saved the changes.
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CHAPTER
Managing Units
4
From the Units windows, you may:
• Add, delete, change and scan units
• Add access rights to units
• Export units or the rights associated with them
• Group units by site, department, location, unit or custom fields
About Unit Views
Figure 4.1 explains some additional Units views features.
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Click the Expand All
Nodes icon in the
upper right corner
of the side
navigation bar to
expand all nodes.
Click the Collapse
All Nodes icon to
collapse all nodes.
Click on an Expand
Node arrow to
expand a link. Use
the Profiles tab Options window to
reconfigure the
behavior of the
arrow links.
Click a unit name to change it.
Figure 4.1: Target Devices - All Window
Only the units for which the user has been assigned privileges will display in the content area. Units
will also not display if they are hidden. See Showing and hiding units on page 7 6 for
more information.
An appliance type will only be listed in the side navigation bar if an appliance of that type has been
added to the DSView software system (and the user has access to it).For example, if no DSR1021
switch, CPS810 appliance or EVR1500 environmental monitor exists on your DSView software
system, these types will not appear under Appliances in the side navigation bar.
Target device types are defined by users. If a type has been assigned to a target device, the type
name will appear under target devices in the side navigation bar. For example, if you assign a type
of Windows 2000 program to three target devices, a Windows 2000 link will appear in the side
navigation bar. Clicking on the link will display the three target devices, as well as any other
existing target devices assigned that type.
Clicking Recently Accessed in the side navigation bar displays a list of appliances that the logged in
user has accessed last. You may also click a link under Sites or a custom field to display a list of
appliances associated with the site or custom field.
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Chapter 4: Managing Units 75
A site or custom field will not appear in the side navigation bar unless at least one site or custom
field has been defined, at least one unit is associated with the site or custom field and the user has
access to the unit.
Topology view
The Topology window lists all units, cascade switches, SPC devices and outlets in a hierarchal tree
form. Units are arranged in a parent-child hierarchy, with children (target devices) tiered under
their parent managed appliance. An SPC power control device will appear as a cascade device
attached to a CPS or CCM appliance or DSR switch that supports SPC devices. Each outlet will
appear with a power indicator cascaded below the port.
The following rules apply to the Topology window:
• If a target device is connected to multiple switches or appliances, it will appear multiple times
in the Topology window.
• Cascade devices, such as SPC devices and AutoView and OutLook legacy analog KVM
switches, may not be modified from the Topology window.
• If the Topology window has been customized to display items using multip le pages, and a parent managed appliance and its children (target devices) cannot be displayed in a single Topology window page, it will be repeated on subsequent pages. A repeated unit will contain
(continued...) after its name. If the Items per Page setting has been customized to a number so
small that all parents cannot be repeated, only the parent closest to the target device will
be repeated.
Scan mode is not available when using the Topology view.
Other links
The side navigation bar also contains the following links that may be used to perform other unit
related tasks:
• Clicking Active Sessions accesses the Active Sessions window, which may be used to remove
or display information about target device sessions. See Managing Active Sessions on
page 116 for more information.
• Clicking Custom Field Labels specifies information for custom fields. See Managing units by
custom fields on page 131 for more information.
• Clicking Tools accesses unit tools. See Using Unit Tools on page 231 for more information.
To display managed appliances in the Appliances window:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the Units tab. Units is automatically selected in the top navigation bar and Unit Views is automatically selected in the side navigation bar.
2. Under Unit Views in the side navigation bar, click Appliances. The Appliances - All window
will open, including all managed appliances on your system.
3. Click on one of the managed appliance links in the side navigation bar to display the
Appliances window you wish to view.
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Managed appliances that you have recently accessed may also be displayed by clicking Recently
Accessed under Unit Views in the side navigation bar.
To display target devices in the Target Devices window:
From the DSView Explorer, click the Units tab. Units will automatically be selected in the top
navigation bar and Unit Views - Target Devices - All will automatically be selected in the side
navigation bar. The Target Devices - All window is displayed and includes all target devices on
your system.
If any target devices have been assigned a type, the name of each type will display in the side
navigation bar under the target devices. Clicking on a target device type will display only the target
devices assigned to the type.
To display units and SPC devices and outlets in the Topology window:
1. From the DSView Explorer, click the Units tab. Units will automatically be selected in the top
navigation bar and Unit Views - Target Devices - All is automatically selected in the side navigation bar. The Target Devices - All window is displayed.
2. Under Unit Views in the side navigation bar, click Topology. The Topology window will open
with a display of all appliances in addition to SPC devices and outlets in your system.
Showing and hiding units
Figure 4.2 explains some shown and hidden displays window features.
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Hidden items will
appear with a
transparent icon if
Show hidden items
is checked in the
Customize window.
Chapter 4: Managing Units 77
Display the Visibility
column by selecting the
Customize link. Change the
show/hide state of a unit by
clicking on Show or Hide.
Figure 4.2: Shown and Hidden Units in a Recently Accessed Units Window
Hiding turns off the display of units in the window, but do es not remove the units from your
DSView software system.
To hide a unit:
1. Click Customize in a Unit Views window. The Unit Views Customization window will open.
2. Click Visibility in the Available Fields column and then click Add. Visibility will be moved to
the Fields to Show column.
3. Click Show hidden items if you wish to display hidden units in the Unit Views Customization
window with a transparent icon.
4. Click Save and then click Close. The window will open containing the Visibility column. The
Visibility column will display Hide for each unit.
5. Click Hide for each unit. The display of the selected unit will be turned off in the Unit Views
window if Show hidden items was not selected in the Unit Views Customization window.
-orIf Show hidden items was selected, the hidden unit will appear with a transparent icon.
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To show a hidden unit:
1. Click Customize in a Unit Views window. The Unit Views Customization window will open.
2. Click Visibility in the Available Fields column and then click Add. Visibility will be moved to
the Fields to Show column.
3. Click Show hidden items.
4. Click Save and then click Close. The Unit Views window will open containing the hidden
items and the Visibility column. Hidden items will have a transparent icon and the Visibility
column will display the Show listing.
5. Click Show. The selected unit will be made visible, the transparent icon will be changed to a
non-transparent icon and the Visibility column will display the Hide listing.
Customizing Unit Views windows
By default, the following fields appear in the Unit Views windows:
• Name - Unit names. You may click on a name to display and change information or specify an
icon to associate with a unit. See Managing Units on page 86 for information.
• T ype - Type of target device or managed appliance model. See Changing Unit Overview Infor-
mation on page 86 for information about assigning a type to a target device.
• Status - Current activity level of a unit. The following status IDs may display for units:
• Idle - The unit is powered up with no connection.
• In Use - The unit has at least one active connection.
• Status Unknown - The status of the unit was reported to the software but cannot be
obtained for an unknown reason.
The following status IDs may display for target devices only:
• No Power - The target device is powered down.
• KVM Blocked - The connection path to the target device is blocked because a cascade
switch is already in use.
• Partial Power - The DSView software cannot determine the power state of the target
device, or the software received a mixed power state from the target device. For example,
if a target device has a KVM connection and an SPC connection, the software will prompt
for a power status for both of these connections. If both connections do not reply with ON
or OFF, the power status will display as Partial Power.
The Not Responding status ID may display for managed appliances only. In this case, the
managed appliance did not provide status information. This may occur for multiple reasons,
such as the appliance is not powered up or it is disconnected from the DSView
software system.
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Chapter 4: Managing Units 79
An icon appears to the right of the Name column to represent the status of a unit. Figure 4.1
lists and describes the status icons that may appear.
Table 4.1: Unit Status Icons
Icon in Name Field Description in Status Field Displays for
In Use Units
Not Responding Managed Appliances
No Power Target Devices
KVM Blocked Target Devices
Partial Power Target Devices
Status Unknown Units
• Action - Type of session that may be initiated. Although an EVR1500 environmental monitor,
generic appliance or target device may have multiple actions that may be performed (for example, a target device may be able to open using a browser session and telnet session), only one
action will appear in the Action column. The action that appears is based on the precedence of
the action, which is determined by the software, and whether the action is valid on the unit.
For example, a target device that is only attached to a CCM appliance will not contain a KVM
Session link in a Unit Views window. If a target device has a connection to both a CCM
appliance and a DS1800 digital switch or DSR switch, a KVM Session link will appear.
As shown in Figure 4.3, other available actions may be accessed by clicking the Alternate
Actions arrow to the right of the action with the highest precedence. Clicking on one of the
displayed links will launch the corresponding window type.
Click on the Alternate
Actions arrow to display a
list of all available
connection actions.
Click on an action to launch
the corresponding window.
Figure 4.3: Alternate Actions Arrow in a Unit Views Window
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Table 4.2 describes the types of software sessions (actions) and the precedence of each action.
Table 4.2: Actions to Initiate DSView Software Sessions
Action Description From Precedence
KVM Session
Exclusive KVM Session
Virtual Media Session
Reserved Virtual
Media Session
IPMI Session
Serial Session
Browser Session Opens a web browser
Telnet Session
* Exclusive KVM Session or Reserved Virtual Media Session appears in a Unit Views window only
when the Alternate Actions arrow is selected in the Action column. An exclusive KVM or reserved virtual
media session is shown immediately after its associated KVM or virtual media session. For example, if
a target device has two available KVM sessions, clicking the alternate actions icon in the Action column
will display KVM Session 1, Exclusive KVM Session 1, KVM Session 2 and Exclusive KVM Session 2.
Opens a Video Viewer
window session
Opens a Video Viewer
window session
Opens a Video Viewer
window session
Opens a Video Viewer
window session
Opens an IPMI Viewer
window
Opens a Telnet viewer
window session
Opens a Telnet/SSH applet
window session
Target devices 1 (Highest)
Target devices 1*
Target devices 1
Target devices 1*
IPMI 1.5 target devices 3
Target devices 4
Target devices, EVR1500
environmental monitors or
generic appliances
Target devices, EVR100
environmental monitors or
generic appliances
5
6
• Site - Name of a unit site. See Grouping units by site on page 122 for more information.
The following fields are not displayed by default, but may be displayed by selecting using
Customize link:
• Browser URL - URL that may be used to access a target device, EVR1500 environmental
monitor or generic appliance. This field will be empty if a URL is not available.
• Custom Field 1-3 - Custom fields that have been assigned to units. If these fields have been
defined with new names, the defined names will appear instead of Custom Field 1, Custom
Field 2 and Custom Field 3. See Managing units by custom fields on page 131 for
more information.
• Department - Department name assigned to units. See Grouping units by department on
page 125 for more information.
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Chapter 4: Managing Units 81
• DSView Software Server - Name of the server associated with the units.
• Location - Location assigned to the units. See Grouping units by location on page 127 for
more information.
• Migration Status - Whether units from an imported DSView 2.x database or CCM appliances
using AVWorks
®
software require migration to be operational in the DSView management
software. See Importing DSView 2.x software databases on page 236 for more information.
• Model Number - Model numbers. See Changing Unit Properties on page 88 for
more information.
• Part Number - Part numbers. See Changing Unit Properties on page 88 for more information.
• Primary Contact - Name of the person who is responsible for a unit. See Specifying user phone
contact information on page 147 for more information.
• Primary Contact Phone - Phone number of the primary contact. See Specifying user phone con-
tact information on page 147 for more inform ati on.
• Secondary Contact - Name of the person to contact if the primary contact is unavailable. See
Specifying user phone contact information on page 147 for more information.
• Secondary Contact Phone - Phone number of the secondary contact. See Specifying user phone
contact information on page 147 for more information.
• Serial Number - Serial numbers of units. See Changing Unit Properties on page 88 for
more information.
• Telnet Port - Port number used for a Telnet connection to a target device.
• Visibility - Whether to display (Show) or not display (Hide) a unit in the Unit Views windows.
See Using the Customize link in windows on page 14 for more information.
Adding Units
You may add:
• A single managed appliance
• Multiple managed appliances based on a range of IP addresses
• A single target device that is not attached to a managed appliance
NOTE: A DSI5100 appliance may be attached to only one DSView software system at a time.
When a managed appliance is added, DSView software administrator, user administrator and
appliance administrator privileges are automatically assigned to the managed appliance. A user
with any of these privileges may:
• Reboot a managed appliance
• Administer local user accounts on the managed appliance
• Control target device power
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• Establish sessions with target devices from the DS1800 digital switch, CPS appliance, CCM
appliance or DSR switch, or establish sessions with BMCs attached to a DSI5100 appliance as
target devices.
Appliance administrators and DSView software administrators may:
• Flash upgrade a managed appliance
• View and configure settings for a managed appliance
Managed appliance rights may be changed using the Access Rights link in the side navigation bar.
See Changing Unit Access Rights on page 91 for more information.
An SPC device is automatically added to the DSView software database and associated with the
specified serial port on a DSR switch, CPS appliance or CCM appliance when you add the
managed appliance. Any target devices plugged into the SPC device outlets are also added, based
on the options selected.
The applicable X.509 certificate is automatically copied from the DSView management software to
the DS1800 digital switch, DSI5100, CPS or CCM appliance or DSR switch being added. A
certificate is a unique identifier of an individual managed appliance
NOTE: EVR1500 environmental monitors and generic appliances do not support certificates and may be added
to multiple DSView software systems.
To add a single managed appliance:
NOTE: This procedure is valid for the following managed appliances: DS1800 digital switch, DSI5100 appliance,
CPS appliance, CCM appliance or DSR switch.
1. Click Add in a Unit Views window. The Add Unit Wizard will open. Click Next.
2. The Select Add Unit Procedure window will open. Click Add a single appliance, then
click Next.
3. The Select Appliance Type window will open. Select a managed appliance from the product
list, then click Next.
4. A Select Address Configuration of Appliance window will open including the name of the
managed appliance.
Click No, the <Managed Appliance Name> does not have an address if the managed
appliance does not have an existing address. Continue to step 5.
-orClick Yes, the <Managed Appliance Name> does have an address and either type the address
or the fully qualified domain name for the managed appliance. Go to step 7.
5. The Configure Appliance Network Settings window will open.
a. Type the IP address and subnet mask, in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx), for the
managed appliance.
b. Optionally, type a gateway in standard dot notation (xx.xx.xx.xx).
c. Click Next.
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