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Consul
xx
ZZZ
System Monitor
User Manual
*P077114303*
077-1143-03
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Consul System Monitor
User Manual
Supports software version 10.1.
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CONSUL
User Manual
© 2004-2017 Tektronix, Inc.
All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
Tektronix, Inc.
14150 SW Karl Braun Drive
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
USA
Federal copyright law protects this publication. No part of this publication may be copied or distributed,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any human or computer language in any form
or by any means (electronic, mechanical, magnetic, manual, or otherwise); or disclosed to third parties without the
express written permission of Tektronix, Inc.
Tektronix makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaim any
warranties, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Furthermore, Tektronix reserves the right to revise
this publication and to make changes from time to time in the contents hereof without obligation of Tektronix to
notify any person of such revisions or changes.
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Trademarks
Tektronix, the Tektronix logo, and Consul are trademarks of Tektronix, Inc.
Contacting Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc.
14150 SW Karl Braun Drive
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
USA
For technical support:
Sentry Technical support is available on Business Days from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time and 9:00
AM to 5:00 PM Indian Standard Time on the following numbers:
US/Canada toll-free 1-844-219-5329
India toll-free 1800-3000 4835
Russia toll-free 810800-22554411
United Kingdom 44 1344 39 2541
Europe* toll-free 00800-22554411
*Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, UK
Worldwide, please email videosupport@tektronix.com
About This Document
Audience
This user manual is intended for service providers who use Tektronix Consul for monitoring, historical
reporting, and alerting from MPEG-2, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4 part 10, and VC-1 transport stre ams. We
assume that you understand the concepts and tools used in a head-end environm ent. We assume that you
are familiar with basic computer operations such as click, drag and drop, and that you are also familiar
with the operation of an internet browser.
Purpose
The Tektronix Consul User Manual introduces you to the Consul Digital Content Monitor, and describes
in detail Consul’ features.
This user manual shows you how to configure, control, and use Tektronix Consul. This user manual also
describes the Consul hardware installation.
Screen Shot Note
While all screen shot s in this document are accurate and truthful representations of the product, some may
have been edited to remove information that could pose a security risk.
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Table of Contents
Sentry Family Product Matrix ............................................................................................................... 8
Preface ............................................................................................................................................... 10
Who Should Use This Manual ................................................................................................................... 10
What is Tektronix Consul? ....................................................................................................................... 10
Getting Started .................................................................................................................................. 12
Requirements .................................................................................................................. ........................ 12
Setting up the System .............................................................................................................................. 12
Making the Connection ........................................................................................................................ 13
Front Panel Functions (2016 to present models only) ............................................................................ 14
IP address on the front panel .............................................................................................................. 14
Navigation buttons ............................................................................................................................... 15
USB ports ............................................................................................................................................ 15
Status LEDs ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Power-off procedure ............................................................................................................................ 16
Front Panel Functions (2009 to 2016 models only) ................................................................................ 17
IP address on the front panel .............................................................................................................. 17
Manual power down from front panel ............................................................................................... 17
LED Brightness ..................................................................................................................................... 17
Starting the
Status ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Program Alert Dashboard ....................................................................................................................... 20
Access Program Alert Dashboard ........................................................................................................ 20
Interface Components .......................................................................................................... ............... 20
Combined view tab .............................................................................................................................. 22
Drill down to see Alert Details ............................................................................................................. 22
By Medius view tab ............................................................................................................................. 22
Dashboard ..................................................................................................................... .......................... 23
Access Dashboard ............................................................................................................................... 23
Region Location View .......................................................................................................................... 24
Web-Browser
Interface .................................................................................................... 18
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Medius Data Retrieval Status .................................................................................................................. 25
Access Medius Data Retrieval Status .................................................................................................. 25
Configure ........................................................................................................................................... 26
Registered Medius Units ......................................................................................................................... 26
Register New Medius .......................................................................................................................... 26
Consul Users ............................................................................................................................................ 30
Access Consul Users ............................................................................................................................ 30
Add New User ...................................................................................................................................... 30
Delete a User ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Consul System Preferences ..................................................................................................... ................ 33
Consul System Settings ........................................................................................................................... 34
Access System Settings ........................................................................................................................ 34
Network Settings tab .......................................................................................................................... 35
Time Tab .............................................................................................................................................. 36
Locale Tab ........................................................................................................................................... 37
SSL Settings .............................................................................................................................. ............... 38
Consul System Diagnostics .................................................................................................................. 40
System Upgrade ...................................................................................................................................... 45
Consul System Upgrade Procedure ..................................................................................................... 45
Upgrade Errors for Consul.................................................................................................................... 48
Upload Error Patch File ........................................................................................................................ 49
History tab ........................................................................................................................................... 50
Power off ................................................................................................................................................. 51
To Power Off a unit: ............................................................................................................................. 51
Restart a unit ....................................................................................................................................... 52
Reports .............................................................................................................................................. 53
Access Alerts Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 53
Work with Existing Reports ................................................................................................................. 55
Counts Tab .......................................................................................................................................... 57
Trends tab ........................................................................................................................................... 61
Trend Details ....................................................................................................................................... 62
Distributions tab .................................................................................................................................. 63
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History tab ........................................................................................................................................... 64
Selecting Sentrys to Limit Search ........................................................................................................ 65
Choose a Program Group .................................................................................................................... 67
About ................................................................................................................................................ 69
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Sentry Family Product Matrix
This Sentry product manual contains technical information on the Sentry family of video quality
monitors. Information for the Sentry Edge products can be found in Appendix B of the Sentry Series User
Manual.
Some of the features and purchasable options described in this manual are not supported on all of the
products. For a breakdown of features and options by product, please refer to the table below.
Service Sentry Sentry Verify Sentry ABR
Comprehensive MPEG Quality of Experience (QoE) Monitoring
Video QoE real time monitoring
Video eMOS/PVQ real time monitoring Optional Optional
Audio QoE real-time monitoring
Audio loudness & AC-3 Dialnorm (ITU-R BS.1770)
monitoring
Video freeze detection
Audio Silence detection
Comprehensive MPEG Quality of Service (QoS) Monitoring
Transport Stream QoS Monitoring
IP (UDP) statistics
HTTP Statistics
Closed captioning (708, 608, SCTE-20), DVB Subtitle,
Teletext reporting
Error Seconds and Program Availability Reporting
GOP length reporting
Video and Audio PID metadata
Program/PID discontinuity
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Program/PID/Transport Stream/Program Group
bandwidth graphing
PCR interval & jitter
MPEG-PSI, DVB-SI, ATSC-PSIP table detect, bit rate, cycle
time
TR 101 290 (priority 1, 2, 3) reporting
Scalable RF Monitoring (16/64/256 QAM A, B, or C) Optional Optional
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Optional
Optional
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Service Sentry Sentry Verify Sentry ABR
Purchasable Software Options
QoE Monitoring
Optional
Carousel monitoring (tru2way / OCAP/MHP / DSM-CC) Optional Optional
Ad Insertion/Digital Program Insertion Optional Optional
Advanced Closed Caption Analysis Optional Optional
EBIF Monitoring Optional Optional
SA-BFS Monitoring Optional Optional
Perceptual Video Quality (eMOS) on MPEG-2, AVC/H.264,
HEVC/H.265
Audio Loudness Monitoring (includes CALM Compliance)
IDR/EBP Alignment Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional Optional
Video & Audio
Video: UHD/4K, HD, SD, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264),
VC1, JPEG2000
Audio: Dolby AC-3, MPEG-1 Layer II, AAC, HE-AAC,
HE-AAC v2
Audio: Dolby E-AC-3 Optional Optional Optional
Interfaces
ASI Optional Optional
GigE
Dual GigE Optional Optional
10G Single-Mode or Multi-Mode LC SFP+ Optional Optional Optional
8VSB & QAM-B Optional Optional
QAM A, B, or C Optional Optional
QAM A/B/C RF Measurements: Level, EVM, MER, CNR,
Pre-RS BER, Post-FEC Erred Packets, Carrier Offset
Optional Optional
DVB-S/S2 Optional Optional
DVB-T/T2 Optional Optional
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Preface
This user manual describes Consul and its web browser-based interface. This manual introduces the
components and features of Consul, so you can begin using the device.
Who Should Use This Manual
This manual is intended for service providers who use Tektronix Consul for monitoring, reporting and
alerting from MPEG transport streams. You should understand the concepts and tools used in a headend
environment. You should also be familiar with basic computer operations such as click, drag and drop, as
well as the operation of a web browser.
What is Tektronix Consul?
The Consul is an aggregation device that provides a central location to view important alert information
for all of your Medius units.
The Consul allows you to compare like programs across multiple Medius units to correlate reports for
anomalies and view trending data for all of your services.
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Getting Started
Requirements
You will need a web connection accessible via any modern web browser. We recommend Mozilla Firefox
as the browser.
NOTE: Before installing the system in an equipment rack, make sure that:
The operating temperature is between 0 °C (32 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F).
The operating relative humidity is between 0% and 80%.
There is sufficient airflow around the unit.
The electrical circuits are not overloaded.
The equipment is properly grounded.
No objects are placed on top of the unit.
Setting up the System
To set up Consul, you need:
A 10Base-T network connection
Network parameters including address of DNS and NTP servers on your network. (Refer to the
section Configure: System Settings.)
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Making the Connection
1. On the management port, connect one end of a Cat5 Ethernet cable to the LAN2 connector on the
Consul unit and the other end to the network socket that connects to the LAN network.
2. Connect the power cord(s) to the system and plug it in to an electrical outlet.
3. Turn on the main power switch on the front of the system.
Figure 1: Making final connections
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Front Panel Functions (2016 to present models only)
The following applies only to units made in 2016 to present.
These models are able to provide the following functions:
IP address readout on LCD display
Manual Reboot option from front panel
Hard drive installation or replacement
Figure 2: Sentry front panel (2016 to present models only)
IP address on the front panel
The LCD (Local Control Display) is a 16-character, one-line display with two backlight colors:
Green. The LCD backlight is green under normal operating conditions.
Amber. If a hardware problem is detected with the server, the LCD backlight turns amber. When
the problem is cleared, the backlight returns to green.
Under normal operation, the readout will display the IP address of the Management Port in the form
“Tektronix Sentry IP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx.” The factory default IP address is 10.0.10.200.
Depending on the status of the instrument, you may see additional status messages such as Rebooting,
Shutdown, Stopped, etc. When errors are encountered, associated error messages may be displayed.
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Navigation buttons
Do not use the navigation buttons. The navigation buttons can be used to access and navigate an internal
menu system provided by the manufacturer of the Sentry chassis.
CAUTION: To prevent operational problems with the instrument, do not attempt to make any changes
to the menu settings.
USB ports
Use the two USB 2.0 ports to connect external USB devices to the instrument.
Status LEDs
The status LEDs indicate the following information about the state of the instrument:
Item Description
ID System ID button with LED
On/Standby button illuminates when the instrument is powered on
Illuminates when activity occurs on the Management Port (1) and on the IP Video
port (2)
Illuminates when there is drive activity
System status LED
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Power-off procedure
The preferred method for rebooting or powering off a Sentry is through the web interface.
WARNING: When moving a Sentry, it is very important to properly power off the Sentry via the web
interface.
Never unplug a Sentry without performing the Power-off procedure. Improper shutdown
may cause file corruption and failure of the Sentry.
Perform the following steps to power-off the instrument:
1. Use the Configure > Power Off menu option from the user interface to start the power-off
process.
2. In the event that you cannot access the user interface, press the front panel On/Standby button
once to power off the instrument.
NOTE: The LCD display does not indicate that the instrument has begun a Safe
Power Off process. Please wait more than 30 seconds for the instrument to
visibly start to power-off.
3. To completely remove power from the instrument after a safe power-off, disconnect both power
cords from the rear of the instrument.
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Front Panel Functions (2009 to 2016 models only)
Consul units are able to provide the following functions:
IP address display on LED
Manual Reboot option from front panel
LED Brightness control
Power button
LCD Display
Left button
Figure 3: Consul front panel (2009 to 2016 models)
Enter button
Right button
IP address on the front panel
To see a display of the IP addresses of both of the system network interfaces on the front panel LCD
display:
1. Press and hold Enter (green check mark) on the front panel.
2. The address displayed on the top line corresponds to the Management interface and the lower
line corresponds to the MPEG/IP input.
Manual power down from front panel
In addition to powering down through the Consul interface, you may also use the front panel button.
1. Start the power down of the unit by pressing the front panel power button two times quickly
within 2 seconds.
2. Within moments, the LCD display will indicate that the unit has begun the Safe Power Off
process, and several seconds following, the unit will power down completely.
LED Brightness
1. The brightness of the LCD display backlight can be changed by selecting either the left arrow or
right arrow buttons on the front panel. The left button will dim the display while the right will
brighten it.
2. Changes to the brightness level persist until the unit is rebooted or powered down.
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Starting the
1. Start your web browser.
Web-Browser
Interface
2. Enter the IP address assigned to Consul in the web browser’s URL field.
For example, if the Consul IP address is 192.168.1.1, you would enter the following:
Figure 4: IP Address Entry
NOTE: Consul is fully functional if JavaScript is disabled in your browser, however
the look and feel of the UI may differ in some areas from that presented in
this User Manual.
3. Log in with the user name and password for the account.
Figure 5: Consul Log In Screen
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4. The Consul opens to the Program Alert Dashboard view.
Figure 6: The Dashboard
NOTE: There may be a few seconds delay while the Dashboard screen collects data.
Do not stop the browser while loading is in progress
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Status
From the Main Menu, select Status then select the particular status view you want to see. All pages are
set to automatically refresh themselves making monitoring almost real time.
Program Alert Dashboard
Program Alert Dashboard gives you a quick overview of all open and recently triggered alerts by
program.
Access Program Alert Dashboard
Select Status from the main menu and then select Program Alert Dashboard.
Refresh
options
View
Figure 7: Selecting Program Alert Dashboard
Interface Components
Navigation Bar
Global Program search
Color Coded Alerts for
Individual Consul units
Login Info
Consul Status Info
Alert Filter
Figure 8: Program Alert Dashboard
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Login Information
The Login Information area displays the username of the logged on user and provides a link to log out of
Consul.
Click Logout to log out of the system. The username and date and time of the most recent refresh of the
screen are also shown.
Navigation bar
The Navigation bar provides the main navigation for the Consul. It includes drop-down menu items for
Status, Configure, Reports, and About.
Consul Status Information
When viewing the Medius tab, the header of each Medius box will be color coded to Online (white) or
Unreachable which means it is off-line (red).
Alert Filter
Alert Filter allows you to refine the search criteria for alerts, including the checkbox option. Includes
resolved alerts in open count.
View tabs
View tabs allow you to view the current status by Combined or By Medius view.
Refresh options
All views in Program Alerts Dashboard will refresh every 60 seconds without moving the page or
scroll position.
Global Program Search
From the Find box, you may search programs across all devices. Example: A search for Discovery
Channel will bring up all instances of Discovery Channel on all connected Medius units.
Color Coded Alerts
This section shows the current alert status of each program.
• Red: Open alert
• Number in Red cell: Number of alerts in the last hour
• Green: No alerts
• Yellow: Cleared alerts triggered in the configured period
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Combined view tab
The programs and alert count values in the Combined view combine all alert counts across all registered
Medius units.
Drill down to see Alert Details
To see the details of where the programs that generate the alerts reside, click on the program in any cell.
If the program is being monitored on more than one registered Medius, this will take you to the By
Medius tab. Otherwise, it will take you directly to the Medius Program Alert Dashboard for further
analysis. You must log in to that Medius to complete the analysis.
By Medius view tab
You may also view all of the above information by the individual Consul unit by selecting the By Medius
tab.
Figure 9: By Medius tab
Drill Down to see Alert Details
To see the details of where the programs that generated the alert reside select the program name in any
cell. This will take you directly to the Medius Program Alert Dashboard for further analysis. You
must log in to the new Medius to complete the analysis.
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Dashboard
The Dashboard view allows you to see the Medius units by Region and Location.
Access Dashboard
Select Dashboard from the Status main menu.
Figure 10: Select Dashboard
Figure 11: Dashboard view
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Region Location View
The Region Location View tab allows you to sort your view by the following options:
• List Consul
• List Consul by Region, then Location
• List Consul by Location
• List Consul by Region
Figure 12: Select Location view
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Medius Data Retrieval Status
Medius Data Retrieval Status allows you to view the status of the alert data retrieval for each registered
Medius.
Every 15 minutes, Consul will retrieve the aggregated alert data from each Medius for the Alert Analysis
reports.
This report will enable you to see if the retrieval process for any of the Medius units is delayed.
Additionally when a new Medius unit is registered, the results are pulled over from the most recent to the
oldest until all two months of history has been retrieved. This report will enable you to determine how far
back the results have been pulled.
• Red shows that no data has been retrieved for that block of time for that Medius.
• Green shows that all data has been retrieved for that block of time for that Medius.
• Yellow shows that some of the data has been retrieved for that block of time for that Medius.
Access Medius Data Retrieval Status
Select from the Status menu
.
Figure 13: Selecting Medius Data Retrieval Status
Figure 14: Medius Data Retrieval Status
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Configure
The Configure menu section is used to configure and set parameters that stay constant throughout Consul
reports and forms.
Registered Medius Units
The Registered Consul Units section allows you to Register a New Consul and Move/Edit or Remove
the IP address for an existing Consul.
Select Registered Consul Units from the main menu.
Figure 15: Accessing Registered Consul Units
Register New Medius
Select Register New Medius
Figure 16: Register New Consul button
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Next, enter the IP address of the Consul you are registering and click Get Medius Info. If that IP address
points to a valid Medius unit, you may proceed. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Figure 17: Enter IP Address
Select Save when finished.
Move/Edit a Medius
The process for changing one or more system IP addresses involves using the System Setting on Medius
to change a Medius IP address, or using the Consul System Setting page to change the Consul IP address
(or both).
If the Medius and the Consul can reach each other over the network at their new addresses, they will
communicate their new IP addresses to each other automatically and no further action is required.
If the Medius and Consul do not connect to each other due to address change
However, if the new addresses result in the units not being able to communicate (because the addresses
are being changed in anticipation of a physical relocation of both the Consul and Medius or because of a
substantial network change), the following steps are recommended:
1. On the Medius System Settings page, change the IP address for the desired Medius units.
Because communication between the Medius and Consul will be temporarily unavailable, each
Medius will be unable to inform Consul of its new IP.
2. Navigate to the Consul System Settings page, change the IP address for the Consul unit. Consul
will be unable to inform each of the Medius units of its new IP address because it still has the old
IP addresses for those units.
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3. Finally, from the Consul Register New Medius page, when the systems are reconnected in their
new configuration, use the Move/Edit link below for each moved Medius to inform Consul of the
Medius units new IP addresses.
Figure 18: Select Move/Edit
Figure 19: Enter IP Address
4. Select Save.
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Remove a Consul
Locate the Consul you wish to remove and select Remove from that line
Figure 20: Remove Option
A warning message will appear.
To proceed, select Yes, remove the Consul.
Figure 21: Consul removal warning message
The Registered Consul list will return showing that the selected Consul has been successfully removed.
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Consul Users
Consul supports any number of users. Users are defined by two categories of privileges: Administrator
and Regular User.
An Administrator can make system wide configuration changes and is the only one who can create user
accounts.
A Regular User cannot add users, set alerts or make any changes to the system wide settings.
Access Consul Users
Select Consul Users from the Configure menu.
Figure 22: Selecting Consul Users
Add New User
1. Select Add New User.
Figure 23: Add New User
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2. Enter the new user’s information.
3. Any information that is highlighted in red is required.
Figure 24: Configure User screen
4. Select Add User when finished.
CAUTION: All Administrator passwords must be kept in a secure location.
If you forget your Administrator password, contact Tektronix Customer Support
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Delete a User
CAUTION: Once users are deleted, there is no recovery.
To reinstate a user, you must manually add them back to the system.
1. To delete a user select Delete located to the right of a user name.
Figure 25: Select Delete
Select Yes, delete this user to completely remove the user from the system.
Figure 26: Confirm deletion of the user
The following message will display if removal was successful.
Figure 27: Confirmation of deletion
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Consul System Preferences
An administrator can set the default setting for how long to display yellow blocks on the Program Alert
Dashboard for cleared alerts triggered in that time interval.
Figure 28: Consul System Preferences
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Consul System Settings
Users may change a host of basic settings on Consul such as Network, Time, and Locale.
Access System Settings
1. Select Consul System Settings from the Configure menu.
Figure 29: Select System Settings
Select the tab of the function you wish to review or change.
Figure 30: System Settings
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Network Settings tab
1. From the Network tab, review or change the information as needed.
Figure 31: Network System Settings
2. Select Save Settings when finished.
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Time Tab
1. From the Time tab, enter or review the information as needed.
2. Select Save Date and Time Settings when finished.
Figure 32: Time Settings
The time page allows you to enter the IP addresses for the NTP server(s) and to manually set the Time if
an installation does not have NTP servers.
• Network Time Protocol (NTP) Setup: Sentry synchronizes its internal clock with external time
servers to insure a high degree of accuracy. Specify the fully qualified domain name or IP address
of at least one NTP server.
• Manual Time Setup: For installations that do not have NTP servers, the time page provides the
capability to set the Time manually.
• Time Zone: Choose the system time zone.
• Time Format Settings: Choose whether times are displayed on a 24-hour basis or a 12-hour
basis, with AM/PM.
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Locale Tab
Locale is used for STD auto-naming function as well as XDS display. This allows you to choose what
character set to use in the interface. Example: Western alphabet or Chinese Kanji.
1. From the Locale tab, complete or review the information as needed.
Figure 33: Locale Settings
2. Select Save Locale Settings when finished.
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SSL Settings
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ensures that all data passed between the Consul web application and
browsers is encrypted and secure. The SSL tab allows you to configure your Consul to be SSL enabled.
All units in a Sentry cluster (Sentry, Medius, Consul) must have the same SSL configuration for
communication between all units to work. Changing the SSL setting will break communication with all
other units until their settings are changed as well. After changing the setting, access all other units
directly to update their SSL settings. All SSL communication will occur on port 443. If you wish to
enable SSL, ensure that this port is not blocked.
Communication between the Medius and its Sentrys can be checked by visiting the Medius Program Alert
Dashboard. Similarly, communication between Consul and its Medius units can be checked by visiting
the Consul Program Alert Dashboard/By Medius tab.
To change the setting, choose Enable or Disable and click Save SSL Settings.
Changing the SSL settings requires a system reboot. You will be prompted, and must choose OK to
continue, or Cancel to cancel the changes without rebooting.
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Consul uses a self-signed certificate. Although all data between the web applications and the browser are
secure and encrypted, the certificates are not verified by a trusted certificate authority. Signed certificates
are domain-name based and generally serve the purpose of ensuring a consumer can trust a public web
site. These concerns do not apply to employees using an application in a corporate intranet. However,
your browser will generally warn you the first time you access each unit. The warning depends on the
browser you are using, but contain a warning like:
Rest assured that the data transmitted to and from your browser is secure and encrypted.
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Consul System Diagnostics
System Diagnostics allows you to perform basic tests for connectivity and communications between
Consul and other devices.
Select Consul System Diagnostics from the Configure menu.
Figure 34: Access System Diagnostics
Email Diagnostics
• Send: Send a test email
• View Email Log: View the email servers log file
• Clear Email Queue: Delete unsent emails on the email queue
Figure 35: Email Diagnostics tab
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Figure 36: Results of email diagnostics
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Network Connectivity
• Ping Server: ICMP ping to validate connectivity
• Traceroute: Perform a path trace to host
• Check Web Response: Performs WGET to the host specified on TCP port 80
• DNS Verification: Checks to see if DNS servers are reachable and working
Figure 37: Network Connectivity tab
Figure 38: Diagnostic results for Ping
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Figure 39: Results for traceroute
Figure 40: Results for web server response
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Figure 41: Options for DNS Verification
Health Check
The Health Check tab allows you to generate a system health check file to provide to Tektronix VNM
Technical Support on request.
This takes several minutes to generate, so click Run Health Check Now, which will change the Last
Successful Execution time to “In Progress”. When this is done you can download the file to send to
Tektronix VNM Technical Support. This is an encrypted file, so your system information is secure.
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System Upgrade
System Upgrade allows system Administrators to remotely upgrade their Consul units to the latest
software releases. The upgrade can be performed by anyone with administrator access.
System Upgrade will also allow you to view a log of past updates, including their name and date applied
via the History tab.
If your support contract is current, you can perform a Consul system upgrade. To get started, you must
first obtain an upgrade package from Tektronix. Please call your Tektronix Service Representative for
more details.
WARNING: During a Consul upgrade, all monitoring will be suspended and users will not be
Consul System Upgrade Procedure
Select System Upgrade from the Configure menu.
able to access the Consul pages. Choose your upgrade time accordingly.
Figure 42: Upgrade tab
1. From here, you may either Upgrade or see a History of past upgrades for both the Consul unit
and all Consul assigned to it.
2. For this procedure, select Upgrade.
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Section
3. Once you have received a valid Consul upgrade package from Tektronix, navigate to this
file by clicking the Browse button and selecting your upgrade package file from its
current location.
4.
Next, click Upload Package to upload the upgrade package file to Consul.
5. Consul will perform an automatic check to make sure this is a valid upgrade for the system. Once
it has been validated, the following screen will appear:
Figure 43: Upgrade package confirmation and Upgrade Consul button
Section
6. Upon returning to the System Upgrade screen, you should see another next to Section .
7. Section will show the upgrade information and an arrow leading from the old version to
the new version. Select Upgrade Consul to continue.
8. The next screen will warn you that during a Consul system upgrade, all monitoring will be
suspended and users will not be able to access the Consul pages. If you wish to continue with
the upgrade, click Yes, Upgrade Consul.
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Figure 44: Upgrade confirmation
9. You will then be routed to the Upgrade Status page. From here, you will be able to monitor
the progress of the Upgrade. A will appear next to each completed Section. The
number of steps varies from upgrade to upgrade.
Figure 45: Successful Upgrade
10. The system will begin upgrading and wil l display the status. If the system upgrades
successfully, all system monitoring will resume automatically and users will be able to access
the Consul pages.
11. Click Return to Consul to return to the main Consul pages.
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Upgrade Errors for Consul
If any type of error occurs during the upgrade or the pre-verification steps of the upgrade, you will
see the following:
Figure 46: Upgrade Error
You will need to contact a Tektronix Support representative to troubleshoot and resolve the issue.
In order to help your support representative resolve the problem, you will need to download the
upgrade log and provide it to Tektronix. This log file is an encrypted file with detailed information
that is critical to Tektronix to being able to diagnose your problem.
1. Click Download Log to save the upgrade log file.
There are two types of errors you might encounter:
Recoverable error
This is generally an error that happens in the pre-verification step. Such errors are recoverable, in that
you can roll back the upgrade and return to the pre-upgrade state. If the error is Recoverable, you can
click the Restore System button.
For such an error, providing the upgrade log to your Tektronix representative is still crucial, because
Tektronix will still need to provide you with a patch in order for you to complete your upgrade.
Error Requiring a Patch
If the error is not a recoverable error, it will require a patch from Tektronix to resolve. At this point, you
must provide your Tektronix support representative with the upgrade log file. After diagnosing the
problem, Tektronix will provide you with an upgrade patch file.
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Upload Error Patch File
1.
To upload the patch file click Browse and select the file.
Figure 47: Uploading the patch
2. Next, click Upload.
3. If this is a valid patch for this Sentry at this time, you can click Apply Patch to apply the
patch and resume the upgrade.
NOTE: If you didn’t download the upgrade log from this page, you can do so later by clicking the
History tab on the System Upgrade page.
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History tab
The History tab on the System Upgrade page will display a history of all system upgrades performed.
To access, select System Upgrade from the Configure drop down menu and then select the history tab.
Figure 48: Upgrade history log
If there are any errors with the current upgrade, you can access the upgrade log from this page.
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Power off
Consul allows users to do a remote Restart or Power Off of any Consul unit.
You cannot Power Off or Restart a Consul unit from a Consul. That action must be done from
the Consul itself.
WARNING: When moving a Consul, it is very important to properly power off the Consul.
Never unplug a Consul without performing the Power Off procedure.
NOTE: A Restart or Power Off may make it difficult to troubleshoot the cause of the problem
later on as log information has the potential to be permanently lost.
To navigate to the Remote Restart and Power Off page, go to the main menu and select Configure and
then Power Off.
Improper shutdown may cause file corruption and failure of the Consul.
To Power Off a unit:
1. Select Power Off.
Figure 49: Access Power off
1. Select Submit.
2. The next screen will show a conformation.
3.
Select No if you wish to cancel the action or Yes if you wish to continue with the power off.
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Restart a unit
In the unlikely event that the Consul is not behaving as expected, as last resort, you m ay attempt a
Restart.
1. Select Restart.
2. Select Submit.
Figure 50: Restart button
3. The next screen will show a conformation.
4. Select No if you wish to cancel the action or Yes if you wish to continue with the restart.
Figure 51: Restart Confirmation
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Reports
Alert Analysis provides an easy to use graphic analysis to visually represent alerts. These representations
can be useful to track trends and to display a variety of information for any viewer, regardless of their
technical experience.
Access Alerts Analysis
Select Alert Analysis from the Reports drop-down menu.
Figure 52: Selecting Alert Analysis
The summary screen consists of the following areas:
Report Navigation tabs takes user to new reports.
New Report icons allows user to select type for new report.
Existing Reports list allows user to choose existing public and private reports.
Report Navigation tabs
Existing Reports
Figure 53: Alert Analysis screen
New Report icons
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Report Navigation tabs and New Report icons
The Report Navigation tabs contain most of the same areas that the New Report icons do. Either
may be used according to your preference.
Summary
Create a new report or view or modify an existing rep ort.
Counts
Shows the user a top 10 (20 or 30) count report group for a given time period.
Trends
Totals the alert count over time for all or selected ports.
Trend Details
Allows user to create a more detailed Trend report.
Distribution
Creates a pie chart showing total alerts by type for a given time period
History
(Not included on the New Report icons) Selecting the History tab above the New Report icons
will take the user to a history of what alerts were emailed and when.
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Work with Existing Reports
When working with existing reports, you may select various functions from either Private Reports or
Public Reports. In either case, you may Delete Selected reports, Disable the delivery of selected reports
or Enable the delivery of selected reports.
Delete a Saved Report
Select the checkbox for the reports you wish to delete and then select Delete Selected reports. Select
Yes to continue.
Figure 54: Delete Reports confirmation
Disable Delivery of Emailed Reports
Select the reports you would like to temporarily suspend and then select Disable Selected reports. Select
Yes to continue.
Figure 55: Disable Delivery confirmation
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Enable Deliver of Emailed Reports
Select the disabled reports you would like to start sending out again and then select Enable Selected
reports. Select Yes to continue.
Figure 56: Enable Delivery confirmation
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Counts Tab
The Counts tab shows the user a top 10 (20 or 30) count by
Medius/Sent ry/Re gion /Loc at ion/pr ogram/program group for a given time period.
Figure 57: Counts tab
How to create a sample Counts report
This function allows you to set your counts to count by program for specified time frame. Selecting Top
10 will generate the top 10 alert counts by program.
This is used to see what your problem channels are.
1. Set Report Type to Count’s by Program.
2. Set the dates for a one week period.
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3. Set Alert Type to one of the following: all alerts port/all pro gram group/all limit top 1 0.
4. Select Generate Report.
NOTE: The bottom of the report is a tabular view of the programs in chart form. Click on the link
Saving a report
Once you have a report the way you like it, save it so that you can run it again without having to
reconfigure it. If you make it public, others users will be able to use it as well. Selecting Private will
make it only
You can also set it to email you automatically.
to go to the specified time period for that particular Program Detail Report.
viewable for
your specific login.
1. Name the Report.
2. Select either Private/Share with others.
3. Select Save report.
4. Select OK.
Schedule a Report
You can schedule a report to run automatically and email a PDF of the results.
1. Select the Schedule button that appears after the report has been saved.
Figure 58: Selecting Schedule
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2. The Scheduling opti ons page will automatically load.
Figure 59: Scheduling Options page
3. Section : Select the Frequency.
Figure 60: Select the Frequency
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4. Section : Select recipients and format the email (Subject, Email body , etc.)
5. Select whether you want Medius to attach the report a s a PDF or CSV file.
Figure 61: Section 2-Email Settings
6. Section : : Schedule the delivery termination
7. You may set it to only email you one time, every time or to end on a particular date.
8. You may also temporarily suspend delivery (for vacations, etc.)
Figure 62: Update Schedule
9. Select Update Schedule.
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Trends tab
The Trends tab totals the alert count ove r time for all or selected Sentr ys. This report will generate a
line graph of the number alerts for a time period per Medius, Sentry, Region and Location.
Figure 63: Trends tab
Set a Trends report
1. Choose time frame for the report.
2. Select alert types you wish to view.
3. Select which Sentry/Sentrys you wish to view.
4. Select Generate Report.
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Trend Details
Trend Details allows you to create an expanded Trend report. This is a handy report to run if you
want to further investigate something from the Trend report.
1.
Select Trend Details.
Figure 64: Trend Details tab
2. Select the Report type (ex. Trends for Selected Sentrys (combined)) from the drop-down menu.
3. Set the time period.
4. Select the Alert Type.
5. Depending on the report type you need, select which Sentry/Sentrys program you wish to view.
6. Select Generate Report.
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Distributions tab
Distributions will give you a pie chart graphic that shows the break out of all the different types of alerts.
Figure 65: Distributions tab
Use this to see a distribution summary of all of your alerts for a given time period. This could be
handy to know what percentage of all your alerts are of a certain type.
1. Select the Report Type.
2. Select the required time period.
3. Select Alert Type.
4. Depending on the report type you need, select which Sentry/Sentrys program you wish to view.
5. Select Generate Report.
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History tab
The History tab allows the user to see a schedule of reports that have been mailed. It is primarily
used to see who is receiving which reports and when they are receiving them.
Reports will be generated here
Figure 66: History tab
1. Select the time range of the reports you wish to see.
2. Select Refresh.
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Selecting Sentrys to Limit Search
From the Counts, Trends, Trend Details and Distributions tabs, you can narrow down any report to
include only certain Sentrys.
1. Click on Sentrys: Select.
2. This will present you with two options: Choose Sentrys by Region/Location or Choose
Sentrys by their Associated Medius Units.
Figure 67 Limiting your Sentrys by Region
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Choose Sentry by Region/Location
To choose specific Sentrys by Region and/or Location:
1. Select Choose Sentrys by Region/Location.
2. Select Next.
3. You will now be able to use the Region/Location hierarchy to choose which Sentrys appear in
your report.
Figure 68: Select a Sentry
4. Select Accept when done.
Choose Sentry by Associated Medius
To choose specific Sentrys by their Medius:
1. Select Choose Sentrys by their Associated Medius Units.
2. Select Next.
Figure 69: Limit Sentrys by Associated Medius Units
3. You are now able to choose which Medius units to include in the report.
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Figure 70: Select a Medius
4. Select Accept when done.
Choose a Program Group
The program level reports allow you to choose a program group to limit the programs that show up in
your report.
1. Select your Report Type. (If the Program Group button is grayed out, you will need to select
from the list below.)
You may select a Program Group from the following Report Types:
• Counts by Program Group
• Counts by Program
• Trends for Selected Program Group
• Distribution for Selected Program Group
2. To select a program group, select Program Group: Select.
Figure 71: Select a Program Group
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3. Because Program Groups are defined at the Medius level, you will first be prompted to select
the Medius on which your specific program group resides.
Figure 72: Select Medius
4. Choose the Medius and select Next.
Figure 73: Select Medius
5. Select Accept when done.
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About
The About menu gives you the option to view information about the identity and upgrade package of the
Consul.
Figure 74: Access About Consul
Figure 75: About page
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