Overview

The virtual machine images are built on Debian 10.3 and Microsoft .Net Core 3.1.8

Virsae will automatically update and support the VSM application within the Debian host deployed via an OVA.

The packaged OVA itself will routinely be updated with the latest updates and upgrades but these will not be pushed out to any running/deployed Debian hosts. As such Virsae recommend customers or partners with deployed Debian hosts update these as a part of general maintenance activity.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

If you receive a message that the version has changed and 'must be accepted explicitly', run the following command and then repeat the upgrade command above.
sudo apt-get update --allow-releaseinfo-change

Hypervisor Requirements

To use one of the virtual machine images the customer will need to provide either a Microsoft Hyper-V server or a VMware hypervisor platform.

The appropriate management applications will then be used to import and deploy one of the supplied virtual machine images.

The network connection used by the virtual machine must have Internet Access and also be able to communicate with all equipment that will be monitored.

VMware

The Debian image specifications are:

Hyper-V

The Debian image specifications are:

Download Virtual Machine Image

The Linux OVA is available for download under Files and Folders> Shared with me> Virsae> VSM> VSM Software.

Select the image required for your environment (VMWare or Hyper-V).

Unzip the file to an appropriate location and import into your hypervisor of choice.

Virtual Machine Installation and Hypervisor Settings

Follow the vendor instructions for installing the downloaded image:

• VMWare OVA
  • Choose the appropriate vSphere version you are using from the dropdown menu to get the correct installation instructions.
• Hyper-V

You will need to select a virtual switch that can connect to both the internet and the monitored equipment (as shown in the image below).

Initial Settings

The initial configuration described below includes:

• Password change from default – to increase security
• Static IP address – required as a destination for file transfer, RTCP, CDR and syslog.
• DNS configuration.
• Configure customer and location – Required to connect to Azure

With the virtual machine installed and running, open a console.

In Hyper-V, open a console session by pressing: "Connect" on the side panel.

In VMWare, open a console session by right-clicking on the newly created virtual machine in the "Target" column, then go to "Console".

Select any option for opening a console session.

Once the console is opened the remaining steps are identical for both a Hyper-V and VMWare setup.

First Login and Changing Password

Login using the following credentials:

User: administrator 
Password: Administrator 

For security, it is best practice to change the default password. On your first login, you will be prompted to change the password.

This requires that you retype the currently set password (i.e. "Administrator"), followed by entering the new password twice; once to create the new password and a second to confirm the new password.

Otherwise, to change the password, type "passwd administrator" and enter the current password (i.e. "Administrator") followed by the new password and then confirm the new password.

Change Network Settings

Once a new password has been registered, log in using the new credentials and type:

$sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Then edit the file to change the IP address configuration to fixed IP. Ensure this is not assigned to another device and can communicate out to Azure and internally to the equipment to be monitored.

Change or add the following items:

• Iface – change from dynamic to static.
• Address – add the IP address to be used.
• Netmask – Add an appropriate netmask for the IP address used i.e. for a class C address use 255.255.255.0
• Network – this is the base network and is generally the subnet ending with a 0.
• Broadcast – the broadcast address is generally the subnet ending in 255.
• Gateway – the IP address of the gateway on this subnet.

To save the change press 'Ctrl+O' and then press 'Enter' to write out the changes. To close the 'nano' editor press 'Ctrl+X'.

DNS Configuration:

To configure the domain name servers for this device edit the resolv.conf file by typing:

$sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf

Then press enter.

Add or edit one or more name servers appropriate for your environment.

To save the change press 'Ctrl+O' and then press 'Enter' to write out the changes. To close the 'nano' editor press 'Ctrl+X'.

Reboot the image for the network configuration changes to take effect.  Type:

$sudo reboot 

Then press 'Enter'.

After the device has rebooted, log in again using the password created earlier.

Assign Customer and Location

To assign the customer and location you first need to log into the web portal and navigate to the customer and location you wish to generate a Onetime code for.

From the Services Menu > Customer > Equipment Locations right-click on the required location and select Generate Onetime Code as shown below.

Copy the Onetime Code to the clipboard.

In the console session, run the command "VSMConfigure" followed by the onetime code generated.

$sudo VSMConfigure {Onetime Code}

The VSM Collector will open a connection to Azure and request the Customer and Location details which are displayed by the console session.

Confirm the correct Customer and Location has been retrieved.

administrator@UCSPMachine0:~$ VSMConfigure 3817818
Virsae service is available on port 35037
Using One Time Code to configure Customer: Pyrios(XXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX)
Location: Antares(XXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX)
Sending data to 127.0.0.1:35037

The configuration of the Virtual Machine is now complete.

Post Installation Information

The VSM SFTP service runs on port 22. As a result, the Secure Shell service, which enables you to SSH to the virtual machine, is running on a non-standard port - port 8222.

New credentials will need to be set up to, via the web portal, utilize the VSM SFTP service. See here for information.

Log files for the applications are found in the /tmp directory.

To stop or start the services (this is usually requested by support personnel), use the following commands in the order shown.

#Stopping the service
$sudo systemctl stop machineproxy.service
$sudo systemctl stop clientgateway.service

#Starting the service
$sudo systemctl start machineproxy.service
$sudo systemctl start clientgateway.service

Proxy Setup

This section describes how to configure the virtual machine to handle passing through a proxy server.

Client Gateway

Open a console session to the virtual machine and log in.

Stop the VSM Client Gateway by typing the following command:

$sudo systemctl stop clientgateway.service

Type:

$sudo nano /opt/ADSClientGateway/ADSServiceHost.cfg

This will open up the Client Gateway configuration file.

Once all changes have been made, save the change press 'Ctrl+O' and then press 'Enter' to write out the changes. To close the 'nano' editor press 'Ctrl+X'.

Once the changes have been saved, restart the Client Gateway by entering the following:

$sudo systemctl start clientgateway.service

Machine Proxy

Configuring the Machine Proxy, to handle passing through the proxy server, follow the same process used for the configuration of the Client Gatway.

The Machine Proxy service should be stopped using:

$sudo systemctl stop machineproxy.service

The configuration file for the Machine Proxy service is accessed using the following command:

$sudo nano /opt/ADSMachineProxy/ADSServiceHost.cfg

Update the required values as specified by the table above.

Restart the Machine Proxy service using the following command:

$sudo systemctl start machineproxy.service