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KACE Systems Deployment Appliance 9.2 Common Documents - Administrator Guide

About the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance Getting started Using the Dashboard Configuring the appliance Setting up user accounts and user authentication Configuring security settings Preparing for deployment Managing device inventory Using labels Creating a Windows or Linux Boot Environment Managing drivers Capturing images Capturing user states Creating scripted installations Creating a task sequence Automating deployments Performing manual deployments Managing custom deployments Managing offline deployments About the Remote Site Appliance Importing and exporting appliance components Managing disk space Troubleshooting appliance issues Updating appliance software Glossary About us Legal notices

Log in to the Administrator Console

Log in to the Administrator Console

You can log in to the Administrator Console from any device on the local area network (LAN) after the network settings are configured, and after the appliance restarts.

The default administrator account is the only account on the appliance now. If you lose the password and have not enabled Quest KACE Technical Support access, the password can be reset by enabling SSH root login from the configuration screen and calling Technical Support.
1.
Open a web browser and enter the appliance Administrator Console URL:
http://hostname. For example, http://appliance.
The Initial Configuration Wizard page appears.
2.
In the Initial Configuration Wizard, choose the appliance mode by selecting one of the following options:
◦
Use as a KACE SDA
◦
Use as a Remote Site Appliance
3.
Click Next.
4.
Provide the following information:

Setting

Description

License Key

Enter the license key you received in the Welcome email from Quest KACE. Include the dashes. If you do not have a license key, contact Quest KACE Technical Support at https://support.quest.com/contact-support.

Administrator Password

Enter a password for the default admin account. You use this account to log in to the appliance Administrator Console. Remember this password; you cannot log in to the Administrator Console without it.

* 
NOTE: If you have multiple appliances, Quest KACE recommends using the same password for the admin account on all appliances. This enables you to link the appliances later.

Report User Database Password

Enter a database password that you want the external resources to use when accessing the appliance database. The indicator underneath the Report User Database Password field changes color as you type the password string, to indicate the password strength. Red indicates the lowest, and green the highest complexity level. Choose a strong password to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your database records. If you do not specify a password for the Report User, the programs querying the appliance use the default password, which can allow attackers to expose sensitive data. A warning alert on the Home Dashboard appears, prompting you to change the database password.

Samba Password

Enter your Samba share password. The number of bars that appear below this field indicate the password complexity as you type. Choose a strong password to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your database records. A minimum of two bars is required to successfully specify the password.

Two-Factor Authentication

If you want to provide stronger security for users logging into the appliance, select Enable Two-Factor Authentication. This feature adds an extra step to the login process. It relies on an authenticator application to generate verification codes. The application generates a new six-digit code at regular intervals. When enabled, end users will be prompted for the current verification code each time they log in. For more details, see Enable Two-Factor Authentication.

* 
NOTE: If you enable this feature, ensure that appliance server's clock is accurate, as well as the device running the authenticator application. The application relies on current time to create the token. If server's clock is not synchronized with those of the devices running the application, token validation may fail, which may result in account lockouts.

Registration Data

Enter the name of your company or group and the email address of the person or group that you want to receive logs and notifications from the appliance.

Network Connectivity

The KACE Systems Deployment Appliance must be connected to the network to validate the license information.

Default Appliance Theme

The default color theme for the appliance. The Light theme is the default, but you can select the Dark or Hybrid theme, as required. Users can also associate different themes with their account, if the default appliance theme does not suit their needs. For more information, see the Administrator Guide.

Time Zone

Select the time zone where the appliance is located. The browser's time zone is selected by default.

5.
Optional. If you change your mind, and want to switch to the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance or RSA (Remote Site Appliance) mode, click Change virtual appliance mode, and select the appliance type.
* 
IMPORTANT: Once you configure and reboot the appliance, you cannot switch to the other virtual appliance mode.
6.
Click Save Settings and Continue.
7.
On the Data Storage page that appears, review the provided information and indicate where you want to store data collected by the appliance by selecting one of the following options, as required:
◦
On the virtual appliance (onboard storage)
◦
To this offboard storage device: Virtual Disk
8.
Complete one of the following steps.
◦
To complete the configuration, click Configure, then reboot appliance. The appliance restarts. Proceed to the next step.
◦
If you do not want to finish the configuration, click Power off appliance. The appliance powers off.
9.
When the appliance restarts, refresh the browser page.
10.
Accept the STA (Software Transaction Agreement), also known as EULA (End User License Agreement), then log in using the login ID admin and the password you chose on the Initial Configuration page.
11.
Optional. Select a theme for the Administration Console for your user account. It appears in the default Light theme. If the default theme seems too bright, you can use a different theme, as needed.
◦
To choose a different theme, in the top-right corner, click your user name, then click Select Theme, and choose Hybrid or Dark, as needed. The theme you select this way becomes associated with your user account and is applied each time you log in. You can also configure the default theme for the appliance. For more information, see Change a default theme for the appliance.
◦
To switch back to the Light theme, choose Select Theme > Light.
* 
NOTE: Reports always appear with a white background, regardless of which theme is selected.

When you complete the configuration, logging in to the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance allows you to access the full set of pages available in the Administrator Console. The Remote Site Console, however, provided with the RSA, provides a limited set of pages that are only applicable to the RSA mode. For example, the Remote Site Console only displays the Home, Settings, and Support menu options on the left navigation pane, that provide access to the relevant pages.

Filter lists and search for information

Filter lists and search for information

The Administration Console provides a set of configuration, detail, and list pages. You can filter and search lists, as needed.

List pages allow you to look through a collection of related items, and to drill down on a specific item, to find out specific information about that item on a detail page, or to make changes to it, as applicable.

For example, the Boot Environments page displays a list of KACE Boot Environments (KBEs) and NetBoot environments uploaded or imported to the appliance. This page allows you display only the boot environments that use specific operating systems, or to search by the KBE name.

1.
Log in to the Administrator Console.
2.
Go to a list page. For example, on the left navigation bar, choose Deployments > Boot Environments.
3.
Search for a specific text string on the list page.
1.
In the top-right corner of the page, in the Search field, type the search text.
2.
Press Enter or Return to begin the page-level search.
The list page displays only those items that contain the specified text string.
4.
Filter the list based on a specific criteria.
◦
At the top of the page, on the right of View By, click the selected option, and choose a specific criteria, as required. For example, on the Boot Environments page, to look for boot environments that use the 64-bit Microsoft Windows OS, choose Operating System > KBE (Windows x64)
The list page displays only those items that satisfy the selected criteria.
5.
Optional. To ensure the list displays the latest information, you can set the Auto Refresh settings for each list page. This is useful when the contents of the list are expected to change as you are reviewing it.
* 
NOTE: The Auto Refresh settings are disabled by default. Each user can have their own Auto Refresh settings for the different list pages.
◦
At the top of the page, on the left of View By, click Auto Refresh, and indicate how you often you want to refresh the page. For example, to update the page every 15 seconds, choose Auto Refresh > Every 15 Seconds.

Access product documentation

Access product documentation

The Administrator Console provides access to help contents and documentation search. It also allows you to browse related Knowledge Base articles, and to chat with product specialists, when needed.

1.
Log in to the Administrator Console.
2.
On the right of the Administrator Console, in the top-right corner, click Need Help.
A help pane appears on the right containing high-level information about the related Administrator Console page. The bottom of the help pane includes the following buttons:
◦
: Provides access to the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance help contents.
◦
: Allows you to browse the Knowledge Base articles associated with the related page.
◦
: Starts a chat with a KACE Systems Deployment Appliance product specialist.
◦
: Links to the Support page (https://support.quest.com/create-service-request) that allows you to create a service request.
◦
: Links to the Settings > Support page. This page provides resources for troubleshooting system management issues and contacting Quest Support.
◦
: Displays information about your KACE Systems Deployment Appliance installation.
3.
Click a link in the page-level Help topic.
The main Help system appears, displaying the selected topic.
4.
Click the Search tab in the left pane of the Help system.
All search terms use an implicit Boolean AND statement. For example, if you search for Windows provisioning, Search displays results that contain both words.
Tip:
 
TIP: For a PDF version of the Help system, click the Acrobat button on the right side of the main Help system navigation bar ().
5.
Search for Knowledge Base articles associated with the related page.
a.
At the bottom of the help pane, click .
The help pane displays a list of the Knowledge Base articles associated with the page you are viewing in the Administrator Console.
* 
NOTE: Knowledge Base articles are currently only available in English.
b.
Use the navigation buttons to look for a specific article.
c.
In the search field, type a keyword and press Enter. The search string must be at least three characters long.
The search returns a list of all KACE Systems Deployment Appliance Knowledge Base articles containing the specified keyword, including the articles that are not related to the page you are viewing. To see only the articles related that page, clear the search field and press Enter.
d.
When you find a desired article, click the link in the help pane.
The selected Knowledge Base article appears on a new tab in your browser.
* 
IMPORTANT: To see the article contents, you must log in to the Quest Support site using your Quest user name and password.
6.
Chat with a product specialist.
* 
NOTE: This feature is only available when the appliance has active maintenance.
a.
Click .
The Chat with Support dialog box appears.
b.
Type your Full Name, Email Address, and Purpose of your Chat, as applicable, and click Start Chat.
The Chat with Support dialog box refreshes, showing a list of existing Knowledge Base (KB) articles that may contain information about the specified topic. The list of topics may appear on multiple pages, depending on the type of the requested information.
c.
Review the list of KB articles. Use the page navigation controls at the bottom of the list, if applicable. To read a KB article, click the title in the list.
d.
If none of the listed KB articles provide the information you need, click None of the solutions above solved my issue, continue with chat.
* 
NOTE: You can only use this feature when product specialists are available to respond to your questions. If Live Chat is not available, this is indicated in the dialog box.
The LIVE CHAT dialog box appears. The Full Name, Email Address, Product and Purpose of your Chat boxes are populated using the information specified in the Chat with Support dialog box.
e.
Click Start Chat.
The LIVE CHAT dialog box refreshes.
f.
In the LIVE CHAT dialog box, type your question, and click SEND to start chatting with a product specialist.
7.
Open a Support ticket.
a.
Click .
Your browser displays the Submit a Service Request page (https://support.quest.com/create-service-request) in a new tab or window.
b.
Use this page to open a service ticket, as required.
8.
Click .
The Settings > Support page appears. This page provides resources for troubleshooting system management issues and contacting Quest Support.
9.
Review information about your KACE System Deployment Appliance installation.
a.
Click .
A dialog box displaying product information appears.
b.
To close it, click Close.
10.
To close the help pane, click Need Help.

Configure the language settings

Configure the language settings

You can set the language used for text in the appliance console, configure the region settings to determine the default character set to use for numbers such as dates, and select a font for the text used in your KACE Boot Environment (KBE) for Windows.

1.
On the left navigation pane, click Settings to expand the section, then click Language Settings to display the Language Settings page.
* 
NOTE: Regional settings for scripted installations must match the language of the scripted installation source media; otherwise, messages do not display in the correct language.
2.
In the Language drop-down list, select a locale for the language to use for the text in the appliance console.
If you select the Default option, the Administrator console will match the language of the browser.
3.
In the Region drop-down list, select the locale to determine the default character set to use for numbers such as dates.
4.
Under KBE Optional Font Support, select a locale to determine the language to use for the text in your KACE Boot Environment (KBE) for Windows.
If you add Asian fonts, be sure to rebuild the KBE using the Media Manager.
5.
Optional: Click Cancel to close the page.
6.
Click Save.

The selected language is applied. Administrators who log in to the Administrator Console see the localized version if the target language was also selected in the browser settings.

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