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KACE Systems Management Appliance 10.2 Common Documents - Administrator Guide

About the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) Getting started
Configuring the appliance
Requirements and specifications Power-on the appliance and log in to the Administrator Console Access the Command Line Console Tracking configuration changes Configuring System-level and Admin-level General Settings Configure appliance date and time settings Enable Two-Factor Authentication for all users Verifying port settings, NTP service, and website access Configuring network and security settings Configuring Agent settings Configuring session timeout and auto-refresh settings Configuring locale settings Configuring the default theme Configure data sharing preferences About DIACAP compliance requirements Configuring Mobile Device Access Enable fast switching for organizations and linked appliances Linking Quest KACE appliances Configuring history settings
Setting up and using labels to manage groups of items Configuring user accounts, LDAP authentication, and SSO Using Replication Shares Managing credentials Configuring assets
About the Asset Management component Using the Asset Management Dashboard About managing assets Adding and customizing Asset Types and maintaining asset information Managing Software assets Managing physical and logical assets Maintaining and using manual asset information Managing locations Managing contracts Managing licenses Managing purchase records
Setting up License Compliance Managing License Compliance Setting up Service Desk Configure the Cache Lifetime for Service Desk widgets Creating and managing organizations Importing and exporting appliance resources
Managing inventory
Using the Inventory Dashboard Using Device Discovery Managing device inventory
About managing devices Features available for each device management method About inventory information Tracking changes to inventory settings Managing inventory information Finding and managing devices Provisioning the KACE SMA Agent Manually deploying the KACE SMA Agent Using Agentless management Adding devices manually in the Administrator Console or by using the API Forcing inventory updates Managing MIA devices Obtaining Dell warranty information
Managing applications on the Software page Managing Software Catalog inventory
About the Software Catalog Viewing Software Catalog information Adding applications to the Software Catalog Managing License assets for Software Catalog applications Associate Managed Installations with Cataloged Software Using software metering Using Application Control Update or reinstall the Software Catalog
Managing process, startup program, and service inventory Writing custom inventory rules
Deploying packages to managed devices
Distributing software and using Wake-on-LAN Broadcasting alerts to managed devices Running scripts on managed devices Managing Mac profiles Using Task Chains
Patching devices and maintaining security
About patch management Subscribing to and downloading patches Creating and managing patch schedules Managing patch inventory Managing Windows Feature Updates Managing Dell devices and updates Maintaining device and appliance security
Using reports and scheduling notifications Monitoring servers
Getting started with server monitoring Working with monitoring profiles Managing monitoring for devices Working with alerts
Using the Service Desk
Configuring Service Desk Using the Service Desk Dashboard Managing Service Desk tickets, processes, and reports
Overview of Service Desk ticket lifecycle Creating tickets from the Administrator Console and User Console Creating and managing tickets by email Viewing tickets and managing comments, work, and attachments Merging tickets Using the ticket escalation process Using Service Desk processes Using Ticket Rules Run Service Desk reports Archiving, restoring, and deleting tickets Managing ticket deletion
Managing Service Desk ticket queues About User Downloads and Knowledge Base articles Customizing Service Desk ticket settings Configuring SMTP email servers
Maintenance and troubleshooting
Maintaining the appliance Troubleshooting the KACE SMA
Appendixes Glossary About us Legal notices

Enable a tether to Quest KACE Support

Enable a tether to Quest KACE Support

You can access the Quest Support Portal to request a tether to your appliance to enable Quest KACE Technical Support to troubleshoot issues.

Obtain a tethering key by contacting Quest Support at https://support.quest.com/contact-support.

To ensure security, enable remote access to the appliance after the Support team authorizes you to do so.

1.
Go to the appliance Control Panel:
◦
If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the KACE SMA Administrator Console, https://KACE_SMA_hostname/admin, then click Settings.
◦
If the Organization component is enabled on the appliance, log in to the KACE SMA System Administration Console, https://KACE_SMA_hostname/system, or select System in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page, then click Settings.
2.
Click Security Settings on the appliance Control Panel to display the Security Settings page.
3.
Ensure the Enable SSH check box is selected.
4.
Click Save and Restart Services.
5.
On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.
6.
In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click Enter a Tether Key to display the Support Tether Key page.
7.
On the Support Tether Key page, in the text field, type the description of the problem, and complete one of the following steps.
◦
To obtain the tether key automatically and send the message to Technical Support, click Enable Tether.

If the process fails, select Enable Tether and type the tether key, as prompted. Click Save.

◦
To use a tether key provided by Technical Support, click I already have a tether key, then select Enable Tether and type the tether key, as prompted. Click Save.

Troubleshooting appliance issues

Troubleshooting appliance issues

View appliance logs
Download appliance activity logs
Viewing the daily run output

The KACE SMA server logs can help you and Quest Support detect and resolve errors.

The logs contain the last seven days of activity, and they are copied and compressed every day. Compressed logs are deleted when they are seven days old.

Log maintenance checks are performed daily, and no additional administrative log maintenance procedures are required.

View appliance logs

View appliance logs

You can view KACE SMA logs in the Administrator Console. Appliance logs provide information related to KACE SMA processes and errors the system encounters.

If the appliance is configured to share detailed usage data with Quest KACE, KACE SMA and Agent exceptions or errors are reported to Quest every day. See:

•
Configure appliance General Settings with the Organization component enabled
•
Configure appliance General Settings without the Organization component
1.
Go to the appliance Control Panel:
◦
If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the KACE SMA Administrator Console, https://KACE_SMA_hostname/admin, then click Settings.
◦
If the Organization component is enabled on the appliance, log in to the KACE SMA System Administration Console, https://KACE_SMA_hostname/system, or select System in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page, then click Settings.
2.
On the left navigation bar, click Logs to display the Logs page.
3.
Select a log in the Log drop-down list.

Log Type

Log Name

Description

Hardware

Disk Status

The status of the physical appliance disk array (not available for virtual appliances).

Server

KACE SMA Log

The errors generated on the appliance.

Access

The HTTP server's access information.

Server Errors

Errors or server warnings related to appliance server processes.

Stats

The number of connections the appliance is processing over time.

Updates

Details of appliance patches or upgrades applied to the appliance.

Reporting Log

Details of reports that have been run.

Reporting Errors

Errors related to reports that have been run.

System Performance

System performance information, including webserver, disk, and Agent connection statistics. To ensure that Apache graphs in this log are updated, enable webserver diagnostics. See Configure security settings for the appliance.

Konductor Log

Konductor-related logs. Konductor is an internal KACE SMA component that regulates communications between the appliance and managed devices to keep the system running smoothly. The number of tasks Konductor is running appears on the Tasks in Progress widget. In addition, task throughput information appears on the appliance General Settings page (on appliances with the Organization component enabled) or on the Communication Settings page (on appliances without the Organization component enabled). See:

•
Configure appliance General Settings with the Organization component enabled
•
Configure Agent communication and log settings

Patch Download Log

Information about patches that have been downloaded to the appliance.

Opcode Cache

Opcode cache log information (not available for virtual appliances).

Backup Log

Details of daily and monthly KACE SMA backups.

Agentless Log

Information related to Agentless device connections to the KACE SMA.

Monitoring Log

Information related to monitored servers and their connections to the KACE SMA.

Software Inventory

Information related to KACE SMA Software Catalog inventory processing.

Software Inventory Errors

Processing errors related to KACE SMA Software Catalog inventory processing.

User Authentication Log

Information related to user authentication. Each entry in the log includes the following information:

•
The name of the user account that attempts to log in.
•
The IP address of the device from which the login attempt originated.
•
The console to which the user attempts to log in: userui (User Console), systemui (System Administration Console), adminui (Administrator Console), or a Linked Appliance.
•
The name of the organization the user is authenticated against.
•
The type of authentication used: Local Authentication, Single Sign On, systemui Local Authentication, or LDAP.
•
The result of the login attempt: success or failed.

For example:

[2018-04-26 07:27:06 -0700] AUTH [info] admin - 10.1.243.172 - adminui - Default - systemui Local Authentication - success

Mail

Service Desk Incoming Mail Log

Information related to problems encountered by the Exim Server (Mail Transfer agent) while processing email for Service Desk queues. For example, invalid email addresses and Service Desk licensing issues.

Service Desk Incoming Mail Error Log

PHP errors encountered when inbound email messages are processed.

Service Desk Outgoing Mail Log

Errors encountered by the Mail Daemon while sending outgoing email messages. For example, invalid email addresses.

Service Desk Outgoing Mail Error Log

PHP errors encountered when outgoing email notifications are processed.

Device

Client Errors

KACE SMA Agent exception logs.

Agent Messaging Protocol Server

Server-related Agent Messaging Protocol log entries.

Agent Messaging Protocol Server Errors

Server-related Agent Messaging Protocol log errors.

Agent Messaging Protocol Queue

Queue-related Agent Messaging Protocol log entries.

Agent Messaging Protocol Queue Errors

Queue-related Agent Messaging Protocol log errors.

If the Organization component is enabled on your system, you can change the number of days logs are retained. This setting appears in the Log Retention section of the appliance General Settings. See Configure appliance General Settings with the Organization component enabled.

Download appliance activity logs

Download appliance activity logs

You can download appliance activity logs from the Administrator Console. These logs can be useful during troubleshooting.

1.
Go to the appliance Control Panel:
◦
If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the KACE SMA Administrator Console, https://KACE_SMA_hostname/admin, then click Settings.
◦
If the Organization component is enabled on the appliance, log in to the KACE SMA System Administration Console, https://KACE_SMA_hostname/system, or select System in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page, then click Settings.
2.
On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.
3.
Click Retrieve appliance activity logs.
The logs are downloaded in the k1000_logs.tgz file.

For information about logs used in debugging, see:

◦
Managing provisioning schedules
◦
Troubleshooting and debugging the KACE SMA Agent
◦
View appliance logs

If the Organization component is enabled on your system, you can change the number of days logs are retained. This setting appears in the Log Retention section of the appliance General Settings. See Configure appliance General Settings with the Organization component enabled.

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