Console Management Interface (CMI)

Introduction

This is a reference guide for Version 4 of the Swivel Appliance. It describes the function of the Console Management Interface (CMI).

The Import or Roll Back Keystore menu options

Tomcat Menu

  1. Start/Stop

    Start or Stop Tomcat as required.

  2. Restart

    Stops and immediately restarts the Tomcat service. If Tomcat is not running, it will be started.

  3. HTTPS

    Enable or Disable HTTPS on port 8080 or 8443. (Requires a Tomcat restart to take effect).

  4. Certificates

    Opens the Certificates management menu.

  5. SSL Protocols

    Opens the SSL Protocols menu.

HTTPS Menu

  1. Enable/Disable HTTPS on Port 8080

    Enables or disables HTTPS for Swivel Core.

  2. Enable/Disable HTTPS on Port 8443

    Enables or disables HTTPS for Sentry and auxiliary applications.

Certificates Menu

  1. Create Local Certificate

    Generate a Local Certificate to be signed by a Certificate Authority.

  2. Generate CSR

    Generate a Certificate Signing Request from an existing certificate alias.

  3. Import to New/Existing Alias

    Import a Certificate Response from a CA (on top of the existing alias used to generate the CSR) or import a trusted root certificate.

  4. View Keystore

    View the contents of the Keystore (specific alias or all).

  5. Delete Certificate from Keystore

    Delete a certificate by selecting a particular alias name.

  6. Generate Self-Signed Certificate

    Generate a Self-Signed Certificate.

  7. Clone Certificate

    Clone a certificate to a new alias. Useful for backing up aliases prior to importing responses.

  8. Import / Roll Back to Previous Keystore

    Rollback to an automatically created backup (labelled by date/time). Also allows import from an external keystore (Java Keystore or PKCS#12/PFX) which must include the private key.

  9. Change Keystore Password

    Change the password for the certificate keystore.

Import Menu (Sub-menu of Certificates)

  1. Import to New Alias

    Import a trusted root certificate.

  2. Import Response to Existing Alias

    Import a certificate response to an alias previously used to generate a CSR.

Warning

  • All trusted root certificates must be imported before the response which they have been used to sign.

  • Certificates must be uploaded to /backups/upload prior to using this menu.

SSL Protocols Menu

  1. Enable/Disable TLSv1.0

    Toggle TLSv1.0 support.

Note

TLSv1.0 is deprecated and insecure but may be required by some legacy applications. Use this option only under advice from your reseller or Swivel Secure support.

Network Menu

  1. Change Hostname

    Set the hostname of the appliance.

  2. Change IP address

    Change the IP address of the network interfaces.

  3. Change Default Gateway

    Change the default gateway IP address.

  4. NIC Settings

    Set bit rate negotiation for network interfaces (Default: Auto-Negotiation).

  5. DNS

    Add or remove DNS servers for domain-name resolution.

  6. HTTP Proxy

    Configure outbound HTTP proxy settings (IP, Port, Username, Password).

  7. NTP Servers

    Edit the list of NTP servers used to keep the Appliance time accurate.

  8. Route Configurations

    Create custom static routes.

  9. Restart Interfaces

    Restart Network interfaces to apply new settings.

Route Configurations Menu

  1. Show Route Table

    Displays default routing rules.

  2. Add Route

    Specify exceptions to the default gateway rule.

    Example: To route traffic for 12.19.19.xxx via gateway 172.1.1.1:

    • IP address: 12.19.19.0

    • Netmask: 255.255.255.0

    • Gateway: 172.1.1.1

  3. Delete Route

    Delete one or all custom routes (does not affect the default routing table).

Appliance Menu

  1. Default running services

    Select which services start automatically on boot. Only enable required services to optimize boot times.

  2. Start/Stop Services

    Manually start or stop services immediately.

  3. SMTP Server

    Configure an SMTP server for appliance alerts.

  4. Set Database to Shipping

    Sets the Swivel Core database to Shipping Mode (default credentials). Requires a Tomcat restart.

Available Services

The following services can be toggled in the Default running services or Start/Stop menus:

Tomcat

Host server for Swivel Applications (Default: ON).

Sendmail

Required to use the Appliance as a mail relay server (Default: ON).

SNMP

For Network Management (Default: OFF).

Database (Appliance)

Appliance Database service (Default: ON).

Webmin

Web-based GUI for appliance management (Default: OFF).

Heartbeat

Used in HA installations to determine the status of peer appliances (Default: OFF).

Database (HA)

Used in HA installations to determine the status of the peer application server (Default: OFF).

SMTP Server Menu

  1. Enable/Disable SMTP

    Toggle the sending of email alerts.

  2. Change SMTP server

    Enter the hostname or IP address of the SMTP relay server.

  3. Enable/Change Authentication

    Enable or update the username and password for SMTP authentication.

  4. Disable Authentication

    Disable SMTP authentication.

Backup and Restore

  1. Backup

    Opens the Backup submenu.

  2. Restore

    Opens the Restore submenu.

  3. Purge Old Backups

    Define retention periods (days) and manually purge old backups.

  4. Configure FTP

    Define FTP server details and manually send the latest backup to the FTP server.

Backup Menu

  1. Full Backup

    Backs up Swivel configuration, database, Tomcat keystore, and Appliance settings.

  2. Application Only Backup

    Backs up items necessary to restore the application: Tomcat config/keystore, Swivel home folder, Tomcat webapps, and the database.

  3. System Only Backup

    Backs up system-level items (effectively everything in a Full Backup excluding the Application Backup).

  4. Create Restore Point

    Creates a named full backup that is never automatically purged.

Restore Menu

  1. Full Restore

    Restore from any full backup in /backups/swivel.

  2. Application Only Restore

    Restore only application files from any full or appliance backup in /backups/swivel.

  3. System Only Restore

    Restore only system files from any full or system backup in /backups/swivel.

  4. Restore Point Restore

    Restore from a restore point in /backups/restore.

  5. Restore from Older Version

    Restore from v2 backups located in /backups/old.

Configure FTP Menu

  1. Modify FTP Server

    Set server address, destination folder, username, and password.

  2. Delete FTP Server

    Remove FTP settings and stop sending backups via FTP.

  3. Forcibly Send Latest Backup Over FTP

    Manually trigger an FTP upload. Useful for debugging connection errors.

Tools and Utilities

  1. Ping Host or IP Address

    Test DNS and network connectivity.

  2. NS Lookup

    Perform a DNS lookup on a hostname.

  3. Telnet

    Attempt a telnet session to a remote host and port.

  4. Trace-Route

    List hops between the appliance and a remote host.

  5. Command Line

    Access the shell. (Requires password; contact support@swivelsecure.com).

  6. Collect Support logs

    Collect logs and email them to a specified address (Requires SMTP setup).

  7. Alerts

    Configure disk space warning alerts.

Alerts Menu

  1. SMTP Server Menu

    Access the SMTP configuration settings.

  2. Change Alert Email

    Set the destination email for alerts.

  3. Change From Address

    Set the sender address for alerts.

  4. Send Test Email

    Verify settings.

  5. Show Disk Space Menu

    Opens the Disk Space configuration.

Disk Space Menu

  1. Status

    Show current usage of disk partitions.

  2. Change Disk Space Warning Levels

    Set the capacity threshold for warning alerts.

  3. Add New Disk to Check

    Monitor an additional partition.

  4. Remove a Disk from Check

    Stop monitoring a partition.

  5. Restore to Default

    Reset thresholds to default settings.

Administration

  1. Change Admin Password

    Change the CMI access password.

    Warning

    If you change this password, please keep a secure record. If lost, Swivel Secure may not be able to regain access to the appliance.

  2. Add Certificates

    Add a certificate for certificate-based authentication to the Appliance.

  3. Deauthorize Default Certificates

    Remove access via default certificates stored in /root/.ssh. Ensure you have an alternative login method before doing this.

  4. Reboot

    Reboot the appliance.

  5. Shutdown

    Shutdown the appliance.

  6. Update Appliance

    Opens the Update menu.

Update Menu

  1. Settings

    Change update settings (Repositories/Proxy).

  2. Update CMI Menu

    Update the appliance CMI menus.

  3. Update System

    Update the operating system.

  4. Update Swivel Core Products

    Update Swivel products.

  5. Install Swivel Sentry

    Install Sentry SSO if not present.

  6. Install/Update Package

    Manually install/update a package. Use with care.

  7. Flush Cache

    Clear temporary files from previous updates.

Update Settings

  1. Enable External Repository Access

    Toggle direct use of Oracle Linux repositories vs. Swivel mirrors.

  2. Yum Proxy

    Configure a proxy for access to repo.swivelsecure.net.

High Availability (HA)

Note

This menu is only visible on HA-enabled appliances.

  1. Set Peer IP

    Configure the peer appliance for Master-Master replication. You must set:

    • Peer Hostname (Must match the peer’s actual setting).

    • Peer IP addresses for ETH0 and ETH1.

    • Note: Database replication defaults to ETH1.

  2. Set DR IP

    Configure a Disaster Recovery (DR) appliance for Master-Slave replication.

    • Changes on the Master are replicated to the DR unit.

    • Changes on the DR unit are not reflected back.

    • You can configure up to 2 DR appliances.

  3. Database Replication

    Open the Database Replication menu.

  4. Virtual IP

    Configure a shared Virtual IP (VIP). The primary server responds by default; the standby server takes over if the primary fails.

  5. Advanced

    Manually change hostnames/IPs for HA. (Rarely required; usually handled by β€œSet Peer IP”).

Database Replication Menu

  1. Status

    View replication status between peers or DR units. Shows if the remote appliance is reading local changes and vice-versa.

  2. Start/Stop Reading updates

    Start or stop reading updates from the remote peer (Start/Stop Slave).

  3. Database Replication

    (Recursive menu item).

  4. Repair Replication

    Re-sync databases if replication fails. Select the authoritative database; it will be copied to the peer, and replication will restart.

Virtual IP Menu

  1. Set Email Address

    Set the alert email destination for VIP failover events (Requires SMTP).

  2. Change Virtual IP

    Set the Virtual IP address. This must be set on both peer appliances.

  3. Add/Remove Ping Nodes

    Add network nodes (e.g., Default Gateway) to test connectivity. The appliance that can ping the most nodes will claim the VIP. Set the same number of nodes on both appliances.

  1. Start/Stop Mon

    β€œMon” monitors if the Swivel core is running on the peer.

  2. Start/Stop Heartbeat

    β€œHeartbeat” monitors if the peer appliance is contactable via network interfaces.