Support

Liquidware Labs recommends taking a snapshot of the Stratusphere™ Hub before applying any updates. We recommend you shut down the Stratusphere™ appliance using the 'Shut Down Guest' option within the VI/vSphere Client. Take a snapshot of the Stratusphere™ Hub appliance and when finished, power ON the Hub again.
Log into the Stratusphere™ Hub console using ssconsole/sspassword credentials.
The Stratusphere™ Hub needs to connect to the Internet to check for and download updates. If there is a proxy involved, please run the "set software update proxy <proxy-server-ip:port>" command. Stratusphere™ does not support authenticated proxies at this time. Please contact Liquidware Labs Customer Support for additional help to manually upgrade the Stratusphere™ Hub.
On the command line run "software check". This command will call back to our update servers to check if there is a new version available. It will display new version numbers if they are available.
On the command line run "software install latest". This command will download the updates and install them one after the other i.e. from 4.7.0 to 4.7.1 to 4.8.0. If a reboot is required, the appliance will reboot itself automatically.
If the update is stable, after a few days, please delete the snapshot taken prior to the update. Snapshots affect the overall performance of the Stratusphere™ Hub and thus need to be cleared on a timely basis.

NOTE: If using 4.6.1 or prior versions, please contact Support to request help with the upgrade process.

Can the Stratusphere™ Hub run on VMware Workstation, VMware Server or VMware Player?

Stratusphere™ appliances are designed to run on VMware ESX/ESXi and Citrix XenServer platforms. Liquidware Labs does not test running these appliances on VMware Workstation or VMware Server. However, if users want to run the appliances on a VMware Workstation or VMware Server platform, Liquidware Labs recommends using VMware Converter 4.x to convert the OVF files into the VMware target platform of choice.

Can the Stratusphere™ Hub be deployed on Citrix XenServer? If so, how do you deploy it?

Stratusphere™ appliances are designed to run on Citrix XenServer platforms. Liquidware Labs provides the XVA files for XenServer Virtual Appliance import capability. These files can be directly imported from with XenCenter to import the Stratusphere™ virtual appliances, connected to the appropriate networks and powered ON. Stratusphere™ console access will then be available to configure the appliance. Please refer to the Stratusphere™ Quick Start Guides on the Liquidware Labs Download/Support pages for additional information.

Can the Stratusphere™ Hub be deployed on Microsoft Hyper-V? If so, how do you deploy it?

Stratusphere™ Hub virtual appliance is compatible with Microsoft Hyper-V. Liquidware Labs provides a zip file that contains all files needed to import it within Microsoft Hyper-V Manager. Once imported, the virtual appliance can be configured as any other virtual machine such as for memory, hard disks, and connecting the NIC to the appropriate networks. It can then be powered ON. The Stratusphere™ console access as well as the Network Configuration web page will then be available to configure the appliance. Please refer to the Stratusphere™ Quick Start Guides on the Liquidware Labs Download/Support pages for additional information.

Does Stratusphere™ support an external database? At what point should an external database be considered?

Stratusphere™ does support an external database configuration. However, this database is embedded inside a Stratusphere™ Database Appliance. This configuration should be used when there are more than 1,000 CID Keys reporting to a single Stratusphere™ Hub. It should be used for better performance and quicker callback frequencies from the CID Keys. The Stratusphere™ Database Appliance is available for download as an OVF from Liquidware Labs download page. Please refer to the Stratusphere™ Quick Start Guides on the Liquidware Labs Download/Support pages for additional information.

How do I increase storage capacity on the Stratusphere™ Hub in VMware ESX environment?

Storage capacity on the Stratusphere™ Hub can be increased by adding a new hard disk to the appliance. The Stratusphere™ Hub does not support expanding an existing data disk. To add a new hard disk, please shut down the Stratusphere™ Hub appliance using the 'Shut Down Guest' option within the VI/vSphere Client. Edit the settings of the Stratusphere™ Hub and add a larger disk to the appliance. Please refer to the Sizing Guidelines on the Customer Support page of Liquidware Labs. After adding a new hard disk, power ON the Hub and log into the console using ssconsole/sspasword credentials. Now execute the "show disk" command. Any new uninitialized disk will be displayed by this command. If a third hard disk was added to the Stratusphere™ Hub this third disk will be displayed as "sdc". Execute "add disk sdc" command. This command will stop relevant services on the Stratusphere™ Hub, initialize the newly added third disk, format it, copy the older data files from the second disk partition to the new disk, and finally start the relevant services again. While this command runs, a lot of messages will be displayed on the console eventually ending with "Done" if successful. If there is an error, please run the command again. If the errors persist please contact Support.

How do I increase storage capacity on the Stratusphere™ Hub on XenServer?

Here is the process to add storage to a Stratusphere™ Hub on XenServer:

Shutdown the Stratusphere Hub.
In the XenCenter Client, add a disk to the Hub by clicking on Storage for the Hub. Provide an appropriate name.
Power ON the Stratusphere™ Hub.
If using Stratusphere™ version 4.8.1 then skip to step 5 below. If using a version prior to 4.8.1 then do the following:

Open the console on the Stratusphere™ Hub and login using the root/sspassword credentials.

Use VI Editor to edit the "addrive" file using the following command

vi /opt/tnt/bin/addrive

Go to the line with DISK='ls -1 /sys/block|egrep -v 'ram|md?|fd?|hd?', and using the x key, delete the string '|hd?' from end. Hit the ESC key then enter ':wq!' to save and exit the file editor. On the command line enter "exit" to log out of the root console.

Log in to the Hub console using the default credentials ssconsole/sspassword.
Type in "show disk" -- it may show 3 errors then show hdb, where hd is for the IDE and b is the next disk in line.
Type in "add disk hdb" to add the disk to the appliance. The console will now show a bunch of commands initializing the disk, formatting it and copying data over to. At the end you should get a "Done" message. If you get an error message, please renter the command and try again. If the problem persists please get in touch with Support.
Type "exit" to leave the Hub console

How do I increase storage capacity on the Stratusphere™ Hub on Microsoft Hyper-V?

Here is the process to add storage to a Stratusphere™ Hub on Microsoft Hyper-V:

Shutdown the Stratusphere Hub.
Liquidware Labs recommends taking a snapshot of the Stratusphere™ Hub before proceeding.
In the Hyper-V Manager Client, add a disk to the Hub by clicking on Settings for the Hub and then selecting the appropriate HDD controller to add a new disk.
Power ON the Stratusphere™ Hub.
Log in to the Hub console using the default credentials ssconsole/sspassword.
Type in "show disk" -- it will show a list of uninitialized disk(s) such as hdd, where hd is for the IDE and d is the next disk in line.
Type in "add disk hdd" to add the disk to the appliance. The console will now show a bunch of commands initializing the disk, formatting it and copying data over to. At the end you should get a "Done" message. If you get an error message, please renter the command and try again. If the problem persists please get in touch with Support.
Type "exit" to leave the Hub console.

How do I increase storage capacity on the Stratusphere™ Database Appliance?

This process is applicable to Stratusphere™ Database Appliance running on VMware ESX, Citrix XenServer, and Microsoft Hyper-V. Here is the process to add storage to a Stratusphere™ Database Appliance:

Shutdown the Stratusphere Database Appliance.
Liquidware Labs recommends taking a snapshot of the Stratusphere™ Hub before proceeding.
In the appropriate hypervisor client, expand the size of the disk to a new size. Save the new settings. Note: Please do NOT reduce the size of an existing disk.
Power ON the Stratusphere™ Hub.
The Stratusphere™ Database Appliance will automatically recognize the additional space and expand the size of its partitions. Log into the Stratusphere™ Web UI Administration section and navigate to the Hub Administration > Data Retention tab and verify the additional free space available. If you get an error message, please contact Support.

How do you delete data within Stratusphere?

Log in under Administration section of the Web UI using the default credentials ssadmin/sspassword. Navigate to the Hub Administration > Connector ID Keys > Connector ID Key Properties tab. Change the Callback Frequency to 36hours and save the settings by clicking on the "Apply Changes To" button. Then navigate to Data Retention > Auto-Delete Settings tab. Change the Auto-Delete audit data settings to 1day. After a period of 24hours, check the Data Retention > Status tab to check the disk size of the data on the appliance. Once the data has been purged, you can reset the original settings for the Callback Frequency and Auto-Delete Settings.

How do you change the ssadmin password?

Liquidware Labs recommends extreme caution when changing the ssadmin password. If the new password is lost or forgotten there is no way to recover the ssadmin account resulting in loss of access to the Stratusphere™ Hub UI. Liquidware Labs recommends creating a new user with the desired password before changing the ssadmin password. To create a new user log into the Stratusphere™ Administration section of the UI. Navigate to the Inventory > Users tab and click on the "New" button to create a new user. Enter the user name, set the desired password for account, change the role to "Administrator", and select "Yes" to enable the user. Click on "Create User" button to create this new user. Log out of the UI and test the new user and credentials and make sure you have access to the UI. Once you have verified access, select "ssadmin" user from the Inventory > Users tab and click on "Edit" button. Disable the "ssadmin" user by selecting the "No" option. Then click on "Save changes" button. The ssadmin user will no longer be able to access the UI.

How can I get back to the Hub's Network Configuration page?

As of version 4.8.0 the Network Configuration webpage is only available until the Stratusphere™ Hub is not configured. Once configured, the page is no longer accessible. If any configuration changes need to be applied to the Stratusphere™ Hub then it can be configured via the Stratusphere™ Console. Log in to the console using the default 'ssconsole/sspassword' credentials. Enter a '?' to get a complete listing of all the commands available on the console. The most frequently used commands are 'show management', 'show system', 'show dns', and 'show ntp'. These commands display individual commands with the current values configured. Execute these individual commands to change values and reconfigure the appliance. After making the required changes, execute a 'write' command to save all the changes. Refer to the Reference Guide for a complete list of all Command Line Interface API.

Is there any way to import user and group information from Microsoft Active Directory?

Yes. Stratusphere™ can import user and user group information from Active Directory or any LDAP compliant name store. Log in to the Administration section of the Stratusphere™ UI using ssadmin/sspassword credentials. Navigate to the Hub Administration > User Directories tab. Create a new directory, configure parameters to the domain and then save the directory. You can now manually import the user and group information or schedule it to import on a regular basis. NOTE: Liquidware Labs would like to caution users to first find out how many groups exist in their Active Directory prior to performing an import. It is our experience that in most organizations there are hundred times more groups than there are users thus defeating the purpose of trying to manage through user groups. Also, the process of importing an LDAP compliant name store is irreversible because the existing users are then linked to their DNs imported from the name store and the name store is then considered the master list of users. The process is irreversible because deleting a Active Directory will result in deletion of all user information as well.

Is there an alternative to Active Directory User Group import?

Yes. Stratusphere™ can import user group membership information from CSV files. Log in to the Administration section of the Stratusphere™ UI using ssadmin/sspassword credentials. Navigate to the Hub Administration > User Directories tab. Select the Local Directory that already exists. Navigate to the "Import From CSV File" tab and click on the links below the fields to get the format of the files that contain user information and group information. The square brackets are not required.

How do you resolve slowness on the Stratusphere™ Hub when running reports and navigating the UI?

Always upgrade the Stratusphere™ Hub to the latest version available. Once upgraded to the latest version you can allocate 2 to 4 vCPUs to the Stratusphere™ Hub. You can also allocate up to 8GB of Memory to the Stratusphere™ Hub. The Hub should also be installed on an ESX or XenServer host with plenty of CPU and Memory resources available. The data disk of the Stratusphere™ Hub should be on a data store with lower number of VMs to maximize IO throughput. If there are too many scheduled reports running, try reducing the number of reports that are automatically scheduled to run. If there are 1000+ CID Keys calling back you could consider using the Stratusphere™ 4.8 Database appliance to gain higher performance.

Which report do I need to run to create a presentation?

The standard Stratusphere™ deliverable is called the Assessment Findings report. You can kick off this report by navigating to the Assessment > Summary tab and clicking on the "Generate Summary Report" button. On selecting your time period you can navigate over to the Assessment > Reports tab to view the Report Archive. Depending on the time period selected the report could take a significant amount of time to finish. A 45page summary PowerPoint based report with general findings and assessment candidates will be generated.

We do not see any SAN activity within the Inspectors or from the Reports. How do we see that data within the UI or Reports?

The SAN related reports rely on data that is imported from VMware Virtual Center. If the Inspector or Report is empty, please ensure that the VM Directories have been configured within Stratusphere™. Log into the Administration section of the Stratusphere™ UI and navigate to the Hub Administration > VM Directories tab. Create a new VM Directory and configure it to connect to your Virtual Center. Once configured you can import data manually or schedule it to automatically import data on a scheduled basis.

We do not see any HOST activity within the Inspectors or from the Reports. How do we see that data within the UI or Reports?

The HOST related reports rely on data that is imported from VMware Virtual Center. If the Inspector or Report is empty, please ensure that the VM Directories have been configured within Stratusphere™. Log into the Administration section of the Stratusphere™ UI and navigate to the Hub Administration > VM Directories tab. Create a new VM Directory and configure it to connect to your Virtual Center. Once configured you can import data manually or schedule it to automatically import data on a scheduled basis.

How can we fix the certificate errors in the web interface?

To fix the certificate errors you need to place a signed certificate in the hub.

Note: ProfileUnity runs on a different port from Stratusphere. ProfileUnity runs on 8443. Stratusphere™ runs on 443.

Log into the console of the Stratusphere™ Hub using root/sspassword as credentials.
Move into the backend folder which has an existing certificate:

cd /var/empty/backend

Backup the original certificate. The ".keystore" file is not visible unless you use the "ls –al" command.

mv .keystore .keystore.orig

You now have to generate a new public/private key pair. Run the command below to do so. When prompted for the password, use "changeit". The command will then prompt the user for "first and last name", please use the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the Stratusphere™ Hub. The command will then prompt for additional information such as Organizational Unit, Organization Name, City, State and Country Code. Use the same password "changeit" or hit ENTER for <tomcat> password.

/usr/java/default/bin/keytool -keysize 2048 -genkey -alias tomcat -keyalg RSA -keystore /var/empty/backend/.keystore

You now have to generate the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) that you need to provide to VeriSign, RapidSSL or any internal certificate authority. When prompted for a password, use "changeit".

/usr/java/default/bin/keytool -certreq -keyalg RSA -alias tomcat -file /var/empty/backend/hub.csr -keystore /var/empty/backend/.keystore

Copy this hub.csr file to the /home/friend folder and use WinSCP to download it to your desktop. To connect to the Stratusphere™ Hub using WinSCP use the friend/sspassword credentials to connect. Alternatively you can also use "cat" to copy it out of the console itself.

cp /var/empty/backend/hub.csr /home/friend/hub.csr

cat /var/empty/backend/hub.csr

Use this CSR to get your certificate from your Certificate Source such as VeriSign, RapidSSL, or an internal certificate authority. Depending on your certifying authority, you will receive a X.509 certificate for your server along with an Intermediate CA Certificate. Save these two certificates as hub.crt and intermediate.crt and use WinSCP to upload them to the Hub. Use friend/sspassword as credentials within WinSCP to copy the certificate to the Hub's /home/friend folder. Then log into the console of the Stratusphere™ Hub again using root/sspassword to login as root.

If and only if, you received an Intermediate CA Certificate from your certifying authority then execute the following command, otherwise skip to next item:

/usr/java/default/bin/keytool -importcert -keystore /var/empty/backend/.keystore -file /home/friend/intermediate.crt

Execute the following command to import the certificate into the keystore:

/usr/java/default/bin/keytool -import -alias tomcat -keystore /var/empty/backend/.keystore -trustcacerts -file /home/friend/hub.crt

Make sure you provide the right permissions for the new keystore file for the service that needs to access it:

chown vsservice /var/empty/backend/.keystore

Restart the backend service to read the new certificate and be ready to accept new connections.

sv restart tnt-backend

Note: Access the UI from the web browser and see if it works without warnings. If it fails, replace /var/empty/backend/.keystore with /var/empty/backend/.keystore.orig and restart backend.

What possible causes are there for the "Could not connect to database" error in the hub?

If the database service has crashed or too busy you can get this error, so first try to restart services and wait several minutes. If that didn't work then log in as friend and do a "df" command. If you see /var/lib/pgsql on two partitions you may have an issue that requires you to contact Liquidware Labs support.

How does one troubleshoot and resolve "Could not connect to database" message within the console of the Stratusphere™ Hub?

This error is generally seen when the database service cannot start or connect to the database. It is mostly observed after adding a new disk to the Stratusphere™ Hub appliance. The "add disk <sdc>" command had issues if it was adding a new disk for a Hub that was under load. Please contact Support to resolve this issue.

I cannot see my data anymore. What should I do?

If you have gone through the "add disk sdc" command and then are encountering database connection issues or the data seems to have disappeared from the UI then do the following:

Log in to the Stratusphere™ Console using root/sspassword credentials.
Stop all running services on the appliance by executing the following commands:

sv stop tnt-backend

sv stop postgresql
df

Verify that the output of the "df" command and ensure that /dev/sdc1 should be on /var/lib/pgsql.

Save any existing data on that partition by executing the following commands:

cd /var/lib/pgsql

mkdir orig
mv * orig

Mount the original disk

mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

Copy data from original to new

cd /mnt
find . | cpio -p /var/lib/pgsql

If the Stratusphere™ appliance was collecting data for a few days, this copy process may take a while to complete. Please be patient.

Unmount the original disk:

cd /

unmounts /mnt

Restart services to bring the appliance back online by executing the following commands:

sv start postgresql
sv start tnt-backend

Please wait at least 2min before trying to log into the Web UI. The services take a while to start up. After waiting please verify if you can see the Log In page and/or then see data within the UI Inspectors.

Can I Thin Provision a disk on the Stratusphere™ Hub?

Liquidware Labs recommends Thick Provisioning the data disks on the Stratusphere™ Hub. Liquidware Labs does not test the appliances with Thin Provisioned disks.

Can an email server setting be configured via the GUI or only via the command line?

As of version 4.8.0, email server can only be configured via the Stratusphere™ Hub Console command line. Here are the instructions:

Log into the Stratusphere™ hub console using ssconsole/sspassword credentials.
Execute the following commands:

show system

This command shows you all the different settings under the system

set system mail relay server mail.server.ip.dns

This command sets the mail relay server ip or dns.

The server can be MS Exchange or a Lotus Notes Server or any other mail relay server. The server must have policies to allow it to accept/ receive inbounding mail from the Stratusphere™ Hub's IP Address.

write

This command saves the settings

show system

Use this command to verify that the settings got updated

How do you export data from one Hub to another Hub?

As of version 4.8, the Stratusphere™ UI does not provide an easy way to export all data from one Hub to be imported into another Hub. If it is absolutely necessary, Liquidware Labs Customer Support could potentially export/dump the database from Hub and restore to the other Hub. This is a highly manual and time consuming procedure. This capability is part of the roadmap and will be available as a feature in a future version.

What's the difference between the Standard and Advanced Connector ID Key?

The Advanced CID Key can capture all the information that a Standard CID Key can collect – so from a metrics collection perspective there is no difference in capabilities. However, the Advanced CID Key also has a network component that gets installed into the network stack on the desktop. It implements our patented piece of software that embeds the identity of the user and machine into every network connection (SYN) packet that is initiated through the machine it's installed on. It is rarely or almost never used for assessments on physical desktops and is generally used in monitoring & diagnostic environments to track the user/machine's activity through the network in conjunction with the Network Station virtual appliance. We strongly recommend using the Standard version of the CID Key because it can be installed and uninstalled any number of times with no conflicts. Since the Advanced CID Key has a network components it might ask for a reboot on installation and could potentially cause conflicts with physical desktops/laptops that might have other software components in the network stack including VPNs, AVs, and firewalls. It should be tested in a lab scenario prior to pushing it out to your desktop population.

I have installed the CID Keys but I don't see any data. What could be problem?

Here are a few reasons why the CID Keys are not sending data back:

The CID Key may have an incorrect or invalid callback address. The Connector ID installer contains an activation certificate from the Hub it was downloaded from. Inside that activation certificate the Stratusphere™ Hub embeds its DNS name or IP Address to be used by the CID to callback. This address may not be set correctly before the Connecter ID installer was downloaded. To verify if it is the problem, check these two places:

Log into the Stratusphere™ Hub Console using ssconsole/sspassword credentials. Run "show system" command and verify the setting for "set system hub dns name" is correct and valid.

On the desktop, go to Control Panel, open Connector ID applet, and verify it has the same address seen above.

If the two addresses match, skip to step 3 below. If you find the wrong address in either location you will have to use the Stratusphere™ Hub Console command "set system hub dns name" command to change this setting. Then use the "write" command to save the changes, and Stratusphere™ Hub will rebrand the CID installer with the new callback address. You then need to uninstall Connector ID from the existing machines first, and then install CID again using the new CID installer.

The CID Key may have a DNS name that is not resolving to the right IP Address of the Stratusphere™ Hub. Check the DNS name, and then make sure it resolves to the correct static IP Address of the Stratusphere™ Hub. Use "nslookup" or ping to see if you have the right IP Address resolution when using DNS.
The CID Key may not be able to call back to the Hub if there is a firewall that's blocking TCP/5501. Use a simple "telnet <hub.dns.ip.address>:5501" command to see if you have clear connection path back to the Stratusphere™ Hub. If you get a blank screen, then you have no firewall issues. Otherwise, if you see an error there may be a network connectivity issue. Contact your local system administrator and/or network administrator.

How can I stop CID Key services manually?

The CID Key on Windows� has three services that run under the SYSTEM context in the background. To stop these services you can go into the Control Panel > Administrator Tools > Services applet and stop the Liquidware Labs services. You can also open the command prompt and execute the following commands in the order listed below:

sc stop tntupdsvc
sc stop tntuidsvc
sc stop tntgrd

Note: Please make sure that you DO NOT change the order because of the process dependency. If you need to restart services, please do so in the reverse order.

How do I uninstall or remove the CID Key from my desktops?

If the Stratusphere™ Hub is available, log into the Administration section of the Web UI using ssadmin/sspassword credentials. Navigate to Hub Administration > Connector ID Keys > Connector ID Properties tab. Scroll to the bottom of the page and check ON the "Automatically uninstall Connector ID Key software" checkbox. Enter "1" days for the "Remove CID Keys after" option. Select either "All Machines" or the specific machine group from where you want to uninstall the CID Keys and click on the "Apply Change To" button. Wait for the number of days you entered above and the CID Keys will automatically uninstall themselves.

If the Stratusphere™ Hub is no longer available or its license has expired, and you have CID Keys version prior to 4.7.x then use the following command line to uninstall the CID Key:

msiexec.exe /q /x {617A84B4-DFF2-4352-A852-A87F-1BB9E1A58BDD} AUTO_REMOVE=1

If the Stratusphere™ Hub is no longer available or its license has expired, and you have CID Keys version 4.7.x or greater then you can use the installer for the CID Key with the following options:

install-connectorID-Key-4_7_1-winStandard.exe /x /s

Can I reassign the CID Key on a desktop to report to a different Hub?

Yes. There are two ways you can achieve this. The first option involves uninstalling the existing CID Key and then reinstalling the CID Key with the installer from the new Hub. The second option involves, stopping all CID Key services on the desktop, editing the registry settings to point to the new Stratusphere™ Hub's address, and the restarting the CID Key services. Both these options can be carried out across multiple desktops using SMS or any scripting capability you may be familiar with. The second option requires the following text to be pasted into a TXT file that can be renamed as CID_HubAddress.REG. Replace the IP Address with the DNS Address or the IP Address of the new Stratusphere™ Hub. The contents of the .REG file are:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Liquidware Labs\ConnectorID]

"hubAddress"="new.hub.ip.dns"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Liquidware Labs\ConnectorID]

"hubAddress"="new.hub.ip.dns"

Once the file is created, here are the steps to make this change:

sc stop tntupdsvc
sc stop tntuidsvc
sc stop tntgrd
"C:\Program Files\Liquidware Labs\Connector ID\idcontrol.exe clean"
regedit.exe /s \\<filepath>\CID_HubAddress.reg
sc start tntgrd
sc start tntuidsvc
sc start tntupdsvc

Can I transfer the data collected by a CID Key data for a machine over to another Hub?

No. As of Stratusphere™ 4.8.0 we do not have the ability to transfer data collected by a CID Key for a machine to a different Hub.

How does the Stratusphere™ agent collect data?

The agent collects data through several means. Many metrics are gathered from WMI, but others are based on proprietary algorithms.

What ports does Stratusphere™ use, and how much traffic does it create?

Communication between the Connector ID and Hub is over TCP/5501. Each sample collected is 30 Kb of data. Communication between Network Station and Hub is over TCP/5502. There is no set data size here because it varies according to how much network traffic occurs within the target network. Your browser based user interface connects over TCP 443.

The VIC shows the VMware Tools service is not running on the Stratusphere™ Hub. How do you check if VMware Tools is running on the Stratusphere™ Hub ?

Execute the following command to check status of VMware Tools:

/etc/init.d/vmware-tools status

You should see: vmware-guestd is running

If you don't see that it is running then execute:

/etc/init.d/vmware-tools start

I was asked for the backend logs for troubleshooting. What do I need to do ?

Log into the Stratusphere™ Hub Console using root/sspassword credentials.

Execute the following commands:

cp /var/log/tnt/tnt-backend.log /home/friend/

chown friend:friend /home/friend/tnt-backend.log
chmod 644 /home/friend/tnt-backend.log

Now from your desktop, use WinSCP and connect to your Stratusphere™ Hub using friend/sspassword as credentials and download the tnt-backend.log to your local desktop.

Zip the log file and send it to us.

How do you upgrade from 4.6.1 to 4.6.2?

The appliance *will* need an additional disk now. This isn't an issue for new installs as we've increased the disk size there. For new install this isn't an issue as they've already added a new data disk as the default one is too small. What we're trying to do in the 4.6.2 upgrade is re-use the *original* database space for more swap so the database needs to be on a different disk. So, if it's a default appliance, you'll need to add a disk and then go through the 'add disk' steps in the console to move the database to the new disk. Once that has been done...

Log into the Stratusphere™ Hub Console using root/sspassword credentials.
Make sure the default second disk is still there:

/opt/tnt/var should be on /dev/sdb2:

df /dev/sdb2

Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/sdb2 497861 93372 378785 20% /opt/tnt/var

Assuming the database has been moved, /dev/sdb1 should be free now but make sure:

df /dev/sdb1

Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on - 1947720 216 1947504 1% /dev

If /dev/sdb1 is not listed then we're good. We need to re-use that space as swap, so:

mkswap /dev/sdb1

swapon /dev/sdb1

That'll make the swap immediately available but we need to make sure it's available every boot, so we need to modify /etc/fstab

echo "/dev/sdb1 swap swap defaults 0 0" >> /etc/fstab

The upgrade should go through now and after reboot the box should have around 1.5g of swap:

cat /proc/meminfo | grep SwapTotal

SwapTotal: 1534196 kB

(This is from a new install so the number for an upgrade might be a little different).

Known Issues

Upgrade will fail if the swap space is not enough. See upgrade notes above

Once upgraded to 4.6.3, there is a patch for report performance that will need to be applied to 4.6.3. Please see instruction for 4.6.3 patch.

ProfileUnity FAQs

Is there a reason you would need to add disk space to the hub if all you're running is Profile Unity?

No, never.

ProfileUnity - Stand-alone vs. Hub, what are the benefits and drawbacks of each?

The biggest advantage for the standalone version is you don't need virtual infrastructure, and stand alone is very light weight. Standalone requires a machine, whereas the hub is a virtual appliance that runs on Linux so it doesn't require extra Windows licensing. With the virtual appliance no physical machine is required, and the appliance is easier to upgrade.

What is the procedure to upgrade ProfileUnity™?

Running the stand-alone version of ProfileUnity

Download the latest version of ProfileUnity from www.liquidwarelabs.com/download/
Backup your configuration (preferences -> backup)
Verify that your backup completed and that the file containing your settings is saved
Uninstall the current version of ProfileUnity (Add/Remove Programs)
Install the new version of ProfileUnity
Restore your configuration (preferences -> restore)

Running the Stratusphere™ Hub

Log into the Stratusphere™ Hub console using ssconsole/sspassword.
Liquidware Labs recommends taking a snapshot of the Stratusphere™ Hub before applying any updates. We recommend you run the "shutdown" command and use the vSphere client to take a snap shot of the Hub. When finished, power ON the Hub again and log back into the console using ssconsole/sspassword.
Run "software check". This command will call back to our update servers to check if there is a new version available. It will tell you if there are new versions. The Stratusphere™ Hub needs Internet to check for and download updates. If there is a proxy involved, please run the "set software update proxy <proxy-server-ip:port>" command. Stratusphere™ does not support authenticated proxies at this time. Use the attached PDF if you have authenticated proxies and need to update the hub manually.
Run "software install latest". This command will download updates and apply them sequentially going through different versions until the latest version is applied. If needed, it will reboot the appliance as well.
When the Hub is up, running and considered stable you should go back and delete any snapshots created as it does adversely affect performance of the Hub.

Can you have multiple .ini file configurations for larger environments and what is the difference between that and Filter Management?

If you have multiple INI files in the Profile Unity folder:

Prior to version 4.7 multiple INI files would break the rsynch process which drives our "Synch Option" on Folder Re-direction as well our ability to deliver local-cached mode ThinApps to a desktop. In addition, there have been reports of ThinApp delivery issues when multiple ini files are in place prior to 4.7.1. This is fixed in the 4.7.1 release.

It should be noted that if there are multiple ini files and the user is entitled to execute them, they are executed in alphabetical order except for default.ini. Default is executed first and then all the other files in alphabetical order.

Multiple ini files can be useful in larger environments or in any environment where there are large groups of users that require their ProfileUnity configuration to have a large amount of differences (e.g. different portability and different save paths, different provisioning tasks altogether) or in environments where there could be multiple admins making configurations.

Filter Management gives you the ability to make finer grain adjustments within a singular ini file. For example, all users have their portability settings saved to their home drive, but we want to provision different printers or drives for different departments. In those cases, filter management may be the best approach.

What're Portability Settings vs. Folder Redirection?

Portability Rule Set defines the possible things that can be harvested, backed-up and restored session to session.

Folder-Redirection is the concept of changing the User's registry setting of one or more shell folder location from the default location in the local file system to a network share or path.

Portability Settings have two components, a registry setting and a file system setting. The registry setting defined a Merge, Replace or Exclude function on a Tree, Key or Value in the HKEY Current User Registry hive. All paths in this section of a Rule Set are relative that hive.

The Filesystem component defines a Merge Replace or Exclude on a file, directory or set of files (using wildcards) relative to a starting directory (e.g. Application Data, User Profile, system drive, etc.) the path specified here is relative to the folder you select.

How do you diagnose long logon times?

There are multiple items that can affect login and logoff times. Chief among these is related to the portability rule sets that are enacted and the amount of data they are harvesting, backing up and restoring. Examining the size of the 7z archives that are created is one way to see if these files are large and if a "tuning" of the rule set is required.

For example, the default application data rule set when invoked merges the entirety of the user's application data folder with a couple of exceptions. There are many different non-essential files and directories in this folder (sun\java\deploymentsystem\cache as an example). That can be excluded because it contains temp files that are not necessary session to session.

In addition to portability rule sets, provisioning tasks such as the additions of excessive & multiple printers, or delivery of many and multiple provisioning tasks can also impact the loading times for users.

How do you resolve an unable to launch published application error within Xenapp?

Open up regedit on your XenApp server and browse to the following location: HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CURRENTVersion\Winlogon For the Userinit value you will need to replace C:\Program Files\Profile Unity\userinit.exe with C:\ Windows\system32\userinit.exe.

When a customer sends a config file, what's the best way to view it?

The PDF file is the more simple and readable format.

How can portability settings been enabled for the ntuser.dat file?

The ntuser.dat file cannot be compressed and zipped by Profile Unity due to the fact that it is locked by the OS. In essence, the portability rule sets capture the information that is contained in the ntuser.dat file, so capturing that file is unnecessary.

Where can customers retrieve the exact version numbers of the products they are running?

In the web interface the version can be found in a blue bar at the bottom of the screen:

In the console you can find the version by logging in as

User: ssconsole

Password: sspassword

Then use the "show version" command to see the version of the hub.

How do you port IE8 passwords?

Turn on portability for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider

and

%userprofile%\appdata\roaming\microsoft\protect

This is the same as the default passwords rule set.

Are there any known issues for Citrix published apps on Windows 2008 64 bit?

Yes. To fix the issue with published applications not running, open up regedit on your XenApp server and browse to the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

For the Userinit value you will need to replace C:\Program Files\ProfileUnity\userinit.exe with c:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe.

Note: For 4.7.1 and later this should be automatic and ctxinit.exe is used instead of userinit.exe.

Do we recognize whether a user is logged on to a LAN vs VPN?

ProfileUnity includes a filter that is based on LAN or WAN connections.

What are recommended/required versions of ThinApp and ThinReg?

ProfileUnity is tested with ThinReg 4.5 and later.

How do you get the portability settings to save after a new user is added?

Add the user to the profile unity group and have the user log in and out as soon as the .ini applies to him.

What are the minimal permissions needed on the network share when using folder redirection in Profile Unity?

Administrators	Full	This folder, subfolders and files
SYSTEM	Full	This folder, subfolders and files
Authenticated Users	Modify	This folder only
CREATOR/OWNER	Modify	Subfolders and files only
HelpDesk Group	Modify	This folder, subfolders and files

These settings will allow ProfileUnity to create subfolders for each user and these created users will be accessible only by the intended user.

Note: The "HelpDesk" entry should be replaced by the group containing your helpdesk staff. This will allow your helpdesk to modify the user profile data for all users.

The icons on my desktop don't stay where I put them. How can I save these settings?

Your desktop icons are normally saved using the Windows Explorer portability ruleset in ProfileUnity. However, if you have this setting enabled, "Arrange Icons By–>Align Icons to Grid", enabled in on the Windows desktop then this will cause icons to be auto-arranged to the left side of the screen at logon and logoff time. In order to have ProfileUnity manage icon placement you will need to turn this option off. This can be done on the desktop by right clicking on the desktop and unchecking the checkbox by "Arrange Icons By–>Align Icons to Grid" or you may change the value in the registry at: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1\Desktop

Set Auto Arrange off, Align to Grid off:
"FFlags"=dword: 0x00000220

How do you resolve a save/restore of the map profiles within Profile Unity?

Enable then disable the timestamp check option in the group policy settings.