Index


Overview

This document details the installation process for a Statseeker Version 5 High-Availability (HA) deployment.

Note:

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Important Notes

Non-Synced Server Settings

Changes (being set or updated) to the following settings are not synced between primary and secondary servers. Any changes to the following must be manually duplicated on the secondary server:

  • SSL certificates
  • SSH keys and certificates
  • NTP configuration
  • Server timezone
  • LDAP configuration
  • Email configuration
  • Web Server configuration
  • User account password changes for the statseeker user

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Unsupported Configurations

Statseeker does NOT support the following configurations for physical (non-VM) installations:

  • Raid 5
  • Raid 6
  • SAN Drives

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Installation Drive

Statseeker v5.6.2(+)

  • The system must be using Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) firmware
  • The Boot process must be set to EFI\UEFI
  • Legacy Boot or Compatibility Support Mode (CSM) must be disabled
  • Secure Boot must be disabled
  • The disk containing Statseeker boot partition must be set as the first boot device
  • All data on the disk will be deleted during a new install
  • See System Requirements for more information on installation disk requirements
  • If installing on a server with multiple drives, ensure that there is no other instance of Statseeker installed on the server

Statseeker v5.6.0 - v5.6.1

  • Requires Legacy BIOS support
  • All data on the disk will be deleted during a new install
  • See System Requirements for more information on installation disk requirements
  • If installing on a server with multiple drives, ensure that there is no other instance of Statseeker installed on the server

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User Accounts

The installation process will create the following administrative system accounts:

  • admin – the web user administrator account
  • statseeker – the system user account used by the Statseeker application
  • root – the superuser account in the backend operating system

You will be prompted to provide the root user password during the installation process. This password will become the default password for both the admin and statseeker accounts. This password can be changed after the installation process via:

  • the command line ssadmin tool
  • the web interface in the Administration Tool, see Admin Tool > Statseeker Administration > OS Configuration

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Prerequisites

  • A license key that is compatible with a Statseeker High-Availability installation, contact Customer Service to ensure that you have a suitable key
  • A Statseeker High-Availability installation image/ISO, contact Customer Service for access to the installation image

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System Requirements

Ensure that both prospective HA servers meet the Version 5 System Requirements. In addition, an HA installation requires that each server have a least two network interfaces and that are connected via a dedicated high-speed connection for the HA data sync link.


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Installation Media

Contact your Regional Sales Manager for access to the Statseeker installation media (ISO/IMG) image file appropriate for your license. Once this file has been downloaded:

  • CD/DVD: use 3rd party software to burn the ISO/IMG image file to disc
  • USB: use 3rd party software to convert the USB and ISO/IMG to bootable drive
  • VM: request the *.iso file from Statseeker support to ensure compatibility with your destination platform

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Configuration Information

You will also need to provide, or define, the following information during the install process:

  • The root user password for the server
  • A host name for the server
  • A domain name suffix for the server
  • Static IP, Netmask and Default Gateway addresses for the server
  • The IP address of your Domain Name Server
  • The SNMP read access community string to your devices (routers, switches, servers, etc.)

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Install Primary Server

CD/DVD/USB Installation
  • Configure the BIOS time and time zone as desired
  • Set the boot sequence:
    • Installation media as first boot preference
    • Installation destination drive as secondary boot preference
  • Connect the server to your LAN as needed
  • Insert installation media
  • Boot the server
Note: ensure that both the Primary and Secondary are configured with identical timezone settings.
VM Installation
  • Configure the VM
  • Mount the ISO
  • Launch the VM

The FreeBSD welcome screen will be displayed.

  • Press Enter to continue with the installation
Note: The install process will display a number of configuration screens:

  • Use the arrow keys to navigate within these dialogs
  • Use the spacebar to select an item (when specifying the HA server role)
  • Use the Tab key to move between the data-entry section and the OK/Cancel confirmation section
  • Use the Enter to confirm the OK/Cancel

The Statseeker Welcome screen is displayed.

  • Press Enter

The High-Availability Alert screen is displayed

  • Press Enter to continue with the installation

If you have multiple hard disks, the Installation Disk Selection screen is displayed.

Note: This screen will only be presented if you have multiple disks configured or if you have a RAID configuration and a separate disk.

  • Select the disk you want to use, select OK and press Enter

Next we have a notice regarding disk partitioning.

An finally the data wipe alert is displayed; continuing with the installation will delete all data on the specified hard disk.

  • Press Enter to continue with the installation

The HA Role Selection screen is displayed

  • Ensure that the Primary role is selected and hit Enter

The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the primary\master server data-sync interface is to be configured.

  • Press Enter

  • Select the interface to be used for the data-sync link
  • Press Enter

The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the primary server data-sync interface IP is to be configured.

  • Press Enter

  • Specify the IP and subnet mask to be used and press Enter
Note:

  • Statseeker will reference the IP address assigned to the primary server's data link interface, increment this by one and assign the new value as the IP address for the secondary server's data link interface.
    Example:
    • Primary Server (manually assigned): 192.168.5.5
    • Secondary Server (automatically assigned): 192.168.5.6
  • The data-sync link interfaces should be configured on a different subnet to the rest of your network. See the image below for an example.

The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the primary server main interface is to be configured.

  • Press Enter
Note:

  • Statseeker will reference the IP address assigned to the primary server's main interface, increment this by one and assign the new value as the IP address for the secondary server's main interface.
    Example:
    • Primary Server (manually assigned): 10.2.16.31
    • Secondary Server (automatically assigned): 10.2.16.32

  • Select the interface to be used for the link to the rest of the network
  • Press Enter

The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the primary server main interface IP is to be configured.

  • Press Enter

  • Specify the IP and subnet mask to be used and press Enter

The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the virtual host IP is to be configured.

  • Press Enter

  • Specify the IP to be used and press Enter

The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the virtual host authentication string is to be configured.

  • Press Enter

  • Specify the authentication string to be used and press Enter

  • Specify the hostname to be used for the primary server Enter

  • Specify the domain and DNS servers to be used for the primary server and press Enter

  • Specify the size of the data-store and press Enter

Installation will continue.

The server time prompt is displayed.

  • Select the time zone region

    • Select the time zone

    • Select Yes to confirm the time zone configuration

    The Date configuration screen is presented, either Skip, or:

    • Configure the month, year, and day-of-month and select Set Date

    The Time configuration screen is presented, either Skip, or:

    • Configure the time and select Set Time

    A prompt will be displayed asking you to set the password for the server root account.

    Note: This password will become the default password for both the admin and statseeker user accounts.


    • Enter the password and press Enter
    • Repeat this to confirm the password

    Statseeker will now install all required packages and reboot. When installation is complete, a login prompt will be displayed.

    • Do not log in, rather move on to the HA Secondary server installation

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    Install Secondary Server

    Begin the installation of the secondary server in exactly the same manner as the installation of the primary server.

    Note: ensure that both the Primary and Secondary are configured to use the same timezone.

    The Statseeker Welcome screen is displayed.

    • Press Enter

    The High-Availability Alert screen is displayed

    • Press Enter to continue with the installation

    If you have multiple hard disks, the Installation Disk Selection screen is displayed.

    Note: This screen will only be presented if you have multiple disks configured or if you have a RAID configuration and a separate disk.

    • Select the disk you want to use, select OK and press Enter

    Next we have a notice regarding disk partitioning.

    An finally the data wipe alert is displayed; continuing with the installation will delete all data on the specified hard disk.

    • Press Enter to continue with the installation

    The HA Role Selection screen is displayed

    • Ensure that the Secondary role is selected (down-arrow, then spacebar to select) and hit OK

    The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the secondary server data-sync interface is to be configured.

    • Press Enter

    • Select the interface to be used for the data-sync link
    • Press Enter

    The HA Config Summary screen is displayed, indicating that the IP of the primary server data-sync link interface is required.

    • Press Enter

    Statseeker then prompts you for the IP to connect to the Primary server - this is the Data Link Interface

    • Specify the IP address previously assigned to the interface used for the data-sync link on the primary server
    • Press Enter

    You will then be prompted for the password assigned during the primary server installation process.

    • Enter the password that was specified for the root account on the primary server and press Enter

    SSH keys will be exchanged for communication between the primary and secondary servers, then the installation process will test this link and pull configuration data from the primary server to assist with automatically configuring the secondary server. The HA Config Summary screen will be displayed detailing the automatic configuration assigned to the secondary server.

    The installation process will proceed as per that used when configuring the primary server:

    • The HA Config Summary screen will be displayed before each step, indicating the next setting to be configured
    • The configuration screen will be displayed and will be pre-populated as per the automated configuration
    • Step through these settings, editing the configurations if required and pressing Enter to confirm

    Once the HA specific configuration options are complete the installation process will move on to the remainder of the secondary server configuration.

    • Specify the hostname to be used for the secondary server Enter

    • Specify the domain and DNS servers to be used for the salve server and press Enter

    • Specify the size of the data-store to be used and press Enter - this must be the same as was specified for the primary server

    Installation will continue.

    The server time prompt is displayed, both servers must be set to the same timezone.

    • Select the time zone

    • Select Yes to confirm the time zone configuration

    The Date configuration screen is presented, either Skip, or:

    • Configure the month, year, and day-of-month and select Set Date

    The Time configuration screen is presented, either Skip, or:

    • Configure the time and select Set Time

    A prompt will be displayed asking you to set the password for the server root account.

    Note: This password will become the default password for both the admin and statseeker user accounts.


    • Enter the password and press Enter
    • Repeat this to confirm the password

    Statseeker will now install all required packages and reboot. When installation is complete, a login prompt will be displayed.

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    Web Installation Wizard

    Once Statseeker is installed on both servers you can access the web interface, to do this:

    • Enter the IP address previously specified for the virtual host, in your browser address bar

    You will then be prompted with a login screen.

    • Select Sign in with username/password
    • User Name - admin
    • Password - the root user account password as specified during installation

    Once logged in to the web interface, you will be prompted with the Statseeker License configuration screen.

    • Enter your Server ID and select Download a new Key
    Note: to obtain a Server ID, contact your Regional Sales Manager.

    It may take a minute or two to obtain your license key.

    • Select the checkbox to accept the Statseeker license
    • Select Save to activate the license key

    The screen will update to display the license details.

    • Click Next


    Server Summary and Final Steps

    The Server Summary details the configuration of your Statseeker server with options to update this configuration and initiate basic server administration tasks.


    Edit Server Date/Time

    This is an optional step, adjust the settings if required.

    • Click the associated Edit link on the Server Summary page
    • Use the calendar control to edit the date and/or time
    • Use the drop-down to modify the timezone for the server
    • Click Save when done

    Note: adjusting the server date or time will require a server restart to apply the changes. On clicking the Save button you will be prompted to confirm your action. Clicking Yes in the confirmation modal will restart your Statseeker server.

    The configuration changes will be saved, and the server will be restarted to apply those changes.

    Once the changes have been applied you will be returned to the Date/Time/NTP Configuration screen (in Display mode) to confirm that the changes have been applied correctly.

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    Edit NTP Configuration

    To edit the NTP server settings:

    • Click the associated Edit link on the Server Summary page
    • Enter the address of the NTP server to use
    • Click the associated Delete button to remove unwanted NTP server entries
    • Click Save when done

    When you click Save Statseeker will attempt to contact the specified NTP servers and:

    • Inform you if it is unable to receive a response from the NTP server, no changes have been applied at this point
    • If it receives a valid response from the NTP server, apply the changes and return the Date/Time/NTP Configuration screen (in Display mode), enabling a Test button that can be used to confirm the validity of the current configuration.


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    Configure an HTTP Proxy Connection

    To add or edit the HTTP proxy configuration:

    • Click the Network > Edit link on the Server Summary page
    • Enter the required proxy server details
    • Click Save to apply the configuration


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    Edit the Network Configuration

    To edit the existing network configuration:

    • Click the Network > Edit link on the Server Summary page
    • Enter the required details
    • Click Save to apply the configuration


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    Edit Interface Configuration

    To edit the existing network configuration:

    • Click the associated Edit link on the Server Summary page
    • Click Edit to reconfigure the interface, optionally click Clear to remove the current configuration before editing

    • Enter the required details
    • Click Save to apply the configuration
    • Click Close to return to the Server Summary


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    Admin Tool

    The Admin Tool is used to manage your Statseeker server and houses a large amount of functionality including:

    • Statseeker server licensing and configuration (operating system, web server, SSL certificates, authentication options, backups, custom packages, etc.)
    • Network discovery and device management
    • User accounts
    • Group management
    • Alerting and event management
    • Server Maintenance and Troubleshooting

    See Server Administration for additional information.

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    Restore from Backup

    This option allows you to restore a previous Statseeker server backup onto the newly created server. The backup will restore both the Statseeker server configuration (optionally including SSL certificates) and network data (as recorded up until the backup was created)

    For more information see Backup and Restoration Processes.

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    Create Users (optional)
    Note: this functionality is available from the Admin Tool after installation.

    This option allows you to configure additional Statseeker user accounts, see User Accounts. for details on account creation. This step can be skipped as user account creation is available from within the Admin Tool after installation is complete.

    There are some limitations to creating user accounts at this time:

    • User Authentication - only File authentication is available at this time. Other authentication methods (LDAP, RADIUS, SAML) can be configured post-installation, see User Authentication for details
    • Group Selection - as no groups have been created\populated at this time, only the All Groups super-group is available, see Grouping Overview for details

    The additional actions offered are:

    • Back - return to the installation Server Summary
    • Log Out - complete the installation process and log out of the Statseeker server
    • Finish Setup - complete the installation process, you will be sent to Dashboards (the default Statseeker landing page, see Console Options for updating this default)

    Run Network Discovery
    Note: this functionality is available from the Admin Tool after installation.

    Statseeker's network discovery process is used to add networked devices, interfaces, and other SNMP enabled components on your network to Statseeker. Statseeker can then collect configuration information and timeseries data from those devices to be used for polling, reporting, and alerting purposes.

    Statseeker v5.6.2

    Network Discovery

    • Click Run Network Discovery
    • Click Add A New Range, see IP Address Ranges for assistance
    • Expand the SNMP Credentials section and click Add A New Credential
    • Configure the SNMP Credentials required to communicate with the devices you wish to monitor (multiple sets of SNMP Credentials can be configured), see SNMP Credentials for assistance
    • Click Start Discovery
    Note:

    • The Network Discovery options presented in the installation screen are limited. Additional Discovery modes and a range of options for tailoring Discovery are available, see the Discovery Process for details.
    • The Discovery process can take some time to complete, this being dependent upon factors such as the size, speed and responsiveness of the network and devices

    A running Discovery Summary and detailed output Log are updated throughout the process. Statseeker stores these details, the server’s Discovery history is available for review or download.

    IPv6-Only Networks

    The Discovery option available from the installation screen is limited to Discovery Using Ranges, so it is not compatible for IPv6-only networks. For IPv6-only networks:

    • Select Admin Tool
    • Select Network Discovery – Advanced Options > Hosts File
    • Populate the Hosts file with the IPv6 devices to be monitored
    • Select Network Discovery > Discovery My Network
    • Click the Customize option under Network Discovery
    • Set IP Address Ranges > Ranges Source = Use rangers from Hosts file
    • Expand the SNMP Credentials section and click Add A New Credential
    • Configure the SNMP Credentials required to communicate with the devices you wish to monitor (multiple sets of SNMP Credentials can be configured), see SNMP Credentials for assistance
    • Click Start Discovery
    Statseeker v5.6.0 - v5.6.1

    The initial Discovery options available from Installation present only a subset of Discovery functionality, being restricted to:

    • Discovery via IP Ranges
    • Discovery of SNMPv2 devices only
    • Enter the SNMP Community strings (one per line) required to communicate with the devices that will be monitored
    • Specify the IP range within which to look for network devices, a single include/exclude rule per line
    • Click Start Discovery

    If the options presented here are not suitable for your environment:

    Finish Setup

    The Statseeker Dashboard Homepage will be displayed providing access to the default dashboards as well as a news panel detailing recent updates with links to associated documentation and videos. The main Statseeker Console and reporting panels are available from the main navigator.


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    Apply Service Packs

    Check for and apply any Service Packs applicable to your version of Statseeker. Contact Customer Support if you require any assistance.

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