Changing the System Configuration

Aside from protocol-related parameters (X.25/LAPB and raw sync) the SyncServer has a number of administration-related parameters:

Networking Settings (IP address, netmask, gateway)
Event Logging (where to send messages, and whether or not to send them)
Sync over TCP Settings (idle timer setting)
Administrator Authentication (password selection)
Statistics Authentication (password selection)
Link Configuration (setting up the serial ports)

Each of these items can be configured from the web interface of SyncServer.

Note: If you have not already performed the initial SyncServer configuration described in the Installer's Guide, start there.

Point your browser to your SyncServer and from the left-hand navigation:

Select System Configuration to make configuration changes, or
Select Sync/TCP Statistics or System Information to help with troubleshooting.

Note: Configuration changes are not enabled unless you are logged in as the 'admin' user. For 'stats' users, all information is read-only.

Networking Settings

These settings define the address of the SyncServer on your network.

Type in a new IP Address, Network Mask and Gateway for the SyncServer on your LAN. The Network Mask should be specified in dot notation. (i.e. 192.168.1.1/24 should be specified as 192.168.1.1 with a network mask of 255.255.255.0)
Note: The Gateway is unnecessary when all the clients are on the same IP sub-network.
Select Apply in the "Networking" section.
When the interface finishes applying the change(s) it will ask you to reboot. Select Reboot System from the left-hand navigation. It will take approximately one minute for the SyncServer to reboot.
Point your browser to the IP address and log in as user name "admin".

Note: The Reboot System option is not available for the 'stats' user.

Event Logging

Event logs provide a history of events by sending system files to a specified IP address. These logged files are directed to the specified IP address where they are logged based on the locations specified by the OS of that machine.

Type in the IP address to receive system log files.

If no IP address is specified, events will be logged to /var/log/syslog on the SyncServer. These files are rotated on a weekly bases and 4 weeks are kept.

To set up a target Linux machine to receive log files you must first change the SYSLOGD_OPTIONS parameter in /etc/sysconfig/syslog on the the target machine to accept logs from a remote machine.

e.g. (SYSLOGD_OPTIONS="-m 0 -r -x")

Sync Over TCP Settings

This feature allows you to set up SyncServer to automatically close the TCP connection associated with a virtual circuit when there is no activity after a specified amount of time.

Type in the number of seconds the SyncServer should allow inactivity. If a virtual ciruit is inactive longer than that specified time the connection will be closed. (The default is 0 seconds, which will not time out inactive connections.)
Log call activities to syslog by selecting Yes. This information will get added to the system logs sent to the IP address defined in Event Logging above.

Note: If a lot of virtual circuits will be sitting idle for more than the defined time limit then it is best to set this value to zero (0). Also, when listening for incoming calls it is best to set this value to zero (0) to avoid closing needed connections. Setting the value to zero (0) will cause SyncServer never to close connections due to inactivity.

See Sync over TCP Statistics for more details.

Web Administrator Authentication

The web administrator user ID "admin" has full access to this web interface.

Type in the new password in the Set New Password field.
Confirm the password in the second text field.
Select Apply.

The next time the admin user accesses this interface they will be required to use the new password.

Web Statistics Authentication

The web statistics user ID "stats" has access to the same interface as the "admin" user, but many of the screens are read only. The stats user cannot change the system or link configuration nor can they restart or reboot the SyncServer. This user can view the system and link configuration, the link statistics and is able to run a packet trace.

Type in the new password in the Set New Password field.
Confirm the password in the second text field.
Select Apply.

The next time this user accesses the interface they will be required to use the new password. Only the admin user has permission to change this password.

Link Configuration

The SyncServer supports a number of different protocols on the serial port(s).

To set the serial protocols:

Select Serial Protocols from the left-hand navigation.
Select the Protocol from the drop-down list. Only those protocols supported by your SyncServer will be offered.
Click Set Protocols.
Reboot the SyncServer to complete the change. You should do this before continuing on with further configuration.

Once the serial protocol has been selected, there are a number of configuration parameters which can be set for X.25/LAPB and raw synchronous links.

Backing Up The Configuration

Once you have configured the SyncServer, you may wish to make a copy of the configuration. The utility ssbackup can be used to download the configuration from the SyncServer to a file on your PC, or to upload a file from your PC to set the configuration of your SyncServer.

Updating the SyncServer Software

New versions of the software in your SyncServer will be released from time to time. The utility ssupdate can be used to download the new software version to your SyncServer.