The RCCMD Appliance for VMware configuration interface in detail

This article contains the following:

System tab: Language

System tab: Status

System tab: Event Log

System tab: View VMware Logs

System tab: Connections

System tab: Notification Settings

System tab: Web Configuration

System tab: User Settings

System tab: Network Settings

System tab: Help

System tab: Language

For language options, select the system tab “Language”.

RCCMD supports the languages German, English and French.

To switch to the corresponding language pack, select the appropriate language. RCCMD will switch to the language at once without a restart.

System tab: Status

This menu contains general information about the RCCMD operating state and all available log files.

Start

Starts the RCCMD service. The configuration changes will be armed. As soon as RCCMD is active, incoming RCCMD signals will be logged and executed.

Stop

This function stops the RCCMD service. The incoming signals are not monitored and RCCMD will neither log nor trigger incoming RCCMD signals.

Restart

The restart stops the RCCMD service and then starts it again. This function combines the other two functions and can be used to initialize a configuration on the fly.

Depending on the current action, the Current status of RCCMD will be shown:

Not running

RCCMD is disabled and will not protect your server.

Running

RCCMD is online and waits for incoming signals.

The peculiarity of this function:

All settings during configuration will be cached temporarily, RCCMD will continue to work in the background with the configuration of the last system start.

To activate the new configuration, it is mandatory to stop, start or restart the RCCMD service.

System tab: Event Log

RCCMD logs events concerning the RCCMD service:

• Notifications
• System Events
• Actions
• Executed scripts

RCCMD logging includes these information

• Date of the event
• Time when the event arrived
• IP address of the sending device
• Success / failure while executing a job

Using this event report, complex event chains can be traced back in individual steps and evaluated in conjunction with the event logs of the associated CS141.

By doing so, it is possible to track:

- When a server shuts down

- Why a server shuts down

- How fast a system reacted to an incident.

Event reports help to break down complicated issues and may show future problems.

Downloading an event log

Larger companies require regular status reports on IT security.

RCCMD therefore allows you to download and export the log files to a CSV file that is integratable into external monitoring systems and databases.

You will find the download link below the last log entry:

System tab: View VMware Logs

The RCCMD Appliance provides extensive log files to assist with the recovery of an incident.

RCCMD logs the following information:

• Date
• Time
• Received signals
• Own communication attempts
• Executed scripts
• Dry run results

Depending on the depth of detail of the evaluations, you can use these log files to trace the path of a shutdown even over complex network nodes and compare them with other log files.

System tab: Connections

Define the permitted inbound connections

If you leave this field empty, all incoming RCCMD shutdown signals may trigger a shutdown.

As a surprise, this is an unfavorable condition that should be changed. By entering a sender IP, you limit which devices are in principle authorized to send a command to this RCCMD client.

RCCMD commands from unauthorized devices are logged, but the RCCMD denies an execution.

The Connections configuration dialog

Insert and Edit

With insert, add a new IP address.

Save Changes will add the IP address to IP whitelist. Close aborts the process and exits the configuration dialog. Repeat the process until all RCCMD authorized stations have been recorded.

If the settings change over time, they can be edited:

Select an IP address and press Edit. The selected IP address is offered to you in the configuration dialog and can be changed by you according to your ideas. Save Changes complete the process.

Close cancels the process and terminates the configuration dialog.

Both the IP address of the sender and a valid hostname are valid

Working with hostnames is always tricky:

you also need a DNS server for translation between hostname and IP address this hostname is associated with. If the DNS server is down or the communication to the server is broken, RCCMD will not be able to contact the corresponding host and manage a shut down.

RCCMD supports host names, but in order to avoid the issue described above, we recommend to use an IP address.

RCCMD is a client that will always wait for an incoming signal! You need to configure an RCCMD sender like the CS141 Web manager:

At UPS event management, select as job RCCMD Shutdown – you may choose between the IP address or the host name of the RCCMD client.

In critical resource management, it is advisable to eliminate as many interfering possibilities as possible.

As an example, if you need a server that can resolve the hostnames into IP addresses, the communication between client and sender will stop working as soon as the server is unavailable.

Therefore, the general recommendation is to use manual IP addresses: by doing so, all devices inside a network segment can communicate with each other without additional server.

Note

If you configure the CS141 and want to see if the jobs you have configured are correctly received by RCCMD, you can use connections to create an inbound log. As long as the sender is not explicitly included in Connections, RCCMD will log the execution but refuse to execute it.

However, at least one IP address must be entered in order to activate this filter function.

Preparing UPS redundancy

Some settings depend on each other. If you have several UPS systems paired in operation in order to secure the server infrastructure, it may be necessary to specify more than one UPS to trigger a shutdown command.

If you enter two or more valid IP addresses for a valid RCCMD signal, the "Redundancy" menu is automatically activated and can be used.

RCCMD can be configured to manage valid RCCMD shutdown signals from different sources. For details, refer to the menu "Redundancy".

How to delete an IP address

Click on the IP address and press Remove.

This will delete the IP address.

Remember to press Save changes at the upper right position to save your settings permanently.

Increase the connection security

This feature adds security to your network, but conversely also increases administration overhead:

You can instruct the RCCMD to explicitly accept SSL-encrypted communication with a valid certificate.

If a sender does not have an SSL certificate to identify itself, the connection is terminated.

In addition to this feature, you can instruct RCCMD to check SSL certificates are up-to-date. If the certificate becomes expired, it is considered invalid and the connection is terminated accordingly.

Note

We'd like to point out that the save function changes the color.

If you enter or change data within a configuration dialog, data are saved temporarily, without any impact on current configuration. If your configuration work is done, you need to write your local settings to the RCCMD configuration file.

To activate the new configuration, RCCMD needs to be restarted - just press at Status stop / start or restart. RCCMD will re-read the new configuration and take over the new configuration.

System tab: Notification Settings

Depending on which command is received by a valid RCCMD transmitter, three basic scripts are executed automatically. Each script triggers an RCCMD function. The RCCMD routines are preconfigured and normally there is no need to edit them.

However, if you want to execute your own scripts by RCCMD,

you can either write these scripts directly to the appropriate .sh - script and execute them as a custom command or you may edit these basic files.

Warning:

If you modify, customize, or extend these scripts, you change the overall behaviour of RCCMD within your system. Be sure to make a backup before editing the scripts to find back to the original system state. Changes to the original configuration may result in unpredictable behaviour of RCCMD and may cause system-wide problems.

Edit these scripts at your own risk!

When will these scripts be executed?

RCCMD differs between two different scripts:

Message Notification

This script controls the receipt of messages and is responsible for displaying them on the monitor. Because the RCCMD appliance is a non-graphical server program that runs without permanent monitoring, you should leave this script simple as it is:

Since it is triggered by each incoming RCCMD notification signal, additional content would also be executed each time.

Due to this fact, this is mostly without a function (no graphical interface) you may use it for routine scripting

• Changing the complete script will change the behavior and may cause RCCMD to not run as expected.
• Edit it at your own risk.

Execute Notification

This script is interesting:

This script executes all valid incoming commands a CS141 may send. This script triggers the complete shutdown routine RCCMD provides.

With this script, RCCMD will provide you the unique option to add and trigger your very own customized shutdown scripting solution and even program an additional non-standard routine that specifically meets your network exactly.

• This script is a very powerful option as well as dangerous because changes directly interfere with all functions of the RCCMD. Any changes and enhancements you make will directly affect the shutdown behavior.
• Advanced scripting skills in Linux are essential for changes to this script!

System tab: Web Configuration

Configure the web server

If the ports are blocked or used by other applications, it is possible to change the ports for the internal web interface of RCCMD.

Set the availability of the RCCMD web console.

The default for web access is:

http: port 8080

https: port 8443

Please note that changing the default values will mean the web console of RCCMD can only be reached via the ports you manually set.

Backup / Restore

Important: this function is available for program version 4.54.X.231129 onwards. Former program version backups are not compatible with this function – For more information, please refer to the chapter “Disaster Recovery”.
The RCCMD Appliance provides a comfortable backup & restore function for easy appliance update:

Appliance update procedure

1. Click “Backup” to create a backup of the current RCCMD Appliance.

2. Shut down the appliance and switch off the virtual machine.

3. Deploy the new appliance.

4. Place the backup file as created inside the Drop box and click restore.

5. Test the new appliance.

If the appliance is running as expected, delete the old appliance version.

RCCMD Appliance: Update Web server certificate

The integrated web server can be configured to follow company SSL/TLS certificates. For the required pem-file, refer to the local IT department. This function will be used to encrypt the communication between the web interface of the RCCMD installation and the web browser.

TLS certificate update function:

1. Create a backup file before using this function

2. Place the *.pem file in the according upload box

3. Click upload

4. Restart RCCMD at System status.

The Web browser should now show your own certificate. If your web browser cannot access the web interface, re-install RCCMD and check the certificate.

System tab: User Settings

Unlike the CS141, RCCMD only contains a pre-defined and hard-coded user. The password can be adjusted at any time to fit the password policies of any company:

Note

Depending on the program version, there are two default passwords that can be assigned.

Program versions until 5/2018: cs121-snmp

Program versions from 5/2018: RCCMD

Due to the fact RCCMD comes with two years of update authorization, it is possible that you need these two default passwords.

System tab: Network Settings

(For this configuration menu, version 4.49 or later is required.)
The Appliance for VMware offers you the possibility to set the IP address directly via the web interface.

Note:

When rolling out, you will be asked in an interactive system window by VMware whether you want to enter an IP address. If you do not fill in these input fields, the RCCMD appliance assumes that a DHCP server is available on the first start and assigns an IP address. You can adjust the IP address data of RCCMD as well as the startup behaviour via the network settings and choose between DHCP and manual IP address.

System tab: Help

The Help section offers you two sub-items that provide further information:

Documentation and User Manual

Manual
The user manual that was current at the time your RCCMD version was released is stored locally on your RCCMD client. This allows direct access to the manual in case your installation is located in a specially protected area where no internet connection is available.

Online Documentation
This weblink leads to the Generex download portal, the manufacturer of this software. Here you will find the latest available system documentation as well as numerous additional resources.

Info Box

Each RCCMD license includes a two-year update entitlement. After this period, the licenses do not lose their general validity; however, when using a newer software version of RCCMD, you will notice that the license key can no longer be entered.
You can easily check whether your license is still eligible for updates via the Info Box:

The numbers are broken down as follows:
1.19 – The program version
.12 – The OEM version with which you purchased this RCCMD license
190604 – When read backward, the build date: June 04, 2019

According to this screenshot, the version shown has the following data:
It is program version 4.19 from OEM 12 – GENEREX with the build date June 04, 2019, and is eligible for updates until June 04, 2021.