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Prepare the Archive Appliance

Prepare the Archive Appliance

Owned by Heather Hartman (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jun 11, 2021
11 min read

 

This section covers the following procedures:

• Connecting to the ArcMail appliance and configuring the network settings

• Logging into the ArcMail appliance

• Changing the admin username and password

• Applying the changes

Connecting to the ArcMail Appliance

Initial network settings can be configured in the following manner:

• From a console (Console Method)

• From the default IP address

Console Method

Procedure 1-14- Perform the following steps to configure the ArcMail appliance using the Console Method:

Step Action
1 Connect a keyboard and monitor to the appliance.
2 Log into the appliance console using the following information:

• Username: networkconfig
• Password: provided in the welcome letter that came with the ArcMail appliance.
Note: Contact ArcMail Technology technical support if the password is lost.

3 Select from the following options after connecting the network:

Figure 1-16 - Network Configuration Console Main Menu

4 Press ‘d’ to setup DNS and enter the following information:

• Enter the domain name (the domain assigned to the ArcMail appliance)
• Enter the IP address of the primary DNS server (required).
• Enter the IP address of the secondary DNS server
• Enter the IP address of the tertiary DNS server.

Note: It is required to have one DNS server listed. Leave the other fields blank if you want to skip the entry.

Figure 1-17- DNS Setup Screen

5 Press ‘h’ to setup the hostname. Enter the fully qualified hostname of the ArcMail appliance.

Figure 1-18- Hostname Entry Screen

6 Press ‘i’ to setup the IP address and enter the following information:

• Enter the IP Address of the ArcMail appliance
• Enter the netmask
• Enter the gateway
• Press “y” to accept and apply these settings

Figure 1-19- IP Address Setup Screen

7 Press ‘x’ to exit the network setup utility and apply the settings.
8 Update your DNS server with the ArcMail appliance’s new hostname and IP address.
9 Connect to the ArcMail appliance at the newly configured IP address or hostname using a web browser.

Example: <https://<appliance_IP>:10000> or <https://<appliance_hostname>:10000.>

Note: Port 10000 or port 443 can be used to connect to the ArcMail appliance.
Note: A security warning pop-up appears. This is a normal warning regarding an invalid security certificate. Click YES to continue to the login page. An SSL certificate can be configured and installed later.

10 The ArcMail appliance login screen appears. Log into the ArcMail appliance web User Interface (UI) using the following information:

• Username: admin (default)
• Password: password (default)

Note: The username and password fields are case sensitive.

11 Click OK. The main page appears.
12 Click SETUP, then click QuickStart and follow the steps in the QuickStart section to configure the ArcMail appliance.

 

Browser Method

Procedure 1-15- Perform the following steps to configure the ArcMail appliance using the Console Method:

Step Action
1 Power up your computer and change your computer’s IP address to 10.1.1.1
2 For Windows 2000: select Start > Settings > Network and Dialup Connections.
3 For Windows XP: select Start > Control Panel > Network Connections.
4 Right-click your local area connection and click Properties. The Local Area Connection Properties page appears.
5 Scroll down the connection list and select Internet Protocol.
6 Click Properties.
7 Select Use the following IP address and enter the following:

• IP Address - Enter 10.1.1.1
• Subnet Mask - Enter 255.255.255.0
• Default gateway - Leave blank

8 Click OK twice.
9 If prompted, restart the PC.
10 Turn on the ArcMail appliance.
11 After the appliance has started, open a browser on your computer and navigate to the following default URL: https://10.1.1.101:10000.

Note 1: Port 10000 or port 443 can be used to connect to the appliance.

Note 2: A security warning pop-up appears. This is a normal warning regarding an invalid security certificate. Click YES to continue to the login page. An SSL certificate can be configured and installed later. See the ArcMail Administration Guide, located within the user interface, ADMIN > Documentation.

12 The login screen appears.
13 Login to the ArcMail appliance UI using the following information:

• Username: - admin (default)
• Password - password (default)
Note: The username and password fields in the login screen are case sensitive.

14 Click OK. The main configuration page appears.
15 Complete the following four sections to finish preparing the ArcMail appliance for use on the network:

• Configuring Network Interfaces
• Configuring Routing and Gateways
• Configuring DNS Settings
• Configuring Host Addresses

These four settings are described in the sections below.

Configuring Network Interfaces

The Network Interfaces contains two lists of interfaces. The Interfaces Active Now section shows currently configured interfaces. The Interfaces Activated at Boot Time section shows interfaces that will be activated the next time the ArcMail appliance reboots.

The ArcMail appliance requires the ArcMail appliance IP address. The default interface is eth0.

Note: If it is necessary to change interface settings, be sure to change the settings in the Interfaces Activated at Boot Time section. Otherwise, the settings will be lost at the next reboot.

Procedure 1-16- Perform the following steps to modify the network interface settings:

Step Action
1 Click SETUP.
2 Click Network Interfaces.
3 In the Interfaces Activated at Boot Time section, click an interface and configure the following settings:

• Netmask - Subnet mask for the network. For example, enter 255.255.255.0 for a Class C network.
• MTU - The maximum transmission unit (MTU) specifies the largest packet size that is sent by the interface (default: 1500 bytes).
• IP Address - The IP address of the interface.
• Broadcast - The broadcast IP address for the network, usually the last IP address in the range.
• Active at boot?

— Yes - Enables the interface at boot up.
— No - Disables the interface at boot up.

• Virtual Interface - Adds a virtual interface to the interface. Virtual interfaces can be used by the ArcMail appliance to assign specific IP addresses to the appliance for archive functions.
• Save or Save and Apply

— Save - Saves the network interface settings and applies the changes at next boot time.
— Save and Apply - Saves the interface settings and applies the changes immediately.

4 Click CONFIGURATION.
5 Click Apply Configuration Changes.

Note: If you changed the Interfaces Active Now settings, you must re-login using the new IP address.

Configuring Routing and Gateway Settings

The Routing and Gateway page enables you to specify a gateway to access the Internet and configure static and local routes. At a minimum, the ArcMail appliance must be configured with a gateway to operate properly.

Procedure 1-17- Perform the following steps to configure routing and gateway settings:

1 Click SETUP.
2 Click Routing and Gateways.
3 In the Default routes section, select Any from the Interface list box and enter the IP address of the gateway in the Gateway field.
4 To configure the ArcMail appliance to act as a router, select the Yes option.
5 Enter the settings for a static route in the Static routes fields.
6 Enter the settings for a local route in the Static routes fields.
7 Click Save.

Configuring DNS Settings

The DNS Client page is used to configure DNS settings for the ArcMail appliance.

Procedure 1-18 - Perform the following steps to configure DNS settings:

1 Click SETUP.
2 Click DNS.
3 Enter one or more DNS server IP addresses in the DNS Servers fields. ArcMail Technology recommends specifying at least two.
4 Specify the order in which the ArcMail appliance will attempt to resolve DNS in the Resolution Order list boxes.

Options include:
• Hosts file - This option is required to be first in resolution order.
• DNS
• NIS
• NIS+
• LDAP or Active Directory
• Database

Note: By default, the ArcMail appliance attempts to resolve DNS using the Hosts file and then DNS.

5 Enter DNS search domains in the Search Domains field (one per line).
6 Click Save.

Changing the Admin Username and Password

ArcMail recommends changing the default administrator password after obtaining access to the ArcMail appliance user interface.

Procedure 1-19 - Perform the following steps to change the administrator username and

password:

  1. Click ADMIN, then click USER MANAGEMENT.

  2. Click Advanced Users.

  3. Click the admin user.

  4. From the Password section, select Set to... and enter a new password.

  5. Click Save. The password is changed

QuickStart Configuration

This section covers the QuickStart Configuration. This setup process quickly configures the ArcMail appliance to begin archiving. Refer to the values you entered in the Network Worksheet located in the Pre-Installation section.

Initial configuration of the ArcMail appliance includes the following processes:

• Set System Time

• Set QuickStart network settings

• Configure RAID Manager

• Install any new software updates

Follow the instructions on the following pages to configure each of these processes.

System Time

System Time is an important setup step. The ArcMail appliance time must be synchronized to the network time to ensure user synchronization and authentication functions work correctly. It is also critical for mail processing, time stamps and logging functions.

The following list provides a description of the System Time screen:
• System Time - The system time section enables manual setting of the system time immediately as well as synchronizes the hardware clock of the CPU to this setting. This time is typically your local time.
• Hardware Time - The hardware time section enables manual setting of the hardware time immediately as well as synchronizes the operating system clock to this setting. This time is typically UTC time.
• Time Zone - The time zone section enables setting of the time zone. This is critical to interpreting the timestamps of emails originating from other time zones. Set this to reflect the local time zone of the ArcMail
appliance.
• Time Server - The time server section permits the setting of a time schedule and allows a periodic query to a public time server for the current time. The ArcMail appliance does not require the use of an NTP server. If you do not run your own NTP servers, it is recommended that you configure the ArcMail appliance to use one of the public pool.ntp.org servers, such as 2.north-america.pool.ntp.org or 0.asia.pool.ntp.org.
Please see www.pool.ntp.org for further information on using pool.ntp.org.

QuickStart

The QuickStart setup quickly configures the common operating parameters to allow the ArcMail appliance to begin receiving archived mail.

Figure 1-20 - QuickStart Step 1

Enter the appropriate values in the following fields using the Network
ConfigurationWorksheet completed during the Pre-Installation section

 

Procedure 1-20 - Perform the following steps to complete the QuickStart Configuration:

Step Action
1 The following four fields are populated from the network setup in the Pre-Configuration section.

• IP address - Not editable in this wizard. To edit, click SETUP > Network Interfaces.
• Network address - Not editable in this wizard. To edit, click CONFIGURATION > General Options.
• Hostname - Enter the fully qualified hostname for the ArcMail appliance.
• Primary Domain - Enter the domain name.

2 Click Next. (Step 2)

Figure 1-21 - QuickStart Step 2

3 Populate the following fields:

• Archiver email address - The email address that your mail server uses to send archived mail to the ArcMail appliance. This email address must match the archiving contact set up later in the Configure the Email Server section. The domain to the right of the ‘@’ symbol must be the fully qualified hostname provided to the ArcMail appliance.
• Admin email address - This email address receives the ArcMail appliance’s daily
reports and any error messages.

4 Click Next. (Step 3)

Figure 1-22 - QuickStart Step 3

5 Populate the following fields:

• Mail domain - The ArcMail appliance will archive for this email domain.
• Maps to address - This is the IP address of the email server in the Mail Domain field.

6 Click Next. (Step 4)

7 Click Save. The Apply Changes screen appears.

8 Click Apply. This applies the new settings and restarts the ArcMail appliance software. This operation is complete when “Configuration settings applied” is shown at the bottom of the screen.


This is the best time to check for system updates for the ArcMail appliance. Click ADMIN >SUPPORT > System Updates.

 

RAID Manager

The RAID Manager notifies the administrator in the event of disk problems or failures. It is extremely important to enter an administrator email address in the RAID Manager section. This email address receives any notifications regarding error conditions on the RAID system.

Procedure 1-21- Perform the following steps to setup email notifications for RAID events:

Step Action

  1. 1 Click ADMIN, then click SUPPORT.

  2. 2 Click RAID Management.

Note: If you have not generated a signed SSL certificate, a Security Alert window will pop up. Click Yes when asked if you would like to proceed.

3. Select Administrator from the Login drop-down list.

4. Enter the RAID Administrator password. The default password is ‘password’.

5. Click Login.

6. Click the 3DM 2 Settings tab.

7. Configure e-mail notification

• Send E-mail - Ensure that the Enabled radio button is selected.

• Notify on - Use the drop-down list to select the desired notification level:

— INFO - Sends all informative notifications.

— WARNING - Sends only warning and error notifications. (default, recommended)

— ERROR - Send only critical error notifications.

• Sender - Select the name that will appear in the From: field of the notification email. The default recommended setting is the ArcMail appliance’s host name (i.e. appliance.company.com)

Recipient(s) - Enter the email address to send notifications to. This should be an email address that is checked regularly by an administrator or support staff. Multiple email addresses can be entered by separating them by a semicolon (;).

Distribution list emails can also be used.

• Mail Server (name or IP) - Provide the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address of your Exchange server.

Example: mail.company.com or x.x.x.x.

8. Click Save E-mail Settings.
9. Click Send Test Message.

 

Check the recipient email address you provided to see if it received the test email message. It is very important to ensure the RAID manager is able to send notification emails to the specified address, as this is the only means of drive failure notification.

System Update

The System Update function checks for any new software and operating system updates.

Procedure 1-22- Perform the following steps to check for system updates:

Step Action

1 Click ADMIN, then click System Updates.

2 Click “Check for new updates”. The ArcMail appliance responds with message, “Checking for new updates...”

• If updates are available - Click “Update” to download and install the available

updates. It can take several minutes to complete the download. After the update has completed, “System is up to date” is displayed.

• If no update is available - “No updates are available at this time” is displayed.

 

Continue to Completing the Setup

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