Table Of Contents
Activating GSS Devices from the GUI
Logging In to the Primary GSSM Graphical User Interface
Activating GSS Devices from the Primary GSSM
Global Server Load Balancing Summary
Activating GSS Devices from the GUI
This chapter describes how to log on to the primary GSSM and active your GSSM and GSS devices from the primary GSSM GUI as the first step in configuring request routing and global server load balancing on your GSS network.
This chapter contains the following major sections:
•
Logging In to the Primary GSSM Graphical User Interface
•Activating GSS Devices from the Primary GSSM
•Global Server Load Balancing Summary
Logging In to the Primary GSSM Graphical User Interface
After you configure and enable your primary GSSM, you may access the graphical user interface (GUI). The primary GSSM uses secure HTTP (HTTPS) to communicate with web clients.
When you first log in to the primary GSSM GUI, use the system default administrative account and password. After you access the primary GSSM GUI, create and maintain additional user accounts and passwords using the user administration features of the primary GSSM. Refer to the Cisco Global Site Selector Administration Guide for information on creating user accounts.
To log in to the primary GSSM GUI:
1. Open your preferred Internet web browser application, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.
2. Enter the secure HTTP address of your GSSM in the address field. For example, if your primary GSSM is named gssm1.example.com, enter the following to display the primary GSSM login dialog box and to access the GUI:
https://gssm1.example.com
If you have trouble locating the primary GSSM DNS name, keep in mind that the GSS network uses secure connections. The address of the GSSM includes https:// (secure HTTP) instead of the more common http://.
3. Click Yes at the prompt to accept (trust) and install the signed certificate from Cisco Systems.
To avoid approving the signed certificate every time you log in to the primary GSSM, accept the certificate from Cisco Systems, Inc. For instructions on trusting certificates from a particular owner or website, refer to the online help included with your browser.
4. To install the signed certificate, if you are using:
–Internet Explorer—In the Security Alert dialog box, click View Certificate, choose the Install Certificate option, and follow the prompts of the Certificate Manager Import Wizard. Proceed to step 5.
–Netscape—In the New Site Certificate dialog box, click Next and follow the prompts of the New Site Certificate Wizard. Proceed to step 5.
5. At the primary GSSM login prompt, enter your username and password in the fields provided, and then click OK. If this is your first time logging on to the GSSM, use the default account name (admin) and password (default) to access the GUI.
You see the Primary GSSM Welcome page (Figure 4-1). Refer to the Cisco Global Site Selector Global Server Load-Balancing Configuration Guide for information on navigating through the primary GSSM GUI.
Figure 4-1 Primary GSSM Welcome Window
Activating GSS Devices from the Primary GSSM
After you configure your GSS devices to function as a standby GSSM or as a GSS, activate those devices from the primary GSSM GUI to add those devices to your GSS network. The standby GSSM and GSS devices are synchronized with the primary GSSM.
To activate a GSS or a standby GSSM from the primary GSSM GUI:
1. Click the Resources tab.
2. Click the Global Site Selectors navigation link. The Global Site Selectors list page appears (Figure 4-2). All active GSS devices appear with an "Online" status. The GSS devices requiring activation appear with an "Inactive" status.
Figure 4-2 Global Site Selectors List Page—Inactive Status
3. Click the Modify GSS icon for the first GSS device to activate. The Modifying GSS details page appears (Figure 4-3).
Figure 4-3 Modifying GSS Details Page
4. Check the Activate check box. This check box does not appear in the Modifying GSS details page until after a GSS device has been activated.
5. Click the Submit button, which returns you to the Global Site Selectors list page (Figure 4-4). The status of the active GSS device is "Online." If the device is functioning properly and network connectivity is good between the device and the primary GSSM, the status of the device changes to "Online" within approximately 30 seconds.
Note The device status remains "Inactive" if the device is not functioning properly or there are problems with network connectivity. If this situation occurs, cycle power to the GSS device, check your network connections, then repeat this procedure. If you still cannot activate the GSS device, contact Cisco TAC.
Figure 4-4 Global Site Selectors List Page—Active Status
6. Repeat Steps 1 through 5 for the standby GSSM and each inactive GSS device.
Global Server Load Balancing Summary
After you create your GSSM (primary and standby) and GSS devices and configure them to connect to your network, you can begin configuring request routing and global server load balancing on your GSS network. Use the centralized GUI on the primary GSSM to configure global server load balancing for your GSS network. By using this interface, you identify your network resources (GSSs) through the use of keepalives and create the DNS rules to process incoming content requests. Because you create DNS rules that route incoming DNS requests to the most available data centers and resources on your network, you must configure the elements that constitute your DNS rules before creating the rules themselves
Refer to the Cisco Global Site Selector Global Server Load-Balancing Configuration Guide for detailed procedures on how to configure your GSS devices to perform global server load balancing. Use the following order when configuring your GSS devices and resources from the primary GSSM for global server load-balancing:
1. Create regions, locations, and owners—Optional. Use these groupings to organize your GSS network resources by customer account, physical location, owner, or other organizing principle. Refer to Chapter 2, Configuring Resources, for details.
2. Create one or more source address lists—Optional. Use these lists of IP addresses to identify the name servers (D-proxy) that forward requests for the specified domains. The default source address list is Anywhere to match any incoming DNS request to the domains. Refer to Chapter 3, Configuring Source Address Lists, for details.
3. Create one or more domain lists—Establish lists of Internet domains, possibly using wildcards, that are managed by the GSS and queried by users. Refer to Chapter 4, Configuring Domain Lists, for details.
4. Modify the default global keepalive settings or create any shared keepalives—Optional. These are GSS network resources that are regularly polled to monitor the online status of one or more GSS resources linked to the keepalive. Shared keepalives are required for any answer that uses the KAL-AP keepalive type. Refer to Chapter 5, Configuring KeepAlives, for details.
5. Create one or more answers and answer groups—Answers are resources that match requests to domains. Answer groups are collections of resources that balance requests for content. Refer to Chapter 6, Configuring Answers and Answer Groups, for details.
6. If you plan to use DNS sticky for your global server load-balancing application, configure local and global DNS sticky for GSS devices in your network —Stickiness enables the GSS to remember the DNS response returned for a client D-proxy and to later return that answer when the client makes the same request. Refer to Chapter 8, Configuring DNS Sticky, for details.
7. If you plan to use network proximity for your global server load-balancing application, configure proximity for GSS devices in your network—Proximity determines the best (most proximate) resource for handling global load-balancing requests. Refer to Chapter 9, Configuring Network Proximity, for details.
