Cisco ACNS Software Deployment and Configuration Guide, Release 5.0 - Chapter 2: Using the Content Distribution Manager GUI and Assigning Privileges [Cisco Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) Software]

Table Of Contents

Using the Content Distribution Manager GUI and Assigning Privileges

Navigating in the Content Distribution Manager GUI

Launching the Content Distribution Manager GUI

Content Distribution Manager GUI Primary Feature Tabs

Understanding the Interface

Main Window Elements

Content Distribution GUI Icons

Using Online Help

Logging On Following a Session Timeout

Exiting the Content Distribution Manager GUI

About AAA-Based Management Systems

About AAA-Based Access Servers

Configuring and Managing User Accounts

Setting Up and Managing Roles

Configuring Domains

Viewing Audit Trail Logs

Using the Content Distribution Manager GUI and Assigning Privileges

This chapter explains how to use the Content Distribution Manager GUI and how to configure user privileges. It contains the following sections:

•Navigating in the Content Distribution Manager GUI

•About AAA-Based Management Systems

Navigating in the Content Distribution Manager GUI

All functions related to managing your CDNs are done using the Content Distribution Manager graphical user interface (GUI). The Content Distribution Manager is the central location from which much of the work of creating and managing CDNs and hosted content can be controlled. All modifications made through the Content Distribution Manager are propagated to the Content Routers and Content Engines that make up your CDN.

Launching the Content Distribution Manager GUI

To launch the Content Distribution Manager GUI from your system, follow these steps:

Step 1 In your web browser, enter the URL or IP address for the Content Distribution Manager. For example, enter the URL:

https://Name_of_Content_Distribution_Manager:8443

Alternatively, enter the IP address:

https://IP_address_of_Content_Distribution_Manager:8443

Step 2 The Security Alert window appears. Click Yes to accept the security certificate. The Enter Network Password window appears.

Step 3 Enter your username in the Username field. Enter your password in the Password field and click OK.
User name: admin
Password: <password>
Note The default username is admin and the default password is default. If the defaults have been changed by another Content Distribution Manager administrator, you need to obtain the new username and password.

The Content Distribution Manager GUI main window appears. (See Figure 2-1.)

Figure 2-1 ACNS Content Distribution Manager GUI Main Window

Content Distribution Manager GUI Primary Feature Tabs

Table 2-1 describes the five primary feature tabs and their associated functions of the Content Distribution Manager GUI:

Table 2-1 Content Distribution Manager GUI Feature Tabs

Feature Tab

Description

Devices

Lets you configure and manage Content Distribution Managers, Content Engines, Content Routers, and device groups.

Channels

Lets you create and modify content providers, websites, and channels.

Network

Lets you create and manage CDN network elements such as locations, location trees, and multicast clouds.

Monitoring

Lets you view system logs and streaming and routing statistics for CDN devices.

System

Lets you create and manage playlists, configure routing and Content Distribution Manager configurations, and add a software update file.

Admin

Lets you configure and manager user accounts, roles, and domains. You can also view audit trail logs.

Understanding the Interface

This section describes both the Content Distribution GUI main window elements and the activity bar elements.

Main Window Elements

The Content Distribution Manager GUI contains several window elements with which you need to familiarize yourself. (See Figure 2-2.) See Table 2-2 for a description of each element.

Figure 2-2 Content Distribution Manager GUI Elements

1

Path bar

5

Taskbar

2

Contents pane

6

Window

3

Options bar

7

Tools

4

Tabs

Table 2-2 Content Distribution Manager GUI Elements

Element

Description

Path bar

Provides a context for the displayed page. Shows the tab, the option, and then the current window.

Contents pane

Displays available suboptions, if required.

Options bar

Displays the options available for the selected tab.

Tabs

Provides access to all the Content Distribution Manager product functionality. Tabs include Devices, Channels, Services, Monitoring, and Admin. See Table 2-1 for a description of each tab.

Taskbar

Displays available tasks for the selected option. See Table 2-3 for a description of all the Content Distribution Manager GUI icons. Some of these icons appear in the taskbar.

Window

Displays the area in which you perform application tasks.

Tools

Contains the Help and Logout links.

Help—Opens a new window that displays context-sensitive help for the displayed page.

Logout—Logs you out of the Content Distribution Manager.

Note Only use the Content Distribution Manager GUI elements, which are described in Table 2-2, to navigate within the GUI. Web browser buttons, such as the Back and Refresh buttons, are not supported and do not allow you to navigate to the correct GUI window.

Content Distribution GUI Icons

Table 2-3 lists and describes all the Content Distribution Manager icons that you can use to perform specific tasks.

Table 2-3 Content Distribution Manager GUI Icons

Taskbar Icon

Function

Alerts you to a new system message

Displays table of contents

Displays all playlists

Displays all devices

Runs Content Engine GUI

Runs RealSubscriber GUI

Updates application statistics

Forces replication information refresh

Forces full database update

Lets you view read-only items

Creates new items

Edits items

Deletes items

Exports a table to a comma-separated values (CSV) file

Creates a filter table

Lets you view all items

Refreshes the window

Reboots the device

Shuts down the device

Prints the current window

Identifies services for roles

Indicates that the current transaction was successfully completed

Indicates that user input is invalid and that the transaction did not finish

Using Online Help

ACNS 5.0 software offers online help for the Content Distribution Manager GUI. There are several ways to access online help, depending on the information you want and the method you find most convenient.

If you want to read one or more help topics, click the Help link. A separate browser window appears that contains online help. From the online help Contents tab, click the name of a topic to display information about that topic. For information about a specific window, click the Help link while viewing that window.

Use the browser Back and Forward buttons to navigate between online help windows.

Note Although the web browser Back and Forward buttons are not supported when navigating in the Content Distribution Manager GUI, these buttons are supported when navigating within online help.

Logging On Following a Session Timeout

The Content Distribution Manager web interface is equipped with a timeout feature that terminates idle sessions after a set length of time. See the "Modifying System Properties" section for instructions on changing the length of time that must pass before your session times out.

When a session has timed out, you immediately lose access to the Content Distribution Manager web interface, which is replaced with a message informing you that "this session has expired."

To log back on to the Content Distribution Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Close all web browser windows that were used to access the Content Distribution Manager by clicking the Close button to close the active window, or click the File menu and choose Close or Exit.

Note Often when you log on to the Content Distribution Manager, the web interface is loaded into a separate instance of the web browser from the one used to point to the Content Distribution Manager URL. Make sure that both instances of the browser are terminated before attempting to log back on to the Content Distribution Manager.

Step 2 Open a new instance of your preferred web browser and point it to the URL of your Content Distribution Manager. You are prompted to log on to the Content Distribution Manager web interface.

Exiting the Content Distribution Manager GUI

To exit the Content Distribution Manager GUI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Save any changes you made, or cancel the changes.

Step 2 From the File menu, choose Close, or click the browser Close button.

About AAA-Based Management Systems

ACNS 5.0 software provides authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) support for users who have external access servers, and for users who need a local access database with AAA features.

Authentication (or "login") verifies a user's identity and associates it with the user's IP address. Authorization permits or denies privileges for authenticated users in the network. Accounting logs the authorized use of services by the user and all failed attempts at authentication and authorization.

About AAA-Based Access Servers

Some Cisco CDN users use an external access server as a centralized location for controlling the authentication, authorization, and accounting of user accounts and activities. External authentication servers are implemented at the protocol and application level with TACACS+, RADIUS, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM).

Options are provided during Content Distribution Manager setup to choose between using an external access server or the internal (local) Content Distribution Manager-based AAA system for user access management. For information on using external authentication servers, see the "Configuring Authentication" section.

Login and configuration privileges are maintained in three databases in ACNS 5.0 software: the internal Content Distribution Manager database, TACACS+ database, and RADIUS database. If all databases are enabled, then all databases are queried; if the user data cannot be found in the first database queried, then the second and third databases are queried. By default, the local method is enabled, with TACACS+ and RADIUS both disabled for login and configuration. For information about how to configure login authentication, see the "Configuring Authentication Login Settings" section.

Configuring and Managing User Accounts

A user account contains a username, the name of the individual who owns the account, contact information, job title, and department. All user account information is stored in an internal database on the Content Distribution Manager.

Two default user accounts are shipped with the Content Distribution Manager. The first account, called admin, is assigned to the role that allows access to all services and access to all entities in the system. This account cannot be deleted from the system, but it can be modified. Only the username and the role for this account are unchangeable.

The second account is called default. Any user account that is authenticated but has not been registered in the Content Distribution Manager obtains the access rights (role and domains) assigned to the default account. This account is configurable, but it cannot be deleted nor its username changed.

Using the Content Manager Distribution GUI, you can perform these tasks:

•Create a new user account.

•Modify and delete existing user accounts.

•View all user accounts in the system.

Note Because of a software bug (CSCdz61444), new user accounts must be created from the CLI before the user can access the Content Distribution Manager GUI. Use the username command in global configuration mode to create new user accounts from the CLI.

Each user account has a relationship with both roles and domains. You can assign a user account to zero or more roles, and to zero or more domains.

To create a user account, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Admin > Users. Click the Create New User Accounts icon. The Create New User Accounts window appears. (See Figure 2-3.)

Figure 2-3 Create New User Accounts Window

Step 2 Enter the user account name in the Username field.

Step 3 Enter the following information about the user in the Username fields: First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Email Address, Job Title, and Department.

Step 4 Enter any additional information about this account in the Comments field.

Step 5 Click Submit.

Setting Up and Managing Roles

The Content Distribution Manager provides many types of services. Not all users have access to all services. Users are assigned a role, which indicates what services they have access to. A role is a set of enabled services.

Each user account can be assigned to zero or more roles. Roles are not inherited or embedded. Using the Content Distribution Manager GUI, you can perform these tasks:

•Create new roles.

•Modify and delete existing roles.

•View all roles in the system.

The Content Distribution Manager provides one predefined role, known as the admin role. The admin role has access to all services and all CDN entities. To create a role, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Admin > Roles. Click the Create New Role icon. The Creating New Role window appears. (See Figure 2-4.)

Figure 2-4 Creating New Role Window

Step 2 Enter the name of the role in the Name field.

Step 3 Check the check box next to the service that you want to enable for this role. To choose all the services under one category simultaneously, check the check box next to the top level service.

Step 4 Enter any comments about this role in the Comments field.

Step 5 Click Submit.

Configuring Domains

A domain is a set of CDN entities or objects that make up the CDN. Whereas a role defines which services a user can perform in the CDN, a domain defines which entities the user has access to. The Content Distribution Manager GUI provides three predefined entities. An entity can be a Content Engine, content provider, or device group. These predefined entities are treated like services and can be enabled or disabled when you set up user roles.

When you configure a domain, you can choose to include Content Engines, content providers, or device groups in the domain. Using the Content Distribution Manager GUI, you can perform these tasks:

•Create new domains.

•Modify and delete existing domains.

•View all domains in the system.

To create a new domain, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Admin > Domains. Click the Create New Domain icon. The Creating New Domain window appears. (See Figure 2-5.)

Figure 2-5 Creating New Domain Window

Step 2 Enter the name of the domain in the Name field.

Step 3 Choose the entity type that you want to assign to the domain from the Entity Type drop-down list. Entity choices include Content Engines, content providers, or device groups.

Step 4 Enter any comments about this domain in the Comments field.

Step 5 Click Submit. If the entity type you chose has not already been assigned to the domain, then a message indicating that the entity type has not been assigned appears.

Step 6 Choose Entity Management in the Contents pane. The Entity Management window for the current domain appears. (See Figure 2-6.)

Figure 2-6 Entity Management Window

Step 7 To add an entity to the current domain, check the check box of the entity that you want to add from the left pane and click Add. The selected entity now appears in the right pane. To remove an entity from the current domain, check the check box of the entity you want to remove from the right pane and click Remove.

Step 8 Click Submit.

Viewing Audit Trail Logs

The Content Distribution Manager logs user activity in the system. The only activities that are logged are those that change the CDN system. This feature provides accountability in terms of which user did what and when. Logged activities include the following:

•Creation of CDN entities

•Modification and deletion of CDN entities

•System configurations

To view audit trail logs, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Admin > Audit. The Audit Log window appears. (See Figure 2-7.) All logged transactions in the Content Distribution Manager are listed by date and time, user, actual transaction that was logged, and the IP address of the machine that was used.

Figure 2-7 Audit Log Window

Step 2 Choose the number of rows that you want to display by selecting a number from the Rows drop-down list.