DCNM Server
The DCNM Server menu includes the following submenus:
Starting, Restarting, and Stopping Services
By default, the ICMP connectivity between DCNM and its switches validates the connectivity during Performance Management. If you disable ICMP, Performance Management data will not be fetched from the switches. You can configure this parameter in the server properties. To disable ICMP connectivity check from Cisco DCNM Web UI, choose Administration > DCNM Server > Server Properties, and set skip.checkPingAndManageable parameter value to true.
To clean up the performance manager database (PM DB) stale entries, start, restart, or stop a service, from the Cisco DCNM Web UI, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Server Status. The Status window appears that displays the server details. |
Step 2 |
In the Actions column, click the action you want to perform. You can perform the following actions:
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Step 3 |
View the status in the Status column. |
What to do next
See the latest status in the Status column.
Using the Commands Table
The commands table contains links to commands that launch new dialog boxes to provide information about the server status and server administrative utility scripts. You can execute these commands directly on the server CLI.
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ifconfig: click this link to view information about interface parameters, IP address, and netmask used on the Cisco DCNM server.
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appmgr status all: click this link to view the DCNM server administrative utility script that checks the status of different services currently running.
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appmgr show vmware-info: click this link to view information about the CPU and Memory of Virtual Machine.
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clock: click this link to view information about the server clock details such as time, zone information.
Note |
The commands section is applicable only for the OVA or ISO installations. |
Viewing Log Information
You can view the logs for performance manager, SME server, web reports, web server, and web services. These processes have no corresponding GUI that allows you to view information about these log files. If you see errors, preserve these files for viewing.
Beginning with Release 11.2(1), for DCNM OVA and DCNM ISO installations, all log files with .log extension are also listed.
Note |
Logs cannot be viewed from a remote server in a federation. |
To view the logs from the Cisco DCNM Web UI, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Logs. You see a tree-based list of logs in the left column. Under the tree, there is a node for every server in the federation. The log files are under the corresponding server node. |
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Step 2 |
Click a log file under each node of the tree to view it on the right. |
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Step 3 |
Double-click the tree node for each server to download a ZIP file containing log files from that server. |
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Step 4 |
(Optional) Click Generate Techsupport to generate and download files required for technical support. This file contains more information in addition to log files.
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Step 5 |
(Optional) Click the Print icon on the upper right corner to print the logs. |
Server Properties
You can set the parameters that are populated as default values in the DCNM server.
The backup configuration files are stored in the following path: /usr/local/cisco/dcm/dcnm/data/archive
The number of archived files that can be retained is set in the # Number of archived files per device to be retained: field. In the Cisco DCNM LAN Fabric installation, the backup is taken per fabric and not per device. If the number of backup files exceeds the value entered in the field, the first version of the backup is deleted to accommodate the latest version. For example, if the value entered in the field is 50 and when the 51st version of the fabric is backed up, the first backup file is deleted.
To set the parameters of the DCNM server from the Cisco DCNM Web UI, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Server Properties. |
Step 2 |
Click Apply Changes to save the server settings. |
Modular Device Support
To support any new hardware that does not require many major changes, a patch can be delivered instead of waiting for the next DCNM release. Modular Device Support helps to deliver and apply the DCNM patch releases. An authorized DCNM administrator can apply the patch to the production setup. Patch releases are applicable for the following scenarios:
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Support any new hardware, like chassis or line cards
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Support latest NX-OS versions
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Support critical fixes as patches
To view the patch details from Cisco DCNM Web UI, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Modular Device Support. You see the DCNM Servers column on the left in the window and Modular Device support information window on the right. |
Step 2 |
Expand DCNM Servers to view all the DCNM servers. It includes the list of patches installed along with the version number, corresponding platforms supported, chassis supported, NX-OS version supported, PID supported, backup directory and the last patch deployment time in the Modular Device support information table. |
What to do next
Managing Licenses
You can view the existing Cisco DCNM licenses by choosing Administration > DCNM Server > License. You can view and assign licenses in the following tabs:
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License Assignments
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Smart License
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Server License Files
Note |
By default, the License Assignments tab appears. |
The following table displays the SAN and LAN license information.
Field |
Description |
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License |
Specifies SAN or LAN. |
Free/Total Server-based Licenses |
Specifies the number of free licenses that are purchased out of the total number of licenses. |
Unlicensed/Total (Switches/VDCs) |
Specifies the number of unlicensed switches or VDCs out of the total number of switches or VDCs. |
Need to Purchase |
Specifies the number of licenses to be purchased. |
This section includes the following topics:
License Assignments
The following table displays the license assignment details for every switch or VDC.
Field |
Description |
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Group |
Displays if the group is fabric or LAN. |
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Switch Name |
Displays the name of the switch. |
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WWN/Chassis ID |
Displays the world wide name or Chassis ID. |
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Model |
Displays the model of the device. For example, DS-C9124 or N5K-C5020P-BF. |
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License State |
Displays the license state of the switch that can be one of the following:
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License Type |
Displays if the license is a switch-based embedded license or a server-based license. |
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Expiration Date |
Displays the expiry date of the license.
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Assign License |
Select a row and click this option on the toolbar to assign the license. |
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Unassign License |
Select a row and click this option on the toolbar to unassign the license. |
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Assign All |
Click this option on the toolbar to refresh the table and assign the licenses for all the items in the table. |
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Unassign All |
Click this option on the toolbar to refresh the table and unassign all the licenses. |
Note |
You must have network administrator privileges to assign or unassign licenses. |
When the fabric is first discovered and if the switch does not have a valid switch-based license, a license is automatically assigned to the fabric from the file license pool until no more licenses are left in the pool. If you have an existing fabric and a new switch is added to the fabric, the new switch is assigned a license if one is available in the file license pool and if it does not already have a switch-based license.
After you register smart license, if you click Assign License for a switch that does not have a permanent license, a smart license is assigned to the switch. The priority of licenses that are assigned are in the following order:
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Permanent
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Smart
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Eval
Disabling smart licensing unassigns licenses of switches that were smart-licensed.
The evaluation license is assigned for switches that do not support smart licensing. The license state is Eval and the license type is DCNM-Server. See Cisco DCNM Licensing Guide, Release 11.x to view the list of switches that support smart licensing.
Smart License
From Cisco DCNM Release 11.1(1), you can use the smart licensing feature to manage licenses at device-level and renew them if required. From Cisco DCNM Web UI, choose Administration > DCNM Server > License > Smart License. You will see a brief introduction on Cisco smart licensing, a menu bar, and the Switch Licenses area.
In the introduction, click Click Here to view the information on smart software licensing.
The menu bar has the following icons:
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Registration Status: Displays details of the current registration in a pop-up window when clicked. The value is UNCONFIGURED if the smart licensing is not enabled. After you enable the smart licensing without registering, the value is set to DEREGISTERED. The value is set to REGISTERED after you register. Click the registration status to view the last action, account details, and other registration details in the Registration Details pop-up window.
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License Status: Specifies the status of the license. The value is UNCONFIGURED if the smart licensing is not enabled. After you enable the smart licensing without registering, the value is set to NO LICENSES IN USE. The value is set to AUTHORIZED or OUT-OF-COMPLIANCE after registering and assigning licenses. Click the license status to view the last action, last authorization attempt, next authorization attempt, and the authorization expiry in the License Authorization Details pop-up window.
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Control: Allows you to enable or disable smart licensing, register tokens, and renew the authorization.
The following table describes the fields that appear in the Switch Licenses section.
Field |
Description |
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Name |
Specifies the license name. |
Count |
Specifies the number of licenses used. |
Status |
Specifies the status of the licenses used. Valid values are Authorized and Out of Compliance. |
Description |
Specifies the type and details of the license. |
Last Updated |
Specifies the timestamp when switch licenses were last updated. |
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Allows you to print the details of switch licenses. |
Export |
Allows you to export the license details. |
After you remove a product license from your account in Cisco Smart Software Manager, disable the smart licensing and register it again.
Enabling Smart Licensing
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > License > Smart License. |
Step 2 |
Click Control and choose Enable in the drop-down list to enable the smart licensing. A confirmation window appears. |
Step 3 |
Click Yes. Instructions to register the DCNM instance appear. The registration status changes from UNCONFIGURED to DEREGISTERED, and the license status changes from UNCONFIGURED to No Licenses in Use. |
Registering a Cisco DCNM Instance
Before you begin
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > License > Smart License. |
Step 2 |
Click Control and choose Register in the drop-down list. The Register window appears. |
Step 3 |
Select the transport option to register the smart licensing agent. The options are:
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Step 4 |
Enter the registration token in the Token field. |
Step 5 |
Click Submit to register the license. The registration status changes from DEREGISTERED to REGISTERED. The name, count, and status of switch licenses appear. Click Registration Status: REGISTERED to see the details of the registered token. The switch details are updated under the Switches/VDCs section of the License Assignments tab. The license type and the license state of switches that are licensed using the smart license option are Smart. |
What to do next
Troubleshoot communication errors, if any, that you encounter after the registration.
Troubleshooting Communication Errors
To resolve the communication errors during registration, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Stop the DCNM service. |
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Step 2 |
Open the server properties file from the following path: /usr/local/cisco/dcm/fm/conf/server.properties
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Step 3 |
Include the following property in the server properties file: |
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Step 4 |
Update the Cisco satellite details in Host Database in the /etc/hosts file in the following syntax: |
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Step 5 |
Start the DCNM service. |
Renew Authorization
You can manually renew the authorization only if you have registered. Automatic reauthorization happens periodically. Click License Status to view details about the next automatic reauthorization. To renew authorization from Cisco DCNM Web UI, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > License > Smart License. |
Step 2 |
Click Control and choose Renew Authorization in the drop-down list to renew any licensing authorizations. A request is sent to Cisco Smart Software Manager to fetch updates, if any. The Smart Licenses window is refreshed after the update. |
Disabling Smart Licensing
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > License > Smart License. |
Step 2 |
Select Control and select Disable to disable smart licensing. A confirmation window appears. |
Step 3 |
Click Yes. The license status of the switches using this token, under the License Assignments tab, changes to Unlicensed. This token is removed from the list under the Product Instances tab in the Cisco Smart Software Manager. If a smart license is not available and you disable smart licensing, release the license manually from the License Assignments tab. |
Server License Files
From Cisco DCNM Web UI, choose Administration > DCNM Server > License > Server License Files. The following table displays the Cisco DCNM server license fields.
Field |
Description |
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Filename |
Specifies the license file name. |
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Feature |
Specifies the licensed feature. |
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PID |
Specifies the product ID. |
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LAN (Free/Total) |
Displays the number of free versus total licenses for LAN. |
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Expiration Date |
Displays the expiry date of the license.
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Adding Cisco DCNM Licenses
To add Cisco DCNM licenses from Cisco DCNM, perform the following steps:
Before you begin
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Administration > DCNM Server > License to start the license wizard. |
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Step 2 |
Choose the Server License Files tab. The valid Cisco DCNM-LAN license files are displayed. Ensure that the security agent is disabled when you load licenses. |
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Step 3 |
Download the license pack file that you received from Cisco into a directory on the local system. |
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Step 4 |
Click Add License File and select the license pack file that you saved on the local machine. The file is uploaded to the server machine, which is saved into the server license directory, and then loaded on to the server.
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Native HA
Procedure
Step 1 |
By default, DCNM is bundled with an embedded database engine PostgreSQL. The native DCNM HA is achieved by two DCNMs running as Active / Warm Standby, with their embedded databases synchronized in real time. So once the active DCNM is down, the standby takes over with the same database data and resume the operation. The standby host database down scenario is documented after this procedure. |
Step 2 |
From the menu bar, choose Administration > DCNM Server > Native HA. You see the Native HA window. |
Step 3 |
You can allow manual failover of DCNM to the standby host by clicking the Failover button, and then click OK.
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Step 4 |
You can allow manual syncing database and disk files to standby host by clicking Force Sync, and then click OK. |
Step 5 |
You can test or validate the HA setup by clicking Test and then click OK. |
What to do next
Some HA troubleshooting scenarios are noted in this sub section.
The standby host database is down: Typically, the DCNM database (PostgreSQL) is up on the active and standby hosts. In DCNM 10.1 and earlier versions, the standby database can be down due to a database synchronization failure.
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Enter “ps -ef | grep post”. You should see multiple postgres processes running. If not, it indicates that the database is down.
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Restore database data from a backup file that is created at the beginning of database synchronization. Change directory to “/usr/local/cisco/dcm/db”
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Check existence of file replication/ pgsql-standby-backup.tgz. If the file exists, restore database data files:
rm -rf data/* tar -zxf replication/ pgsql-standby-backup.tgz data /etc/init.d/postgresql-9.4 start ps -ef | grep post
The active DCNM host will synchronize the two databases.
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Enter “grep bind /etc/xinetd.d/tftp” to check if the TFTP configuration file has the right bind address. If the displayed IP address is not the eth1 VIP address, then change the bind address to the VIP address. Repeat the procedure for the standby host. Update the bind address to the VIP address.
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Enter " " /etc/init.d/xinetd restart” on the active host to restart TFTP.
Note |
The TFTP server can be started or stopped with the “appmgr start/stop ha-apps” command. |
Multi Site Manager
Using Multi Site Manager, you can view the health of a DCNM server application and retrieve switch information for switches in local and remote sites. To access switch information for remote DCNM servers, you must register the server in Multi Site Manager. The procedures to access remote DCNM servers and search for switch information are explained:
Add Remote DCNM Server Information
This procedure allows you to access a DCNM server in a remote site from the DCNM server that you are currently logged on to. For the remote site to access the current DCNM server, registration is required on the remote site.
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Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Multi Site Manager. The Multi Site Manager screen comes up.
The currently logged on DCNM application health status is displayed on the screen.
Note
The Application Health function is only available for the DCNM ISO/OVA installation type and not for the Windows/RHEL installation type.
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Click +Add DCNM Server. The Enter Remote DCNM Server Information screen comes up.
Enter the remote DCNM server name, its IP address or URL, the user credentials of the remote DCNM server, and optionally, the port number.
Note
Do not disable the Use HTTPS check box. If you disable, DCNM will not be accessible.
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Click OK. After validation, the remote DCNM server is represented in the screen, next to the local DCNM server.
You can click Refresh All Sites to display updated information.
Retrieve Switch Information
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Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Multi Site Manager. The Multi Site Manager screen comes up
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From the search box at the top of the screen, search for a switch based on one of the following parameters:
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VM information (VM IP and VM Name fields) - A connected VM’s IP address or name.
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Switch information (Switch and MAC fields) – A switch’s name or MAC address.
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Segment (Segment ID field) that has presence on the switch.
If there is a match, the switch name appears as a hyperlink below the search box, in the appropriate local or remote DCNM server depiction.
In this example, the switch leaf3 is available in the remote site managed by a DCNM server. A link to leaf3 is available in the remote-DCNM panel.
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Click leaf3 to view detailed switch information in an adjacent browser tab.
At any point in time, you can click the Launch Topology View icon to view the fabric’s topology.
Device Connector
The Device Connector is an embedded management controller that enables the capabilities of Cisco Intersight, a cloud-based management platform.
Networks Insights applications are connected to the Cisco Intersight cloud portal through a Device Connector which is embedded in the management controller of the Cisco DCNM platform. Cisco Intersight is a virtual appliance that helps manage and monitor devices through the Network Insights application. The Device Connector provides a secure way for connected DCNM to send information and receive control instructions from the Cisco Intersight portal, using a secure Internet connection.
Configuring Device Connector
To configure the Device Connector from the Cisco DCNM Web UI, perform the following steps:
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Choose Administration > DCNM Server > Device Connector.
The Device Connector work pane appears.
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Click Settings.
The Settings - General window appears.
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Device Connector (switch)
This is the main switch for the Device Connector communication with Cisco Intersight. When the switch is on (green highlight), the Device Connector claims the system and leverages the capabilities of the Cisco Intersight. If the switch is off (gray highlight), no communication can occur between Cisco DCNM and Cisco Intersight.
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Access Mode
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Read-only: This option ensures that there are no changes to this device from Intersight. For example, actions such as upgrading firmware or a profile deployment is not allowed in the Read-Only mode. However, the actions depend on the features available for a particular system.
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Allow Control: This option (selected by default) enables you to perform full read/write operations from the appliance, based on the features available in Cisco Intersight.
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Set the Device Connector to on (green highlight) and choose Allow Control.
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Click Proxy Configuration.
The Settings - Proxy Configuration window appears.
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Enable Proxy (switch)
Enable HTTPS Proxy to configure the proxy settings.
Note
Network Insights requires Proxy settings.
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Proxy Hostname/IP* and Proxy Port*: Enter a proxy hostname or IP address, and a proxy port number.
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Authentication (switch)
Enable proxy access through authentication. When the switch is on (green highlight), authentication to the proxy server is required. If the switch is off (gray highlight), it does not require authentication.
Username* and Password: Enter a user name and password for authentication.
The device connector does not mandate the format of the login credentials, they are passed as-is to the configured HTTP proxy server. The username must be a qualified domain name depending on the configuration of the HTTP proxy server.
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Enable the proxy (green highlight) and enter a hostname and port number.
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(Optional) If proxy authentication is required, enable it (green highlight) and enter a username and password.
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Click Save.
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Click Certificate Manager.
The trusted certificates appear in the table.
A list of trusted certificates appears. You can import a valid trusted certificate.
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Import
Browse the directory, choose, and import a CA signed certificate.
Note
The imported certificate must be in the *.pem (base64encoded) format.
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You can view the list of certificates with the following information:
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Name—Common name of the CA certificate.
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In Use—Whether the certificate in the trust store is used to successfully verify the remote server.
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Issued By—The issuing authority for the certificate.
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Expires—The expiry date of the certificate.
Note
You cannot delete bundled certificates.
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