4.2 Installing the Access Gateway Appliance

4.2.1 Access Gateway Appliance Requirements

The Access Gateway Appliance runs 64bit operating system on x86-64 hardware supported by SLES 11 SP4. Install it on a separate server because it clears the hard drive and sets up a soft appliance environment.

The Access Gateway Appliance requires the following hardware:

  • 4 GB RAM

  • Dual CPU or Core (3.0 GHz or comparable chip)

  • 100 GB hard disk

    The hard disk should have ample space for logging in a production environment. This disk space must be local and not remote.

  • A static IP address for your Access Gateway server and an assigned DNS name (host name and domain name).

For information about network requirements, see Section 1.3, Network Requirements.

For a list of hardware that SLES 11 SP4 for x86-64 hardware supports, open YES CERTIFIED Bulletin, select Service Pack 4 for SUSE SLES 11 in NetIQ Product, and search for your other hardware requirements.

The Access Gateway Appliance has no software requirements. The installation program re-images the hard drive, embeds the Linux operating system, then configures the embedded operating system for optimal performance.

4.2.2 Installing the Access Gateway Appliance

Installation time: 15 to 30 minutes, depending upon the hardware.

What you need to know

  • Username and password of the administrator.

  • IP address of the Administration Console.

  • Static IP address for the Access Gateway.

  • DNS name (host and domain name) for the Access Gateway that resolves to the IP address.

  • Subnet mask that corresponds to the IP address for the Access Gateway.

  • IP address of your network’s default gateway.

  • IP addresses of the DNS servers on your network.

  • IP address or DNS name of an NTP server.

The Access Gateway Appliance can be installed on all supported hardware platforms for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 SP4 or a higher version.

IMPORTANT:After the Access Gateway Appliance installation, upgrade the Linux kernel to the latest security patch to avoid any security vulnerabilities. For more information, see Section 11.0, Getting the Latest Security Patches.

This section provides the following information about how to install the Access Gateway Appliance:

Prerequisites

Installing the Access Gateway Appliance

  1. Insert the Access Gateway Appliance CD into the CD drive and boot from CD. The boot screen appears.

  2. By default, the Boot From Hard Disk option is selected. Use the Down-arrow key to select Install Appliance.

  3. Press Enter.

  4. Review the agreement on the License Agreement page, then click I Agree.

  5. Select the region and time zone on the Clock and Time Zone page.

  6. (Conditional) If the date and time are not the same as the date and time on the Administration Console, click Change, adjust the date and time.

  7. Click Next.

  8. Configure the following details on the Appliance Configuration page:

    Field

    Description

    Host Name

    The hostname of the Access Gateway Appliance server.

    IMPORTANT:Do not use linux as hostname. If you do, the Access Gateway is not imported

    Domain Name

    The domain name for your network.

    IP Address

    The IP address of the Access Gateway.

    Subnet Mask

    The subnet mask of the Access Gateway Appliance network.

    Default Gateway

    The IP address of the default gateway.

    DNS Server

    The IP address of your DNS server. You must configure at least one DNS server.

    Specify the IP address of additional your additional DNS server, if you have configured. This is an optional configuration.

    In the Root Password section, specify password.

    In the NTP Server Configuration section, specify the name of the NTP server.

    In the NAT Settings section, specify the Access Gateway Local NAT IP Address, if the device is behind NAT.

    In the Administration Console configuration section, specify the following:

    IP Address

    The IP address of the Administration Console. The Access Gateway Appliance is imported into this Administration Console.

    Username

    The name of the Administration Console user.

    Password

    Specify the password for the user.

  9. Click Next. The Installation Settings page appears.

    This page displays the options and software you selected in the previous steps. Use the Overview tab for a list of selected options, or use the Expert tab for more details. Ensure that all default partitions recommended adhere to the guidelines mentioned in Table 4-2.

    NOTE:Do not change the software selections listed on this screen.

  10. (Optional) To modify the installation settings for partitions, click Change. For more information about partitions, see Creating Custom Partitions.

  11. Click Install > Install.

    This process might take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the configuration and hardware.

    The machine reboots after the installation is completed. It runs an auto import script, and then the Access Gateway Appliance is imported to the Administration Console.

  12. Continue with one of the following sections:

The Access Gateway Appliance is installed with the following default partitions:

  • boot: The size is automatically calculated and the mount point is /boot.

  • swap: The size is double of the size of RAM and the mount point is swap.

The remaining disk space after the creation of the /boot and swap partitions is allocated as the extended drive. The extended drive has the following partitions:

  • root: The default size is one-third the size of the extended drive and the mount point is /.

  • var: The default size is one-third the size of the extended drive and the mount point is /var.

The Access Gateway Appliance does not support configuring multiple network interfaces during installation. The eth0 interface is configured by default. If you require multiple interfaces, you can configure them through the Administration Console after installation.

Creating Custom Partitions

Linux allows you to have four primary partitions per hard disk. The Access Gateway Appliance requires a swap partition, a var partition, and a root partition. For a machine with a large hard disk (100 GB or larger), we recommend creating the following partitions:

Table 4-2 Access Gateway Appliance Partitions

Partition Type

Requirements

root

This partition contains the boot files, system files, and log files. You should assign 40% of available disk space to this partition. This space should be more than 40 GB.

swap

Create a swap partition that is twice the size of RAM installed on the machine.

var

This partition is used for log files and caching objects of the Access Gateway. Allocate the remaining space for this partition, which should be more than 50 GB. Assign the remaining disk space to var.

To create your custom partitions:

  1. In the Installation Settings page, click Change, then select Partitioning. (See Step 10.)

    This page lists the partition settings as currently proposed.

  2. Select Custom partitioning, then click Next.

  3. (Conditional) If the installation program discovers any existing partitions, select the hard disk, click Delete, then confirm the deletion of the partitions.

  4. Create a root partition as follows:

    1. Click Add, select the primary or extended partition, then click OK.

    2. Specify the following details:

      Format: Ensure that Format is selected.

      You must format the partition after you have modified the partition size during installation.

      File system: Select Ext3 for the type.

      Custom Size: Specify a value.

      Mount Point: Select /.

    3. Click Finish.

  5. Create a swap partition as follows:

    1. Select the hard drive, click Create, select the primary or extended partition, then click OK.

    2. Specify the following details:

      Format: Ensure that Format is selected.

      File system: Select Swap for the type.

      Custom Size: Specify a value.

      Mount Point: Leave the default value of swap.

    3. Click Finish.

  6. Create a var partition as follows:

    1. Select the hard drive, click Add, select the primary or extended partition, then click OK.

    2. Specify the following details:

      Format: Ensure that Format is selected.

      File system: Select Ext3 for the type.

      Custom Size: Specify a value.

      Mount Point: Select /var.

    3. Click Finish.

  7. Click Accept to create partitions with the specified values.

  8. In the installation Summary page, verify that the partitions you specified are listed, then continue with Step 11.