The Change Guardian server appliance is a ready-to-run software appliance built on SUSE Studio. The appliance combines a hardened SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) operating system and the Change Guardian server software integrated update service to provide an easy and seamless user experience that allows you to leverage existing investments. You can install the software appliance on a virtual environment or on hardware.
The Change Guardian Appliance Management Console user interface uses the Common Appliance Framework (CAF), which is a Web-based remote console for controlling appliances based on SUSE Linux Enterprise. You can access, configure, and monitor the Change Guardian appliance using this console.
NOTE:The SLES operating system that comes with the appliance is streamlined for Change Guardian use and is also subject to usage restrictions. Please refer to your end user license agreement for more information.
The Change Guardian appliance image is packaged in both ISO and OVF formats that can be deployed to the virtual environments. Ensure that you adhere to the recommended hardware requirements to configure your appliance. For information about hardware requirements and supported virtualization platforms, see the Technical Information page.
To install the Change Guardian Server appliance image:
Download the appliance image to a local server. The OVF file name is change_guardian_server_x.x.x.x.x86_64-0.xxxx.0.ovf.tar.gz. The ISO file name is change_guardian_server_x.x.x.x.x86_64-0.xxxx.0.preload.iso.
(Conditional) If you are using VMWare, use the OVF template to complete the following steps:
Extract the appliance image to your local server. If you are extracting to a Windows server, you need a program like 7-Zip or the latest version of WinRar.
If you are extracting to a Linux server, use the following command:
tar -zxvf change_guardian_server_x.x.x.x.x86_64-0.xxxx.0.ovf.tar.gz
For VMWare, log in to the vSphere client and deploy the OVF template. For more information, see the VMWare documentation.
(Conditional) If you are using Microsoft Hyper-V (Hyper-V documentation) or installing direct to hardware, use the ISO image to complete the following steps:
Burn the ISO file to a DVD or mount the image.
NOTE:We do not support mounting the ISO image from a network share.
Start or reboot your computer and check the BIOS configuration of your machine. Your BIOS should allow you to start from the CD/DVD drive and change the order of the media.
(Conditional) If you have not mounted the image, boot the DVD.
Power on the appliance server.
Select the language and keyboard layout.
Read and accept the SUSE End User License Agreement.
Read and accept the Change Guardian End User License Agreement.
Specify the hostname and domain name on the Hostname and Domain Name page, and verify that the Assign Hostname to Loopback IP option is selected.
NOTE:Only select Change Hostname via DHCP if you do not have a static IP address reservation.
Set the Hardware Clock to UTC, specify the time zone of the VM, and select Change to configure NTP date/time synchronization.
If the time appears out of sync immediately after the installation, run the following commands to restart NTP:
service ntp stop
service ntp start
Configure the following accounts:
appliance OS root account password
global admin password
Change Guardian server cgadmin password
Deselect Use IP Address for event routing if you can resolve the Change Guardian server host name from all of your monitored servers.
Configure the default email host using the following information:
SMTP Host – The full name, including domain name, of the email server from which you want to send email alerts. You must be able to resolve the specified hostname from the Change Guardian server.
SMTP Port – The remote SMTP port used to connect. The default is 25.
From – The return email address appearing on each email sent.
SMTP User Name (Optional) – The user name to use when connecting to the SMTP server.
SMTP Password (Optional) – The password that corresponds to the SMTP user name.
You must register the Change Guardian appliance with the appliance update channel to receive Change Guardian and latest operating system updates; SLES OS updates are also provided through the appliance update channel.To register the appliance, you must first obtain your appliance registration code or the appliance activation key from the Customer Care Center.
Use the following steps to register the appliance for updates:
Log in to the Change Guardian Appliance Management Console as vaadmin or root.
Click Home > Online Update > Register Now
In the Email field, specify the email ID to which you want to receive updates.
In the Activation Key field, enter the registration code.
Click Register
Verify whether updates are available.
Use the following steps to register the appliance for updates:
Log in to the Change Guardian server as the root user.
Clean up existing registrations.
For SLES (both 11 and 12) based clients, run the following command as root user:
suse_register -E
Specify the following command to register the server:
For SLES (both 11 and 12) based clients, run the following command as root user:
suse_register -a regcode-change-guardian="<registration_code>" -a email="<email_ID>"
Specify the email ID, where you want to receive updates.
SLES OS updates are also provided through the appliance update channel.
Verify whether updates are available.
In secured environments where the appliance must run without direct Internet access, you can configure the appliance with the Subscription Management Tool (SMT). This tool enables you to upgrade the appliance to the latest versions of Change Guardian. SMT is a package proxy system that is integrated with Customer Center, which hosts appliance updates, and provides key Customer Center capabilities.
For information on configuring the appliance with SMT, see “Configuring Clients to Use SMT” in the SMT documentation.