Running the Web GUI

You launch the Web GUI by running a Web browser on your management workstation, and opening a connection to the SBR Carrier server you want to configure. The Web GUI is designed to support any Web 2.0 browser. For a list of tested browsers, see Tested Browsers.

A Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer (HTTPS) connection is established between the Web browser in the management workstation and the SBR Carrier server. This connection is used to communicate configuration data to the server.

Note: The SBR Carrier server must be running in order to use Web GUI. Executing the sbrd start command also starts the Web server.

Like other secure websites using HTTPS, SBR Carrier provides a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate to prove its identity, and requires credentials when accessing the server. The SSL certificate can be autogenerated or you can provide a custom SSL certificate by running the configure script or during initial configuration of SBR Carrier.

Note: Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) certificates are not supported.

Pluggable authentication module (PAM) settings:

PAM provides an extensible mechanism for user authentication. It provides one or more of the following authentication and security services:

• Authentication—These service modules are used to authenticate access to an account or service and set up user credentials.
• Account management—These service modules determine the validity of the current user account. For example, an account management module could check password or account expiration or enforce access-time restrictions.
• Session management—These service modules are responsible for setting up and terminating login sessions.
• Password management—These service modules enforce password strength and previous-use rules and perform authentication updates.

The Method parameter in the [Settings] section of the access.ini file controls the database against which the user is authenticated for access. See the SBR Carrier Reference Guide for more information.

To log in to a SBR Carrier server:

1. Open a browser connection to the SBR Carrier server you want to administer.
   • To administer a SBR Carrier server running on your local host, enter https://localhost:2909, where the port assignment of 2909 is the SBR Carrier’s default TCP port for administration connections.
   • To administer a SBR Carrier server running on a remote host, enter https://server:2909, where the port assignment of 2909 is the SBR Carrier’s default TCP port for administration connections. For example:
     https://192.168.24.15:2909/
     

     Note: Make sure that you access the Web GUI using HTTPS instead of HTTP.

     The Login page (Figure 4) appears.

     Figure 4: Login Page

     

     Note: You can use the https.port parameter in the https.ini file located in the /opt/JNPRsbr/radius/website/webserver/jetty/start.d/ path to change the default port.

     Caution: Using a non-default port or modifying other parameters in the /opt/JNPRsbr/radius/website/webserver/ directory incorrectly could cause communication problems between the Web GUI and the SBR Carrier server.

2. Enter your administrator username in the Username field.
3. Enter your login password in the Password field.
4. Click Login.

   When you click Login, Web GUI establishes an HTTPS connection with the local or remote server. The Web GUI displays an error message if the connection cannot be established.

   Note: If a timeout occurs, verify that the Web browsers are running on the target server using the sbrd status command and that it is listening on the administration port you entered in the URL; that the port is not blocked.

   Web GUI verifies that the username you entered exists in the access.ini file. If the username is found, Web GUI validates the password you entered against a local or remote password database.

When you connect to a server, the Home page (Figure 5) lists status of the running server, IP addresses, available authentication methods, license information, and any initialization errors that might have occurred.

Tested Browsers

Web GUI can be launched in different browsers across different platforms. Table 6 lists the tested browser versions and the operating systems.

Note: Java 1.7.0 or a later version is required to be installed in the server to access the Web GUI. When you upgrade from an earlier SBR Carrier release to the current release, clear your browser’s cache before launching the Web GUI.

Note: While using Internet Explorer to launch the Web GUI, you may face the following problem: If a hostname is resolved manually by adding an entry in the hosts file under C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\, then Internet Explorer treats any websites from the hostname as an intranet site and applies the corresponding intranet settings. By default, the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View check box under Compatibility View Settings is enabled, which causes the invisibility of GUI webpages. It is recommended to clear the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View check box for viewing the webpages properly. But, this setting might also impact other intranet sites. If you still want to view other intranet sites in the Compatibility View but not the Web GUI, set the Document Mode setting under Developer Tools to the highest version number instead of clearing the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View check box, and then relaunch the Web GUI.