Devon IT Echo Management Console Dell Edition Administration Guide
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if instructions are not followed. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. ______________ Information in this publication is subject to change without notice. © 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Contents Virtual Appliance Installation and Setup .....................................5 Download and Install vSphere, VMware Server, or Player........................5 Download the Echo Software ...................................................................5 Install Virtual Machine Setup with the vSphere Client ...............................6 Install Virtual Machine Setup on VMware .................................................9 Echo Password and Time Zone Configurations .........................
The Echo Administration Screen ............................................................24 Searches ................................................................................................27 Terminal Management .................................................................28 Echo Agent Updates ...............................................................................28 Custom Icons .........................................................................................
1 Virtual Appliance Installation and Setup NOTE: Custom icons at this time only work with the Devon IT Terminal Operating System (DeTOS) terminals, not Windows-based terminals. This administration manual outlines how to install, setup, and run Devon IT Echo Management Console Dell Edition. Required components include: 1 One or more thin clients 2 Echo enabled thin client 3 System running VMware Server, VMware player, or VMware vSphere.
If you have downloaded the .ova file version, continue on to the Install Virtual Machine Setup with the vSphere Client section. Install Virtual Machine Setup with the vSphere Client To start an Echo virtual machine with vSphere: 1 Launch the VMWare vSphere Client. 2 Enter the IP address of your ESX server and login credentials, then click Login. 3 Select Inventory to display the inventory of your ESX server.
5 Select Browse to navigate to the OVA that you have downloaded from the Dell website and click Next. 6 Select Next on the OVF Template Details screen 7 In the Name and Location screen, rename the template if needed. After doing so, click Next. 8 Select the preferred format for your appliance in the Disk Format screen and click Next. 9 Review the options on the Ready to Complete screen to ensure the settings are correct.
11 Select Console tab in the vSphere Client main screen to continue the initial setup of the Echo Appliance Dell Edition.
Install Virtual Machine Setup on VMware In order to set up your virtual machine on either VMware Server version, you must first convert the .ova file into a .vmx file format that VMware Server can recognize. You can find a VMware file converter at http://www.vmware.com/products/converter . Once you have converted your .ova file to the .vmx format you can continue with the VMware Server instructions that pertain to you. VMware Server 2.0 To set up the virtual machine on VMware Server version 2.
Adjust the Allocated Memory or Edit virtual machine settings options. 4 After selecting your Echo settings, click Power On next to the green triangle. VMware Player To start an Echo virtual machine on VMware Player: 1 Launch VMware Player on your system and click Open a Virtual Machine. 2 Select All Image Files from the dropdown menu. 3 Open the .ova file located in the Echo folder. Select Import. 4 Your virtual appliance will immediately begin booting.
Echo Password and Time Zone Configurations 1 Turn on the Virtual Machine. 2 After the bootup process is complete, the Setting Password window is displayed. 3 Enter a new password for the bwadmin account. This password is required to log on to Echo. NOTE: There is no minimum character limit required when entering a new password, and the password is case sensitive..
6 A list of cities is displayed in the Time zone menu. Select a city located in your time zone and press .
Echo Network Configuration DHCP Configuration (Default) The next screen is the Networking configuration menu. By default, Echo will attempt to automatically acquire an IP Address from the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) on your network. This means that your IP address will be automatically assigned every time you reboot the machine and restart your Echo virtual application.
3 Enter the IP address to use as Echo's static IP and press OK. 4 Enter the subnet mask and then press OK. 5 Enter the gateway IP address and press OK. 6 Confirm the new static settings. Select Yes to apply the new settings or, select No to discard these changes. 7 After selecting Yes, the network interface will restart and you will be presented Echo's Main Menu. Editing DNS for Static IP Configuration When using a static address, you must edit the Echo server's resolv.conf file.
4 Add more nameserver lines as needed for each additional DNS server you want to include. 5 Press , then Y to save changes, and then press Enter to save the file. 6 Select No changes to return to the Main Menu. The Main Menu Once you have completed the initial setup process, the Main Menu screen is your starting point for all future Echo modifications.
Main Menu Options: Reference Chart Table 1-1. Echo Main Menu Reference Chart Main Menu Items Description Set bwadmin password Select this to enter a new password for the bwadmin account Configure active directory Allows users to log into the web front end using Active Directory credentials via an LDAP query Change time zone Select this to change the server’s current time zone Change Hostname Select this to change the hostname of the Echo server.
Final Configuration Steps DNS Configuration On your DNS server, create an entry for ws-broker.. that points to the IP address of the Echo virtual machine. This allows the terminals to find the Echo server automatically. Where is your domain name and is the top level domain. For example: ws-broker.myXyzConsulting.com ws-broker.HiTechSolutions.net ws-broker.development.
3 Enter the IP address instead of the domain name ws-broker and click OK.
Firewall Ports Table 1-2. What Ports Need to be Open for Echo Functionality Port Protocol Components Purpose 80 TCP Echo Server HTTP – Standard web port for the Echo Web UI 443 TCP Echo Server HTTPS – Secure (SSL) communication over http protocol 50000 TCP Echo Server, Hosts, and Terminals Used by SOAP. This port needs to be open on ALL devices within the Echo environment.
Additional Installation Steps for Advanced Configurations NOTE: Please read the next two sections only if you are deploying more than one Echo Thin Manage Virtual Appliance in the same environment. If this does not apply to your environment, skip to Chapter 2, “Learning Echo Basics.” Configure Devon IT Echo Management Console Dell Edition to Use MS-SQL Database By default, Echo is configured to use a single SQLite database that is internal to the Echo virtual machine.
10 Select [0] Exit at the next menu. 11 Press at each remaining prompt to use the default settings. 12 When you return to the mssql/ODBC configuration menu, configure the database name, IP address, port, and username for your mssql database. 13 When finished, choose Keep Current Settings to accept your settings and return to the Main Menu. 14 Select Restart Echo from the Main Menu to activate the database connection.
Troubleshooting a Bad Connection Make sure that your Echo appliance has network connectivity and that data packets can flow to and from the appliance. You can switch to a different virtual terminal, or try in the appliance itself by hitting and the right arrow key. Once at the terminal prompt you will see ws-broker login: _. You can log in using the username bwadmin and the password which was set during the initial configuration of the Echo management server.
2 Learning Echo Basics Terminology You should familiarize yourself with the following list of terms, as they are used throughout this document. Terminal-This is the device to which the screen, keyboard and mouse are attached. Session-This is a network connection between a thin client and a host, with the display and USB components connected. CMS-This is the Connection Management Server (CMS), which manages connections between thin clients and hosts.
Accessing the Echo Web-Based Interface 1 Using a web browser, type the following URL into the address http:// and press . NOTE: There is a security certificate warning that may appear when connecting to the server. Click Yes to continue. 2 Enter bwadmin as the Username and Echo password set up during installation. Press . If Echo is properly configured, and DNS settings are correct, you will see the Echo Administration Screen.
The Connections Table Terminals have the ability to connect to remote servers utilizing various types of protocols. The Connections table is where you can go to create, manage, and edit the RDP, ICA, VDI, and other connections you have available. The Profiles Table A key function of the Echo software is the creation and application of Profiles in order to effectively manage the settings applied to individual terminals remotely.
The Terminal Settings Table Terminal Settings are the display, sound, keyboard, mouse, and password configurations for that particular terminal. Administrators can use Echo to clone these settings from one terminal, store them within the Echo Thin Client Settings database, and then apply them to other terminals. NOTE: For more information on how to configure display, sound, keyboard, mouse, and password configurations, please refer to your DeTOS, WES 2009, or WES7 guide.
NOTE: You can select more than one object in the various tables. Press the key and left-click on choices in the table to add individual terminals to the selection. Hold the key and left-click on the options in the table to select every terminal between the two items that you have selected. The Context Menu Right-clicking a highlighted selection the Terminals table displays a Context Menu with various actions that can be performed on that selection.
3 Terminal Management Echo Agent Updates The Echo Agent is a service that runs on terminal devices and communicates with the Echo server. Periodically, Dell releases new Agent setup programs that provide additional functionality. This section outlines the steps for updating a new Agent to your inventoried terminal using the Echo software. Where to Download the Latest Echo Agent Visit support.dell.
4 Click Submit to enter your changes. The message Echo agent request sent is displayed. The new agent begins installing itself on the actual device. This may take 30-60 seconds. Once this installation has finished and the new agent heartbeats back to the Echo server, the Agent Version column for that terminal displays the new version number. The image below shows the Agent Version column. Custom Icons Administrators can use customized icons for individual connections.
4 Use the Choose File button to launch a window that will allow you to explore your local machine to find an image to upload. Highlight the image and select Open. 5 Click the Add button at the top of the Name and Details pane. An “Icon Added” message is displayed, and the new icon is immediately displayed in the Icons inventory table. How to Customize a Desktop Icon Uploading the image into Echo is the first step to customizing your desktop icons. Now we have to add the icon to connections.
4 After selecting the custom image, click Update above the pane to save your changes. 5 In the Connections table a new icon is displayed on the left side of the connection in the Icon column. All of the custom icons applied to connections are listed in that column.
Echo Cloning Overview The following types of clones can be created using Echo: Connections-Terminals have the ability to connect to remote servers utilizing various types of protocols. The RDP protocol is used to connect to Microsoft Windows Terminal Servers. The ICA protocol is used to establish connections to Citrix servers. The VDI protocol, used by the VMware View Client, allows a user to connect to a VMware View Server.
Cloning Connections Echo allows administrators to clone individual connections from a thin client and save them in the Echo database. Administrators can easily create a connection like VMware View or Citrix on a terminal and then propagate it to all of their other terminals via a profile. All connections can be cloned, and the most common are listed below: RDP- One or more .rdp configuration files used for connecting to Microsoft Terminal Servers. ICA- One or more .
3 The details pane on the right-hand side displays the available connections you can clone from this terminal. 4 Under Connections, select one of the connections listed. To select multiple connections, choose another from the dropdown menu and it will be added to the list. 5 Click the Submit button. You receive a success message when the clone is complete. 6 In the Connections tab, you can see your recently cloned connection entry now in the inventory table.
4 Click the Submit button. You will receive a success message when the connection is applied. When you apply connections to terminals, the actual ICA and RDP files are saved under C:\Devon IT\Citrix and C:\Devon IT\rDesktop, respectively. Shortcuts to these files are automatically created on the User and Administrator desktops. The end-user can simply double-click these shortcuts to initiate the connection.
NOTE: There are a few differences in the way VMware View client connections are handled by Windows, as compared to RDP and ICA connections. Only one VMware View client connection can exist per user. The configuration settings for a VMware View client connection are stored in the User account's registry hive, not in flat files like RDP and ICA. This is simply the nature of VMware's View client program and not in any way a limitation with Echo Thin Manage Virtual Appliance.
How to Clone Terminal Settings 1 From the Terminals inventory table, left-click to select the terminal and then right-click to bring up the Context Menu. Select Terminal SettingsClone from Terminal. 2 The details pane on the right-hand side will display a form with two sections: Name and Details and Select Modules to Clone. Name-Enter a name for this clone. This name will be the name that Echo refers to for these settings in the future. Description-Enter a short description for this clone.
Applying Settings to a Terminal 1 From the Terminals inventory table, left-click to select the terminal and then right-click to bring up the Context Menu. Select Terminal SettingsApply to Terminal. 2 From the Terminal Settings dropdown list in the Select Terminal Settings pane, select the saved settings clone you want to apply. 3 Optionally, if you would like to reboot the terminal after the settings have been applied, then select the checkbox called Reboot after Applying.
Profiles The profile feature in Echo allows you to assign terminal connections and settings with one or more terminal. Profiles are useful for administrators that wish to effect updates on many terminals at once. For instance, sometimes it becomes necessary to change the details of a connection that is used for multiple terminals.
Certificates-A Firefox certificate (to bypass Certificate download warnings) can be exported from your Mozilla Firefox settings and imported into a profile to bypass the warning. In Firefox, select OptionsOptionsAdvancedEncryptionView CertificatesAuthorities. Disk Image: In the drop-down menu, if the Echo Administrator adds an image to the profile, Echo will re-image the terminal every time it boots if it doesn’t already have the specific image listed here.
Applying a Profile Once you finish creating a profile as described in the section above, it will automatically apply the associated connections and settings the next time the terminals included in the Mode are rebooted. However, if you would like the changes to take effect immediately, then you may manually apply the profile by following the steps below.
Disk Image Cloning Echo allows you to perform full disk image cloning of your terminals, utilizing FTP, CIFS, or NFS protocols. NOTE: To create a disk image clone from a WES 2009 or WES7 terminal, FBWF must be disabled. See the WES 2009 or WES7 Administration Guide for instructions on how to do so. How to Clone the Entire Disk Image 1 From the Terminals inventory table, left-click a terminal and then rightclick to open the Context Menu. Select Disk ImageClone from Terminal.
3 Verify Image-Select this checkbox if you want to perform an md5 checksum upon completion of the clone. Please be aware that the cloning process will take much longer to complete when this checkbox is selected. Username-If required, enter the username of an account that has permissions to read and write to the image repository you specified in the Image Location field above. Password-If required, enter the password needed for the Username specified above.
4 After completion, the newly cloned disk image can be seen in the inventory table of the Disk Images tab. Applying a Disk Image to a Terminal NOTE: When applying disk images to your terminals, be sure you are using the correct image for that particular model, otherwise you may render that terminal unbootable. Should a terminal become unbootable, a re-imaging guide can be found at support.dell.com/support.
3 Click the Submit button to begin the re-imaging process. The terminal will reboot and begin re-imaging its flash media with the selected image. This re-imaging process may take 20-40 minutes, depending on the size of the image and network traffic. During this time, there is no agent to heartbeat into the Echo server, and therefore the timestamp in the Last Contact field will remain unchanged.
Supplied Disk Images New OS images can be added to your Devon IT Echo Management Console Dell Edition inventory. Visit support.dell.com to locate and download the latest DeTOS operating system image for re-imaging your OptiPlex FX130 and FX170 thin clients. NOTE: Only the OptiPlex FX170 has the option to download and re-image the Windows Embedded Standard (WES) operating system image, which is also located at support.dell.com. NOTE: Make sure you download the proper image from support.dell.com.
Image Location-Enter the location to where your disk image resides. NOTE: You may use a hostname or IP address. Examples: ftp://myServerName/path/to/my/image/ and nfs://192.168.1.123/path/to/my/image/. Username- If required, enter the username of an account that has permissions to read & write to the image repository you specified in the Image Location field above. Password- If required, enter the password needed for the Username specified above.
4 Maintenance Backing Up Your Server You can backup your server from the main Maintenance tab. The method used is referred to as a 'Hotcopy' since the backup is created while the system is running. There is no need to stop or suspend the Echo server for the backup. To execute a Hotcopy, perform the following procedure: 1 In the Maintenance tab, open the Save/Restore Server Config subsection. 2 Click on Save Server Configuration.
4 The result of the Hotcopy will create a binary (.BIN) backup file that will be downloaded to your local machine. Click Save File and make a note of where you save this file, as you will need it in the future to perform a restore. Server Restore A restore deletes all existing configuration and data on your Echo Server and overwrite it with the information contained in a previously created Hotcopy backup file.
6 After the path to the backup file has been entered, click the Restore button to begin the restore. Once the restore process is finished, you will receive a Complete message in the information pane.
Appliance Upgrades The following is the recommended procedure for upgrading your Echo Appliance to a newer version. 1 Backup-Backup your server’s current configuration and data prior to performing an upgrade using the Hotcopy procedure. Refer to section “Backing up your Server” for details on this step. 2 Upgrade- 3 a. Shutdown the Echo Appliance Server (Select option 9, Halt Machine, from the Main Menu). b. Visit support.dell.
5 Getting Help Contacting Dell For customers in the United States, call 800-WWW-DELL (800-999-3355). Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues: 1 Visit support.dell.com.
