Getting Started
Last Modified: 03/8/2013 at 1:59 | Release:Table of Contents
Avance Management Console Requirements
Logging in to the Avance Management Console
Avance Management Console Requirements
The Avance Management Console provides browser-based remote management of the Avance unit, its physical machines (PMs), and virtual machines (VMs).
- Your computer must be able to access the subnet containing the Avance unit.
- Use a compatible browser (listed here).
- Make sure your computer has an up-to-date version of the Java™ Runtime Environment (JRE™). Java downloads are available at http://www.java.com/en/.
Installing Avance
The installation of Avance is designed to be as easy as possible. For step-by-step instructions please refer to the installation guide customized for your hardware platforms.
Logging in to the Avance Management Console
Type the Avance unit’s IP address or host name into your browser: http://IP_address –OR– http://host_name Where IP_address, is the Avance unit’s static IP address, supplied during installation, and host_name is the fully-qualified host name assigned to that IP address.
Avance Unit Preferences
When logging in the first time, click Preferences on the navigation menu and configure those options not specified during the install process:
| System Preferences | |
|---|---|
| Owner Information (optional) | Contact information, communicated via SNMP alerts to a service provider. |
| Product License | Upload license and activation keys. Displays the Site ID required for service calls. |
| IP Configuration | Avance Management Console, Gateway, and DNS server IP addresses. |
| Date & Time Configuration | Time Zones, Date & Time, and NTP servers. |
| Active Directory (optional) | Authenticate user access via domain groups. |
| Hardware | |
| UPS (optional) | Power monitoring method (default is none). |
| Help & Debug | |
| Diagnostics | Exports a diagnostic file for use in troubleshooting. |
| Notifications | |
| e-Alerts(optional, but recommended) | Email alerts alert language recipients, and SMTP server name. |
| SNMP Alerting (optional) | SNMP requests and traps, community, and list of trap recipients. |
| Remote Support | |
| Call-Home & Dial-in(optional, but recommended) | Call-Home automatically/securely sends alerts and diagnostics to the Stratus Active Service Network and an incident management system. Supplies the service provider with debug information.Dial-in provides a secure tunnel to the Avance unit for troubleshooting. |
| Proxy Configuration(optional) | An explicit proxy server used when sending eAlerts or Call-Home messages outside the company’s firewall. |
User Accounts
In the Avance Management Console, click Users & Groups to do the following:
- Control domain member access to the Console.
- Add, edit, or delete local user accounts.
For details, click Help. Starting the Avance Unit
- Press the power button on each Avance PM. (The shut-down Avance unit is not accessible from the Avance Management Console.) The PMs take 10–15 minutes to return to service.
- Log in to the Console.
- Click Physical Machines.
Note that the PMs run in maintenance mode until you return them to normal “running” mode.
- Select a PM.
- Click Finalize. The PM displays running under Activity.
- Repeat for the second PM.
After the first PM is removed from maintenance mode, any VMs that were running at shutdown automatically restart.
Shutting Down the Avance Unit
Use the Avance Management Console to shut down the Avance unit. This shuts down the VMs, then the PMs.
Use only this method to shut down the Avance unit. Make sure both PMs are running before shutting down. Other methods (such as shutting down or removing power from the PMs individually) can cause data loss.
- In the Console, select the unit under Avance Unit.
Click the Shutdown button. Shutdown can take up to 10 minutes. When the unit shuts down, the Console is unavailable.If the Avance unit does not shut down completely:
- Use the VM console or a remote desktop application to log in to the VM. Use operating system commands to shut down the VM.
- If unsuccessful, log in to the Avance Management Console. Click Virtual Machines. Select the VM. Click Power Off.
When the VMs shut down, the Avance unit continues shutting down.
Increasing Avance System Resources
Increasing the system resources of your Avance unit can improve performance of Avance and prevent it from having a performance impact on your VMs. We recommend at least 2048 MB of system memory but a system with only a few VMs may have good performance with as little as 1024 MB of system memory. Click System Resources from the Preferencespage to view or change the system resources of the Avance unit. Once you have saved your system settings, you will have to reboot each Physical Machine in succession for the changes to take affect.
Upgrading Avance Software
You can upgrade Avance software without interrupting running applications (VMs). Navigate to the Avance Upgrade Kits page in the Avance Management Console and click on the help icon.
