Setting up a component instance

After you install the BMC Application Management Console, a Real User Analyzer, a Real User Collector, a Real User Monitor, APM Central, or an Aggregation Server for Extended Reporting component, you must set up the instance before logging on for the first time. To configure a single component, use the Configuration Wizard to complete the following procedures. If you need to configure multiple components in bulk, use the Configuration-Wizard-API.

The Configuration Wizard takes you through the multi-step process to set initial system properties.

Before you begin

Connect to the web interface of the virtual machine by typing the URL of the component, for example https://192.0.2.10 (IPv4) or https://[fd4f:9030:fbd4:1:250:56ff:fe8f:4a9a] (IPv6), in the address bar of a web browser.

If you do not know the IP address of a component, use your hypervisor management tool to view the IP address. The "location" (or address or URL) of the web interface is the IP address of the instance's management port. For example, in the VMware vSphere Client of the VMware management console, open a console window for the guest (the BMC Real End User Monitoring component).

If DHCP is present on the management port's network, you will see the IP address in the STATUS page.
If DHCP is not present, you can use the CLI (accessible via the guest console) to set an IP address, network mask, and gateway by using the following command:
Command
netparams -a <IP address> -m <network mask> -g <gateway>
For example, at the prompt, type:
Command
netparams -a 192.168.2.2 -m 255.255.255.0 -g 192.168.2.254

For more information, see Command-line-interface.

After you are connected to the component, complete the tasks that follow. Only the task relevant to the component type will be presented.

To activate the component and apply a license key

To activate the product, you can use the default license key below, which is valid for 30 days; you can obtain a permanent license key during the setup; or you can obtain and apply a permanent license key after the component instance has been set up.

To use the default license key

Click Submit and then specify SSL-server-certificate properties.

Default license key

Default license key

jA0EAwMCpx7+izDSB0tgyWq4P6aWYzlual+Lu8UjngHTWyX79Y6ojV11oAGYPMcMiHaANZfsY4ehQH5aoo2Qp
j9MytZjPkZK2W2n+kEXAdByt8v3mRtu6lhxnbzDTOb8FvItgV8b8qarS5LJkAAT8BrONXfNECXTv9e4=zP5z

To apply a permanent license key

Click the here link below the license key window.
Click Download the system registration file.
A zip file is created in the Downloads folder of your browser.
Send the registration-information file to co-tsactivation@bmc.com indicating your support contract ID and, for Analyzer, Monitor, and APM Central component instances, the number of Watchpoints. Or you can open a support request on the BMC Support site and attach the registration-information file.

When BMC receives your registration file and product key, BMC will send you the license file that you need to activate the product manually.
Click Choose File and select the license file that you received.
Click Submit.

To configure data storage for an Analyzer, Monitor, or APM Central component

For each instance of a Real User Analyzer, Real User Monitor, or APM Central, you must configure a local disk to store historical traffic data.

Recommendation

The default, built-in disk configuration is adequate for a proof-of-concept deployment only.

For production environments, BMC recommends that you create an additional local disk before configuring the component as follows:

For each instance of an Analyzer or Monitor component, create a local disk between 100 GBs (minimum) and 570 GBs (maximum).
For APM Central, create a local disk with a minimum of 100 GBs. There is no maximum size restriction. The local disk is split equally for the Monitor (Session Browser) and PAE data; however, any space over 970 GB will be allocated to PAE only (no additional storage is given to the Monitor).

You can change processor and memory allocations any time during the life of the component instance. However, for data storage, if you change the disk, data collected to date is deleted.

If you have not created a local disk, choose one of the following options:

If you plan to use the default, built-in data storage, click Use this option for minimal storage requirements and then click Submit. Use the default disk for a small volume of traffic data.
If you want to allocate an additional local drive as recommended, click Connect additional virtual disk (recommended), which will stop the configuration process (shut down the virtual machine). Add the local disk. When you resume the process, the setup wizard will detect the presence of the disk, as shown in the next figure.

Choosing the data storage disk without defining an additional local disk prior to installation

If you created an additional local disk for storage before installing the component or after resuming the process, the setup wizard detects its presence.

Click Use separate volume.

Choosing the data storage disk with an additional local disk defined
Warning
Any data already stored on the disk will be deleted.
The system prompts you to acknowledge that all data will be deleted.

To add an additional disk for PAE

On the following step of the Configuration Wizard, the system prompts for an additional disk space for storing historical traffic data accessed by a Performance Analytics Query. This step appears if the additional disk is not set up on the virtual machine.

You can select to use either NAS (Network Attached Storage) or you can connect a local disk. If you are using a local disk, the system will shut down so that you can connect the local disk and proceed.

Note

This task does not apply to APM Central, which installs a shared local disk for both PAE and the Real User Monitor (Analyzer) functions.

To specify SSL-server-certificate properties

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) keys and certificates secure the following types of connections:

Between users of the web interfaces and the system itself
Between end-user experience components

The certificate is self-signed; it uniquely identifies the component instance.

Enter the certificate's default common name (CN), which is the IP address of the management port of the component, as shown in the following figure. You can select a custom name (for example, the host name of the component instance — analyzer1.example.com).

SSL server certificate properties
(Optional) Specify how long you want the certificate to be valid (in other words, a number of days before it expires). By default, the certificate lifetime is unlimited.
Click Submit.

Note

It is also possible to upload the SSL certificate later if required.

To create an initial account

On the next step of the Configuration Wizard, you must set a username and password for the initial user of the system, as shown in the following figure, and click Submit.

Creating credentials for the initial user

The initial account has Security-level access. This means that the user logging on with these credentials can access all functionality, including security features, which are invisible to non-Security-level users. Security-level users are usually responsible for handling cryptographic keys, confidential data, and other similar items, and can add other Security-level accounts to the system. The Administrator role is the only role defined for the BMC Real End User Experience Monitoring Aggregation Server for Extended Reporting component.

To specify DNS server parameters

The Analyzer, Collector, Monitor, and APM Central components are network appliances. To interoperate with external network appliances that use host names instead of IP addresses, such as time servers, SMTP servers, or SNMP servers, you must set up a domain name system (DNS) client for a component.

If you are not ready to provide the DNS server parameters, click Skip. You can specify a DNS server for an Analyzer or a Collector later. Otherwise, enter the following information:
- Enter the IP address of the preferred DNS server, and optionally the address of an alternative DNS server
- For domain name suffix, enter the name suffix for your network appliances (for example, example.com).
Click Submit.

Note

For the Console and PAE you cannot configure DNS parameters through a web interface, so you must use the CLI and the dnsparams-command.

To specify NTP server parameters

Correctly adjusted timekeeping is critical for analysis of time-sensitive data. BMC recommends that you keep the difference between system times of the components as small as possible to maintain data integrity. Ensure that the end-user experience components are showing the same system time by synchronizing them with the network time protocol (NTP) server,

If you are not ready to provide the NTP server parameters, click Skip. You can configure NTP server later. Otherwise, enter the following information:
- Enter the IP address or the host name of the Primary NTP server to make the system clocks in all components show the same time.
- Optionally, enter a Secondary NTP server that the system will use when it cannot reach the primary NTP server.
Click Submit.

To set the password for the CLI user account

The cliuser account can access the command-line interface (CLI) to perform configuration tasks on the system, such as a firmware upgrade, system reboot, diagnostics collection, and management of network parameters.

If you are not ready to set a password for cliuser account, click Skip. You can access the CLI and changing the initial password (coradiant) later. Otherwise, enter a new password in the password and confirmation fields.
Click Submit.
An installation preview screen with the configuration details is displayed, as shown in the following figure.

The system will initialize and boot.
Refresh the browser after the initialization process.

Where to go from here

You are now ready to log on for the first time.