IBM Remote Support Center Proxy Utility

Configuring

Procedure

To configure the Remote Support Proxy service, edit the following parameters in the /etc/xiv/proxy.conf file:

• ListenInterface
  The name or IP address of the network interface on which the Remote Support Proxy is to listen for incoming connections from the Spectrum Virtualize system (for example, eth0 or 192.0.2.1).  The interface name must be the same as the output of the ifconfig command.

  Important - The Spectrum Virtualize system must have access to the system running the Remote Support Proxy as defined by this interface name or IP address.

• ListenPort
  The TCP port on which the Remote Support Proxy is to listen for incoming connections from the Spectrum Virtualize system (for example, 8988).

  Important - The Spectrum Virtualize system must have access to the system running the Remote Support Proxy as defined by this port.

• StatusInterface
  (Optional) The interface name or IP address, in IPv4 format, of an additional TCP port on which the Remote Support Proxy listens to monitor status (for example, eth1 or 192.0.2.2).
  When you connect to the status port (for example, by using telnet), the proxy service displays a status message and then closes the connection.
  If the StatusInterface and StatusPort parameters are not configured, the status service is disabled.
  When the status service is enabled, you can retrieve the status by running the service xivproxy status command.
  To enable status queries only from the local server, use the loopback interface lo. To enable status queries over the network, use a network interface.
   
• StatusPort
  (Optional) The port number of an additional TCP port on which the Remote Support Proxy listens to monitor status (for example, 8966).
  If the StatusInterface and StatusPort parameters are not configured, the status service is disabled.
   
• User
  (Optional) The user name of a restricted user that is used to run the Remote Support Proxy (for example, nobody).
  If the proxy runs as the root user, it drops its privileges to match the privileges of the specified user or to nobody if no user is specified.  This is done after binding ports and opening the log file, in case they require root access.
   
• Logger
  (Optional) Location of the logger program (for example, /usr/share/xiv/syslog-logger).
  See the contents of the /usr/share/xiv/syslog-logger file for more information and example code.

  Note - The logger runs as a restricted user and not the root user.

  The Remote Support Proxy runs the logger each time the Spectrum Virtualize system connects to and disconnects from the Remote Support Center, or when an error occurs.  You can modify the logger program to integrate with existing logging and monitoring tools.
  
  The logger program runs without any arguments and with the following predefined environment variables:
  PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin
  EVENT={connect|disconnect|error}
  CLIENT=IP_address:port
  SERVER=IP_address:port
  SERVER_LIST=IP_address:port,IP_address:port,...
  MESSAGE=arbitrary text message when EVENT=error
  
  SERVER_LIST is a list of all known IBM® remote-support servers at the time of the last configuration retrieval.
  
  In the following example, the Spectrum Virtualize system uses IP address 192.0.2.5 on port 9999, the Remote Support Center uses IP addresses 195.110.41.141 and 195.110.41.142 on port 443,  and the logger is called to report a successful connection:
  PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin
  EVENT=connect
  CLIENT=192.0.2.5:9999
  SERVER=195.110.41.141:443
  SERVER_LIST=195.110.41.141:443,195.110.41.142:443
  MESSAGE=
   
• LogFile
  (Optional) Location of the error log. If not set, the default location is /var/log/xivproxy.log.
  This error log contains information about proxy service startup, shutdown, connections, and disconnections.  If debugging is enabled, this file also contains the trace logs.
   
• DebugLog
  (Optional) A flag indicating whether debugging is enabled. Set to Yes to enable debugging or No to disable debugging. The default value is No.
  When debugging is enabled, trace logs are created. These logs are useful for troubleshooting and debugging problems.
   
• ServerAddress
  (Optional) IP addresses of front servers. If set, only the configured front server(s) will be used. Below is the list of IP addresses of all the available front servers:
  • 170.225.126.11
  • 170.225.126.12
  • 170.225.127.11
  • 170.225.127.12
  
  The servers can be specified as host names as well:
  • xrsc-front-srv-1.southdata.ibm.com
  • xrsc-front-srv-2.southdata.ibm.com
  • xrsc-front-srv-3.eastdata.ibm.com
  • xrsc-front-srv-4.eastdata.ibm.com
  
  To configure front servers, use the following format:
  ServerAddress[N] IPAddrs
  ServerPort[N]PortNo (where N=1..n)
  
  For example, to configure two front servers with IP addresses IP1 and IP2 over SSL, add the following to /etc/xiv/proxy.conf:
  ServerAddress1 IP1
  ServerPort1 8888
  ServerAddress2 IP2
  ServerPort2 8888

  Note - If ServerPort is not specified, the default port used is 443.

Example

The following example shows a sample configuration file:

Starting the proxy server

To start the Remote Support Proxy service, run the following command:

If the proxy service does not start correctly, examine the log file for errors. The default log file is */var/log/xivproxy.log*.

Uninstalling the proxy server

To uninstall the Remote Support Proxy service, run the following commands: