Allied Telesis VST-APL Vista Manager Network Appliance Software User Guide

Allied Telesis VST-APL Vista Manager Network Appliance Software

Acknowledgments

©2023 Allied Telesis Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from Allied Telesis, Inc.

Allied Telesis, Inc. reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other information contained in this document without prior written notice. The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In no event shall Allied Telesis, Inc. be liable for any incidental, special, indirect, or consequential damages whatsoever, including but not limited to lost profits, arising out of or related to this manual or the information contained herein, even if Allied Telesis, Inc. has been advised of, known, or should have known, the possibility of such damages.

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Accessing the Web-based VST-APL GUI

Accessing the Web-based VST-APL GUI
This section describes how to access the GUI to manage and monitor your Vista Manager Network Appliance.

These browsers are supported:

• Google Chrome™
• Mozilla Firefox™
• Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer™ 11 or later
• Apple Safari™.

The VST-APL Web GUI is pre-installed. Connect to the GUI by following these steps.

Step 1: Connect to the appliance.

Connect the appliance to the network by one of the front panel Ethernet ports. (The console port is for diagnostic use, not for device management.)

Step 2: Open a web browser and browse to the IP address for the appliance.

The appliance is set to accept an IP address from DHCP.
If DHCP does not assign one, it uses the default IP address 192.168.1.1/24.
For more information on starting the initial management session, see the Installation Guide.

Step 3: Log in to the GUI.

The default username is manager and the default password is friend.
The web browser displays the VST-APL dashboard.

For more detailed information on starting the initial management session, see the Installation Guide for your appliance.

Once you have logged into the GUI, you can manage the appliance itself. You will need to activate each application you require. Use the application menu item in the dashboard menu in the web-based VST-APL Web GUI to activate, monitor, manage and access each application as needed for your network.

For more information about using the appliance, see Vista Manager Network Appliance (VST-APL) Technical Documents

VST-APL Software Version 3.9.1

Product family supported by this version:
AT-VST-APL Vista Manager Network Appliance Series

Introduction

This release note describes the new features in software version 3.9.1 for the VST APL Vista Manager Network Appliance and the new software features in this version.

You can obtain the VST-APL upgrade from the Software Download area of the Allied Telesis website. Log in using your assigned email address and password.

For more information about the product, see Vista Manager Network Appliance (VST-APL) Technical Documents

These models support this version:

Table 1: VST-APL models

AT-VST-APL-06
AT-VST-APL-10| VST-APL

For more information on VST-APL models see the Vista Manager Network Appliance datasheet.

Application support in VST-APL 3.9.1

This VST-APL version provides the following software, applications, and files:

What’s New in VST-APL 3.9.1

This VST-APL version includes the following support for new application versions, new features and enhancements.

Vista Manager

The Vista Manager application was upgraded to version 3.11.1. For release notes, and other technical documents, for Vista Manager see the Vista Manager Network Appliance Technical Document page on our website.

Wireless Controller (AWC)

The Wireless Controller (AWC) application was upgraded to version 3.11.1. For release notes and other technical documents for Wireless Controller (AWC), see the Vista Manager Network Appliance Technical Document page on our website.

SNMP

The SNMP (SNMP full) plug-in application was upgraded to 2.10.1. For release notes and other technical documents for SNMP, see the Vista Manager Network Appliance Technical Document page on our website.

New features and enhancements

• “Support remote shutdown using SSH or Telnet”
• “USB unmount button” on page 7
• “Disk storage input/output process monitoring” on page 7
• “Increase Log Storage” on page 8

Support remote shutdown using SSH or Telnet

You can now enable users to access the device command line remotely using either SSH (recommended) or Telnet and power down the VST-APL. Where there is a risk of power overload or loss of power, this can protect the storage hardware in the device from physical damage.

Note that enabling Telnet or SSH allows remote control of the device. It is important to ensure that the device is secured both by network access control (firewall) and by strong credentials.

To enable a user to power down the device remotely via SSH:

1. From the VST-APL menu, navigate to System > SSH.
2. In the SSH page, enable SSH. Drag the toggle at the top right to ON. This makes SSH available on port 22.
3. In the Allow Users tab, click + New User. Type in the username to allow.
   

To enable users to power down the device remotely using Telnet:

1. In the VST APL menu, navigate to System > Services.
2. In the Services panel in the Service Management page, move the Telnet toggle to Enabled. This makes Telnet available on port 23.
   

To power down the VST-APL device remotely:

1. Connect remotely to the device CLI by using SSH (port 22) or Telnet (port 23).
2. Enter the username and password for the device.
3. Power it down by using the command:
   AT-VST-APL-10# poweroff

USB unmount button

You can now safely unmount a specific USB memory device by using a new Eject button.
To remove a USB device:

1. From the VST-APL menu, navigate to System > File Management.

2. On the File Management page, in the External Device Usage panel, click the Eject button for the external USB memory device.

3. Remove the USB device physically from its port.

Disk storage input/output process monitoring

The VST-APL now supports monitoring the Input/Output for the internal device storage.

To access this monitoring:

1. From the VST-APL menu, navigate to System > Monitor.
2. Click the Storage tab.
   

For more information about how to use Monitoring on the device, see the “Vista Manager Network Appliance (VST-APL) User Guide”.

Increase Log Storage

From this version, the size of the buffered and permanent logs has increased from 50KB to 5MB.

For more information about Logging, see the “Vista Manager Network Appliance
(VST-APL) User Guide”, available from Vista Manager Network Appliance (VST APL) Technical Documents.

Upgrade procedure

This section describes how to upgrade the VST-APL GUI and applications. It describes how to:

• “Backup the system” on page 9
• “Backup application data before upgrading” on page 12
• “Upload component software” on page 13
• “Upgrade the operating system and GUI” on page 14
• “Upgrade Vista Manager, AMF Cloud, Trap Receiver and AMF Security applications” on page 15
• “Upgrade Wireless Controller (AWC) and SNMP (full) plug-in applications” on page 18
• “Remove obsolete files from memory” on page 23

Backup the system

In VST-APL 3.4.x and later, you can use the Backup and Restore feature to create a back-up file for a VST-APL Network Appliance.

The back-up file records, and can restore:

• the appliance configuration

• the APP files stored in the appliance persistent memory.
  These contain the images of the application software. You can choose which of these application files to back up.

• snapshots of selected application instances or all instances.
  Each of these is a snapshot of the configuration and application data of an application instance on the device

This feature does not back up application bundle files. We recommend backing these up manually.

Backup and restore: back up the appliance

To back up all the appliance configuration, any application image files (.app) and the application data for all application instances, follow these steps. This provides a backup that can later be used to restore either an individual application instance or all the application configuration and application instances.

1. If there is unsaved appliance configuration that you want to include in the back up, click the Save button at the top of the VST-APL GUI page.

2. Connect external media for storing the back-up to the appliance’s USB port. The external media must have one of the following supported formats: FAT32, exFAT, ext2, ext3 or ext4.
   Note that if the external media file system format does not support a sufficiently large file size, the backup will fail. Choose a different external media with a file system format that supports a larger maximum file size, such as ext4.

3. In the VST-APL menu, navigate to System > Backup and Restore.
   

4. On the Backup and Restore page, click + Create Backup at the top right of the Previous Backups panel.
   The Backup dialog box opens, showing the default settings for the back-up you are about to create, and the storage space it estimates that you need to have free on the external media.
   

5. In the Backup dialog box, click the down-arrow at the right of Select backup location and from the locations available, choose the external media connected previously.
   Check that the backup location has sufficient free space for the new back-up file. You can see the free space available on the backup media in this panel. You can also see the file system of the external media by navigating to the System > File Management page and then clicking in the file path at the top of the File System (fs) panel.

6. By default, the back-up configuration sets the device to back up everything it can.
   Check that the following are selected for backup:

   • Back up configuration file? is set to Yes. This sets the file default.cfg to back up.
   • all application image files stored in the device’s file system, such as vista-x86_64-x.x.x.app and other APP files. (It does not backup bundle files.)
   • all application instances on the device that are Running or Stopped, such as AT-VISTA-app and other application instances.
     If an application instance is not in the drop-down list, then make sure it is Running or Stopped. (To check this, from the VST-APL menu, navigate to the VST-APL page for the application or to System > Container Services).
     

7. Click the green Back Up Now button at the bottom right. The backup dialog box closes, and the current back-up job shows in the In Progress panel in the Backup and Restore page. Backing up may take several minutes.
   
   The backup filename will have a format like this:

   _backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.abk **for example:** A103590000000000_backup_20220113_011350.abk. If the appliance estimates that the space required for the back-up is close to the free space available on the external media, a pop-up window with a warning message appears after clicking Back Up Now. Consider providing more free space on the external media. When the backup is complete, it disappears from the In Progress panel, and shows in the Previous Backups panel. Here you can see the time (Last Modified) and file size of the back-up. Status Valid confirms that the backup file has been stored successfully with a valid checksum file. For more information about the Backup and Restore feature and how to restore a VST-APL system or application, see the [Vista Manager Network Appliance Technical Document](https://www.alliedtelesis.com/documents/vst-apl-tech-docs) page on our website.

Backup application data before upgrading

We recommend backing up application data for all applications regularly. You should also backup all the application data before following this upgrade procedure. See the relevant application’s user manual for information on how to backup an application.

If you are using the Wireless Controller (AWC) or the SNMP (full) plug-in applications, you must back up these applications before proceeding. This is because the application instance needs to be destroyed and recreated during the process. (Use the backup feature in the applications; do not use the VST- APL backup and restore feature).

Back up application data

Before upgrading the Wireless Controller and SNMP Full applications, you must back up their system data. The procedures for this are described in this section. We recommend also backing up other applications. The procedures are similar.

Make sure that directories and filenames used for backup and restoration do not contain any multibyte characters.

Back up system data for the Wireless Controller (AWC) plug-in application

1. Log into Vista Manager EX using an Admin account.
2. From the AWC Plug-in menu, select System Setting.
3. To create a backup file for the log data in addition to the other data backup, check the Include Log Data checkbox to the right of the Backup button under System Maintenance (optional).
4. To start the back-up downloading, click the Backup button in the System Maintenance section.
5. From your web browser’s dialog box, save the backup file to your local computer.
   The backup filename will be in the format:
   “configatawc-X.X.X-YYYYMMDDhhmmss.zip”.

Back up system data for the SNMP plug-in application

1. Log in to Vista Manager EX using an Admin account.
2. Click the SNMP Plug-in icon in the left menu of the Vista Manager application, then click the System menu.
3. In the System Maintenance panel of the System Setting page, click the Backup button. This creates a backup of application data

Upload component software

You need the new image files in the appliance persistent storage to change the running software. Make sure to upgrade the operating system and all the applications you are using, so that they match.

To see which version of the VST-APL operating system the appliance is currently running, use the VST-APL GUI to navigate to the System > About page. To see the application files loaded in the appliances memory, navigate to the System > File Management page. To see the current version of an application running on the appliance, go to the GUI page for the application by clicking on its menu item, and hover over the instance information icon in the Deployed Application panel.

Caution:
Ensure you obtain the software image files from Allied Telesis. If you try to install software that is not provided by Allied Telesis, there is risk of corrupting the installation.

1. Download the following files from the Software Download Centre. Save them to a directory that the appliance can access, such as the device your GUI browser is running on.
   • the appliance software operating system and web GUI. This has a filename like ATVSTAPL-x.x.x.iso.
   • all the applications as a bundle. This has a filename like VST-APL x.x.x.bundle.
2. Navigate to the System > File Management page. Click the Upload button and select the software image files to upload.
   

Upgrade the operating system and GUI

Before upgrading the operating system, make sure to:

• “Backup the system” on page 9
• “Upload component software” on page 13

To upgrade the VST-APL operating system, follow these steps.

1. In the File Management page Set Boot Release File panel, click Browse.

2. Select the new software version and click Apply.

3. Reboot the appliance by clicking the green Reboot button at the top right of the File Management page.

4. Click Reboot again to confirm.
   
   The appliance will shut down any applications that are running, install the new version of the VST-APL operating system, and restart any applications that were running when the appliance configuration was last saved. This may take several minutes. The appliance configuration, including IP addressing, is retained from the last time it was saved.

5. When the upgrade has completed, you will need to re-authenticate to access the appliance.

6. To verify the currently running software version, log in to your VST-APL Web GUI, and navigate to the System > About page. The Software Version should agree with the VST-APL Web GUI version.

Upgrade Vista Manager, AMF Cloud, Trap Receiver and AMF Security applications

VST-APL version 3.4.1 and later (VST-APL Web GUI version 1.5.1 and later) support simpler upgrade of applications from a bundle. This ensures they are compatible with each other and the operating system version.

Before upgrading these applications:

• “Backup application data before upgrading” on page 12
• “Upload component software” on page 13
• “Upgrade the operating system and GUI” on page 14

Use this procedure to dynamically upgrade these applications:

• Vista Manager
• AMF Cloud
• Trap Receiver plug-in
• AMF Security

1. In the Dashboard page, click the Upgrade Instances button.
   

2. Make sure the correct version of the bundle file is displayed in the Upgrade to field at the top left of the upgrade instances panel. If not, use the drop down list to select the correct version.
   Applications that can be upgraded are shown as selected. We recommend upgrading them all.
   

3. Click the Upgrade Selected button and wait till upgrade is complete. The Status column shows progress. They first stop, then change to the new version, then start.

4. It is important to save the state of the VST-APL operating system after the upgrade.
   The Save button in the top right corner of the screen is orange when there are unsaved changes. Click on the button to save the changes.
   
   Note that if you do not save and VST-APL is rebooted, the upgraded applications will revert to the old APP images and fail to start. You will see ‘configured image “” doesn’t exist’ messages if this happens.
   Note that the earlier versions of the applications show as unsigned even though they are signed.

5. Vista Manager EX may prompt you to migrate the database. Select Download Database Backup to make a backup. Select Download Database Backup to make a backup.
   

6. Confirm you have successfully downloaded a backup file, then select Continue Migration. If you get a browser error about the page becoming unreachable, then refresh your browser.
   

7. Once the migration has completed, your connection may be lost. If this happens, close your browser and reopen the application from the VST-APL dashboard.

Upgrade Wireless Controller (AWC) and SNMP (full) plug-in applications

Before upgrading these applications, make sure to:

• “Backup the system” on page 9
• “Backup application data before upgrading” on page 12
• “Upload component software” on page 13
• “Upgrade the operating system and GUI” on page 14

The following applications are not supported by upgrading as a set from the bundle.

• Wireless Controller (AWC) plug-in
• SNMP (Full) plug-in

Instead, use these procedures:

• “Destroy and recreate application instances” on page 19
• “Re-register plug-ins in Vista Manager” on page 21
• “Restore application data from back-up” on page 22

Destroy and recreate application instances

Follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the application page for the application.

2. Hover over the Instance Information icon (i) and record information about the application from the Instance Information panel. Record all the Network settings (Network Type, etc).
   

3. In the application page, stop the application by clicking the Stop button. Destroy the application by clicking the Destroy button.

4. Click the Activate button.

5. In the Application Configuration dialog box, select the new Image Version. Fill in the storage and the network data you recorded. The recommended storage values are:
   AWC: 204 800 MB
   SNMP Full: 102 400 MB
   

6. Click the Apply button. This creates a new version of the application instance. Wait a few minutes for this to start and for the Open button to appear.

7. It is important to save the state of the operating system after the upgrade. The Save button in the top right corner of the screen is orange when there are unsaved changes. Click on the button to save the changes.
   

8. From the device menu, navigate to the Vista Manager page and click the Open button. If necessary, wait for Vista Manager EX to perform its initial set up.

9. Log in to Vista Manager EX.
   Re-register plug-ins in Vista Manager
   You need to reregister these plug-ins in Vista Manager EX:

10. Wireless Controller (AWC)

11. SNMP (Full)
    Follow these steps for each of the plug-ins.

12. On the Vista Manager EX page, navigate to System Management > Plugins.

13. Click AWC Plug-in at the bottom left.
    
    If the plug-in is not registered, Vista Manager displays an error message like this:

14. Click Edit.
    

15. Click Verify Connection

16. Check the certificate and click Save. A ‘Plug-in updated’ pop-up message confirms this step.
    

17. Repeats steps Step 11 to Step 14 for the SNMP (full) plug-in.

18. Restore system data for the plug-in application from the back-up file (“Restore application data from back-up” below).

Restore application data from back-up

• For the applications upgraded as a set in this procedure “Upgrade Vista Manager, AMF Cloud, Trap Receiver and AMF Security applications” on page 15, the data is restored automatically.

For the Wireless Controller and SNMP (Full) applications, you must use the following procedures to restore the system data:

• “Restore system data for the Wireless Controller plug-in” on page 22
• “Restore system data for the SNMP plug-in” on page 23

Restore system data for the Wireless Controller plug-in

Note that restoring a backup file made on another platform is not supported.

To restore data from the back-up file for the Wireless Controller (AWC) plug- in application, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Vista Manager EX using an Admin account.

2. In the Vista Manager EX menu, navigate to AWC Plug-in > System Setting page.

3. Click the Restore button in the System Maintenance section to open the Restore dialog box.

4. Click the Select File button and select a backup file.

5. Click Run.

6. Click OK on the confirmation dialog box.

7. After the restoration process has finished, a dialog box shows that restoration is complete. Click OK.
   Note that the back-up cannot restore the following system information. Re configure these values as necessary:

   • Database Setting > Maximum Memory Usage
   • Network Map Setting > Wireless Client Update-Interval
     Note that an email server and “from” address must be configured on the device in order for email logs to work. Use the command mail from server , where the is the ‘From:’ field on the sent email, and the is the email’s destination SMTP server.

8. Set the external IP address for the plug-in application. To do this, in the Vista Manager EX page, navigate to AWC Plug-in > System Setting.
   In the IP Address Settings page, click the drop down list and select the AWC IP address (don’t select ‘other’).
   Click the Save button for that section.

Restore system data for the SNMP plug-in

To restore data from the backup of application data for the SNMP plug-in application, follow these steps.
Log in to Vista Manager EX using an Admin account.

1. In the left menu of Vista Manager EX, click the SNMP plug-in icon, then click the System menu.
2. In the System Setting page System Maintenance panel, click the Restore button.
   This restores the data from the back-up into the SNMP plug-in application.

Remove obsolete files from memory

You can make more space available in the device’s persistent memory by removing obsolete files. We recommend removing the .iso file for the previous version of the operating system and the bundle file for the previous bundle of applications. Keep the current versions.

1. From the VST-APL dashboard, navigate to the System > File Management page.
2. Click the Delete button to the right of the obsolete files you want to remove.

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alliedtelesis.com

© 2023 Allied Telesis, Inc. All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. All company names, logos, and product designs that are trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

References

• Welcome to Allied Telesis | Allied Telesis
• Adobe: Creative, marketing and document management solutions
• Software Downloads | Allied Telesis
• Datasheet: Vista Manager Network Appliance | Allied Telesis
• Vista Manager Network Appliance (VST-APL) Technical Documents | Allied Telesis
• Software Downloads | Allied Telesis

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