P1 Private Server
Version V1.4
26 July 2021 CT

Installation and Networking Guide for Dell P1 Server

Introduction

The Entel P1 Server is a PTT over Cellular (POC) server that can work on private or public IP networks with Entel DN Radios and Entel Dispatchers.
The Entel P1 Server supports a full range of PoC functions including group calls, individual calls, dispatchers, emergency calls, recorder, GPS location etc.
It is available either as a complete turn-key system running on a selection of Entel-supplied Dell standalone bare-metal servers or as a cloud-based server running on Amazon Web Services. This document refers to the Dell version. The following diagram shows the overall setup.

Network configurations

The first thing to do is to decide how the P1 Server is to be connected and used.
There are 3 main options:-
a) P1 Server is connected to, and accessible from, the Internet
b) P1 Server is connected to, but not accessible from, the Internet
c) P1 Server is standalone with no access to or from the Internet
NOTE : Option 1 is the only way to use DN and Smartphones with a cellular connection and the P1 Server MUST be accessible from the Internet via a fixed static IP V4 address.
2.1. Features
The following table shows the features of the P1 solution that are available in the different networking scenarios

• NOTE : The Configure via Entel provisioning portal and Firmware and app upgrades over the air features are optional, and only available if the DN Radios and Gateways are able to connect to the public internet and to the Entel provisioning and OTA servers. The DN Radios and Gateways will work without this but must be configured locally via menus or device web interface.
  2.2. Option Details
  The following diagrams show the different networking options:
  2.2.1. Option 1

2.2.2. Option 2

2.2.3. Option 3

3. Installation
To perform the initial connection and setup the P1 server should be connected to a USB keyboard and an HDMI monitor. After configuration and establishing that the P1 server can be accessed from a separate PC the keyboard and monitor are no longer required.
3.1. Siting and power
The P1 server does not require a controlled environment however it should be sited with good ventilation around it away from direct sun or excessive heat and it should be connected to a stable power supply.
3.2. Connecting to the network
Connect a CAT-5 or CAT-6 ethernet cable between the ethernet port on the P1 server and a suitable port on a network switch or router.
3.3. Power on
Switch on the P1 server
On power up the monitor should show a Linux login prompt. Login is as follows:-
Name:  tassta
Password: tassta2go
Some operations require the person performing the operation to be the “superuser” or “root” user, which requires the root password which is as follows.
Root Password: tassta2go
To change to the root user use the command
su
Then enter the root password
To revert to the normal “taste” the user use the command
exit
Passwords may be changed after configuration.
3.4. Power Off
To power off the P1 server, shut it down it from the Linux command line if possible rather than just disconnecting the power. This minimizes the risk of data corruption. If this is not done then the next restart will take longer while the operating system checks the disk. Log on to the P1 server either from console or from an external PC and enter commands
us
shutdown -h now
su should be followed by the root password. After a few seconds, the server should power off after which it is safe to disconnect the power.

Configuration

The following table shows the configuration tasks that must be performed for each networking Option – they should be done in the order that they are listed in the table.

4.1. Set the local (private) IP address on P1 Server
Now the P1 server must be assigned an IP address (the private IP address) which will remain unchanged until the server is moved.
As it arrives from Entel, the P1 server default configuration is to use DHCP to assign it a private IP address.
4.1.1. DHCP
The network that the P1 server is attached to should be configured with DHCP so that the P1 server is automatically assigned a valid IP address, DNS and default gateways. The DHCP server should be configured to always send the same address to the P1 device so that it does not keep changing.
4.1.2. Static IP
It may be required to configure a static (fixed) IP address to the server as its a private IP address rather than having a DHCP server assign it for you. This may be because of local network requirements or because the P1 Server itself will be used to send IP addresses to connected devices. To do this, log on and as root
Edit /etc/network/interfaces and change the interface section corresponding to the ethernet port as follows (set required address, mask and gateway).
iface enp1s0 inet static
address 192.168.0.5/24
gateway 192.168.0.1
Further information about this can be found here
https://wiki.debian.org/NetworkConfiguration
4.1.3. Confirm IP address
At any point the Private IP address assigned to the device can be determined using the hostname command. hostname -I
Responds with eg
192.168.0.42
Note this address down as P1 Server Private IP Address as it will be needed later.
4.2. Configure DHCP Server
This section refers to configuring the P1 server to act as a DHCP Server for other connected devices such as the DN radios connected by Wi-Fi. It is not normally required, only if there is no other network infrastructure available to act as a DHCP server such as a router.
To do this a DHCP server has to be installed.
Before doing this an IP subnet has to be decided on and then an IP address is chosen for the P1 server itself and assigned a static IP address, see section 4.1.2, and a range of IP addresses for the DNS.
The IP subnet should be chosen to not conflict with any public IP addresses and typically this means using 10. x.x.x or 192.168.x.x ranges. For this example, 192.168.0.x is chosen as the subnet and then 192.168.0.5 will be used for the P1 server and the range 192.168.0.10 to 192.168.0.99 for the DNS.
Install the DHCP server
su
apt-get update
apt-get install ISC-DHCP-server
A static Private IP must be set in the P1 Server before it can then be used.
Then configure the dhcp server Tell it what interface to use by editing /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server

Defaults for isc-dhcp-server (sourced by /etc/init.d/isc-dhcp-server)

Path to dhcpd’s config file (default: /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf).

DHCPDv4_CONF=/etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf

DHCPDv6_CONF=/etc/dhcp/dhcpd6.conf

Path to dhcpd’s PID file (default: /var/run/dhcpd.pid).

DHCPDv4_PID=/var/run/dhcpd.pid

DHCPDv6_PID=/var/run/dhcpd6.pid

Additional options to start dhcpd with.

Don’t use options -cf or -pf here; use DHCPD_CONF/ DHCPD_PID instead

OPTIONS=””

On what interfaces should the DHCP server (dhcpd) serve DHCP requests?

Separate multiple interfaces with spaces, e.g. “eth0 eth1″.

INTERFACESv4=”enp1s0″

INTERFACESv6=””

Only change is INTERFACESv4=”enp1s0″
Then edit /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf

dhcpd.conf

configuration file for ISC dhcpd

 default-lease-time 86400; max-lease-time 86400;

The ddns-updates-style parameter controls whether or not the server will

attempt to do a DNS update when a lease is confirmed. We default to the

behavior of the version 2 packages (‘none’, since DHCP v2 didn’t

have support for DDNS.) ddns-update-style none;

If this DHCP server is the official DHCP server for the local

network, the authoritative directive should be uncommented. authoritative;

Use this to send dhcp log messages to a different log file (you also

have to hack syslog.conf to complete the redirection).

log-facility local7;

No service will be given on this subnet, but declaring it helps the

DHCP server to understand the network topology.

subnet 10.152.187.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 { #}

This is a very basic subnet declaration. subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask

255.255.255.0 { range 192.168.0.10 192.168.0.99;
option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.5;
option routers 192.168.0.5; }
4.3. Configure Firewall
The firewall is used to prevent unauthorized access between the private network and the internet. If DN radios are to be used on this P1 server connected via Wi-Fi and they will be using Entel provisioning and over the air updates, they must be allowed access to the following network services on the internet.

The firewall, if present, should be configured to allow this access.
4.4. Configure Port Forwarding
For use with Option 1 where DN radios are connecting from the internet to this P1 server, the network must be configured such that certain traffic from the internet ends up at the P1 server. This is called port forwarding and must be configured on the router or firewall used.
There is a list of IP Ports that must be forwarded from the public IP address of the router/firewall to the private IP address assigned to the P1 server. These ports are as follows:-

• Some routers and firewalls require a name for each port forwarding entry. This is only a description and doesn’t affect operation at all.
  This is only required if remote access to the command line of the server is required, eg for remote support by Entel.
  4.5. Determine Server IP Address
  The IP Address that will be used for management of and for devices to connect to the P1 Server now depends on which networking option has been selected.
  For Option 1, the Server IP Address is the Public IP Address of the internet connection. This can be determined from the server itself by using the command curl ipinfo.io/ip
  This response with eg 95.96.42.21
  And this will be the Server IP Address
  For Options 2 and 3, the Server IP Address is the Private IP Address of the P1 Server.
  The Private IP address assigned to the P1 Server can be determined using the command
  hostname –I
  This response with eg
  192.168.0.42
  And this will be the Server IP Address
  4.6. Connecting via SSH
  From a PC or workstation that is connected to the same network as the P1 Server, the server can be accessed via its command line using (for Windows) Putty or (for Mac or Linux) ssh. Access is via tassta@privateipaddress and use password tassta2go
  If the P1 Server is connected to the internet AND port 22 is forwarded from the Public IP address to the Private IP address then access is also available via tassta@publicipaddress and use password tassta2go
  Once it is established that the server can be accessed via SSH the keyboard and monitor are no longer required to be connected to the server.
  4.7. Connecting via Web Browser
  From a PC or workstation that is connected to the same network as the P1 Server, the server can be accessed via a web browser. Access is via
  https://privateipaddress:4321 username admin, password tassta2go
  If the P1 Server is connected to the internet AND port 4321 is forwarded from the Public IP address to the Private IP address then access is also available via
  https://publicipaddress:4321 username admin, password tassta2go
  4.8. Configure Server with Server IP Address**
  Before the server can be used with clients, there are a few places to update the configuration of the server with the newly established Server IP Address.
  Log onto the server with web browser and then select Settings, Tools, Nodes and check the single node that will be showing. Then click on the Edit Pencil.

Now update the node address as indicated with the Server IP Address

Now go to servers list and select the one that is showing and click on the Edit PenciThen update Recorder Server to
https://serveripaddress:8082 and update Service Gateway to https://serveripaddress:4000

Save that and then restart the server if indicated.
4.9. Configure Server IP Address into devices
Now that the Server IP Address is known, DNS, Gateways, Smartphones, and Dispatchers can be configured with the following information:-

•  Username – as set in the User Account Name
• Password – as set in the User Account Password
•  Server – the Server IP Address as determined here
• Port – always 65001
  The instructions for doing this are in the DN, Gateway, Smartphone, and Dispatcher Configuration Guide

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