Using the Canary Admin Application (version 23)

Knowledge Base / Version 23 / Getting Started

updated 2 yrs ago

The Canary Admin application is a central management tool designed to allow system administrators to manage an entire Canary solution from a single application.

It is important to remember that the Canary solution consists of a series of Windows Services that work together to provide data collection, storage, contextualization, and access. Without a central management solution, the system would be cumbersome and difficult.

Launching the Canary Admin

Navigate to the server which you have installed the Canary services you wish to manage
From the Windows Start Menu, select Canary > Canary Admin
The Canary Admin application will open

Navigating Through the Application

The Canary Admin application visually organizes all Canary components installed on a server. The main home screen of the application features a tiled grid, with each tile representing a different component.

Home Screen Layout

The top of the home screen is bordered by a yellow title bar. This bar includes a '?' icon that will provide access to searchable help files, as well as a navigation tool for remote Canary Admin connectivity. The currently connected Canary Admin service is displayed by default along with a down arrow icon. Clicking the name of the server, often 'LOCALHOST' will allow the administrator to type in the server name or IP address of the machine they wish to connect to. If required, a dialog displays to provide credentials. Once connected, the name will remain in the drop down.

Below the yellow bar is the menu bar which is used to navigate between open sub menus and the 'Home' screen.

Depending on your installation the components that are shown will likely be different than the reference image. However, several will be universal. These include 'Services', 'Messages', 'Licenses', and 'Admin'.

Each tile provides system admins with useful information from this screen. This includes version numbers. If there is a version mismatch between components, that tile's version info will be shown in red.

Clicking on any of the tiles will navigate to additional sub menus and provide the admin with more management tools. When this occurs, the tile that has been selected will now appear on the main screen and a tab or bread crumb for that tile will be added to the top menu bar. In the below image you can see that the admin is currently on the 'Services' menu and has also currently has the 'Messages' panel open in the background.

Individual Tile Screen Layout

Each individual tile screen follows a similar design scheme that is useful for navigation.

When a tile is opened a new navigation schema is introduced. The bottom of the Canary Admin window now features a dark grey bar that provides any available navigation tabs. The currently selected tab is bright blue in color.

If the current displayed tile screen has any sub menu navigation options, they will be displayed on the left side of the screen. In the example below, the tab 'Configuration' has been selected and shows two sub menus in the light grey bar on the left, 'Sessions', which is currently selected, and 'Settings'.

Managing Admin Access and Security

The 'Admin' tile can be used to configure remote administrator permissions.

Open the Canary Admin application
Click the 'Admin' tile
Configure the endpoints as required

Net.TCP - Windows	When connecting remotely to another Canary Admin Service this endpoint will be tried first using the local users windows credentials
Net.TCP - Username	If the windows credentials fail then the communication will fail over to allow the user to enter credentials for remote connection

Use the 'Access' submenu to either specifically allow or deny users. For example, you could allow Active Directory groups while still specifically denying a member of that group.
Select the 'Settings' submenu and determine whether you wish to 'Persist Last Connection' for the Canary Admin remote session. Enabling this feature will cause the Canary Admin application to recall and reconnect to the last remote session upon application launch.