Using the Canary Admin Client (version 24)

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 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

1. Navigate to the server which you have installed the Canary services you wish to manage
2. From the Windows Start Menu, select Canary > Canary Admin
3. You will be presented with one or more options for logging in, depending on the configured identity provider(s)

   

4. The Canary Admin will open once you are authenticated

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 yellow toolbar at the top of the screen indicates the user signed in, the server name of the Admin service the Admin client is connected to (e.g. LOCALHOST),   and a '?' which is linked to this Help Center. Selecting the drop-down arrow next to LOCALHOST allows the user to connect to other Admin services on other Canary servers if they exist on the network. If an Admin service is not found automatically, the user can type the server name or IP address in the text box. This functionality allows a user to administer a Canary server remotely without having to log in to the server itself. The login screen will reappear, prompting the user to authenticate. Once connected, the name will remain in the drop down list.

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, and Admin.

Each tile provides system admins with useful information including 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 for that tile will be added to the top menu bar.  In the image below you can see that the admin is currently on the Services menu and also 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 Configuration tab has been selected and shows two sub menus in the light grey bar on the left, Sessions, which is currently selected, and Settings.

Managing Remote Admin Access and Security

By default, the Canary group, Administrators, has remote Admin access. A Canary user must be a part of this group in order to connect to a remote Admin service. If needing to modify this:

1. Login to the Canary server that hosts the Identity service and open the Canary Admin client.
2. Navigate to the Identity tile>Security>Access Controls Lists screen.
3. Expand the Admin>Logon ACL.

   

4. ADD/EDIT/REMOVE Canary users/groups as needed.
5. Click APPLY.

For more information on the Canary Admin and its individual tiles, visit the Canary Admin category under System Admin Duties.