Installation Preparation Checklist

This document aims to provide a list of steps that you should check prior to installing and configuring DirX Audit to help you prepare all required materials, files, documents, data and environment. There are the following sections:

Preparation - Collect system requirements and provision target environments.
Installation - Install software product and supporting applications.
Configuration - Configure the software product for the target environment and operational requirements.
Maintenance – Operate, monitor, patch, and troubleshoot the system.

While the first three checklists help you prepare a one-time installation and configuration procedure thoroughly, the maintenance checklist is intended for ongoing operational tasks that should be performed on a regular basis.

Preparation

In case of an upgrade installation, backup your existing configuration files
in the install_path/conf folder, all customer specific files for core components
in the install_path/conf/tenants/tenantID/ folder, all customer specific files for tenant components
See:
specific instructions in the DirX Audit Migration Guide
Install JVM
on each machine where DirX Audit Manager (Apache Tomcat), DirX Audit Message Broker and DirX Audit Server are to be operated
See:
“Installation Prerequisites” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
“Java Requirements for DirX Audit” in the DirX Audit Release Notes
Install Apache Tomcat
on the machine where DirX Audit Manager is to be operated
See:
“Apache Tomcat Installation” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
“Supported Apache Tomcat Installations” in the DirX Audit Release Notes
Secure Apache Tomcat
See:
“Securing Apache Tomcat” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
Prepare truststores and keystores for SSL configuration
to secure (encrypt) data transfer
See:
“Establishing Secure Communication” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
“Preparing Truststores and Keystores for SSL Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Setup new databases or consider database backups (for each tenant)
up to three databases should be prepared (Config DB, Data DB, History DB)
consider backing up the whole database or exporting relevant audit events and history entries in case of upgrading an existing installation
See:
“Managing DirX Audit Databases” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
Consider the number of tenants to configure
See:
“Managing a Multi-tenant Environment” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Using the Configuration Wizard for the Tenant Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Consider what data to collect and synchronize (for each tenant)
See:
“Managing Audit Messages Data” and “Managing History Entries Data” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Controlling the Number and Size of Audit Events” and “Managing History Entries” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
Consider what collectors to use (for each tenant)
See:
“Configuring DirX Audit Collectors” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Collectors Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Consider what scheduled jobs to execute (for each tenant)
See:
“Scheduled Jobs Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Consider what History Synchronization jobs to schedule (for each tenant)
See:
DirX Audit History Synchronization Guide
“History Synchronization LDAP Configuration” and “Scheduled History Synchronization Jobs Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Setup LDAP groups for DirX Audit Manager authorization (for each tenant)
LDAP groups representing Administrator and Auditor DirX Audit Manager application roles
See:
“Common LDAP Authentication Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
“Configuring LDAP Authentication” and “Managing Application Roles” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Managing Group Search” and “Slow Authentication Due to Many Groups” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
Configure firewalls
See:
“Firewall Configuration Hints” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Install and configure message broker (optional - when a custom message broker is used)
See:
“Server JMS Collector for DirX Identity Format”, “Server JMS Collector for DirX Access Format” and “Server JMS Collector for DirX Audit Format” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Prepare the silent installation & configuration files (optional)
See:
“Silent Installation” and “Using Silent Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide

Installation

Deploy mssql-jdbc_auth-<version>-<arch>.dll file (optional)
to support the integrated Windows authentication in the database connectivity
See:
“Installation Prerequisites” and “Support for Windows Authentication in Database Connectivity” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Install DirX Audit
See:
“Installing DirX Audit” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Deploy Oracle Database JDBC driver (optional)
See:
“Oracle Database JDBC Driver Installation” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Install DirX Identity JMS Audit Plug-in Handler (optional)
provided with DirX Identity (both the plugin and the documentation)
See:
“Installing the JMS-Audit Handler” in the DirX Identity Installation Guide
“Installing the DirX Identity JMS-Audit Handler Plug-in” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Install DirX Access JMS Audit Plug-in Handler (optional)
to be downloaded from the IAM Support Portal (both the plugin and the documentation), ensure that the version matching both DirX Audit and DirX Access is selected
See:
“Installing the DirX Access JMS-Audit Handler Plug-in” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide

Configuration

Perform core configuration
validate and test settings where provided
See:
“Using the Configuration Wizard for the Core Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Perform tenant configuration for each tenant
validate and test settings where provided
See:
“Using the Configuration Wizard for the Tenant Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Configure DirX Identity JMS Audit Plug-in Handler (optional)
to be configured in the DirX Identity Manager
See:
“Configuring the JMS-Audit Handler” in the DirX Identity Installation Guide
Configure DirX Access JMS Audit Plug-in Handler (optional)
to be configured locally at the machine where DirX Access is deployed (the documentation is provided with the plugin package available at the IAM Support Portal)

Maintenance

Update JVM
for security reasons, update software when required or recommended
See:
“Installation Prerequisites” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Update Apache Tomcat
for security reasons, update software when required or recommended
See:
“Apache Tomcat Installation” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
“Supported Apache Tomcat Installations” in the DirX Audit Release Notes
Update message broker (optional, when custom message broker used)
for security reasons, update software when required or recommended
Manage Cryptographic Material
update keys before their expiration
See:
“Managing Cryptographic Material” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
Check the Error Logs
See:
“Log Files” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
“Configuring Logging” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
Monitor DirX Audit Databases
See:
“Check the Audit Database Size”, “Maintain Database Indexes” and “Remove Old Data” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
“Using the DirX Audit Tools” in the DirX Audit Command Line Interface Guide
“Tuning Database Performance” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
Monitor system services - Apache Tomcat / DirX Audit Manager container
See:
“Running the DirX Audit Manager Service” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Manager Container Folder” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Monitor system services - DirX Audit Message Broker
See:
“Monitoring the Message Broker” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Message Broker System Service” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
Monitor system services - DirX Audit Server
See:
“Running the DirX Audit Server Service” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide
“Application Container Configuration” in the DirX Audit Installation Guide
“Check for Audit Message Import Errors” in the DirX Audit Best Practices
Monitor DirX Audit with JMX
See:
“Monitoring DirX Audit with JMX” in the DirX Audit Administration Guide