Initializing and configuring IBM WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance

When theDataPower® XC10 Appliance hardware is installed and connected, you are ready to initialize and configure the appliance.

Before you begin

For the initial configuration, you must use a serial connection. The serial connection must be between an ASCII terminal or a PC running terminal emulation software to the serial port on the appliance. If you are using a PC for the serial console, you must use a PC-based serial communications program for Windows or Linux. You can use a dedicated hardware device, such as a VT100-style console, or a PC running an emulator, such as HyperTerminal or Minicom. Use either the supplied serial cable or PL-2303 USB-to-serial cable to make the connection to the appliance.
Important: If you are using the PL-2303 USB-to-serial cable, download and install a driver for the cable before proceeding.

Before you define the base configuration, gather the following information:

About this task

Use this task to initialize theDataPower XC10 Appliance for the first time. The first time you sign onto your appliance the process is slightly different from signing on afterward.
CAUTION:
  1. See the important information about preserving the xcadmin user ID and password in xcadmin password.
  2. Do not attempt to physically open the case of the appliance. Opening the case triggers a security fault and the appliance no longer operates. You must run the device clear-intrusion command to restore the appliance.
  3. Do not misplace the serial cable that was included with the appliance. You need this cable for the initial appliance setup, and it might also be needed later for problem determination. This cable is specially designed to work with this appliance. Other serial cables might not work with this appliance.

Perform the initial, base firmware configuration. This configuration is the minimal configuration to add a WebSphere® DataPower XC10 Appliance to your environment.

Procedure

  1. Initialize the appliance. Use the following procedure:
    1. Connect your serial console to the appliance with the serial cable or USB-to-serial cable that is supplied with the appliance. You must connect the cable to the CONSOLE connector on the front of the device and have the ASCII terminal or a PC running terminal emulation software. With this connection, you can see messages from the appliance as it starts. Configure the emulation software with 9600 baud 8N1 (8 bits per character, no parity, 1 stop bit), and no flow control. The recommended terminal emulation on the serial console is VT100.
    2. Ensure that the appliance is on. If the appliance is not turned on, toggle the power button. The power button is on the front of the appliance. Wait for a few seconds for the appliance to start. When the appliance is on:
      • The green power LED light illuminates on the front of the appliance and the fans start.
      • The login prompt displays in the serial console. For the initial appliance configuration, log in with the user ID and default password: xcadmin/xcadmin.
    3. Accept the WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance license agreements. Before proceeding, for the first time, you must accept the licenses. Type Accept, Reject, or StartOver at each license prompt.
    4. Configure the MGMT Ethernet port. Provide the IP address in classless inter-domain routing (CIDR) format.
    5. Configure the default gateway for the MGMT Ethernet port.
    6. Configure the Ethernet ports for your data grid. Specify whether you are using all 1-gigabit ports or all 10-gigabit ports. Configure the CIDR address for the applicable ports.
    7. Configure the Domain Name System (DNS) servers. Specify a valid IP address for your DNS server.
  2. Update the appliance firmware. To download or update the WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance firmware, you must have Appliance administration permissions. The appliance is not required to have connectivity to the external internet to retrieve the firmware update. For more information about downloading or updating firmware, see Updating the firmware.
  3. If you are installing the firmware for the first time on a new appliance, you must run the clear-all command on the appliance. Complete the following steps after the restart from the firmware upgrade finishes:
    1. Establish a connection with the appliance with the xcadmin user. For more information, see Running operations on the appliance with the command-line interface.
    2. Run the clear-all command.
      Console> clear-all
      Force Stopped all XC-10 processes
      Deleting configuration data and logs
      Deleting grid data
      CAUTION:
      Do not run any other commands before you run the clear-all command. Running other commands can create problems with your appliance configuration.
      CAUTION:
      Do not run any other commands while the clear-all command is running. Use only the start-progress command to monitor the progress.
    3. After you run the clear-all command, you can track the start progress of the appliance.
      • Run the start-progress command to monitor the progress. When this command returns STARTED, the appliance is ready for use.
  4. To secure the configuration, change the password for the xcadmin user. The default password is xcadmin. You can change the password with the following command:
    user password <old_password> <new_password>
  5. Verify the configuration. Use the user interface with a web browser to verify the configuration.
    Attention: The verification procedure assumes that the host name for the Ethernet interface is myXC10.ibm.com.

    To access the user interface from a browser, use the following procedure:

    1. Open a web browser. From a network-connected computer, open your web browser.
    2. Enter the URL. In the address bar, enter the URL defined during the device initialization. For example: https://myXC10.ibm.com.
      Note: Use the https protocol, not http.
    3. Log on to the appliance. Log on to the appliance with the local XCADMIN account and password. The password that you are entering is in clear text so it is not displayed.
    4. Click Log In.

      If the Welcome page displays, authentication of the local XCADMIN account is successful.

  6. Complete the configuration.

Results

The initial setup for the WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance is complete.

What to do next

Configure your appliance settings in the user interface. These settings include users and user groups, security, email delivery, Domain Name System (DNS) servers, and date and time settings. For more information, see Configuring your appliance.