New ERAC setup

[Guest David VanVranken]

I am having trouble with the initial setup. I'm wanting to use my own PC as the ERAS server and manage all my clients from my desk. We don't have a domain controller, so all PC's will be in a common workgroup. I installed one test client and pointed it to my address and that works. I can confirm that by looking at the "Update" information and where it came from. I have also installed ERAC on the same PC that holds the server and it's running normally... I think.

 

Although the bottom right corner says "Connected" and all the settings seem correct, I see no server and no clients in the main window. My server connection says "localhost" as I expect and I can pull up the server data from the console.

 

I've gone through all the steps mentioned here about remote admin and firewall permissions and I can remote in to the client, I can telnet from the client to the server. The only thing that doesn't work is that the console doesn't see any of this. It's just sitting there staring at me with most of the menu fields greyed out.

 

What am I missing?

[CB530 70]

Hi David,

I suggest that you try the steps in our Knowledgebase article: Why can't I see client workstations in the client tab of the ESET Remote Administrator Console?

Please reply and let us know if after completing the steps in this article you still don't see client workstations reporting in.

[Guest Guest]

I've gone through every one of those steps. That's why I'm asking here.

 

Although using File:Connect I can connect to the server, it does not appear in the main window. All I see in both the server and client windows is "No data in this pane"

[Guest Guest]

Using the Console, I can create a mirror and I see the files in the designated folder. Everything seems to work although nothing is displayed. I assume at least the server I'm connected to should show, right? Without that, I see no client list (we have a license for 15) and no data of any kind. No Event Logs, no scan logs, no quarantine logs, nothing. Although I do see my Console connections in the server log itself under Server Options:Logging:View Log

[Guest Guest]

The yellow "help" balloon mentions I might need to set up "replication" but it makes no mention of how to do this. Am I on the right track? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

[Guest Guest]

I found Replication. It seems that's only for large organizations with multiple servers. We just have the one. I still don't know if it's even supposed to appear on the list. If not, please let me know.

[Marcos 5,097]

Please post a screen shot of the console window you're seeing for better illustration.

[Guest David VanVranken]

I tried, but I see no way to post a graphic here. I'll store it on a web server and link to it.

 

hxxp://vegasxpress.com/temp/EsetConsole.jpg

[Guest David VanVranken]

Hello? Anybody home? I provided a screen shot as requested, but no answer. I have an entire office full of computers to install. I'd really like to use this if I can get it to work.

[Mr. Natural 2]

Your screenshot shows that you are not connected to any servers. The top window showing "no data in this pane" should have your ERAS listed. Typically this would either be the machine name or the IP address of the machine. Are all your ports open on your ERAS system as directed in the manual?

[Guest David VanVranken]

Top left and bottom right both say "connected." The top left shows the machine name of the server. All ports specified are open and functioning.

It shouldn't make a difference, (maybe it does?) but my console is on the same machine as the server. 

[Marcos 5,097]

There's no server displayed because no client has connected to the ERA Server yet. If you install a client locally and configure it to report to ERAS on localhost, will it appear in ERAC?

[Guest David VanVranken]

I would have thought that the server existed whether a client was connected or not, but then I'm not that up to speed on quantum physics either.

 

I have now confirmed that my local machine, as well as two others are successfully connecting to the mirror server and getting updates. So far, it doesn't seem to make much difference. The two data panes are still as blank as ever. It seems that it's not the server or the connection at fault as they seem to work fine. It seems it's just the remote console that doesn't read any activity when I know things are indeed happening right under it's nose.

[David VanVranken 0]

I just successfully installed yet another client but nothing has appeared in the console pane, nor does the update I just downloaded even show up in the server logs. This is getting stranger by the minute.

Edited July 10, 2013 by David VanVranken

[David VanVranken 0]

Okay, I'm getting closer. I successfully installed the eset client on a computer fresh out of the box. Everything worked and it logged into the mirror server and downloaded the updates. But, still nothing in the console.

 

Going through the documentation yet again I pinged successfully, telnetted (had to go to Control Panel to activate telnet) and found that I couldn't connect to port 2222. Remember, I've already successfully connected via the client. Trying to follow the documentation was not helpful. Apparently the instructions were written pre-Windows 7 as nothing there really applied. In desperation I just turned Windows Firewall off completely.

 

Finally! Something appeared in the Console! So, now I know the client firewall is blocking something, and I'll have to spend the rest of my morning working it out on my own to get all the ports opened up without any useful documentation.

[karlisi 26]

On computer with ERAS installed you should open incoming TCP port 2222 to allow clients connect to ERAS and port 2223 to allow ERAS Console connect to this server from another computer. More about ports in ERAS User Guide section 2.1.3 Ports used.

[David VanVranken 0]

I found all the missing settings. Documentation was all over the map, and it took some detective work to get it all straightened out.

 

For future reference, yes I needed to open up the ports in my ERAS. Using the stock Windows Firewall setting tool wasn't enough. I had to manually create my own rules in the "Advanced" setup.

 

Going to the Client workstation I had to enter the Update Server using the full name including port number. 

Then under "Setup" and "Advanced Tools" I had to find "Remote Administration" and enter the server name but without http or port number. I see no reason to have to do both as one relies on the other they should have been on the same screen. For a rather "stock" setup, burying something like this under "advanced tools" isn't the way I would have done it. Ease of use is one of my priorities, and so far this isn't even close.

 

Almost there... I then needed to go to Windows Firewall on each client and add the anti-virus program to that list. Not a problem, but most other programs that need firewall access have a facility for doing it automatically. Again, I shouldn't have had to do this manually.

 

Once ALL these steps were done, finally things started showing up in my Admin Console. My last step was to go to my server and each workstation and turn off the "sleep" mode of the NIC so it could receive updates in a timely fashion.

 

I'm giving up on the "push install" idea. I have to sit at each desk anyway to make all these manual changes before any push would have any hope of working. As long as I'm already there and interrupted their routine, I might as well do the job myself.

 

I think a single tutorial that outlined these steps would have saved me two weeks of frustration. 

 

All in all, I think the product works great. I'm just disappointed in all the hassles in getting it set up, taking me two weeks and EIGHT messages on this forum before I got the first helpful answer and that came from a member, not ESET.

Edited July 17, 2013 by David VanVranken

[karlisi 26]

Going to the Client workstation I had to enter the Update Server using the full name including port number. 

Then under "Setup" and "Advanced Tools" I had to find "Remote Administration" and enter the server name but without http or port number. I see no reason to have to do both as one relies on the other they should have been on the same screen. For a rather "stock" setup, burying something like this under "advanced tools" isn't the way I would have done it. Ease of use is one of my priorities, and so far this isn't even close.

 

Not exactly. You can use ERAS as administration tool and leave ESET servers as update servers.

 

Almost there... I then needed to go to Windows Firewall on each client and add the anti-virus program to that list. Not a problem, but most other programs that need firewall access have a facility for doing it automatically. Again, I shouldn't have had to do this manually.

This is strange. I have more than 700 workstations and never needed to do something with Windows firewall to enable ESET remote administration.

To make configuration process easier, you can configure one client, then export settings in xml file and on other clients import these settings. Also, for new installations you can make customised msi file with configuration included, using ERAS console, Remote install tab, Actions -> Manage packages.

[David VanVranken 0]

Not exactly. You can use ERAS as administration tool and leave ESET servers as update servers.

We have several "road warriors" with laptops. I'll try that with those so they can update even when they're out of the office.