Configuring Forum Sentry Hardware and Virtual Appliances for a Single IP Address

Forum Sentry hardware and virtual appliances support multiple network topology modes and they may include using multiple IP addresses.  For instance, the management of the instances (HTTPS and SSH) can utilize a dedicated MGMT IP while runtime traffic traverses a separate WAN/Device interface.

Administrators often opt to use a single IP address for both runtime and admin access. This is a simpler setup that is typically recommended for POCs but also frequently utilized with live deployments.

This setup requires setting the management ports (5050, 22, 5070) to reside on the runtime WAN/Device interface. 

Follow the steps in this article to configure a ForumOS Sentry hardware or virtual appliance to utilize a single IP address.

Note that it is recommended to make these changes via ForumOS Command Line Interface (CLI) though these changes can also be made via the WebAdmin interface.

For new instances (initial setup):

1. Access the ForumOS CLI and begin the configuration wizard - see the Quick Start Guide and Virtual Appliance Installation Guide for step-by-step instructions.
2. Choose One Port Mode (this is actually a 2 IP setup).
3. When entering the MGMT IP use a non-routable address such as 169.254.0.1 with netmask 255.255.255.0.
4. Enter the IP that you want to use for everything as the WAN/Device IP when prompted.
5. After the wizard completes, enter Enable mode.
6. Run the command "network config mgmt-iface" and choose WAN to set the MGMT to use the WAN.
7. Reboot with the command "reboot".
8. When the instance comes back, use the "show interfaces" and "show connections" commands to verify the settings - you should ports 5050, 5070, and 22 bound to the WAN IP.
9. Test by accessing the WebAdmin with a web browser using HTTPS and port 5050.
10. Test by accessing the ForumOS CLI using an SSH client on port 22.

For existing instances configured with multiple IPs:

1. Access the ForumOS CLI
2. Enter Enable mode.
3. Run the command "network config mgmt-ip" and set the MGMT IP to a non-routable address, such as 169.254.0.1 with network 255.255.255.0.
4. Run the command "network config mgmt-iface" and choose WAN to set the MGMT to use the WAN.
5. Reboot with the command "reboot".
6. When the instance comes back, use the "show interfaces" and "show connections" commands to verify the settings - you should ports 5050, 5070, and 22 bound to the WAN IP.
7. Test by accessing the WebAdmin with a web browser using HTTPS and port 5050.
8. Test by accessing the ForumOS CLI using an SSH client on port 22.

Related Articles:

Forum Sentry Network Topology Options

Quick Start Guide

Virtual Appliance Installation Instructions