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FileWave Central Preferences

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FileWave Central Preferences

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Nowserver-wide configuration, platform integrations, content-delivery defaults, inventory behavior, and settings that youapply have logged in to FileWave Central, we will need to configure a few settings via the FileWave Preferences. The Preferences mentioned in this section are required for all FileWave installations. Any Preferences not covered in this section will be addressed in their own OS-specific section within the Evaluation Guide or linkedonly to the FileWavelocal KB.Central installation. Use this overview to find the correct area, then follow the linked workflow article for settings that need detailed preparation.

macOS: FileWave Admin16.4 navigation: This page reflects the Preferences categories and locations in FileWave Central 16.4. Earlier releases may place some settings elsewhere. In particular, automatic Booster-upgrade timing is under Preferences > General in 16.3.x and Preferences

Windows: File > PreferencesUpgrades in 16.4.0 and later.

SecureOpen Preferences

EachOpen instancePreferences offrom FileWave hasCentral. aThe supercategories user account 'fwadmin'.  This account has permissions for all items.  Other Administrators may be created and allowance of permissions may be granted,appear as settabs out inacross the KB:

Manage FileWave Administrators

Some settings though, will always require a password to be entered when attempting to make alterations, even where settings are granted.  When prompted to enter a password, it should be the passwordtop of the FileWavewindow. Admin currently signed in.

Examples of items which will always password prompt, include:

    Uploading a new PKCS12 server certificate Download the Apple DEP Certificate Configure DEP tokens Editing SIS details Manage Apple Classroom Certificate

    Permissions will still need to be granted for any FileWave Administrator requiring the ability to even attempt to change these settings.

    "Mobile" Preferences

    The "Mobile" Preferences pane is one of the most important throughout FileWave as it sets the server's address so FileWave Central knows where to connect to.

      Verify that the "Server Address" is correctly set to the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your FileWave Server.

        If you see an IP address, please log out of FileWave Central and attempt to log back in using the FQDN of the FileWave Server.

        Verify that the green light is visible to the right of the "Port" field.

          Do not continue if the light is red and please address any DNS issues and/or configure FQDN for the FileWave Server.

          Do not change the "Port" field value.

          If "Shared Key" is set to "No Key (Not Secure)", please verify that the "Generate new key on Save" is checked.

            This will only apply to fresh on-premise installations, Cloud-Hosted will have shared key preset.

            After "Generate new key on Save" is checked, immediately click "OK" to save and close the Preferences window.

              If the Shared Key is already generated, please proceed without "OK".

              SharedKey-1.png

              "General" Preferences

              The "General" Preferences is the second most important Preferences pane as it controls the SSL Certificate used to protect all FileWave communications. We highly recommend using a true CA-signed SSL Certificate versus a self-signed certificate or free certificate available from services like Let's Encrypt. If you already have a wildcard certificate that covers the top-level domain the FileWave server will be hosted on then you can use it without needing to purchase another certificate. FileWave Cloud-Hosted Servers will have the SSL Certificate pre-installed.

              Installing a Commercial Certificate from a Trusted Certificate Authority

                Follow the instructions here for creating a .p12 certificate file from the .crt file provided by your certificate vendor. To ensure that you receive your certificate as a .crt file pick Apache HTTP for the download format. You will need to merge your SSL .crt file, private key, and possibly any required intermediate certificates into a single .p12 file. SSL vendors often provide multiple intermediate certificates in .crt format.

                In the "SSL Certificate Management" section of the of the "General" Preferences tab of FileWave Central console click the "Upload PKCS12 Certificate" button, authenticate, and select the .p12 certificate file generated from Step 1.

                  You'll also want to store a copy of this .p12 file in a safe place for disaster recovery purposes should your FileWave server suffer a catastrophic hardware failure.

                  Click the "OK" button to save the Preferences.

                  Ensure that the FQDN assigned to the FileWave Server is resolvable externally and that TCP port 443 has been forwarded correctly if your server is hosted inside of your firewall with a private IP. Verify the certificate trust chain externally using one of the external SSL checkers below.

                  https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html
                  https://www.digicert.com/help
                  https://www.geocerts.com/ssl_checker
                  https://www.rapidsslonline.com/ssl-tools/ssl-checker.php
                  https://certlogik.com/ssl-checker

                  The FileWave Dashboard can also be configured to alert you via email pending an SSL certificate expiration.

                  Generating a Self-signed Certificate

                  If you are unable to acquire a commercial SSL certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority then you should ask your FileWave Sales Engineer about testing on a hosted server that has a filewave.net DNS name. You may decide to stick with that for when you move to production as well. 

                  "Manage Administrators" Assistant

                  So far, we've only discussed logging into FileWave Central using the default superuser account "fwadmin". Let us change the "fwadmin" password followed by creating a new user account for our normal daily actions or for another team member.

                  Change password for "fwadmin"

                    Open "Manage Administrators" from the "Assistants" menu in the main topmost menu bar of FileWave Admin.

                    Select the "fwadmin" account onUse the left and selectright "Setarrows password".when the window is not wide enough to display every tab.

                    An administrator needs the applicable permission before opening or changing a protected area. Sensitive operations can also require the currently signed-in administrator to authenticate again. Use named administrator accounts and least-privilege permissions for daily work instead of sharing the fwadmin account.

                    Evaluation and initial-configuration priorities

                      General: Review the active SSL certificate, server-wide defaults, local Central behavior, and brute-force protection. Organization ThisInfo: passwordEnter the organization information that should be storedassociated securelywith managed-device records. Mobile: Verify the MDM server address, APNs configuration, and Apple mobile-management prerequisites. FileWave 16.4 also builds and stores macOS and Windows enrollment packages here. Platform integrations: Configure only the services in scope for the evaluation—such as itGoogle, willLDAP, beVPP used& forADE, modifyingEducation, severalor PreferencesImaging—and thatvalidate requireeach "superuser"integration permissions.before expanding enrollment. Inventory Clickand "Apply"Mail: toConfirm savereporting cadence and notification delivery without making intervals more aggressive than the changes.evaluation requires. Upgrades:

                      CreateReview aclient-upgrade newconcurrency, userfailure account

                      thresholds,
                        reporting cadence,

                        Open "Manage Administrators" fromand the "Assistants"automatic menuBooster-upgrade indelay the main topmost menu bar of FileWave Admin.

                        Click the "[+]" button in the lower left-hand corner and select "Local Account".

                          Authenticatingbefore using Activeintegrated Directory via "LDAP Group Account" will not be available until a LDAP Server has been configured via the "LDAP" Preferences. More info here.

                          Specify at least the "Login name" and "Set password".

                          Navigate to the "Permissions" tab and review all permissions you'd like to grant to the new user.

                          Click "Apply" to save the changes.

                          Allow new users to access existing VPP Tokens

                          After importing your organization's Apple VPP Tokens, we will need to allow each new user or LDAP group the ability to access the VPP tokens.

                            Open "Manage Administrators" from the "Assistants" menu in the main topmost menu bar of FileWave Admin.

                              Click the "Manage VPP Tokens" button from the lower section.

                              Authenticate using the "fwadmin" superuser credentials.

                              Click the boxes for each token and user you'd like to grant access to the VPP token.

                              upgrades.

                              FileWave Central 16.4 Preferences map

                              CategoryUse it for DisableGeneralSSL iOS/macOScertificate URLmanagement, server defaults, device tracking default, local Central behavior, optional AI Chatbot access, and DEPbrute-force Authenticationprotection. Organization InfoOrganization
                              metadata

                              mdm_auth.conf.pngByassociated default,with the FileWave environment and managed-device information.

                              MobileMDM server connectivity, Apple push configuration, mobile-management settings, and FileWave 16.4 macOS/Windows enrollment-package builds. GoogleGoogle and Android EMM integration and its organization-wide configuration. LDAPDirectory connections, synchronization safeguards, directory-backed groups, enrollment identity, and parameterized data. KioskKiosk categories and organization of self-service content. VPP & ADEApps and Books tokens, Automated Device Enrollment services, Apple School or Business Manager API accounts, synchronization, and advanced Apple service settings. InventoryApple MDM inventory polling, Smart Group refresh timing, LDAP Custom Field cleanup behavior, and IDP Custom Field synchronization. MailOutgoing email configuration used by FileWave notifications and tests. EducationEducation-specific integrations and classroom-related server configuration. ImagingImaging Virtual Server willregistration, havestatus, genericand FileWave 16.4-managed IVS upgrades. EditorPreferences that control supported content-editor behavior in FileWave Central. ProxiesProxy settings used when FileWave services must reach external resources through an intermediary. Software UpdatesServer-level Software Update behavior used by the Software Updates workflow. UpgradesClient upgrade batch size, permanent-failure threshold, scheduled reports, and automatic Booster-upgrade delay.

                              Change Preferences safely

                                Record the current value before changing a server-wide setting. Change one integration or operational behavior at a time and test it before continuing. Do not replace certificates, shared keys, service tokens, package settings, or enrollment authentication enabledcasually; those changes can affect existing devices and integrations. Keep credentials, private keys, tenant identifiers, tokens, server hostnames, and certificate details out of screenshots and support notes unless the destination is approved for iOS/macOSthat URLdata. Use the focused workflow articles below instead of treating this overview as the procedure for every Preferences category.

                                Related content

                                Managing FileWave Administrators LDAP Preferences VPP and DEPADE enrollments.Preferences ForConfiguring testingInventory purposes,Preferences itAndroid isEMM recommendedDefault toPolicy disableand thisCompliance authenticationScope toUpgrading betterFileWave streamlineClients Reporting and Monitoring the MDMBooster enrollmentUpgrade of your Apple devices. Most customers also choose to keep the authentication disabled in their production environments so that DEP devices automatically enroll into FileWave without requiring credentials. This speeds up the enrollment process and allows a Lost or Stolen device to automatically enroll back under your control with Location Tracking capabilities. If a device is Lost or Stolen with authentication enabled, the next user will not be able to authenticate and enroll into FileWave and the device is essentially a brick and may get discarded as such. If you still desire authentication during MDM enrollments, please consider configuring the "LDAP" FileWave Admin Preferences to automatically configure MDM authentication.

                                Any Cloud-Hosted Server requested by your FileWave SE will have authentication disabled unless instructed otherwise.

                                  Access the FileWave Server's Command Line Interface (CLI) via direct console access or via SSH using the default username "root" and default password "filewave". 

                                  SSH into FileWave Server

                                  ssh root@myorg.filewave.net
                                  Process                                   FileWave

                                  InstallNetwork "nano"Imaging for/ easierIVS modification of text files.

                                  Install nano

                                  yum install -y nano
                                  Overview                                   OS

                                  CommentSoftware outUpdates allAutomation lines between the "<Location> </Location>" tags using "#" in the file "/usr/local/filewave/apache/conf/mdm_auth.conf". 

                                  Edit mdm_auth.conf

                                  nano /usr/local/filewave/apache/conf/mdm_auth.conf


                                  Rules

                                  Save changes and exit nano. 

                                  Save and quit "nano"

                                  Ctrl + X
y
Enter

                                  Restart the FileWave Apache process.

                                  Restart Apache

                                  /usr/local/filewave/apache/bin/apachectl graceful

                                  Verify the changes by visiting your FileWave URL Enrollment page. Ex: https://myorg.filewave.net:20443/ios

                                  The "enroll.mobileconfig" should download without need for authentication.

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