Operating tips

Topic 65055 / Updated: 20-Feb-2014


Applies To:	Websense X-Series Appliances Version 7.8.2

Interface setup tip

If the P2 interface is used and it is in the same subnet as P1, the default gateway is automatically assigned to P2, which is bound to eth1. You should perform a test to ensure that outbound packets can reach the Internet.

Avoiding port conflicts

See the ports list for a table of the Websense software module versions that are compatible with each appliance version.

Check the ports article to avoid port conflicts if you plan to make a change from a default port.

For example, if you want to use an HTTP proxy server port that is different from the default port (8080), be sure to check the ports list first, to avoid conflict with ports already in use by the X-Series.

Deployment tips

When Policy Broker is run on a X-Series appliance (configured as the Full policy source), all Policy Servers that point to that Policy Broker (configured as User directory and filtering) must be installed on X-Series appliances as well. You cannot install and run Policy Servers on off-box machines and point them to a Policy Broker that runs on an appliance. This configuration is not supported.

However, you can run Policy Server on multiple appliances (User directory and filtering mode) and point these appliances to a Policy Broker running either on or off an appliance.

When Web Security Gateway (Anywhere) is deployed and Content Gateway Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) is configured, if the appliance hostname is changed, IWA will immediately stop working. To repair the IWA configuration, log onto the Content Gateway manager, unjoin the stale domain and join the domain with the new hostname.

Policy Broker replication is not supported when Policy Broker resides on an appliance. If you plan to enable Policy Broker replication, be sure that your policy source is not an appliance.

Subscription key tips

In a deployment with multiple Policy Server appliances, use the Web Security Gateway Anywhere subscription key for the policy source appliance (the Policy Server that connects to Sync Service), and use a Web Security Gateway subscription key for all other appliances. Otherwise, you receive superfluous alerts from the hybrid service.

Backup and restore tips

When configuring scheduled backups to a remote storage location (FTP, TFTP, or Samba share), make sure that the account used for backup file creation has read and write permissions.

In a multiple security blade deployment, after restoring the configuration of a Policy source security blade, restart any Filtering only or User directory and filtering security blades in your network to ensure that user requests are managed correctly.