How do I ensure that Content Gateway is properly identified in the network?

Topic 60068 | Content Gateway FAQs | Updated: 22-October-2013


Applies To:	Websense Content Gateway v7.x Websense Web Security Gateway / Anywhere v7.x

To ensure that every Content Gateway node is found and correctly identified on the network, configure the /etc/hosts file on every Content Gateway node in a cluster.

If this is not done, Content Gateway may fail to connect to the Websense Web Security Policy Server or other network services. Sometimes the problem doesn't surface immediately, or surfaces after a second Content Gateway node is added.


	Important In a Content Gateway cluster, the cluster name, which is shared by all nodes, cannot be the same as any hostname.

Configuring the /etc/hosts file

On each Content Gateway node, edit the /etc/hosts file to include—on the first line—the IP address, fully qualified domain name, and hostname of the node.

Log on to the Content Gateway host system as root.

Edit /etc/hosts. A typical default /etc/hosts file looks like:

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

Open a new first line and specify the IP address, domain name, and hostname of the system. The format is:

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx [FQDN] [hostname]

where [FQDN] is the fully-qualified domain name of the machine, e.g. hostname.subdomain.top-level-domain

and [hostname] is the system hostname.

For example:

10.10.10.10 wcg1.bighost.com wcg1

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

The IP address must be static and not served by DHCP. The proxy uses this IP address in features such as transparent authentication and hierarchical caching.


	Note Do not delete the second line (former first line) that begins with 127.0.0.1. It specifies the loopback address and is also required.

Save and close /etc/hosts.

Repeat the above on every Content Gateway node.

Confirming the settings

To display the configured system hostname, on the Linux command line enter:

# hostname

To confirm the IP address that is bound to the hostname, on the Linux command line enter:

# ping hostname

For example:

# ping wcg1.bighost.com

This should return the IP address in line 1 of /etc/hosts. It should not return 127.0.0.1.

To test the local loopback address, on the Linux command line enter:

# ping localhost

This should return 127.0.0.1

To test if the hostname is resolved by DNS (if it is configured), on the Linux command line enter:

# nslookup hostname

For example:

# nslookup wcg1.bighost.com

This should return the same IP address as ping.

Note that in some cases it is optional to have the proxy in DNS.