General configuration

Help | i-Series Appliance | Version 1.6.x

The appliance Status > General page displays the current status of Websense cloud service updates and license information. It can also contain a collection of information or warning messages regarding appliance configuration settings and status.

Websense cloud service updates

The i-Series appliance periodically retrieves configuration and policy updates from the Websense cloud service. This section of the Status > General page displays the date and time of the most recent configuration and policy update from the cloud service, along with the most recent connection date/time. Updates occur approximately every 2 minutes. If more than 15 minutes elapse between updates, the date/time display appears in red, and you should investigate why updates have not been retrieved.

The updates section also includes a link that, when clicked, initiates an immediate update from the cloud service. This link is helpful when the update interval is significantly longer than 5 minutes (for example, after 15 minutes, when the date/time display turns red).

Appliance license information

The License section contains information about the current appliance license, including the following details:

Services provided by the license

Type of license (e.g., evaluation, purchase)

Number of users allowed

Period during which the appliance license is valid

Configuration and status information

The Status > General page may contain several information or warning messages, depending on the current status of the appliance. The following messages may be displayed:

Web category database update is in progress. This message appears only during the initial update to the pre-installed Web category database, which starts after a successful appliance setup and configuration. The appliance can analyze Web traffic using the pre-installed database while the update is in progress. An indicator displays the status of the update process. This message disappears when the update is complete.

Change password. This message appears if you have not changed the initial appliance password. Clicking the Change password link takes you to the Administration > Account Management page, where you can change the appliance password.

If you have changed the initial password, this message does not appear in the Status > General page.

Register the appliance. This message appears if you have not registered the appliance with the Websense cloud service. Clicking the Register the appliance link takes you to the Configuration > Registration page, where you can enter the registration key obtained from the cloud portal. See Appliance registration for details.

If you have registered the appliance with the cloud service, this message does not appear in the Status > General page.

The appliance is in bypass mode. This message indicates that the appliance is in a hardware bypass situation and is not currently monitoring network traffic. All network traffic continues to flow, even if the appliance is powered down. Communication with the cloud service is compromised while the appliance is in bypass mode. Clicking the link takes you to the Configuration > System page, where you can change appliance mode to active.

If the appliance is in active mode, this message does not appear in the Status > General page.

The appliance has been disabled via a Websense cloud portal operation. This message indicates that the appliance is disabled in the cloud portal. All Web traffic flows through the appliance, and communication with the cloud service continues. However, no web policy is applied to the traffic.

To enable your appliance, log on to the cloud portal and locate the appliance on the Network Devices page. Click the appliance name in the list, mark the Enabled check box in the General tab, and click OK.

If the appliance is enabled, this message does not appear in the Status > General page.

A series of appliance upgrade-related messages may appear at various times.

New upgrade was released. Please upgrade this appliance. Displayed with an information icon, this message indicates that an appliance upgrade has been released. Upgrade installation is recommended. Clicking the message link takes you to the Configuration > Upgrade Management screen, where you can initiate upgrade installation.

New upgrade was released. The current version will reach end-of-life status on [x]. (where x is the date and time for version end of life) Displayed with an error icon, this message indicates that your product version must be upgraded before the indicated end-of-life date and time, or you will lose your Websense cloud service connection. Clicking the message link takes you to the Configuration > Upgrade Management screen, where you can initiate upgrade installation.

This appliance was not upgraded by the specified date. Connection to the Websense cloud service has been lost. Displayed with an error icon, this message indicates that your appliance was not upgraded within the required amount of time. Traffic still flows through the appliance, but it is no longer connected to the Websense cloud service and no traffic analysis occurs. Category database downloads are discontinued. You must contact Websense Technical Support for information regarding the restoration of your service.

x Alerts found (last 24 hours). This message indicates how many alerts the appliance has generated in the past 24 hours. Clicking the link takes you to the Status > Alerts page, where you can view a list of alerts, their severity, and the date/time each was generated. An Alert Details box displays more information about why a selected alert occurred and how you might resolve a warning or error situation.