New in X10G Appliance v7.8.2

Topic 65053 / Updated: 20-Feb-2014


Applies To:	Websense® X10G Appliance v7.8.2

Architecture upgrades

Command-line interface replaces graphical user interface

Web Security Gateway (Anywhere) software upgrade

Upgrade and migration process changes

Other enhancements and changes

Architecture upgrades

Version 7.8.2 introduces major product architecture changes for Websense X-Series appliances:

The graphical, browser-based Appliance manager console has been replaced. The configuration steps previously performed in the Appliance manager are now accomplished via the appliance command-line interface (CLI).

Several appliance settings, including IP addresses and SNMP settings cannot be automatically migrated to v7.8.2, and will need to be reconfigured after upgrading.

In this release, Network Agent is not supported on the X-Series appliance. If you are running Network Agent on a blade, migrate Network Agent to another server before upgrading.

VLAN support is not included in this release.

Software has been decoupled from the underlying operating system making it easier to perform upgrades in the future, as applications on the blades change

An upgraded file system provides increased performance for large files.

Unneeded services have been removed to optimize performance.

Virtualization has been removed from within each blade, which eliminates the need for a hypervisor and optimizes performance.

Interface C is no longer used. Interface P1 is used for all network communication.

Chassis switch configuration is now much simpler. Only port A1.P1 (10 GB Te1/2/1) is required. Optionally, A2.P2 (10 GB Te1/2/1) can be used to supplement traffic flow to the Content Gateway proxy. All other ports are administratively shut down by default. The second 10 gigabit port on each switch can be used to support high availability (see the Getting Started guide). The switches must be re-initialized. Contact Technical Support for assistance.

Firstboot can be run only once for each blade, and the security mode is selected during firstboot. You must reimage the blade to change the security mode.

The operating system has been upgraded to Cent OS 6.4, and full 64-bit support is now provided for all components.

Here is an overview of the X10G Appliance network:

Command-line interface replaces graphical user interface

In this release, X-Series appliances are now configured and maintained through a command-line interface (CLI), which replaces the web-based graphical user interface (GUI) referred to in prior releases as the Security Blade Manager or Appliance manager. The CLI is a text-based interface for configuring and monitoring the appliance. Having a CLI enables administrators to manage configuration and updates for all blades via Linux scripts. They can also run CLI commands in a unified way, with a set of features that Websense already implemented in previous versions.

Typically, commands are verbs, like "show," "set," and "save," among others, which are presented in this format:

Command + Option + Parameter

For example:

set system host

Some commands can take multiple options and parameters. For example:

set system host --name <host_name> --description <host_description>

The major advantage of the sentence-structure CLI is that it is easy to understand and to integrate with other tools and scripts. Within the CLI, you can also receive built-in help if you enter "help" before a command or a "?" after a command. For example, enter "help set trap" or "set trap?" for additional information about the set trap function.

For more details, see the Websense Appliance Command Line guide.

Web Security Gateway (Anywhere) software upgrade

Websense Web Security Gateway (Anywhere) software, which is offered on the X10G Appliance, has been upgraded. For details on changes to these products since v7.7.1, see the following Release Notes:

Web Security Release Notes for v7.7.3

Web Security Release Notes for v7.8.1

Web Security Release Notes for v7.8.2

Content Gateway Release Notes for v7.7.3

Content Gateway Release Notes for v7.8.1

Content Gateway Release Notes for v7.8.2

Upgrade and migration process changes

The upgrade path varies depending on where the policy source resides. For assistance with obtaining a copy of the guide on Upgrading an X-Series appliance from v7.7.x to v7.8.2, please contact your Websense territory account manager or Partner.

Note that the on-box TRITON Unified Security Center settings from older versions of the X-Series appliance (versions prior to 7.7.x) cannot be migrated to a 7.8.2 appliance. You need to manually re-configure those settings for a 64-bit Windows installation of the TRITON console.

The main steps for upgrading an entire chassis include the following:

Back up the Websense Web Security policy and Websense Content Gateway settings through the Appliance manager.

Update the chassis switch and ports configuration. For details on how to reconfigure the switches, see the Getting Started guide.

Reimage every security blade, so that they are version 7.8.2 of Web Security Gateway (Anywhere). Patch upgrades are not supported because of the architectural changes.

Restore Web Security policy and Content Gateway settings to the local file system. Contact Websense Technical Support for assistance doing this.

Other enhancements and changes

The patch process has changed. It was previously done through the appliance manager console. It is now performed via a command-line interface.

Patches can be applied only via each blade's iDrac (local console), and not through the remote SSH client.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is not supported in this release.

The hotfix management facility is not supported.

Alerts, which used to be displayed on the Appliance Manager console, are now sent to log files.

The ability to customize block pages is not supported in this release.

The CLI does not include a set of troubleshooting commands. These will be added in a future release. For assistance with troubleshooting, please contact Websense Technical Support.