Skip to content

Guardian Classic

Workflow 3 min read View Markdown

Set up the virtual Guardian appliance#

On-premises, Guardian runs as a virtual appliance on your own infrastructure. You size it, import it into VMware and give it a network address and hostname; Guardian Support then installs and configures the application with you.

Applies to: Guardian Classic On-premises only

The appliance arrives as an Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) and runs as a secure, self-contained virtual machine. It's a black box: only the Guardian team can change its internal configuration.

Before you start#

  • The appliance format is agreed. It's an OVA unless you've arranged otherwise with your Guardian representative.
  • You have the download link. If not, ask your Technical Account Manager.
  • The ports are open.
  • The VM meets the sizing for your node count.

Ports#

The appliance must be reachable over HTTPS on port 443 from:

  • every Agent and Connection Manager
  • everyone who uses the Guardian web application

How many Connection Managers you need

It depends on what each Connection Manager scans. Scanning on-premises servers and devices over WinRM or SSH puts a much heavier load on a Connection Manager than interrogating cloud services through their APIs, so plan for:

What the Connection Manager scans Nodes per Connection Manager
On-premises servers and devices, over WinRM or SSH 100 to 150
Cloud services, through their APIs (AWS, Azure, GCP) 1,000 to 1,500

If you scan both, size each Connection Manager group for what it scans. Your Guardian Representative can help with capacity planning.

Sizing#

Nodes Up to 1,000 1,001 to 5,000 5,001 to 10,000
CPU 8 cores 16 cores 32 cores
Memory 32 GB 64 GB 128 GB
Disk A Default Default Default
Disk B 150 GB 500 GB 1 TB
Disk C 150 GB 500 GB 1 TB
Disk D 100 GB 100 GB 100 GB
Disk E 100 GB 100 GB 100 GB

For more than 10,000 nodes, talk to your Technical Account Manager.

Import the appliance#

  1. Download the appliance from the link Cloudhouse sent you.
  2. Import it into your VMware environment.
  3. Shut the virtual machine down and start it again. On restart, DHCP gives the appliance an IP address (see Use DHCP).
  4. Press Alt+F9 (Fn+Alt+F9 on a Mac) to open the Appliance Configuration Utility.

The utility offers Configure Networking, Configure Hostname and Exit.

Configure networking#

The appliance needs an IP address, by DHCP or a static configuration.

  1. In the Appliance Configuration Utility, select Configure Networking.

    Appliance Configuration Utility with Configure Networking selected

  2. Select the only network interface listed, then select OK.

    Configure Networking listing the appliance's single network interface

  3. On Network Interface, choose Dynamic (DHCP) Configuration or Static Configuration, then follow the matching section below.

Use DHCP#

DHCP is the default: the appliance gets an address the first time it restarts, with nothing to configure.

  1. On Network Interface, select Dynamic (DHCP) Configuration, then OK.

    Network Interface with Dynamic (DHCP) Configuration selected

  2. Go back to Configure Networking and note the IP address, shown in the interface name: for example, ens192 - 00:0c:29:e5:2b:4a (192.168.1.84/24).

    Configure Networking showing the interface with its DHCP address

Use a static IP address#

A static address only changes when you change it.

  1. On Network Interface, select Static Configuration, then OK.

    Network Interface with Static Configuration selected

  2. Fill in the fields:

    The Static Configuration screen

    Field Enter
    IP Address / Netmask The appliance's address, with its CIDR suffix, for example 192.168.1.84/24. The suffix is required.
    Gateway The gateway the appliance uses.
    Primary DNS (global) The appliance's primary DNS server.
    Secondary DNS (global) The appliance's secondary DNS server.

  3. Select Apply Configuration.

  4. Reset the virtual machine from VMware so it picks up the new configuration.

Set the hostname#

The hostname identifies the appliance on your network and is used when it's registered with Guardian.

  1. In the Appliance Configuration Utility, select Configure Hostname.

    Appliance Configuration Utility with Configure Hostname selected

  2. Enter the Hostname. Once the appliance is registered, it appears as Appliance.<hostname>.org.

    The Configure Hostname screen

  3. Select OK, then exit the utility.

Set it from a browser instead

Once the appliance has an IP address, you can also set the hostname in its web interface. Browse to the address followed by /api/login (for example, 192.168.140.208/api/login) and sign in with your API key.

Login with your API Key page in the appliance's web interface

What happens next#

Tell your Guardian representative the appliance is ready. They'll work with you to finish provisioning and install the application. To keep it healthy afterwards, see Appliance maintenance.