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6.1 Recommended order of first-time configuration

After installation, sign in with the generated initial administrator password. The console first makes you choose your own password (Chapter 7.4), then locks to Settings → License until a licence is installed. Configure the rest in this order:

  1. License (section 6.2). Nothing else works without it: the console stays locked and agents stay passive.
  2. Certificate (section 6.3). Put a certificate from your corporate CA on the admin console (port 9443) so browsers stop warning. Leave the client certificate (port 443) on the built-in CA unless every endpoint trusts your CA.
  3. Time (section 6.4). Set the time zone before you create report, backup or purge schedules, because every schedule hour is read in this zone. Add an NTP server so clock drift is monitored. Licence and certificate validity checks depend on a correct clock.
  4. Active Directory (section 6.5). Connect the directory before you create groups or console users (see below).
  5. Email (SMTP) (section 6.6). Needed for alert mails, scheduled reports and the password-setup links of new console users.
  6. Syslog (section 6.7). Forward the audit trail to your SIEM.
  7. Security (section 6.8). Tighten sign-in, session, password and agent-enrolment rules to your organisation’s policy.
  8. Users (Chapter 7). Create local console accounts and assign console roles to AD groups and users.

Why Active Directory comes before Groups and Users. Three later tasks depend on a working directory connection:

  • Policy → Groups targets machines by the AD group, AD user or AD computer of the person signed in. The picker searches the directory live; while AD is not enabled the search is refused (Active Directory is not enabled.) and you cannot add AD targets.
  • Administration → Users → Active Directory access, where AD groups and users receive the Administrator or Auditor role, is hidden until the directory is enabled.
  • Agents report the signed-in user; the server can only resolve that user’s group memberships, and therefore choose the right policy group, once the directory is connected. Machines without resolved AD groups fall back to a non-AD group (usually Default).

If you build groups first, you will have to come back and rework them once AD is available.