Reference: Appliance configuration

You are prompted to configure basic host and network settings when you complete the initial configuration. Use the Appliance Configuration menu to modify the configuration.

Changes to the network configuration do not go into effect until you restart network services. If you connect over a remote SSH connection and change the configuration for the interface with which you are connected, your SSH connection terminates.

Modify the host name and DNS configuration

Host, domain, DNS server, and /etc/hosts settings are configured during the initial setup. If necessary, you can use the Hostname/DNS Configuration menu to make changes.

Contact Tanium Support if you plan to change the Tanium Server host name.Tanium Support needs the new host name to update the Tanium license for you. For more information, see Contact Tanium Support.

Modify the host name

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter 1 to go to the Hostname/DNS Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 1 and follow the prompts to change the host name, which must be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN). ClosedView screen

Modify the DNS server

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 1 to go to the Hostname/DNS Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 2 and follow the prompts to modify the DNS server configuration. ClosedView screen

Modify the hosts file

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 1 to go to the Hostname/DNS Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 3 and use the manual_hosts menu to update the /etc/hosts file. ClosedView screen

Modify the network interface configuration

Contact Tanium Support before changing the IP address for the interface used by the Tanium Server. The Tanium Server IP address is used in multiple configurations.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 2 to go to the Networking menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 1 to go to the Network Interfaces menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter the line number of the interface that you want to configure to go to the selected Network Interface menu. ClosedView screen
  6. Use the menu to change the IP address, MTU size, or up/down status.

Set up an IPsec tunnel

Use IPsec to ensure end-to-end security between two Tanium Server appliances. An IPsec tunnel is automatically configured when you install an Appliance Array.

  1. Start two SSH terminal sessions so you can copy and paste between them:
    • First Tanium Server appliance
    • Second Tanium Server appliance
  2. Sign in to each of the Tanium Server appliances as a user with the tanadmin role and go to the IPsec menu:
    1. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
    2. Enter 2 to go to the Networking Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
    3. Enter 2 to go to the IPSEC menu. ClosedView screen
  3. On the second appliance, copy the IPsec host key to the clipboard:
    1. From the IPSEC menu (A-2-2), enter 1 to view the local IPsec host key. ClosedView screen
    2. Copy the key to the clipboard.
  4. On the first appliance, from the IPSEC menu, enter 3 and follow the prompts to configure this side of the IPsec tunnel. When prompted, paste the IPsec host key for the second appliance. ClosedView screen
  5. On the first appliance, copy the IPsec host key to the clipboard:
    1. From the IPSEC menu, enter 1 to view the local IPsec host key.
    2. Copy the key to the clipboard.
  6. Go to the second appliance and complete the IPsec configuration:
    1. From the IPSEC menu, enter 3 and follow the prompts to configure the IPsec tunnel on the second appliance. When prompted, paste the IPsec host key for the first appliance.
    2. Enter 6 to test the connection from the second appliance. ClosedView screen
  7. Go back to the first appliance and enter 6 to test the connection.

Modify the routing configuration

You can add a static route, if necessary.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 2 to go to the Networking menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 3 to go to the Routing menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Use the menu to manage the routing table.

Configure NIC teaming

This procedure applies only to the Tanium Physical Appliance.

Tanium™ Appliance supports active/passive network interface controller (NIC) teaming. Active/passive NIC teaming allows multiple interfaces to be placed in a group to support NIC failover. When you configure the NIC team, you must select interfaces of the same type.

Create NIC team

To create a NIC team, there must be two NICs available for teaming. If you have a Tanium™ Physical Appliance, make sure to enable the tanremote user and configure the iDRAC interface.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter 2 to go to the Networking menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter T to go to the NIC Teaming menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter A and follow the prompts to create the NIC team configuration.

When you create a NIC team, the system automatically assigns a MAC address from one of the NICs to the team. The NIC Teaming menu displays the details for each NIC team, including the assigned MAC address.

Manage NIC team

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter 2 to go to the Networking menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter T to go to the NIC Teaming menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter the line number of the NIC team that you want to manage.
  6. Use the NIC Team menu to change the IP address, delete the NIC team, or view the status. ClosedView screen

Modify the NTP configuration

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 3 to go to the NTP Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter the line number of the existing NTP server to modify or remove, or enter A to add a new NTP server.
  5. Follow the prompts to add, modify, or remove the NTP server. To add or modify an NTP server, enter the NTP server address and whether the server requires authentication. If the NTP server requires authentication, enter the NTP key ID, NTP key type, and NTP key at the prompts.
  6. Enter yes to save changes and restart the NTP server.

Configuring syslog

You can forward appliance logs to a remote syslog server.

Example of a syslog reader

Syslog forwarding versus alerts

The syslog forwarding configuration under Appliance Configuration is separate from the syslog alert configuration in the Appliance Maintenance menu. Note these key differences:

  • Syslog forwarding configuration sends all messages located in /var/logs/messages to a syslog destination.

  • Syslog configuration for alerts sends events that match the specified alert threshold severity (info, warn, and error). See Configure alerts for more information.

Check syslog status

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 4 to go to the Syslog Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 1 to view the last 5 logs and current syslog status. ClosedView screen

Import a syslog server trust certificate

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 4 to go to the Syslog Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 2 to view the trust certificate, 3 to paste it (PEM format), or 4 to remove it.

Enable syslog forwarding

Syslog Forwarding sends the same data that gets logged in /var/log/messages to the destination.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 4 to go to the Syslog Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 5 and follow the prompts to specify the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN), port, and protocol for the remote syslog server. ClosedView screen

Configuring SNMP

SNMP is disabled by default. You can configure SNMPv3 credentials for the default SNMP user tansnmp. This user can make a remote SNMP connection to the appliance or to the iDRAC interface of a physical appliance to walk the MIB from a remote host or SNMP manager.

Example of SNMP walk

Set password and start the SNMP service

Passwords must contain at least 8 characters.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 5 to go to the SNMP Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter S , enter the desired SNMP password at the prompt, and hit enter to save the password and enable the SNMP service. ClosedView screen

Change the SNMP user name, location, or contact

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 5 to go to the SNMP Configuration menu.
  4. Enter U to change the user name, L to change the location, or C to change the contact and follow the prompts to enter the new value.

View SNMP service status

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 5 to go to the SNMP Configuration menu.
  4. Enter V to view the SNMP service status details.

Stop the SNMP service

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 5 to go to the SNMP Configuration menu.
  4. Enter D to stop and disable the SNMP service.

Configure solution module file share mounts

Tanium™ Connect, Tanium™ Detect, and Tanium™ Trends write consumable files to disk. You can configure the Tanium™ Server to copy these files to a Common Internet File System (CIFS) or Network File System (NFS) share.

When two module servers are deployed in an active standby configuration its recommended that you configure each module server in the same way, because file share mounts are not replicated. This will ensure functionality is maintained in the event of a failover.

Add a file share mount

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console on the Tanium Module Server as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 6 to go to the Share Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter the line number of the mount you want to create and complete the configuration to add a file share mount. ClosedView screen

List a file share mount

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 6 to go to the Share Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter A to go to the List Mounts menu. ClosedView screen

Test a file share mount

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console on the Tanium Module Server as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 6 to go to the Share Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter B to test file share mounts. ClosedView screen

Change from a static IP address to DHCP (Tanium Virtual Appliance only)

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter 7 and follow the prompts to use DHCP.

Configure additional security

Use the Security menu to manage SSH trusted host list configurations.

Manage inbound SSH access rules

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 2 to go to the Manage SSH menu. ClosedView screen
  5. From this menu, you can add or delete rules that restrict SSH access to hosts from specified subnets only.
    • Enter A and follow the prompts to add a new rule.
    • Enter the line number of an existing rule and follow the prompts to delete the rule.

Configure SSH banner text

You can add custom SSH banner text to TanOS.

  1. Use SFTP to copy a file named banner_ssh.txt to the /incoming folder.
  2. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  3. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  4. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter 3 to add the banner file. ClosedView screen

View SSH fingerprints

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter 4 to view the SSH fingerprints. ClosedView screen

Configure LDAPS or StartTLS

If you have requirements to use the LDAPS or StartTLS protocol for the LDAP sync connection to the back-end LDAP server, you must import the LDAP server root certificate authority (CA) certificate and then enable the LDAPS/StartTLS configuration. You can import multiple root CA certificates if necessary. The certificates must be in PEM format. On the appliance, you have the option to paste the contents of the LDAP server root CA certificate or import the file. You do not have to do both.

The LDAP server root CA certificate must be able to validate the LDAP server certificate. The subject field of the LDAP server certificate must match the host field in the LDAP configuration.

In a clustered environment, upload the LDAP server CA certificate to both Tanium Servers.

Paste the LDAP server root CA contents

To add multiple CA certificate files, put all certificates in one file and paste them in them in together.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter A to go to the LDAP CA Certificate Management menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter 1 and follow the prompts to paste the contents of the LDAP server root CA certificate file. ClosedView screen
  6. Restart the Tanium Server service. See Start, stop, and restart Tanium services.

Import the LDAP server root CA certificate files

To add multiple CA certificate files, put all certificates in one file and use the Add Certificate option to paste them in together. See Paste the LDAP server root CA contents.

  1. Use SFTP to copy the file to the /incoming directory of the Tanium Server appliance.
  2. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  3. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  4. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter A to go to the LDAP CA Certificate Management menu. ClosedView screen
  6. Enter 2 and follow the prompts to import the LDAP server root CA certificate file.
    • For the file ID, enter a short, unique string that you can use to reference the certificate.
  7. Restart the Tanium Server service. See Start, stop, and restart Tanium services.

Enable/Disable the LDAPS or StartTLS configuration

You can toggle the LDAPS or StartTLS configuration on and off. When disabled, the connection is unencrypted LDAP.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter A to go to the LDAP CA Certificate Management menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter 3 to enable or disable the LDAPS configuration.

Enable/Disable TLS certificate validation

If necessary during troubleshooting, you can disable TLS certificate validation to help you determine if there is a problem with the certificate.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter A to go to the LDAP CA Certificate Management menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter 4 to disable TLS certificate validation for connections with the LDAP server. ClosedView screen

View and manage LDAPS certificates

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter A to go to the LDAP CA Certificate Management menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter 5 to list the LDAPS certificates that have been imported. ClosedView screen
  6. Enter the number of a certificate to view its details, delete it, or copy it to a secondary Tanium Server. ClosedView screen

Copy the LDAPS configuration and certificates to another Tanium Server in a Cluster

  1. Sign in to a Tanium Server Appliance as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter A to go to the LDAP CA Certificate Management menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Enter S to go to the Sync Configuration to Peer TS screen, and follow the prompts to copy the configuration to the other Tanium Server Appliance.

The LDAPS configuration and certificates are copied automatically when you add a new Tanium Server to the array.

To copy only an individual certificate, follow the steps in View and manage LDAPS certificates.

Configure security policy rules

The TanOS user access security policy has the following factory settings.

Setting Factory default Description
Password Lifetime Minimum: 0 days

Maximum: 90 days

 The minimum sets the minimum number of days between password changes. A value of 0 indicates the password can be changed at any time.

The maximum sets the age at which a current password expires.
Password History 4 most recent The number of most recent passwords to disallow reuse. A setting of 0 allows reuse of any previous passwords.

This setting does not apply to the tanadmin account.
Password Minimum Length 10 characters The minimum number of characters allowed in a password. Valid range is 6 -10 characters.
Password Minimum Characters Changed 0 (disabled) The minimum number of characters in the new password that must not be present in the previous password. 5 is a common practice. STIG requires a minimum of 8. A setting of 0 allows reuse of any character.

This setting does not apply to the tanadmin account.
Login Failure Delay 0 seconds The time, in seconds, between a failed sign in attempt and the next time the prompt is returned to prompt the user for the password.
Expired Passwords Effect Force Password Change Determine the effect on a user account when a password expires. Two options:
  • Disable the user account
  • Force password change on next sign in
Account Lockout Time 900 seconds after 3 failures The number of seconds to lock an account after three consecutive unsuccessful sign in attempts. Valid range is 0-604800 seconds.
Maximum Concurrent Logins 10 The number of concurrent sign in sessions for a user account. A setting of 0 disables remote access.

To modify security policy settings:

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu.
  3. Enter A to go to the Security menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter P to go to the Appliance Configuration Security Policy menu. ClosedView screen
  5. Use the menu to view and edit password, sign in, and lockout rules.

After you modify password policy settings, it is expected that password prompts in TanOS menus provide users with guidance on the updated requirements.

Manage the iDRAC interface

The procedures in this section apply only to the Tanium Physical Appliance.

Use the tanremote user account to sign in to the iDRAC virtual console to diagnose hardware and network interface issues in the event the TanOS system becomes unavailable. The tanremote user is not a TanOS user or a Tanium Console user.

Before you begin

  • You must use a cable to connect the iDRAC interface to your network and use TanOS to configure the iDRAC interface before you enable the tanremote user.

Configure the iDRAC interface

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter I to go to the Manage iDRAC menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter N and follow the prompts to configure the iDRAC interface.

Set password for the tanremote user

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter I to go to the Manage iDRAC menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter P and follow the prompts to change the password of the tanremote user. ClosedView screen

Enable the tanremote user

Set the password for the tanremote user before you enable the user.

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter I to go to the Manage iDRAC menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter E and follow the prompts to enable the tanremote user.

Disable the tanremote user

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter I to go to the Manage iDRAC menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter D and follow the prompts to disable the tanremote user.

Close all iDRAC sessions

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter I to go to the Manage iDRAC menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter C and follow the prompts the close all iDRAC sessions.

Reset iDRAC

  1. Sign in to the TanOS console as a user with the tanadmin role.
  2. Enter A to go to the Appliance Configuration menu. ClosedView screen
  3. Enter I to go to the Manage iDRAC menu. ClosedView screen
  4. Enter R and follow the prompts to reset the iDRAC interface.

Access the iDRAC virtual console

You can access the iDRAC virtual console at http://<iDRAC interface IP address>. Sign in with username tanremote and the password that was set with this procedure.