Configuring connections to the Tanium Core Platform

After you install the Tanium Client on an endpoint, the client initiates a connection to the TaaS instanceTanium Server or Zone Server that is configured in the initial settings. After installation, you can change the connection settings as necessary through sensors and packages that Tanium provides. You can configure a direct connection to TaaSthe server or establish a Transport Layer Security (TLS) tunnel through a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) proxy server.

Settings for connections to TaaSTanium Core Platform servers

The following settings, which govern connections from Tanium Clients to TaaS the Tanium Server or Zone Server, are stored on the client endpoints.

For the settings that connect Tanium Clients through HTTPS proxy servers, see Connect through an HTTPS proxy server.

ServerNameList

The Tanium Client connects to only one TaaS instance Tanium Server or Zone Server at a time. However, to avoid a single point of failure, you can configure the ServerNameList setting with a list of instancesservers to which the client can attempt a connection. You specify the instancesservers as a comma-separated list of FQDNs or IP addresses.

The names of TaaS instances Tanium Server and Zone Server names in the ServerNameList setting must be fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) or IP addresses that clients can access from their network location. The server FQDNs might vary among sets of clients in different locations and might vary from the FQDNs that you configure locally on the servers. Consult a network administrator for the instanceserver FQDNs that you must configure on clients.

When ServerNameList has multiple entries, the Tanium Client must select one each time the client process restarts or the client resets. The client randomly selects a TaaS instance a server from ServerNameList without regard to the order in which the instancesservers are listed. However, the client maintains a count of failed connection attempts, and gives preference to the instanceserver with the least failed connections.

The Tanium Client overwrites the value of the ServerName setting with the TaaS instanceserver that it selects from ServerNameList. The client then uses that value when requesting a connection to TaaS the Tanium Server or Zone Server.

In Tanium Core Platform 7.2.314.3263 or later, you can optionally set the port that the Tanium Client uses to communicate with servers by appending :<port_number> to the server IP addresses or FQDNs (for example, ts1.local.com:443,ts2.local.com:443,zs1.example.com:443). The ServerNameList port values override the ServerPort setting in the Tanium Client configuration (default is 17472).

ServerName

ServerName specifies the FQDN or IP address of the TaaS instance Tanium Server or Zone Server with which the Tanium Client attempts to connect. Configure ServerName only if you do not configure the ServerNameList setting. If ServerNameList is configured, the Tanium Client overwrites the ServerName value with the instanceserver that it selects from ServerNameList.

The name of the TaaS instance Tanium Server or Zone Server name in the ServerName setting must be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address that clients can access from their network location. The server FQDN might vary among sets of clients in different locations and might vary from the FQDN that you configure locally on the server. Consult a network administrator for the instanceserver FQDN that you must configure on clients.

In Tanium Core Platform 7.2.314.3263 or later, you can set the port that the Tanium Client uses to communicate with servers by appending :<port_number> to ServerName (for example, ts1.local.com:443). The ServerName port overrides the ServerPort setting in the Tanium Client configuration (default is 17472).

LastGoodServerName

LastGoodServerName stores the name of the last TaaS instance Tanium Server or Zone Server to which the Tanium Client successfully connected. If the client cannot reach the instanceserver in ServerName or any instanceserver in ServerNameList, the client attempts to connect to the instanceserver that LastGoodServerName specifies. Do not set LastGoodServerName; the client defines it automatically.

ServerPort

ServerPort specifies the port that the Tanium Client uses for client-TaaSserver and client-client communication. Do not change the default of 17472, which is required for communication with TaaS and should not be changedThe default is 17472, but you can configure a custom port. The client automatically uses ServerPort for connections to the TaaS instances Tanium Servers and Zone Servers that are specified in the ServerNameList and ServerName settings. Specifying the port within those settings is not required. However, if ServerName or ServerNameList does specify a port, it overrides ServerPort.

Content for configuring connections to TaaSTanium Core Platform servers

The Tanium Default Content pack includes sensors and packages to manage the ServerNameList, ServerName, and ServerPort values on the endpoints that host the Tanium Client.

Connect through an HTTPS proxy server

If the network policies of your organization prohibit endpoints from connecting through the Internet directly to TaaS a Tanium Server or Zone Server, you can configure Tanium Client 7.4 or later to establish a TLS tunnel through an HTTPS proxy server. An organization might require a proxy for Tanium Clients in remote branch office networks. You might also require a proxy if TaaS the Tanium Server functions as a managed security service provider (MSSP) in an isolated network where routing changes are not possible. To prevent a single proxy failure from interrupting client connections, you can configure clients to send connection requests to multiple proxies.

The steps to connect to a proxy depend on whether the endpoints can access a proxy auto configuration (PAC) file, which is available only for Windows endpoints. A PAC file defines how web browsers connect to specific URLs (such as the TaaSTanium Server FQDN), directly or through a proxy server, and defines how the browsers select the correct proxy for each URL. Configure the ProxyAutoConfigAddress setting on endpoints that can access a PAC file and the ProxyServers setting on endpoints that cannot. Configure only one of the settings on any single endpoint: if you configure both, the Tanium Client uses only ProxyAutoConfigAddress and ignores ProxyServers.

Before you begin

Work with your network administration team to perform the following tasks before connecting Tanium Clients to a proxy server:

1. Configure the proxy server to allow the port that the client uses for Tanium traffic (default 17472) regardless of any security restrictions that are configured on the server. See Network connectivity, ports, and firewalls.

2. (Windows endpoints only) If Tanium Clients must establish proxy connections through a PAC file, create the file and copy it to a web server that the clients can access.

Tanium Clients that require a proxy connection do not connect directly to Tanium Core Platform servers. Because the Tanium Client Management service requires a direct connection from the Tanium Module Server to clients, you cannot use Client Management to deploy clients that require a proxy connection.

Configure proxy connections with a PAC file

For Tanium Clients on Windows endpoints, you can configure proxy connections using a PAC file if one is available. The endpoint downloads the file from the URL that you specify and runs a script that the file contains to select the correct proxy for connecting to a particular TaaS instance Tanium Server or Zone Server.

Configure proxy connections during client deployment

Configure Tanium Clients to use a PAC file by setting ProxyAutoConfigAddress during client installation. See Deploy the Tanium Client using Client Management or Deploy the Tanium Client to Windows endpoints using the installer for the steps to install the client.

Configure proxy connections After client deployment

You can configure Tanium Clients to use a PAC file after the initial client deployment, or change the file on clients that already use a PAC file.

1. Go to the Tanium Home page and ask the following question to identify the proxy servers with which Tanium Clients currently connect, if any:

   Get Tanium Client Explicit Setting[ProxyAutoConfigAddress] and Tanium Client Explicit Setting[ProxyServers] from all machines

2. Select the results for clients that do not already use the PAC file that you want and click Deploy Action.

3. Configure the package settings:

   • Deployment Package: Select Modify Tanium Client Setting.
   • RegType: Select REG_SZ.
   • ValueName: Enter ProxyAutoConfigAddress.
   • ValueData: Enter the new PAC file URL and file name in the format http[s]://<PAC file URL>/<PAC file name>.pac.

4. (Optional) In the Schedule Deployment section, set a schedule for the action.

   Set a reissue interval if some target endpoints might be offline when you initially deploy the action.

5. In the Targeting Criteria section, ensure that the settings target only the endpoints that require the updated proxy setting.
6. Click Show preview to continue and verify that the targeting is correct.
7. Click Deploy Action and review the action status to verify that the action completes without errors.

8. Ask the following question to verify that clients have the updated ProxyAutoConfigAddress setting:

   Get Tanium Client Explicit Setting[ProxyAutoConfigAddress] from all machines

   Clients do not apply the updated setting until you manually restart them or wait for the automatic client reset, which by default occurs at a random interval in the range of two to six hours.

9. (Optional) Restart the Tanium Client service on each endpoint to apply the updated proxy setting immediately. For the steps, see Manage the Tanium Client service on Windows.

Configure proxy connections without a PAC file

On non-Windows endpoints, or on Windows endpoints that cannot access a PAC file, configure the Tanium Client to connect to a proxy server by specifying the proxy IP address or FQDN and the proxy port in the ProxyServers setting. If you specify multiple proxies, the client tries to connect to the proxies in the order that ProxyServers lists them. After any single connection succeeds, the client stops trying to connect with more proxies.

Configure proxy connections during client deployment

Configure Tanium Clients to connect through proxy servers by setting ProxyServers during installation. For installation procedures, see Deploying the Tanium Client.

Configure proxy connections after client deployment

You can configure Tanium Clients to establish proxy connections after the initial client deployment, or change the proxy setting on clients that already connect to a proxy. In a deployment with both Windows and non-Windows endpoints, repeat the steps for both types of endpoints.

1. Go to the Tanium Home page and ask the following question to identify the proxy servers with which Tanium Clients currently connect, if any:

   Get Tanium Client Explicit Setting[ProxyServers] and Is Windows from all machines

2. Select the results for either Windows or non-Windows endpoints that require new or updated proxy connections and click Deploy Action.

   Windows endpoints and non-Windows endpoints require different packages. If you are updating both Windows and non-Windows endpoints, complete this procedure separately for each group.

3. Configure the package settings:

   • Deployment Package: Select Modify Tanium Client Setting for Windows endpoints or Modify Tanium Client Setting [Non-Windows] for other endpoints.
   • RegType (Windows only): Select REG_SZ.
   • Type (non-Windows only): Select STRING.
   • ValueName: Enter ProxyServers.
   • ValueData: Enter a comma-separated list of proxy IP addresses or FQDNs and proxy ports in the format <proxy1 FQDN|IP address>:<port>,...,<proxyN FQDN|IP address>:<port>.

4. (Optional) In the Schedule Deployment section, set a schedule for the action.

   Set a reissue interval if some target endpoints might be offline when you initially deploy the action.

5. In the Targeting Criteria section, ensure that the settings target only the endpoints that:

   • Require the updated proxy setting
   • Run the operating system that matches the selected package (Windows or non-Windows)
6. Click Show preview to continue and verify that the targeting is correct.
7. Click Deploy Action and review the action status to verify that the action completes without errors.

8. Ask the following question to verify that clients have the correct ProxyServers setting.

   Get Tanium Client Explicit Setting[ProxyServers] and Is Windows from all machines

   Clients do not apply the updated setting until you manually restart them or wait for the automatic client reset, which by default occurs at a random interval in the range of two to six hours.

9. (Optional) Restart the Tanium Client service on each endpoint to apply the updated proxy setting immediately:

   • Manage the Tanium Client service on Windows
   • Manage the Tanium Client service on macOS
   • Manage the Tanium Client service on Linux
   • Manage the Tanium Client service on Solaris
   • Manage the Tanium Client service on AIX