In addition to the Server tested, a complete Red-M installation has one or more of the firm's Red-Detect Consoles – a standard PC loaded with the company's software so it can act as a user interface to the Server. The system will have one or more of the company's Red-Alert probes (distributed in the enterprise) to monitor wireless activity and report to the Server.
To start this tripartite configuration, we installed the console software on a PC that we designated as the management box. The wizard-based setup went smoothly. We connected the Red-Detect Server directly to the Console PC via a Cat5 crossover patch lead. Having established the physical connection, we started the Console and entered the Server IP address and logged in.
The first time the Server links to the Console management utility, users are prompted to change the default password. We selected the server IP setup option and assigned an IP, subnet and default gateway. After a reboot, the Server and Console were ready to be connected to the target network.
After the easy setup, we were ready to configure the WLAN detection. The deployed Red-Alert probes discover the Red-Detect Server by using an assumed range of DNS names. Each probe must be able to look up the Server's address using an accessible DNS server.
Probes discovered by the network appear in the intuitive probe view of the Red-Detect Console and can be used and managed by the Server. Once the probes are configured, Red-Detect is ready. It registers any wireless activity that occurs within range of the probes. This monitoring suite gives an audit trail of past activity (graphical or tabular) showing wireless events and a network view giving inventory data and a list of the active probes.
