Configuration

Configuring a Multihomed Administration System

 

 

Configuring a Multihomed Administration System

 

 

A multihomed system is one that has multiple connections to a network. Typically, a

 

 

multihomed system has more than one network interface card, each with a unique

 

 

address. While the system may have only one host name, the name resolution software

 

 

will usually return the IP address of one of the interfaces on the system.

 

 

In such configurations, the HP-UX HIDS administration system needs to know which

 

 

interface it should use to communicate with its agent systems. If the administration

 

 

system is multihomed, the idsgui script must be modified to contain the setting that

 

 

specifies the network address on which the administration system will listen.

 

 

To configure a multihomed administration system

 

 

Follow this procedure to configure your HP-UX HIDS administration and agent software

 

 

only if you are using a multihomed administration system.

Step

1.

Determine if the administration system is multihomed. If you are not sure, use the

 

 

nslookup command to see what IP address corresponds to the system’s host name. If

 

 

more than one IP address is returned by nslookup, your system is multihomed. If only

 

 

one IP address is returned, your system is not multihomed.

 

 

No modifications are needed for a system that has only one IP address.

Step

2.

Choose the one interface on which you want the HP-UX HIDS agent to communicate

 

 

with the administration system.

 

 

The choice of address will depend on your network topology. The address can be either an

 

 

IP address in dotted decimal notation (e.g., 1.2.3.4) or a host name that resolves to a

 

 

unique IP address on the administration system.

 

 

It is essential that a network route exists between the HP-UX HIDS administration

 

 

system and the HP-UX HIDS agent system. On the administration system, use the

 

 

/usr/bin/ping command (ping (1)) or the /usr/contrib/traceroute command to

 

 

verify that network traffic can flow between the systems. You may wish to choose the

 

 

address with the shortest transmission time (speed) or the fewest hops (exposure).

 

 

Since an administration system can only monitor agents that are on the same network, a

NOTE

 

 

 

different administration system is required to monitor agents that are on a different

 

 

(physically separated) network, even if the administration system is connected to both

 

 

networks.

 

 

 

Step

3.

On the multihomed administration host, become user ids:

 

 

$ su - ids

Step

4.

Edit the System Manager script; for example:

 

 

$ vi /opt/ids/bin/idsgui

Step

5. Locate the INTERFACE variable in the GUI Configuration section. See idsgui (1M).

Chapter 2

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HP Host Intrusion Detection System (HIDS) manual Configuring a Multihomed Administration System