Frequently Asked Questions

Question

Is there a way to get a temporary SSL certificate to test the SSL transmitter?

Answer

Yes, but with significant limitations. The certificate is good for two weeks. Additionally, all publishing must be done on the localhost. Lastly, IntelliPortal v1.1 does not have a built-in facility to run using a test certificate and the script files to run the software must be modified to include the -testCerts flag. An experienced systems administrator should do this in consultation with MECA. If you don't use the -testCerts option, the Castanet application assumes you want to use real certificates. If you've already installed the test certificate, it will be unavailable if the application was not started in -testCerts mode.

To obtain a test certificate

1. Gather the following information:
   • Transmitter's DNS host name
   • Password you want to use to protect the new certificate
2. Start the Transmitter application using the -testCerts option.
3. From the SSL Certificates panel, check Enable SSL.
4. Click Request Certificate and enter the requested information.
5. Provide a password for your certificate. It must be at least seven characters and you will need to provide the same password each time you launch the transmitter with SSL enabled.
6. Type the 256 random keys strokes that are used to generate your certificate's unique encryption key. Your browser appears.
7. When you reach the Security Information panel, click Continue.
8. Return to the Transmitter window and click Copy Certificate Request. The Transmitter copies your request information to the clipboard.
9. Return to the browser window, paste the contents of the clipboard to the current page, and click Continue.
10. Verify your application information, provide the information requested, and click Accept. Note: Ignore the final VeriSign page containing an Install button; you'll install the certificate using the Transmitter.
11. Click Done. VeriSign will send you an e-mail message (typically within a few minutes) with a PIN number and a URL for you to check the status of your application.

To install a test certificate

1. Open the e-mail message you received from VeriSign.
2. Select the part of the message bounded by BEGIN and END lines (include those lines) and copy to the clipboard.
3. In the Transmitter SSL Certificate page, click Install Certificate.
4. In the panel that appears, click Paste and then click Install.
5. In the panel that appears, click Done.

Question

Why do Naming.bind and Naming.lookup take an extraordinarily long time in Windows?

Answer

Most likely, your host networking setup is incorrect. RMI uses Java's networking classes, in particular java.net.InetAddress, which will cause TCP/IP host name lookups, both host-to-address mapping and address-to-hostname mapping (the InetAddress class does this for security reasons). In Windows, the lookup functions are performed by the native Windows socket library, so the delays are happening not in RMI, but in the Windows libraries. If your host is set up to use DNS, then it is usually a problem with the DNS server not knowing about the hosts involved in communication, and what you are experiencing are DNS lookup timeouts. Try specifying all the involved hostnames and addresses in the local file \winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts (in Windows NT) or \windows\hosts (in Windows 95). This should dramatically reduce the time it takes to make the first lookup. The format of a typical host file is:

IPAddress         Machine Name
208.2.84.61       machine_01

Question

Does the transmitter automatically start when the computer is re-booted?

Answer

A transmitter automatically starts if it was configured to do so during server installation. (Only non-secure transmitters can be configured for autostart.) The IntelliPortal server is automatically started; the transmitters can be started or stopped by running the Server Administrator.

Question

Do I need to watch for anything when starting/stopping the IntelliPortal server or transmitter?

Answer

Yes. The biggest problem is usually when the IntelliPortal server or transmitter is started manually. Any of the following errors or omissions can cause problems. (Note that the server can be configured to automatically start at boot time.)

• Start the IntelliPortal server as root by running the /etc/init.d/mecaserver_name script.
• Stop the IntelliPortal server as root by running the /etc/init.d/mecaserver_name script.
• Make sure the IntelliPortal server is not running before trying to start a new one.
• If you want to start a transmitter without using the Server Administrator, use the bin/transmitter script residing in the home directory of the user that was used to install IntelliPortal. You must be that user when running the script or the proper environment will not be established and the transmitter will not work correctly.
• There should be one process running for the IntelliPortal server, and two for the transmitter (if running). Any more may indicate that you have inadvertently started multiple transmitters or IntelliPortal servers.
• If you inadvertently ran the server as root, the log and other files may now be owned by root and thus when the server (and transmitter) is started as the proper user, these files may not be accessible. Since the log files may not be writable, you may not be aware of this information.