MachPanel Knowledgebase

MachSync Installation Guide

zohaib.shaikh — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:35:40 GMT

Summary

This article provides details on how to install MachSync Utility.

Applies To

This article applies to MachSync v1.0.

General Purpose of MachSync Utility

MachSync supports Cross Forest multi-targeting Active Directory user synchronization. It refers to the process of synchronizing user accounts across multiple Active Directory (AD) forests. In large organizations or those with complex IT infrastructures, it's not uncommon to have multiple AD forests due to mergers, acquisitions, or other reasons. Each forest might have its own set of user accounts, groups, and resources.

Synchronizing user accounts across these forests allows for a unified identity management system, enabling users to access resources in any of the forests with a single set of credentials. This synchronization typically involves replicating user account information, including attributes such as usernames, passwords, group memberships, and other relevant data.

The goal of MachSync is to manage and simplify cross-forest multi Active Directory synchronization and is to streamline identity and access management, improve security, and enhance user experience by providing seamless access to resources across disparate AD forests.

MachSync Post Installation Steps/Configuration

If you have already installed MachSync, please follow the MachSync Configuration guide from link below:

MachSync Configuration Guide

Pre-Requistes

Ensure .Net 4.8 is installed. Default selected sub features are sufficient.

Download and Install VC_redist.x64 VS2019 from here.

MachSync Installation

Download MachSync Installer from our Website/MachSol portal. Check Instructions here...

You will need to go to https://www.machsol.com/machsol-solution-for-identities-synchronization/
Click on SIGN IN on right top of page.
Provide registered "Email ID" with MachSol Inc. which is also known as Primary Contact. (Emailid@Yourdomain.com). Enter your details and click on Login. You can also reset password by clicking on Forgot Password.

MachSync Installation Types:

There are three different types of installations:

All in one (MachSync Studio, Service, and password capture utility)
MachSync Studio and Service Only
Password Capture Utility Only.

This installer contains all three types and asks you during setup.

Note:

Recommended topology: Install "MachSync Studio and Service Only" on domain joined PC, and "Password Capture Utility Only" on all DCs (PDC, ADCs).

Alternative approach: Install "MachSync Studio, Service and Password capture utility" on PDC, and install "Password Capture Utility Only" on all ADCs.

Test scenario explained in MachSync Configuration Guide covers two domains with single domain controller (Option 1 shown in image below) .

Option 1: You have single domain controller on both domains.
Option 2: You have PDC and ADCs on both domains.
Option 3: You add a "Domain Joined PC" and install the "MachSync Studio and Service Only" option on it, then install the "Password Capture Utility Only" on the domain controllers.

1 - All in one (MachSync Studio, Service and Password capture utility).

This type of installation can be done on "Primary domain controller". Please follow below step to install MachSync:

Double click the installer to install MachSync.

On "Welcome to MachSol MachSync installer wizard" page, click Next.

On "License Agreement" page, Accept the agreement and click Next.

Select Installation Type: All in one (MachSync Studio, Service, and Password Capture Utility), and click Next.

Select installation folder or leave default. then Click Next

Review Settings. Click Next to Install.

Click Finish to Complete setup.

After installation you will see the "MachSync Configuration Studio".

Before you can start using MachSync, you need to Activate MachSync License. Please review below KB:

MachSync License Activation

2 - MachSync Studio and Service Only

You need to use this option for deployment scenario where you want to use a "Domain Joined PC", i.e. MachSync Studio and Service only.

Double click to install MachSync.
On welcome MachSync installer wizard page, click Next.
Select Installation Type: MachSync Studio and Service only

Select installation folder. Click Next
Review Settings. Click Next to Install.

Click Finish to complete setup.
After installation finish a screen will appears and "MachSync Configuration Studio" will open.

Before you can start using MachSync, you need to Activate MachSync License. Please review below KB:

MachSync License Activation

3 - Password Capture Utility only

You need use this option for all Secondary / Additional Domain Controllers in case of using a "Domain Joined PC" model.

Double click to install MachSync.
On welcome MachSync installer wizard page, click Next.
Select Installation Type: Password Capture Utility only

Select installation folder. Click Next
Review Settings. Click Next to Install.

You will see message to copy 'AppConfig' folder from "PDC" or "Domain Joined PC" where configuration was saved then you will be asked to restart the system to load password capture module/utility.

Click Finish to complete setup.

MachSync Post Installation / Configuration

The next step after the installation is the configuration of MachSync using below KB article:

MachSync Configuration Guide

MachSync Configuration Guide

zohaib.shaikh — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 22:15:00 GMT

Summary

This article provides step by step guide on how to configure MachSync Utility.

Applies To

This article applies to MachSync v1.0

Pre-Requistes

Before you can configure MachSync on Active Directory, you need to download and install MachSync v1.0. Please review below KB:

MachSync Installation Guide

What is MachSync?

MachSync is an Active Directory Identity (Users, Groups) Synchronization utility supporting multiple Cross Forest Active Directories. It consists of three major components, Configuration Studio, Background Working Service and Password Capture Utility.

Why MachSync?

MachSync supports Cross Forest multi-targeting Active Directory user synchronization. It refers to the process of synchronizing user accounts across multiple Active Directory (AD) forests. In large organizations or those with complex IT infrastructures, it's not uncommon to have multiple AD forests due to mergers, acquisitions, or other reasons. Each forest might have its own set of user accounts, groups, and resources.

Understanding MachSync?

Active Directories in MachSync Context can be classified as either ‘Source’ or ‘Target’ active directories and are explained below.

Note: The active directory domains are defined as Source and Target for ease of understanding. In case of Two Way Sync, the concept becomes void as change in any AD will be pushed to other AD configured.

Source Active Directory (Client or Originator)

This is AD from where it is required to sync/push data to other active directories to make identities data consistent across multiple ADs. There it is required to define ‘Sync Templates’ and ‘Profiles’.

What are Templates?
- Template is set of configurations, where it is defined that what data of identity will get synced , in which fashion it will sync (like keeping nested OU structure or not, copying source UPN suffixes and etc..) and what license type rules will be applied to template (if there are multiple type of licenses purchased).
What are Profiles?
- Profile is defined mapping of source and target ADs. Where it is defined that from which source organization to which target Organization data will get synced and applying sync rules from selected template. It also get configuration for whether to sync security groups also, and also takes custom filter for excluding unwanted identities from sync.

Target Active Directory (Host or Destination)

This is AD which expects data from source AD to synchronize into specified identities under specific Organizations. On target AD, we first need to define one or more Endpoints.

What are Endpoints?
- Endpoint in MachSync on target machine is a configuration of group of selected Organizations, which are exposed for identities data capture/catch. By defining endpoint, it is specified that which Organizational Units will capture/sync-into data from source(s) AD(s).
There is no license required for target machine.

MachSync - Configuration Guide

Dashboard

When MachSync is installed then default dashboard page will also and provide you links for navigating through different section.

1 - Configure "General Settings" - (Required for BOTH Source AD and Target AD)

The general settings under "Settings" tab are required to be configured on both Source AD and the Target AD. Do this on both the Source and Target Domain controllers up front and then follow the rest of configuration individually for Source/Target AD.

General Settings (required):

Configure the General settings required for synchronization on both Target AD and Source AD, such as mentioning Domain Netbios name, the Service Account credentials, IP and Port (TCP) and Sync Interval.
Most of details are auto fetched. Add password for the Service Account. Click Save.

Fields of the above screen are described below:

Domain NetBios name: AD domain NetBios name input field.
Service Account: AD administrator account with permissions to perform local operations.
Password: Password for AD admin user provided in above field.
IP: AD server IP address.
Port (TCP): Add AD TCP port. Note: Ensure TCP port is added in firewall for both inbound and outbound communication.

Advanced Settings:

Configure the Advanced settings required for synchronization on both Target AD and Source AD

Password Capture Attribute: Password Capture Attribute is used to capture the updating password info and store its hash in this attribute.
Data Folder: All the data related to sync will be stored in that folder.
Logging Enabled: Enable/Disable logging. Simple check/uncheck input to whether to enable logging or not.
Logs Folder: This is Log Path. Select log folder to create log files in there if logging is required.
Verbose Logging: Check box if verbose logging required.
Purge Logs after: Select number of days after which logs are cleared from the Logs folder.

Notifications (optional):

Enable and Configure the Notification settings on both Source AD and Target AD

Mail Server Configuration
- Give details of SMTP Server, Port, SSL (Checked/Unchecked), Required Authentication (Checked/Unchecked) if yes/checked, then give Credentials for SMTP Account.
Mail Delivery Settings
- Give details of From (name), From (email), Subject, Send To (if there multiple email addresses then you can add them all using comma separated).
Notification Events
- You can tick the checkbox below, it is about on which particular event the notification should be sent
  - On Failure
  - On Setting Update
  - On Data Push
  - On Data Process

2 - Configuration of Target Active Directory

Target Active Directory is configured first, as the "Key" and "Secret" of target AD is required for source AD profile configuration.

Add Endpoint:

Under the Endpoints Section, click on "Add Endpoint".

Give the Endpoint "Name".
Key and Secret values will be auto generated. (*Note: These will be required while adding Source AD Profile)
Select the Target OU(s) and click Add.

3 - Configuration of Source Active Directory

Before you can start using MachSync, you need to Activate MachSync License. Please review below KB:

MachSync License Activation

Once Target Active Directory is configured i.e., Endpoints are added in Target Active Directory. Then you have to configure Source Active Directory.

Add Template(s):

On the Source AD, under the Templates section click Add Template

Provide Template name
Choose License Type (Basic, Standard, Enterprise)
- Depending upon the licenses you have purchased, the License Type drop down will show that available licenses.
Give any Description
Checkbox Matching UPN Suffix
- Enabling this setting will create source UPN suffixes on target and will create/sync user with same UPN on target(s).
Checkbox Match OU Structure on Target
- Enabling this setting will keep nested OU structure of selected source organization onto specified/linked target(s) organization.

Add Profile(s):

On the Source AD, under the Profiles section click Add Profile

Source Machine Config:
- Local OU (Select Local OU as Shown in above screenshot)
- Users Custom Filters
  - Input filter in Directory Search Syntax to filter users with specific criteria.
- Members of Groups
  - Mention name of group, to limit sync of users to members of that group only.
- Sync Security Groups (Checkbox)
- Groups Custom Filters
  - Input filter in Directory Search Syntax to filter groups with specific criteria.
- Template
  - Select the template from drop down which is created on previous step.
Target Machine Config:
- IP
  - Enter IP address of Target AD Server
- Port (TCP)
  - Enter Port configured in Target AD Server
- Key
  - Enter the Key generated automatically while creating endpoint on Target AD Configuration
- Secret
  - Enter the Secret value generated automatically while creating endpoint on Target AD Configuration
- Target OU
  - Click Fetch Target OU
    - It will fetch the OUs selected while adding endpoint on Target AD Configuration

4 - Configuration (One to One - One Way Sync)

Once above steps are completed, your one way Sync from Source AD to Target AD is complete. Now the dashboard will show you stats of sync along with event log:

5 - MachSync - License Information

You can view License Information for MachSync. It shows Installation Id, License Type, Expiry Date, Type of sync allowed under license i.e. One to Many and Many to Many.

Once you purchase the license, you can click on "Update" button and insert your "License Key" and hit "Apply" to see your purchased limits.

6 - Configuration (One to One - Two Way Sync)

To configure two way sync, you must repeat steps 2 and 3 above in reverse order i.e. on Source AD (Create Endpoint) and Target ADs (Add Template, Add Profile):

Add "Endpoint" by clicking on "Add Endpoint" button under "Endpoints" section on Source AD.

Add Template by hitting "Add Template" button under "Templates" section on Target AD.

Add profile by hitting "Add Profile" button under "Profiles" on the Target AD.

Now the "Dashboard" on both domain controllers will show you stats of sync along with event log. Any change you make on one AD will be replicated over to the other AD.

Source AD Dashboard after two way sync:

Target AD Dashboard after two way sync:

Once above steps are completed, your Two Way Sync between Source AD and Target AD is complete.

MachPanel Basics – Information, Installation, Customization and Configuration

mudesira.munir — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 19:49:56 GMT

01. MachSol Customer portal Management

02. MachPanel SQL High availability / load balanced setup

03. MachPanel Control Server Installation

03. a) Installation Guide for SQL Server 2017

03 .a). i . Reset SA password in SQL Server for MachPanel Database

03 .a). ii. Recovery Modes and the performance Matrix for SQL Server Database

03 .a). iii. Move MachPanel SQL Database to another New SQL Server

03. b) Installation Guide for SQL Server 2019

03. c) Load Balanced Deployment of MachPanel

04. MachPanel Remote Server Installation

05. MachPanel Configuration Studio and Remote configuration Studio

06. MachPanel Control Server Update to latest version

07. MachPanel Remote Server Update to latest version

08. Private labeling and branding MachPanel System

08. a) Binding SSL Certificate on MachPanel Website

09. Add Custom Dashboard Tiles in MachPanel

09. a) Add Custom URL in MachPanel

10. Customize Email Templates and Email Delivery Management

11. Configure Alerts in MachPanel

12. Add Notification In MachPanel

13. Setting Password Policy in MachPanel

14. Customize Order Forms/ E-Commerce

15. Enable/Disable Resellers and Reseller Agreement Terms

16. Create a Reseller Customer in MachPanel

16. a) Create a Commission Based Reseller

16. b) Convert to Reseller, Move Customer and Move Subscription

17. Create a Customer in MachPanel

17. a) Import Bulk customer in MachPanel

17. b) Create Contact for Customer and Assign Access Templates

17. c) Place order from Store for a Customer

18. Payment Groups, Credit Cards & Anti-Fraud Plug-ins Management

19. Documents for billing in MachPanel

20. Billing Management, Taxation and Issue Credit

20. a) Avalara Integration/Configuration

21. MachPanel SEPA Flow and Direct Debit

22. Configure Mimecast in MachPanel

23. Add Staff Users and Staff roles in MachPanel

24. Add Sub reseller in Provider/Reseller Panel

25. Authenticate Active Directory user (Staff, Customer and Contact).

26. Configure MachPanel Helpdesk

27. Configure 3^rd party authentication in MachPanel

28. Configure Two factor Authentication in MachPanel

29. Configure Password less Authentication in MachPanel

30. Configure MachPanel KeyCloak SSO Authentication in MachPanel

31. Access Control List (IP Addresses) & Session Management

32. Login with Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)

33. MailChimp Integration in Machpanel

34. Guide for Integration & Configuration of Web Hosting/Shared Hosting

35. Guide for Integration & Configuration of Active Directory

36. Guide for Integration & Configuration of Exchange Server

37. Guide for Integration & Configuration of VPS (Hyper-V)

38. Guide for Integration & Configuration of CSP

39. Installation and Configuration of ADSync

40. WHMCS Integration in MachPanel

41. Developers Manual for Integrating MachPanel API- SOAP AP I

42. MachPanel REST API Configuration

Guide for Automation of Microsoft CSP Module

zohaib.shaikh — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 21:53:45 GMT

01. How to Integrate Secure Model Application?

02. How to Enable CSP Permissions for CSP account?

03. How to Configure CSP Profile for MachPanel Automation Module?

04. How to Add CSP Offer Price listing?

05. How to Add Commercial SAAS Product and Prod Prices listing(NCE)?

06. How to Add Power BI View?

07. How to Add third party Profiles/Distributors in CSP?

08. How to Add Azure/CSP/NCE Product/packages & Add-ons?

09. How to Subscribe to CSP Service plan or Sell CSP Service to customers?

10. How to Manage CSP Subscriptions or Import subscriptions?

11. How To Add Phone numbers & Service Phone numbers?

12. How to Enable, Edit & Manage Microsoft CSP Accounts/Tenants (Service Management)?

12.a. How to Manage Users in O365/CSP/NCE tenant?

12.b. How to Manage Shared & Resources Mailboxes for O365/CSP/NCE tenant?

12.c. How to Manage Groups in O365/CSP/NCE tenant?

12.d. How to Manage Share Point Sites & Users in O365/CSP/NCE tenants?

12.e. How to Configure Direct Routing calling plan in O365/CSP/NCE tenant?

12.f. How to Manage Teams and Channels in O365/CSP/NCE tenants?

13. Hybrid Cloud Management for On-Premise Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft 365

14. How to Add No Profile (Tier 2) CSP tenant in MachPanel?

15. How to Import existing CSP tenants via CSP Import Wizard?

16. Supported Reports for Automation Module of Microsoft CSP in MachPanel

Guide for Automation of VPS Hosting Module

mudesira.munir — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:27:07 GMT

01: VPS Hosting Inventory & Monitoring

02: How To Integrate VPS (Hyper-V) Servers in MachPanel?

02.a. Hyper-V Network Virtualization (HNV) using NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation).

02.b. VM Replication Support Handling in MachPanel

03: How To Add Subnet Pools & DNS Pools for Hyper-V Servers?

03.a. Dynamic IP Assignment to VM (Backend Managed)

04: How To Add Virtual Networks in Hyper-V servers?

05: How to Add Sealed and ISO images, OS licenses, Quota settings, storage types and VNIC bandwidth tier in Hyper-V setup?

05.a. SOP for preparation of Windows Sealed Images for Hyper-V (Hosted VPS)

05.b. SOP for preparation of Centos (Linux) & Ubuntu Sealed Images for Hyper-V

05.c. Create Scheduled Task for OS Initialization and Modification via Config.bat

06: PFSense Deployment & Integration Prerequisites (Hyper-V Environment)

06.a. MachPanel Software Defined Network Integration for PFSense

07: How To Create VPS package/Service Plan in MachPanel?

07: a. How to Add Hyper-V Metered Billing Plan and Resources Usage in MachPanel?

08: How to Provision VPS Accounts for Customers?

09: How to Add VPS/Virtual Machine?

10: How To Manage Virtual Machine and Snapshot?

11: How To Import existing Virtual Machines from Hyper-V Servers in MachPanel via Import Utility?

12: How To place order from Online Store for VPS (E-commerce)?

Guide for Automation of Exchange Hosting Module

zohaib.shaikh — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 13:00:51 GMT

01:Exchange Hosting Dashboard/Landing Page

01.a. How To View Exchange Hosting Inventory

01.b. How To View Exchange Hosting Monitoring

01.c. How To View SPLA Reports for Exchange Hosting?

01.d. How To Enable Auditing for Exchange Hosting?

01.e. How To Configure Role Based Access Control (RBAC)?

02: How To Integrate Exchange Servers in MachPanel?

02.a. How To assign UM policy in Exchange Hosting?

02.b. How To integrate Email Client for Exchange Hosting?

02.c. How To Configure SOP for Exchange Server Groups(optional)?

03: How To Add Exchange Service Plans?

03.a. How To Create and Provision an Add-on?

03.b. How To Upgrade/Downgrade Service Plan?

03.c. How To Sell Addon in Bulk to All Resellers/All Customers & review Quota Over Usage Report?

04: How To Add Exchange Accounts?

05: How To Manage Exchange Accounts?

05.a. How To add Mail Domains?

05.b. How To add Mailboxes?

05.b.(i). How To Manage Mailboxes in Exchange Hosting?

05.b.(ii). How to select Personal Archive Database and enable Mail/Personal Archiving for a User Mailbox?

05.b.(iii). How To add Linked Mailboxes?

05.b.(iv). How To Perform Group Operations under Mailboxes?

05.b.(v). How to Soft delete/Permanent delete, Restore and Recover deleted mailboxes?

05.c. How To add Mail Contacts ?

05.d. How To add Distribution Lists?

05.e. How To add Public Folders?

05.e.(i). How To Import Public Folders?

05.e.(ii). How To Handle public folder hierarchy?

05.f. How To add Disclaimers?

05.g. How To manage compliance (Retention setting, Journaling, Litigation & In-Place Hold) of users?

05.h. How To add Mobile device policy?

05.i. How To add Application Impersonation?

05.j. How To add Calendar Permissions in Exchange account & Mailbox?

06: How To Create Exchange Mailbox Databases?

07: How To Add Public Folder Mailboxes (PFM)?

08: How To Add Mailbox Templates?

09: How To Perform Migration of Mailboxes via Mailbox Manager?

10: How To Integrate SPAM Filters?

11: How To Perform PST Exports/Imports?

12. How To Import Exchange Organizations and Users via Import Utility?

Installation Guide for Microsoft SQL Server 2017/2019 Express

zohaib.shaikh — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 09:54:24 GMT

Summary

This article is a step by step guide for installing SQL 2017 Express.

Applies To

This article applies to SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019.

List of anti virus Exclusion for SQL Server:

For Microsoft SQL Server, review details on link below for exclusions list:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/309422/choosing-antivirus-software-for-computers-that-run-sql-server

Steps to install SQL 2017/2019 Express

Step 1:

Download SQL Server Express Setup (2019) from: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=866658

Download SQL Server Express Setup (2017) from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55994

Select English as Language and Express Core SQL Server Engine Only option (Default Option). Download and Save file to c:\ drive.

Step 2:

Once Download is completed, click Close. Copy downloaded installer “SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe” to c: drive. Open command prompt and point to c: drive.

Replace strong alpha numeric password in command below, copy/paste in command prompt and click enter to run installer.

SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe /QS /ACTION=Install /INSTANCENAME="MachPanelSQL" /FEATURES="SQLENGINE" /SQLSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /AGTSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\Network Service" /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS /IACCEPTROPENLICENSETERMS /SAPWD="STRONGPASSWORDHERE" /SECURITYMODE=SQL /TCPENABLED=1 /NPENABLED=1 /SQLCOLLATION=SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS /ADDCURRENTUSERASSQLADMIN=1

Please execute the installer as “Run as Administrator” and select the first option from the installer “New SQL Server Standalone Installation’.

Step 3: In the second step agree to the License terms and then click Next. Then check for the updates, if available then download the Updates and Install the setup files.

Step 4: On the next page “Microsoft Update” please check the highlighted option in order to use the recommended option regarding updates and click Next.

Step 5: In the fourth step the installation wizard will automatically install the Install Rules and upon completion please click on Next.

Step 6: Next up here is the Feature selection. In this step please select the required features as highlighted which are required for MachPanel database. Features to be selected: Database Engine Services, Client tools connectivity & Client tools backward compatibility and then click Next.

From Instance features please select: Database Engine Services

From Shared features please select: Client tools connectivity & Client tools backward compatibility and click Next.

Step 7: In the Instance Configuration please select the default instance option as shown below and click Next. If you have already created an instance then please use named instance option and provide the Instance Id as well otherwise default instance will work.

Step 8: In this step you will review the account properties as there will be different accounts for different SQL server services. Please proceed with below highlighted setting in service accounts tab as we used Default instance so the properties of the accounts should be like:

Under the Collation tab please make sure to select the SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS as shown below and click Next.

Step 9: The next step is the Database Engine Configuration. Under Server Configuration tab please select the Authentication Mode as Mixed mode which includes both SQL server authentication and Window authentication and provide the password for Server Administrator (SA) account. It is recommended to provide a strong password and also save it in some safe place. There should be one SQL server administrators specified, you can add multiple by clicking on Add button.

Step 10: After the database configuration settings are configured the installation wizard will itself install feature configuration rules and then the installation will proceed and complete.

SQL Server Management Studio Installation:

After SQL server Installation we will have to install the SQL server management studio by running the exe file as an Administrator and click on Install.

To install SQL Server Management Studio Setup (18.4), use below link to download installer: https://aka.ms/ssmsfullsetup

The setup will complete on its own and do not require any input from client.

MachPanel v7.3.60 - Customer Administrator Manual

mudesira.munir — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:17:12 GMT

Summary

Provides overview information about MachPanel features and application tools to manage and use MachPanel.

Applies To

This article applies to MachPanel Build v7.3.60 and below.

Customer Manual

For online viewing click on this link. View the Customer manual here.
Please download Customer Help files in PDF & CHM format from attachment/download section below.
- If CHM files are blocked do following:
1. Windows 10: Run Windows Explorer, right-click on the CHM file, and select Properties from the popup menu. Click on the Unblock button immediately below the Advanced button on the General page. Click Apply to show the content. Once the CHM file has been unblocked, the Unblock button disappears.
2. Mac: Download CHM reader and open CHM files.

MachPanel v7.3.60 - Reseller Administrator Manual

mudesira.munir — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:06:26 GMT

Summary

Provides overview information about MachPanel features and application tools to manage and use MachPanel.

Applies To

This article applies to MachPanel Build 7.3.60 and above.

Reseller Manual

For online viewing click on this link. View the Reseller manual here.
Please download Reseller Help files in PDF & CHM format from attachment/download section below.
- If CHM files are blocked do following:
1. Windows 10: Run Windows Explorer, right-click on the CHM file, and select Properties from the popup menu. Click on the Unblock button immediately below the Advanced button on the General page. Click Apply to show the content. Once the CHM file has been unblocked, the Unblock button disappears.
2. Mac: Download CHM reader and open CHM files.

MachPanel v7.3.60 - Provider Administrator Manual

mudesira.munir — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 20:57:48 GMT

Summary

Provides overview information about MachPanel features and application tools to manage and use MachPanel.

Applies To

This article applies to MachPanel Build v7.3.60.

Provider Manual

For online viewing click on this link. View the Provider manual here.
Please download Provider Help files in PDF & CHM format from attachment/download section below.
- If CHM files are blocked do following:
1. Windows 10: Run Windows Explorer, right-click on the CHM file, and select Properties from the popup menu. Click on the Unblock button immediately below the Advanced button on the General page. Click Apply to show the content. Once the CHM file has been unblocked, the Unblock button disappears.
2. Mac: Download CHM reader and open CHM files.

ADSync – Configuration Guide

mudesira.munir — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 02:59:12 GMT

MachPanel ADSync

MachPanel ADSync module is the directory synchronization tool that consolidates one Active Directory with another. It performs one-way synchronization and keeps your cloud user accounts updated.

Summary

This article provides you information regarding the configuration of ADSync.

Applies To

Applies to ADSync v4.2 - v6.
ADSync latest version is 6.0.
Latest MachPanel Build v7.2.35 supports latest ADSync v6

Pre-Requisite

You need following information:

You have to Enable ADSync from MachPanel before configuring your ADSync at the local Active Directory.

Navigate to the following path: Home » Service Director » Active Directory » Active Directory Organizations
Click on Enable ADsync link as shown in the snapshot below:

Service Username and Service Password i.e. Login Name and Password to Access the Control Panel customer account who is owner of Hosted Organization which needs to be synced with Client-AD. This can either be a Customer Account or a Contact of Customer in control panel.

MachPanel Service URL should be accessible from Client-AD.

Reboot Required

Yes, it is required to Reboot ALL Client Domain Controllers (Primary and Additional) at least once where ADSync tool is installed.

Description

ADSync is a utility consisting of multiple components used to synchronize local active directory objects with Hosted/Cloud Active Directory objects. ADSync utility v6.0 will sync Multiple OU's in a client/local AD with Hosted OU.

Types of object(s) which are currently synchronized.

User Accounts
Groups

The data fields which are being synchronized through this utility for User Accounts are:

Description
Display Name
First Name
Last Name
Email
Initials
Middle Name
UserPrincipalName(UPN)
Direct Manager
Home Phone
Mobile Phone
Business Phone
Pager
Home Page
Fax
Address
City
Country
State
Zip Code
Company
Job Title
Department
Office Location
Password
Notes
Proxy Addresses [
- SIP Address
- EUM Address
- SMTP Address ]
AD User Enabled
Thumbnail Image
Logon Hours
Use email to generate UPN {'Use Email to Generate UPN' is not attribute rather a configuration setting to to set user's UPN on hosted side using 'Email' attribute at the time of creation.}

The data fields which are being synchronized through this utility for Groups are:

Name
Display Name
Type
Members

MachSol ADSync utility is a one way synchronization tool, that enables the synchronization of AD users from local/on-premises to the hosted/cloud AD and vice versa is not currently possible. Editing through MachPanel is disabled for a mailbox enabled for ADSync.

The reason to disable the AD user editing in MachPanel for those organizations which are selected to be synchronized with on-premises ADs is that the information updated on MachPanel shall not be available on client’s on-premises AD. And also as ADSyncSvc periodically updates data from local to hosted AD, the changes done through MachPanel will be voided with the synchronization process.

Configuring AD Sync

When installation finishes on Primary Domain Controller, ADSync Configuration Studio appears, fill form according to instructions below and save settings.
From the Home page you can click settings

Terminology used:
Terms used to reference ADs are as under: Please note the difference between Two AD’s:

Local-AD / Client-AD / On-Premises: This is the AD where you have installed MachPanel ADSync Utility. Once ADSync is enabled you can access this local AD and modify user properties on this AD. These changes will automatically replicate/sync with the Provider’s AD (hosted AD).
Provider AD / Hosted AD / Cloud AD: This is the AD that is managed directly by MachPanel Control Server via MachPanel Remote Servers.

Settings:

Settings will show General & Advanced Setting of ADSync:

General Settings:

Fields of the above screen are described below:

Control Panel Url: This is the URL to Control Panel Web Service (provided by host). This can be a Web or IP based address. Check "Tooltip" next to input field for example.
Domain NetBios name: Local-AD domain NetBios name input field.
Service Account: Local-AD administrator account with permissions to perform local operations.
Password: Password for local-ad admin user provided in above field.

Advanced Settings:

Sync Data Attribute: Sync Data Attribute’ is used to capture the updating password info and store its hash in this attribute. Previously this was fixed to ‘division’ attribute of Active Directory User, but now can be customized to any valid writable Active Directory User attribute. Note that this attribute is used to temporarily store (encrypted hash) password before syncing it to hosted user and as soon as user password/info is synced in next sync cycle it is cleared from the active directory attribute.
Sync Data every: You can specify Sync interval or use Sync Now option.
Logging Enabled: Enable/Disable logging. Simple check/uncheck input to whether to enable logging or not.
Logs Folder: This is Log Path. Select log folder to create log files in there if logging is required. The log folder path of ADSync logs should not be of PDC desktop, and the provided log path should also be present on all ADC.
Purge Logs after: Select number of days after which logs are cleared from the ADSync folder.

Then under Profiles you can click 'Add Profile' to add a new profile.

Profiles:

Add Profile will display following fields:

Local Organization

Organization: Input field to set Local-AD/On-Premises organization LDAP, or use Icon on the right to list all local organizations and select one of the organizations. This field is editable so you can even specify the ROOT so that ALL USERS under this AD get listed all at once. You can specify the ROOT if users are under different OUs and you want to list all of them in a single go. In case of large ADs it is recommended to use specific OUs only to keep this quick as it will take long time to load all users in case of large ADs.
User custom filter: Define a filter for Users.
Sync Security Groups: In order to Sync security Groups from MachPanel for ADSync Enabled organization check option Sync Security Groups.
Group custom filter: Define a custom filter for security groups.
Auto Create New User: Allows you to enable / disable auto creation of Local-AD user on the Hosted AD. This option enables the customer that any new user created in local OU for this profile will be automatically created on hosted.
Enable Auto Mapping: Enable/Disable Auto Mapping of all Existing users. This option enables the customer that all the existing users will be auto mapped to selected hosted organization on the basis of UPN and DisplayName respectively.

Hosted Organization

User Name: Login Name to access the customer account in MachPanel in format: user@domain.com. This is owner of Hosted Organization which needs to be synced with Client-AD. This can either be a Customer Account or a Contact of Customer. (In ADSync we need Customer credentials not Reseller/Provider credentials to fetch list of OU’s. List of all OU’s related to Customer are fetched.)
Password: Password for user login provided in service user name.
Target OU: Once above service credentials are provided then hosted organizations enabled for ADSync are listed in the selection input box, select one of the organizations to synchronize its contents. Only the organization(s) owned by single customer (whose credentials are provided) are shown.

Add: Adds a profile to the below profiles listing and is saved in configuration file on pressing the Save button on the configuration screen.

Click Save to save all settings.

Add Custom Filters

In "Custom Filter" for user and groups we need to specify sync group and sync user in the group and users description (Any attribute can be used). Below are examples to use Custom Filter for Users and Group which uses "sync user" and "sync group" description. In below snapshot UserA, UserB, UserC, GroupA and GroupB, GroupC are created in Active Directory.

Example 1:
In this example we have specified "sync user" and "sync group" description in custom filter and as a result UserA, UserB and GroupA and GroupB (which have description set accordingly) will get synced. See below snapshots:

Filter settings
Users custom filter: (description=sync user)
Groups custom filter: (description=sync group)

Example 2:
When we specify below custom filter settings in sync group and sync user description that we need not to sync (any number of attributes can be used) for e.g.

Specify something in company for users that I don’t want to sync
Specify something in display name for groups that I don’t want to sync

only UserA and GroupA will get synced as shown below:

Filter settings
Users custom filter: (&(description=sync user)(!(company=*)))
Groups custom filter: (&(description=sync group)(!(displayName=*)))

Example 3:

To Show and Sync Active Users only, the Attribute that will be used is userAccountControl. This attribute has following properties.

512 -> Enabled
514 -> Disabled
66048 -> Enabled, password never expires
66050 -> Disabled, password never expires

You can use this attibute in a way if you want to extract only active users, example given below will extract only active users.

Filter settings

User custom filter: (|(userAccountControl=512)(userAccountControl=66048))

Filter expressions guides:

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/5392.active-directory-ldap-syntax-filters.aspx

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/adsi/search-filter-syntax

Configure Mappings

Under the Profiles click Mapping

Select Users to Sync
Enable ADSync for the Hosted Organization in MachPanel. Choose Users from interface below to enable ADSync for users in the parent container i.e: OU selected in profile.

Click Mapping to choose mapping between Hosted and Local User, click check-box to enable sync for selected users.
For users which exist in Local domain but have no counterparts on the hosted AD, you can "Enable Sync" and then auto create them in Hosted platform by choosing "--Create New--".

Important Note:

ADSync needs to be installed on Primary and all Additional Domain Controllers.
After installation on all Additional Domain Controllers, configure basic information in ADSync Tool on Primary ADSync Server, then copy SyncConfigurations.xml from installation folder on Primary Domain Controller to each Additional Domain Controller. Registry on both types of servers will tell you correct location for configuration file. For old clients the path will be C:\Windows\System32 folder, and for new clients the path to place this file will be C:\Program Files\ADSync. You can confirm/fix the Registry for correct location of SyncConfigurations.xml.
Make sure “Password must meet Complexity Requirements” is Enabled in Local domain policy. Describe any symptoms for a particular problem.
To start ADSync to function you need to force all users to change password on On-Premises (Local/Client) AD, please do expire all user passwords and restart all domain controllers.

Summary On: How does the utility update the information & how it should be operated?

Below is a step by step process how shall this utility be operated.

Save Basic configurations in utility on Primary DC.
Copy SyncConfigurations.xml file from PDC installation folder to all ADC(s) to appropriate folder. Registry on both types of servers will tell you correct location for configuration file. For old clients the path will be C:\Windows\System32 folder, and for new clients the path to place this file will be C:\Program Files\ADSync. You can confirm/fix the Registry for correct location of SyncConfigurations.xml.
Provide On-Premises to Hosted user mapping using the ADSync config studio.
After providing the mapping, modify the On-Premises Active Directory user account information (Including password). ADSIEdit is not supported, other than that, all other mechanisms (OWA, or Exchange, Locked screen of desktop etc.) are supported. Change in password via any medium (except ADSIEdit.msc) is captured. Only thing to note is that all the Domain Controllers should have the ADSync module installed on them (one primary and others as secondary) so that the password change actioned by any of the domain controllers gets captured.
To force the sync process to start immediately, Press Click to Sync Now from ADSync Configuration tool, or simply restart the ADSyncSvc using Services.MSC (Windows Services Manager) on PDC.
This shall update the information to the control server.
From there, control server uses its Provisioning Service to update the data on associated backend Hosted active directory server. You can also force the control server to process records instantly by restarting provisioning service on control panel server.
You can set Time in "Sync Interval" to start sync or Click to Sync now to force an immediate sync.

This should update the On-Premises active directory user information to the Hosted active directory user.

In case of any issues, you should Enable Logging from configuration studio of ADSync Tool and review that for any problems. Similar logs need to be review on MachPanel Control Server to see if there is any issue in processing of ADSync related data. You can also send the log files generated from inside the selected folder to us for review.

User Mappings Example

Let’s assume Hosted AD having the following user.

User.one@livead.com
User.two@livead.com
User.xzy@livead.com Display Name:Gorge John

And local AD having the following Users.

User.abc@localad.com Display Name: Gorge John
User.One@localad.com
User.new@Localad.com
User.lmn@Localad.com

#3 from LiveAD will be matched with #1 on LocalAD based on Display Name.
#1 from Live AD will be matched with #2 of LocalAD based on UPN.

Recommended Scenario:

It is recommended that for SSO (Same Sign On) the UPN should be fully matched in both LocalAD and LiveAD.

References

ADSync – Installation Guide: http://kb.machsol.com/Knowledgebase/Article/50350

Download
ADSync is a separate module and costs may apply. Kindly contact sales for further information.

Troubleshooting Notes:

Detailed troubleshooting notes are available here:
http://kb.machsol.com/Knowledgebase/Article/53477

Ensure logging is enabled in ADSync Client Configuration Screen. In case of any issues, you should Enable Logging from configuration studio of ADSync Tool and review that for any problems. Similar logs need to be review on MachPanel Control Server to see if there is any issue in processing of ADSync related data. You can also send the log files generated from inside the selected folder to us for review.
Check to confirm if “ADSyncPolicy, ADSync.ClientHelper, ADSync.PolicyLogger” dll files exist in “$windir\System32” folder.
Ensure the client enabled “Password Must meet complexity requirements” in user account policy after completing configuration of ADSync and restarted and ADs.
Ensure that there exist an entry for “ADSyncPolicy” in [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\Notification Packages]
Ensure that ADSync utility is installed on Primary Domain Controller and all Additional Domain Controllers.
See if "Password Intercept Log" is being generated/updated for each password update on C:\ drive on any/all of the ADs if client is using “ADSiEdit.msc” to change the password.
See if "Password Intercept Log" is being generated/updated for each password update on C:\ drive on any/all of the ADs if client using “DSA.msc” to change the password.
See if ADSync is working fine for all the attributes other than password.
Ensure that user provided in ADSync Config Studio for “Local Admin” field has sufficient permissions in local AD (Should be Member of: Administrators, Domain Admins, Domain Users, Enterprise Admins, Organization Management. Check reference below).
Ensure the Operating user of ADSync Utility (User logged in with while configuring ADSync) has read/write permissions on installation directory and the directory specified for logging.
Ensure LDAP URL is correct.
The service account in ADSync (“Admin Login” / “Admin Password”) is used to read the values of attributes that need to be synced from local AD. The service account only writes to Sync Data attribute ( any other Attribute you specify) of Synced User/Group for tracking purpose on local AD. However, to read the AD attributes, the service account needs to be made member of Domain Admins group in the Local AD.

The "Admin User" specified in ADsync should be member of following. See snapshot below (Schema Admin is optional):

Security and Password Policy:

Please note that password policy shall remain consistent between source (client) AD and Hosted (Cloud) AD, meaning that both ADs should have similar password policies. Best to have Complex Password Policy. Also there is no need to select the ‘reversible password’ option in source (client) AD for syncing password.

Password for a user account is secured by modern encryption schemes and is stored in a secured place.

To make communication even more secure, one must apply/enable SSL certificate for MachPanel Control Panel website and use the ADSync Web Service address as https:// (like https://cp.providerdomain.com/webservices/Adsyncsvc.asmx)

Running a test case:

Create an AD user in local/client/On-Premises AD under one of the configured Sync Profile.

Open ADSync Configuration Studio and provide mapping for this newly created user (you can use ‘Create New’ option) or if you have enabled ‘Auto Create New user’ option for the selected Sync Profile then leave this step.
Restart ADSync-Svc on local/client/On-Premises AD machine
Now get to hosted MachPanel Control server
Open the database and check ‘Hb_tblTempData’ table, whether it has a pending entry in it or not ?
If there are pending records in ‘Hb_TblTempData’ then restart Provisioning-Svc on Control server
Check in MachPanel whether the user is created on hosted or not. You can use following navigation path. Home > Service Director > Active Directory > Users
Also you can check the Audit logs in the MachPanel interface for sync process. (for filtering select ‘ADSync’ in event groups and press search button)

ADSync – Installation Guide

mudesira.munir — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:10:20 GMT

Summary

This article provides you information regarding the Installation of ADSync.

Applies To

Applies to ADSync V 4.0/4.1/4.2/4.3/5.0/5.1 and 6.0.
ADSync latest version is 6.0.
Latest MachPanel build v7.2.35 supports latest ADSync v6.0.

Reboot Required

Yes: You must Reboot ALL Domain Controllers (Primary and Additional) where ADSync tool is installed at least once.

Description

ADSync is a utility consisting of multiple components used to synchronize local active directory objects with Hosted/Cloud Active Directory objects. ADSync utility v6.0 will sync Multiple OU's in a client\local AD with Hosted OU.

Types of object(s) which are currently synchronized.

User Accounts
Groups

The data fields which are being synchronized through this utility for User Accounts are:

Description
Display Name
First Name
Last Name
Email
Initials
Middle Name
UserPrincipalName(UPN)
Direct Manager
Home Phone
Mobile Phone
Business Phone
Pager
Home Page
Fax
Address
City
Country
State
Zip Code
Company
Job Title
Department
Office Location
Password
Notes
Proxy Addresses [
- SIP Address
- EUM Address
- SMTP Address ]
AD User Enabled
Thumbnail Image
Logon Hours
Use email to generate UPN {'Use Email to Generate UPN' is not attribute rather a configuration setting to to set user's UPN on hosted side using 'Email' attribute at the time of creation.}

The data fields which are being synchronized through this utility for Groups are:

Name
Display Name
Type
Members

ADSync Installation Type

There are two different installations:

Primary Domain Controller
Additional Domain Controller.

This installer contains both the utilities and asks you for installation type during setup.

Note: You must install ADSync tool on your Primary Domain Controller and on all of the Additional Domain Controllers. 1st install ADSync and configure it on Primary Domain Controller and follow instructions below for Additional Domain Controller(s)

Installation of Active Directory Sync Utility

Install .Net Framework 3.5 features as shown below:

Save

This utility requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 to work, it is installed if not already present on the server. Please click Install button to start download and installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 on this machine.

After pre-requisite verification and installation, installer will start setup for AD Sync utility. Click Next to start the setup.

Select Installation Type

Select installation folder.

Review Settings. Click Next to Install.

After installation finish a screen will appears and ADSync Configuration Studio will open; if installation is for Primary Domain Controller.

References

ADSync – Configuration Guide: http://kb.machsol.com/Knowledgebase/Article/50351
You an also download ADSync Installation Guide.chm from attachment below.

Download

ADSync is a separate module and costs may apply. Kindly contact sales for further information.

List of anti virus exclusions for ADSync

Applications:

C:\Program Files\ADSync\ADSyncSvc.exe
C:\Program Files\ADSync\ADSync.ConfigStudio.exe
C:\Program Files\ADSync\SyncConfigurations.xml

Folder:

C:\Program Files\ADSync\logs OR as per log folder configuration in ADSync Configuration studio.

MachPanel v.4 Hostmatic Extension Kick Start Guide

zohaib.shaikh — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:34:14 GMT

Download Information

Provides step by step instructions, in chronological order to get started with the MachPanel's Hostmatic v.4.

Applies To

MachPanel Hostmatic v.4