ITA FAQ

Administrators can give users the option to use single sign on as the authentication method for EcoStruxure IT applications.    Important All users using single sign on must be part of same EcoStruxure IT organization. An administrator user is created when you sign up for EcoStruxure IT and is automatically placed in the Default User Group. When you invite users to join your organization, they are automatically added to the Default User Group. To enable single sign on: Specify a Default User Group. Create or invite users. Specifying a default user group To specify an existing user group as the Default User Group: Log in to EcoStruxure IT. Go to Administration > User Groups. Click the user group you want to designates as the Default User Group and click Set as Default User Group. To create a new user group to be the Default User Group: Log in to EcoStruxure IT. Go to Administration > User Groups. Add a new user group and click Set as Default User Group. Creating users Users are automatically added to the Default User Group when they log in to EcoStruxure IT for the first time. You can also invite users to join your organization. The user will automatically be added to the Default User Group you specified. Go to Administration > Users > Add User > Single Sign On. Enter the email address and full name of the individual you want to invite. All users must use single sign on as their authentication method. If you want to change that, you can disable it in Administration > Users. Select the user you want to sign in using their username and password option. Select Edit user and remove Force User to Use Single Sign On.  Reset the user's password.  Single Sign On  Web client On the web client login page, click LOG IN WITH ECOSTRUXURE IT. Capture1_360006652078.JPG Desktop client Start EcoStruxure IT Advisor.  Go to Advanced Settings and Select Use SSO. Now you can click LOG IN WITH ECOSTRUXURE IT. Note: When you log in using SSO for the first time, your browser might block a pop-up window. This results in the desktop client waiting for authentication. You can click on a blocked pop-up and allow opening it for this site.  Capture2_360006652078.JPG    

The latest version of IT Advisor is available to customers with an active software support contract only. Customers with an active support contract can get access to newly released product updates on the EcoStruxure IT Entitlements portal. Log in and then click Software Updates. More information... If the ITA update files are not available in EcoStruxure IT Entitlements, contact your local technical support to verify your support contract and get access to the update file(s) you need.   Upgrading to the latest ITA version     From version 9.3.x   Upgrade or backup/restore A direct upgrade to 9.3.x/9.4.x/9.5.x is supported   From version 9.1.x     Upgrade or backup/restore A direct upgrade to 9.2.x is supported. A direct upgrade from 9.1.x/9.2.x to 9.3.0 is supported if the server has internet access during the upgrade. Upgrade to version 9.3.x is not supported with offline version. Take a backup of the solution, perform a fresh install, and then restore the backup.   From version 9.0.x     Backup/restore only The database and OS is updated to a later version in ITA 9.1.x/9.2.x, so updating from 9.0.x requires a clean installation of the latest version of ITA. Backup your ITA 9.0.x setup and then restore the backup file.   See Upgrading from DCO 8.x to IT Advisor How to add a license in IT Advisor   Recommendations and best practices   Do the upgrade test on a test setup, especially if the setup contains custom integrations. When you are satisfied with the successful upgrade, apply on the production setup. Take a fresh backup file and save somewhere safe before doing any major changes and/or upgrading the setup. Make sure the server and application is running fine before doing the upgrade. This can be verified in the server Webmin Status page https://<ITA server IP>:10000. Go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Status. Make sure there is enough free disc space at ‘/’ partition. The upgrade file(s) are usually large. approximately 2+ GB, so the installer may need at least 5 GB free storage capacity to do the job.   Saving a backup file from existing setup (ITA server)   Log in to the ITA web client https://<ITA server IP> Go to Administration > Backup and Restore. Select Schedule Backup. Enter a comment. such as Pre-upgrade, and then click OK.   Setting up a new server with a clean installation of ITA   For the entire installation process, see Installing IT Advisor (on-premises)   Restoring the backup file on the new server   Upload the backup file to the new server default backup file(s) location: /data/backup. Log in to the ITA web client https://<ITA server IP> Go to Administration > Backup and Restore. Select the Restore option for your backup file Note: The Backup and Restore page also has an Upload Backups option to upload your backup file.   Upgrading using the latest ISO file   Depending on the and complexity of the setup, an update may take at least 15 minutes. Make sure you have a fresh backup file saved on a remote location.   Download the .iso file from a location provided by the support team. Copy the SHA256 key from the same location. Upload the .iso file to the server and place it in the  /data folder. Log in to Webmin https://<ITA server IP>:10000 In the left menu, select EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Upgrade. In Full path to local EcoStruxure IT Advisor Installer file, select the uploaded .iso file from the  /data folder. In SHA256 checksum from the download page copy and paste the SHA256 checksum from the downloaded file. Click Upgrade.   ITA_upgrade_360021141258.JPG   IMPORTANT: Before starting the upgrade, make sure you have enough free disc space (at least 5 GB) specially on the root '/' partition.    Do not interrupt the upgrade process! You can open a new browser window or tab and check the server application status in Webmin. Go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor >  Status.   When you have completed the update, you can launch the web client and download the ITA desktop client installer if needed.   

To upgrade the DCO 7.5 setup to the latest version of ITA, you must first update DCO to version 8.3.2: Update your DCO 7.5 setup to version 8.3.2 Make sure you have a backup of your DCO 7.5 setup. Perform a new clean installation of DCO 8.3.2. Restore your configuration from the DCO 7.5 backup. Create a backup this new 8.3.2 configuration. Upgrade your DCO 8.3.2 setup to ITA 9.x Perform a clean installation of the latest version of ITA 9.x.  Restore your configuration from the backup of your DCO 8.3.2 setup. See  Installing IT Advisor (on-premise) Installing ITA 9.1.1 and newer on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Installing ITA on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and 8    

Some customers report problems running the ITA desktop client on new Mac OS such as Ventura. Installing a compatible JAVA version may resolve the issue.   Go to https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases/?version=8 Choose: Operating system: MacOS Package Type: JRE Download .pkg and install it. Start the ITA desktop client.

Yes, Active Directory and other integrations are available for the on-premises version of ITA.   For the hosted version, we have experience with custom integrations, which we typically do as custom projects. Contact support for assistance.

The IT Advisor Genome Library update package is available on EcoStruxure IT Entitlements for customers with a valid support contract. Contact support to verify your support contract if necessary.   Log in to EcoStruxure IT Entitlements. Go to the Knowledge Base > Software Updates and click EcoStruxure IT Advisor software download links. Note: The download links page is visible to customers with a valid support contract only. Download the latest genome update package. The Genome Library update feature in ITA uses the downloaded zip file as it is; you are not expected to unzip it. Open the ITA desktop client. In Planning Data Center mode, go to Tools > Preferences, and then select the Genome Library tab. Click Apply update file…, browse to the location of the downloaded file, and follow the wizard instructions to apply the update. The wizard guides you through selecting the changes, such as added, deleted and changed genomes. When you finish the wizard, your Genomes Library in ITA has been updated.

Here is a simple illustration of how to create a server room, add equipment, and configure the power path. Create server room In the desktop client, Planning Data Center mode, right click Global and select New > New Server Room. m01_360012249137.JPG   Give it a name, and then define the room's Floor and Ceiling settings. m02_360012249137.JPG Add equipment from the Genome Library to Genomes In this example the following equipment will be modeled, so will be added to Genomes (from the Genome Library): UPS (40 KW) PDU (40KW) Breaker Modules Rack Rack PDU Server  m03_360012249137.JPG Model floor standing equipment  Drag floor standing equipment (UPS, PDU, and Rack) from Genomes and drop/place it on the opened room floor: m04_360012249137.JPG Model rack mounted equipment Click on the rack, so you can see it in the rack view. Drag equipment (such as rPDU and server) from Genomes into the rack in the rack view: m05_360012249137.JPG Name the modeled equipment To name the modeled equipment, right click the equipment, and then select Properties > General and enter the equipment name: m06_360012249137.JPG Configure Power path  Right click the UPS, and then select Properties > Power and define the connected power comsumer (such as PDU), Redundancy settings (such as A-Feed), and Power Path Color: m07_360012249137.JPG Right click the PDU, and select Properties > Power. Define the Output voltage settings: m08_360012249137.JPG In the PDU Properties > Power , select Breaker Panel. Click Add panel and then select/define the power consumer(s): m09_360012249137.JPG Right the server, and then select Properties > Power and define its power settings/power cable connection: m10_360012249137.JPG  

Data Center Operation is no longer being updated. The last DCO version is 8.3.2. Note: DCO 8.3.8 contains the latest security updates. These instructions also apply to DCO 8.3.8 To get the most current features, upgrade to EcoStruxure IT Advisor (ITA).   From an installation and deployment point of view, EcoStruxure IT Advisor (ITA) is very similar to Data Center Operation (DCO). To upgrade DCO to ITA, you can:   Create a backup of DCO 8.3.2, copy the backup to a clean installation of IT Advisor, restore the backup. This option is required for customers migrating to ITA versions 9.1.0 or newer. OR Upgrade the existing DCO 8.3.2 server to IT Advisor using Webmin. This option is available to customers migrating from DCO to ITA versions 9.0.2 to 9.0.7. Customers who plan to migrate to ITA 9.1.0 or newer should plan to create a clean installation of ITA and restore their DCO backup. You must update DCO to version 8.3.2 before upgrading to IT Advisor. You must have an active support contract to get access to the ITA ISO files. For complete instructions, see Upgrading from DCO 8.x to IT Advisor.   The functionality of ITA vs DCO   Here is a list of modules that exist in ITA:   ITA with Colo features. This module contains the former DCO base and Colo base modules. Capacity Change Energy Cost. This module is merged into the base module and will no longer appear as a separate module. Energy Efficiency. This module was reintroduced in ITA 9.3.2, for on-premises deployments only. High Availability. This module is merged into the base module and will no longer appear as a separate module. Cooling Optimize. This integration was reintroduced in ITA 9.4.0. Installing a Cooling Optimize license in ITA is not required.   For clarification, here is a list of the modules that are not included in ITA:   DCO base and Colo base modules. These have been merged in ITA. IT Power Control Server Access Insight StruxureWare Lab client   Migrating a colo setup to ITA   Migrating a Colo setup with High Availability, Insight, and Energy Cost license keys   When you move from DCO to ITA, your Colo, High Availability, and Insight licenses are stripped out during the upgrade. When the transition (restoring a backup file) completes, you'll only be able to use the ITA web client until you add an ITA replacement license. Customers holding a valid support contract can get ITA replacement license at no cost.   The High Availability license is now part of the base ITA license, so that feature (for a DR node) will continue to be present after the transition, but you will not see the license in the License view anymore.   The Insight license is no longer available in ITA, however any custom reports you created using Insight will continue to work in ITA.   The base ITA license also includes the Energy Cost report that was previously a separate license in DCO/Colo. After migrating to ITA, you will see the Energy Cost report in the desktop client Reports view in ITA.

These instructions apply to the OS user on the ITA server, that is, the user used during the ITA server installation process, and not the ITA user on the desktop and web clients. To reset the user password on the ITA server: Insert the ITA installation media (USB key, DVD, or out-of-band management (OOM) interface) and reboot the server and ensure the ITA installation media is booted up. In the installation boot menu select Troubleshooting and then select Rescue a CentOS system. In rescue mode you are presented with 4 options. Type 1 for 1) Continue and press <return>. When you see Rescue Mount, press <return> and type chroot /mnt/sysimage . To change the password type  passwd <username>  where  <username>  is the name of the user created during setup. Type the new password. To exit chroot type: exit . Reboot the server by typing reboot . Remember to remove the ITA installation media. 106205195_1152x250_360012049097.gif

There is a change in ITA 9.1.9 that could cause an issue starting the desktop client.   When you update to ITA 9.1.9 or newer, make sure the SSL Certificate Common name has the correct server IP address defined in Webmin.   Log in to Webmin https://<ITA server IP>:10000 Go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Setup.  Make sure the SSL Certificate Common Name matches the ITA server's IP address. If you need to change this value, enter the ITA server IP address and click Setup to confirm the change. Note: This will cause the services to restart.   This change can also be applied after you update ITA to version 9.1.9 or newer.     ssl-certificate-common_4402409563409.JPG  

In the initial installation menu, select Install. ITA_install_1_360036448594.JPG Press the Enter key to begin the installation process. 02_360036448594.JPG Select English/English (United States), and then Continue. It may work with other languages as well. 03_360036448594.JPG Click Date & Time. 04_360036448594.JPG 06_360036448594.JPG Select time zone, define Region and City, Network Time: On, and then click Done. 05_360036448594.JPG Click KEYBOARD. 10_360036448594.JPG Select/add the keyboard you want, and then click Done. 07_360036448594.JPG 08_360036448594.JPG 09_360036448594.JPG Click INSTALLATION DESTINATION.  14_360036448594.JPG Select "I will configure partitioning." and make sure that the root partition "/" gets most of the storage capacity. 11_360036448594.JPG 12_360036448594.JPG Accept Changes and then Done. 13_360036448594.JPG Click NETWORK & HOST NAME.  16_360036448594.JPG Make sure Ethernet is ON, define Host name, Configure the IP settings, and then Done.  Click Begin Installation. 15_360036448594.JPG Click ROOT PASSWORD. 17_360036448594.JPG Enter your root password, and then Done. 18_360036448594.JPG Click USER CREATION 19_360036448594.JPG Enter user name and password, enable "Make this user administrator" and "Require a password to use this account", and then Done Note: Avoid using "root" as user name . For security reasons, root login has been disabled in ITA. 20_360036448594.JPG  The log in session will be displayed when the installation is completed. 22_360036448594.JPG To get/verify the server IP, log in and then type sudo ifconfig 23_360036448594.JPG To verify if the application is running and ready to be used, log in to server Webmin interface (https:<ITA server IP>:10000), and then go to EcoStruxure IT Advisor > Status. 24_360036448594.JPG The ITA application uses a different set of users than the server/Linux users that we used above. On a just installed server (where no backup file has been restored) a default user will be created with the username/password of apc/apc. Log in to the web-client (https://<ITA server IP>) to change the password. Accept the self-signed certificate if browser should prompted for that. Type in apc/apc as login 25_360036448594.JPG Type in apc as existing password, and select a new one (at least 6 characters long) 26_360036448594.JPG

EcoStruxure IT Advisor (ITA) client is available in eleven languages. By default, the client will launch in the language of the clients operating system. However, it is possible to start the client in a different language. This can be specially useful for non-English clients, that would like to report issues or ask questions in an international environment or report to tech support. Windows desktop client Locate the configuration file:  EcoStruxure IT Advisor.ini. It is usually located in (C:) Program Files\EcoStruxure IT Advisor 'version'\application. Edit the configuration file (via Notepad or similar) and add the following two lines (right after -clean) -nl [Country Code] and save the file. Here is an example to configure/run it in English (en): img1_360005290857.JPG img2_360005290857.JPG Then the ITA client will start in the specified language (English in this example). To undo: Either remove those entries or add # (to start of those lines), and then save the file. Mac OS desktop client Right-click the EcoStruxure IT Advisor application icon and choose Show Package Contents. Locate and open Contents/MacOS/eclipse.ini with a text editor. Add new line  -Duser.language=[Country Code] anywhere below -vmargs line. img3_360005290857.JPG Web client Log in to the web client. Click the profile icon (top right), and then Language. Now click on your preferred language (language change is instant): img4_360005290857.JPG  

The IT Advisor server must have access to the internet and have access to EcoStruxure IT https://app.ecostruxureit.com/manage. Log in to the IT Advisor web client as an administrator user. https://<ITA server> Go to Configuration > EcoStruxure IT Registration. A registration code will be displayed. Make a note of it. ITA_register_with_ITE_5882789265053.png Click Register.  Click Go to login to connect gateway... and log in to your EcoStruxure IT Expert account. Alternatively, you can go to https://ecostruxureit.com, click Customer Login and go to Administration > Gateways > Connect gateway. Enter a Name for the ITA server and the Registration code from the ITA web client. Click Connect to complete the registration.  When you launch the ITA desktop client and change to Planning Device Association mode, an EcoStruxure IT entry will be available on the Unassociated Devices tab.  

You can get device data such as power measurements, sensor/temperature values, and alarms into IT Advisor by associating devices from an integrated system such as IT Expert and Data Center Expert.   To associate This example illustrates how to associate a monitored device from the integrated external system.   In the ITA desktop client, go to Planning Device Association mode (1), then Unassociated Devices (2). Find the device that you want to associate. TIP: Use the Search filter (3) to locate the device. Search by device name, IP address, model name, etc.  Click the located device (4) and hold, then drag it to its model in ITA (5).   img1_360012267318.JPG   That's it! The device is associated and you can get device data from the integrated external system.   To verify, right click the associated device, and then go to Properties > External Systems > Device.   The device in this example, a rack PDU, displays the power data:   img2_360012267318.JPG   To unassociate    Go to Planning Device Association mode (1), Navigation (2). Find the device to unassociate (3). Right-click the device and then select the Unassociate from equipment option (4).   img3_360012267318.JPG  

Reset your password to regain access to the web or desktop client of IT Advisor. You can have another user with administrative credentials reset your password in the ITA web client Administration > Users option. Select the user and then Reset Password. If no other user has an administrator account, or you are the only user, contact your local technical support for assistance.

EcoStruxure IT Advisor (ITA) desktop and web-client is available in eleven languages. By default, the client will launch in the language of the clients operating system. However, it is possible to start the client in a different language.  This can be specially useful for non-English clients, that would like to report issues or ask questions in an international space (such as this Community) or tech support. Desktop client Locate the configuration file:  EcoStruxure IT Advisor.ini (for Windows usually located in C:\Program Files\EcoStruxure IT Advisor 'version'\application\EcoStruxure IT Advisor.ini) Edit the configuration file (via Notepad or similar), and add the following two lines (right after -clean) -nl Country Code' and save the file. Here is an example to configure/run it in English (en): mceclip0_360037562734.png mceclip1_360037562734.png Now the ITA client will start in the specified language (English in this example). To undo: Either remove those entries or add # (to start of those lines), and then save the file. Web client In the web client, click on user icon (top right) > Language, and then select your client language. mceclip2_360037562734.png  

If for security reasons you want to allow SSL protocol to accept only TLSv1.2, here is how to do it. Login to the server's Webmin interface https://ITA server IP:10000 Go to Webmin > Webmin Configuration > SSL Encryption > SSL Settings Look for SSL protocol versions to reject. Uncheck TLSv1.2 and check other versions to reject if needed. Click Save. img_360017917278.JPG

IT Advisor supports using the Customer REST web service. When needed, you can use this web service to add a customer. Go to server REST Web Service API:  https://<ITA IP-address>/api/current/docs/index.html Log in and go to customers -> POST. Enter the customer/'company' details. To execute, click Try it out. C1_360007193757.JPG Activating the customer can be done via web-client. Go to Administration > Customers > Activate Customer. Select the customer to be activated... C2_360007193757.JPG C3_360007193757.JPG  

A new ITA installation may contain a 30-day trial ITA base license which is valid from the time/day of the installation. You can install your purchased license key(s) at any time. Add or remove license key(s) in the ITA web client.   Log in to web client https:<ITA server>. Click the Configuration icon in the top right.  On the Licenses tab, enter your license key and click Add license.     It is recommended that you add the same amount of licenses for all modules. Otherwise, the module with the lowest license size will limit the rack count.   To delete a trial or expired license key, click the trash can icon, and then reply Yes to the message "Are you sure you want to delete the selected license key?"   See Upgrading IT Advisor

A NetBotz 750 discovered in DCE 7.8.1 shows the temperature sensor data as expected in DCE. The temperature sensor data does not appear in ITA from the integrated DCE. This issue is usually DDF related. This context file netbotz750.context.xml may help to resolve the issue. How to apply the context file Open a web browser and go to http://<DCE server ip>/nbc/status/SensorContexts Click Choose File. Find the context file you saved, and then click Upload File.