Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Access & Sensitive Data Auditing Configuration

This topic provides instructions for assigning group membership for Dell Celerra & Dell VNX devices.

Assign Group Membership for Dell Devices

Follow the steps assign group membership through Computer Management.

Step 1 – Open Computer Management (compmgmt.msc).

Step 2 – Right-click on the Computer Management (local) node and select Connect to another computer.

Step 3 – Enter the name of the Dell device in the textbox and click OK.

Step 4 – Navigate to the Local Users and Groups > Groups node for the device.

Step 5 – Select the Backup Operators group and add the account being provisioned.

Step 6 – Select the Power Users group and add the account being provisioned.

The account has been provisioned for Access Auditing and Sensitive Data Discovery Auditing.

Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Activity Auditing Configuration

An Dell Celerra or VNX device can be configured to audit Server Message Block (SMB) protocol access events. All audit data can be forwarded to the Dell Common Event Enabler (CEE). The Activity Monitor listens for all events coming through the Dell CEE and translates all relevant information into entries in the Log files or syslog messages.

Complete the following checklist prior to configuring the Activity Monitor to monitor the host. Instructions for each item of the checklist are detailed within the following sections.

Checklist Item 1: Plan Deployment

• Prior to beginning the deployment, gather the following:

  • DNS name of Celerra or VNX CIFS share(s) to be monitored

  • Data Mover or Virtual Data Mover hosting the share(s) to be monitored

  • Account with access to the CLI

  • Download the Dell CEE from:

    • https://www.dell.com/support

Checklist Item 2: Install Dell CEE

• Dell CEE can be installed on the same Windows server as the Activity Agent, or on a different server. If it is installed on the same host, the activity agent can configure it automatically.

  RECOMMENDED: The latest version of Dell CEE is the recommended version to use with the asynchronous bulk delivery (VCAPS) feature.

• Important:

  • Open MS-RPC ports between the Dell device and the Windows proxy server(s) where the Dell CEE is installed
  • Dell CEE 8.4.2 through Dell CEE 8.6.1 are not supported for use with the VCAPS feature
  • Dell CEE requires .NET Framework 3.5 to be installed on the Windows proxy server

• See the Install & Configure Dell CEE topic for instructions.

Checklist Item 3: Dell Device Configuration

• Configure the cepp.conf file on the Celerra VNX Cluster
• See the Connect Data Movers to the Dell CEE Server topic for instructions.

Checklist Item 4: Activity Monitor Configuration

• Deploy the Activity Monitor Activity Agent, preferably on the same server where Dell CEE is installed

  • After activity agent deployment, configure the Dell CEE Options tab of the agent’s Properties window within the Activity Monitor Console

Checklist Item 5: Configure Dell CEE to Forward Events to the Activity Agent

Install & Configure Dell CEE

Dell CEE should be installed on a Windows or a Linux server. The Dell CEE software is not a Netwrix product. Dell customers have a support account with Dell to access the download.

Remember, the latest version is the recommended version of Dell CEE.

RECOMMENDED: The Dell CEE package can be installed on the Windows server where the Activity Monitor agent will be deployed (recommended) or on any other Windows or Linux server.

Follow the steps to install the Dell CEE.

Step 1 – Obtain the latest CEE install package from Dell and any additional license required for this component. It is recommended to use the most current version.

Step 2 – Follow the instructions in the Dell Using the Common Event Enabler on Windows Platforms guide to install and configure the CEE. The installation will add two services to the machine:

• EMC Checker Service (Display Name: EMC CAVA)
• EMC CEE Monitor (Display Name: EMC CEE Monitor)

RECOMMENDED: The latest version of .NET Framework and Dell CEE is recommended to use with the asynchronous bulk delivery (VCAPS) feature.

See the CEE Debug Logs section for information on troubleshooting issues related to Dell CEE.

After Dell CEE installation is complete, it is necessary to Connect Data Movers to the Dell CEE Server.

Configure Dell Registry Key Settings

There may be situations when Dell CEE needs to be installed on a different Windows server than the one where the Activity Monitor activity agent is deployed. In those cases it is necessary to manually set the Dell CEE registry key to forward events.

Step 1 – Open the Registry Editor (run regedit).

Step 2 – Navigate to following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EMC\CEE\CEPP\AUDIT\Configuration

Step 3 – Right-click on Enabled and select Modify. The Edit DWORD Value window opens.

Step 4 – In the Value data field, enter the value of 1. Click OK, and the Edit DWORD Value window closes.

Step 5 – Right-click on EndPoint and select Modify. The Edit String window opens.

Step 6 – In the Value data field, enter the StealthAUDIT value with the IP Address for the Windows proxy server hosting the Activity Monitor activity agent. Use the following format:

StealthAUDIT@[IP ADDRESS]

Examples:

StealthAUDIT@192.168.30.15

Step 7 – Click OK. The Edit String window closes. Registry Editor can be closed.

Step 8 – Open Services (run services.msc). Start or Restart the EMC CEE Monitor service.

The Dell CEE registry key is now properly configured to forward event to the Activity Monitor activity agent.

Connect Data Movers to the Dell CEE Server

The cepp.conf file contains information that is necessary to connect the Data Movers to the Dell CEE server. An administrator must create a configuration file which contains at least one event, one pool, and one server. All other parameters are optional. The cepp.conf file resides on the Data Mover.

Step 1 – Log into the Dell Celerra or VNX server with an administrator account. The administrative account should have a $ character in the terminal.

NOTE: Do not use a # charter.

Step 2 – Create or retrieve the cepp.conf file.

If there is not a cepp.conf file on the Data Mover(s), use a text editor to create a new blank file in the home directory named cepp.conf. The following is an example command if using the text editor ‘vi’ to create a new blank file:

$ vi cepp.conf

If a cepp.conf file already exists, it can be retrieved from the Data Movers for modification with the following command:

$ server_file [DATA_MOVER_NAME] -get cepp.conf cepp.conf

Step 3 – Configure the cepp.conf file. For information on the cepp.conf file, see the Dell Using the Common Event Enabler for Windows Platforms guide instructions on how to add parameters or edit the values or existing parameters.

NOTE: The information can be added to the file on one line or separate lines by using a space and a ”\” at the end of each line, except for the last line and the lines that contain global options: cifsserver, surveytime, ft, and msrpcuser.

The Activity Monitor requires the following parameters to be set in the cepp.conf file:

• pool name=

  • This should equal the name assigned to the configuration container. This container is composed of the server(s) IP Address or FQDN where the Dell CEE is installed and where the list of events to be monitored is located. It can be named as desired but must be a pool name.

• servers=

  • This should equal the IP Address or FQDN of the Windows server where the Dell CEE is installed. If several servers are specified, separate them with the vertical bar (|) or a colon (:).

• postevents=

  • The following events are required (separated with the vertical bar): CloseModified|CloseUnmodified|CreateDir|CreateFile|DeleteDir|DeleteFile|RenameDir|RenameFile|SetAclDir|SetAclFile
  • If "Directory Read/List" operations are needed, append OpenDir to the list.

• msrpcuser=

  • This should equal the domain account used to run the Dell CEE Monitor and Dell CAVA services on the Windows server. This parameter is a security measure used to ensure events are only sent to the appropriate servers.

    All unspecified parameters use the default setting. For most configurations, the default setting is sufficient.

  Example cepp.conf file format:

  msrpcuser=[DOMAIN\DOMAINUSER]

  pool name=[POOL_NAME] \

  servers=[IP_ADDRESS1]|[IP_ADDRESS2]|... \

  postevents=[EVENT1]|[EVENT2]|...

  Example cepp.conf file format for the Activity Monitor:

  msrpcuser=[DOMAIN\DOMAINUSER running CEE services]

  pool name=[POOL_NAME for configuration container] \

  servers=[IP_ADDRESS where CEE is installed]|... \

  postevents=[EVENT1]|[EVENT2]|...

  Example of a completed cepp.conf file for the Activity Monitor:

  msrpcuser=example\user1

  pool name=pool \

  servers=192.168.30.15 \

  postevents=CloseModified|CloseUnmodified|CreateDir|CreateFile|DeleteDir|DeleteFile|RenameDir|RenameFile|SetAclDir|SetAclFile

Step 4 – Move the cepp.conf file to the Data Mover(s) root file system. Run the following command:

$ server_file [DATA_MOVER_NAME]‑put cepp.conf cepp.conf

NOTE: Each Data Mover which runs Celerra Event Publishing Agent (CEPA) must have a cepp.conf file, but each configuration file can specify different events.

Step 5 – (This step is required only if using the msrpcuser parameter) Register the MSRPC user (see Step 3 for additional information on this parameter). Before starting CEPA for the first time, the administrator must issue the following command from the Control Station and follow the prompts for entering information:

/nas/sbin/server_user server_2 -add -md5 -passwd [DOMAIN\DOMAINUSER for msrpcuser]

Step 6 – Start the CEPA facility on the Data Mover. Use the following command:

server_cepp [DATA_MOVER_NAME] -service –start

Then verify the CEPA status using the following command:

server_cepp [DATA_MOVER_NAME] -service –status

Once the cepp.config file has been configured, it is time to configure and enable monitoring with the Activity Monitor. See the Netwrix Activity Monitor Documentation for additional information.

Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Target Requirements

Netwrix Enterprise Auditor can execute Access Auditing (FSAA) and/or Sensitive Data Discovery Auditing scans on Dell Celerra or Dell VNX devices. The Netwrix Activity Monitor can be configured to monitor activity on Dell Celerra or Dell VNX devices and make the event data available for Enterprise Auditor Activity Auditing (FSAC) scans.

Access & Sensitive Data Auditing Permissions

The credentials used by the Enterprise Auditor scans must have the following permissions on the target host:

• Group membership in both of the following groups:

  • Power Users
  • Backup Operators

These permissions grant the credential the ability to enumerate shares, access the remote registry, and bypass NTFS security on folders. The credential used within the assigned Connection Profile for these target hosts requires these permissions. See the Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Access & Sensitive Data Auditing Configuration topic for instructions.

NOTE: These permissions are in addition to those needed to either deploy applet scans for running scans in proxy mode with applet or installing the File System Proxy Service Permissions for running scans in proxy mode as a service. See the File System Scan Options topic for additional information.

Troubleshooting Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Denied Access Errors

If there are folders to which the credential is denied access, it is likely that the Backup Operators group does not have the “Back up files and directories” right. In that case, it is necessary to assign additional the “Back up files and directories” right to those groups or to create a new local group, using Computer Management from a Windows server. Then assign rights to it using the CelerraManagementTool.msc plugin, which is available to Dell customers. For further information, see the Celerra guide Using Windows Administrative Tools on VNX found on the Celerra website.

Access & Sensitive Data Auditing Port Requirements

The firewall ports required by Enterprise Auditor for Access Auditing (FSAA) and/or Sensitive Data Discovery Auditing scans are based on the File System scan mode to be used. See the File System Scan Options topic for additional information.

Activity Auditing Permissions

Windows Proxy Server for Activity Agent Monitoring of Dell Celerra or Dell VNX

The Netwrix Activity Monitor must have an Activity Agent deployed on a Windows proxy server. While actively monitoring, the Activity Agent generates activity log files stored on the proxy server. The credential used to deploy the Activity Agent must have the following permissions on the proxy server:

• Membership in the local Administrators group
• READ and WRITE access to the archive location for Archiving feature only

It is also necessary to enable the Remote Registry Service on the Activity Agent server.

For integration between the Activity Monitor and Enterprise Auditor, the credential used by Enterprise Auditor to read the activity log files must have also have this permission.

Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Requirements

Additionally, the EMC Common Event Enabler (CEE) should be installed on the Windows proxy server, where the activity agent is deployed.

RECOMMENDED: Use the latest available CEE version from the Dell Support website.

EMC CEE requires .NET Framework 3.5 to be installed on the Windows proxy server in order for the EMC CEE service to start.

See the Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Activity Auditing Configuration topic for instructions.

Activity Monitor Archive Location

If the activity log files are being archived, configurable within the Netwrix Activity Monitor Console, then the credential used by Enterprise Auditor to read the activity log files must also have READ and WRITE permissions on the archive location.

Activity Auditing Port Requirements

Firewall settings depend on the type of environment being targeted. The following firewall settings are required for communication between the Agent server and the Netwrix Activity Monitor Console:

Communication Direction	Protocol	Ports	Description
Activity Monitor to Agent Server	TCP	4498	Agent Communication

The Windows firewall rules need to be configured on the Windows server, which require certain inbound rules be created if the scans are running in applet mode. These scans operate over a default port range, which cannot be specified via an inbound rule. For more information, see the Microsoft Connecting to WMI on a Remote Computer article.

Additional Firewall Rules for Dell Celerra & Dell VNX Devices

The following firewall settings are required for communication between the CEE server/ Activity Monitor Activity Agent server and the target Dell device:

Communication Direction	Protocol	Ports	Description
Dell Device CEE Server	TCP	RPC Dynamic Range	CEE Communication
CEE Server to Activity Agent Server (when not same server)	TCP	RPC Dynamic Range	CEE Event Data

Additional Firewall Rules for Integration between Enterprise Auditor and Activity Monitor

Firewall settings are dependent upon the type of environment being targeted. The following firewall settings are required for communication between the agent server and the Enterprise Auditor Console:

Communication Direction	Protocol	Ports	Description
Enterprise Auditor to Agent Server	TCP	445	SMB, used for Agent Deployment
Enterprise Auditor to Agent Server	TCP	Predefined	WMI, used for Agent Deployment

Validate Setup

Once the Activity Monitor agent is configured to monitor the Dell device, the automated configuration must be validated to ensure events are being monitored.

Validate Dell CEE Registry Key Settings

NOTE: See the Configure Dell Registry Key Settings topic for information on manually setting the registry key.

After the Activity Monitor activity agent has been configured to monitor the Dell device, it will configure the Dell CEE automatically if it is installed on the same server as the agent. This needs to be set manually in the rare situations where it is necessary for the Dell CEE to be installed on a different server than the Windows proxy server(s) where the Activity Monitor activity agent is deployed.

If the monitoring agent is not registering events, validate that the EndPoint is accurately set. Open the Registry Editor (run regedit). For the synchronous real-time delivery mode (AUDIT), use the following steps.

Step 1 – Navigate to the following windows registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EMC\CEE\CEPP\Audit\Configuration

Step 2 – Ensure that the Enabled parameter is set to 1.

Step 3 – Ensure that the EndPoint parameter contains an address string for the Activity Monitor agent in the following formats:

• For the RPC protocol, StealthAUDIT@'ip-address-of-the-agent'

• For the HTTP protocol, StealthAUDIT@http://'ip-address-of-the-agent':'port'

NOTE: All protocol strings are case sensitive. The EndPoint parameter may also contain values for other applications, separated with semicolons.

Step 4 – If you changed any of the settings, restart the CEE Monitor service.

For Asynchronous Bulk Delivery Mode

For the asynchronous bulk delivery mode with a cadence based on a time period or a number of events (VCAPS), use the following steps.

Step 1 – Navigate to the following windows registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EMC\CEE\CEPP\VCAPS\Configuration

Step 2 – Ensure that the Enabled parameter is set to 1.

Step 3 – Ensure that the EndPoint parameter contains an address string for the Activity Monitor agent in the following formats:

• For the RPC protocol, StealthVCAPS@'ip-address-of-the-agent'
• For the HTTP protocol, StealthVCAPS@http://'ip-address-of-the-agent':'port'

NOTE: All protocol strings are case sensitive. The EndPoint parameter may also contain values for other applications, separated with semicolons.

Step 4 – Ensure that the FeedInterval parameter is set to a value between 60 and 600; the MaxEventsPerFeed - between 10 and 10000.

Step 5 – If you changed any of the settings, restart the CEE Monitor service.

Set the following values under the Data column:

• Enabled – 1
• EndPoint – StealthAUDIT

If this is configured correctly, validate that the Dell CEE services are running. See the Validate Dell CEE Services are Running topic for additional information.

Validate Dell CEE Services are Running

After the Activity Monitor Activity Agent has been configured to monitor the Dell device, the Dell CEE services should be running. If the Activity Agent is not registering events and the EndPoint is set accurately, validate that the Dell CEE services are running. Open the Services (run services.msc).

The following services laid down by the Dell CEE installer should have Running as their status:

• Dell CAVA
• Dell CEE Monitor

Dell CEE Debug Logs

If an issue arises with communication between the Dell CEE and the Activity Monitor, the debug logs need to be enabled for troubleshooting purposes. Follow the steps.

Step 6 – In the Activity Monitor Console, change the Trace level value in the lower right corner to Trace.

Step 7 – In the Activity Monitor Console, select all Dell hosts from the Monitored Hosts list and Disable monitoring.

Step 8 – Download and install the Debug View tool from Microsoft on the CEE server:

http://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/debugview

Step 9 – Open the Registry Editor (run regedit). Navigate to following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EMC\CEE\Configuration

Step 10 – Right-click on Debug and select Modify. The Edit DWORD Value window opens. In the Value data field, enter the value of 3F. Click OK, and the Edit DWORD Value window closes.

NOTE: If the Debug DWORD Value does not exist, it needs to be added.

Step 11 – Right-click on Verbose and select Modify. The Edit DWORD Value window opens. In the Value data field, enter the value of 3F. Click OK, and the Edit DWORD Value window closes.

NOTE: If the Verbose DWORD Value does not exist, it needs to be added.

Step 12 – Run the Debug View tool (from Microsoft). In the Capture menu, select the following:

• Capture Win32
• Capture Global Win32
• Capture Events

Step 13 – In the Activity Monitor Console, select all Dell hosts from the Monitored Hosts list and Enable monitoring.

Step 14 – Generate some file activity on the Dell device. Save the Debug View Log to a file.

Step 15 – Send the following logs to Netwrix Support:

• Debug View Log (from Dell Debug View tool)
• Use the Collect Logs button to collect debug logs from the activity agent

RECOMMENDED: After the logs have been gathered and sent to Netwrix Support, reset these configurations.