Connection Settings

    Connection Settings control how administrators and help desk technicians reach ManageEngine SecureAI over the network. Choose the protocol the web client uses to communicate with the SecureAI server, HTTP, or HTTPS and validate a session duration before it expires. Use Connection Settings to align SecureAI with your organization's transport security standard and its session timeout policy. Both values apply to all the users that log into SecureAI, and the change is applied after the product is restarted.

    How it works

    The connection type sets the protocol for traffic between the browser and the SecureAI server, and it covers the whole installation rather than an individual account, role, or browser. HTTPS encryption is what makes the SSL certificate necessary, because a browser cannot complete an HTTPS connection to a server without a valid one.

    The session expiration time is stored on the SecureAI server rather than in the browser, so the same period applies to every user, regardless of which browser or machine they log in from. Connection settings carry a single Save, so the connection type and session expiration time are written together even though only the connection type waits for a restart.

    Prerequisites

    Complete the following before you change connection settings:

    • Log in with an account whose delegated role covers SecureAI settings. Of the default roles, Super Admin has full control in SecureAI.
    • Confirm there is an SSL certificate for the SecureAI server; without this a browser cannot complete an HTTPS connection.
    • Open the port for the protocol you select, both on the SecureAI server and on any firewall between it and your users. HTTP and HTTPS do not use the same port, so changing the protocol means opening a different one.
    Note:
    • Connection Settings apply to all of SecureAI. You cannot set a protocol for an individual help desk technician, role, or client.
    • You cannot create or import a certificate from this screen. Use the SSL Certificate Tool, then return to Connection Settings.
    • SecureAI reads the connection type when it starts, so a saved change is not yet applied. The server will continue to answer on the previous protocol until the product is restarted.

    Configuration instructions

    1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Connection.
    2. Select the connection type from the Connection Type section.
      • HTTP: Leaves the traffic between the browser and the SecureAI server unencrypted.
      • HTTPS: Encrypts the traffic between the browser and the SecureAI server. This is the recommended value. If no certificate is in place, click SSL Certificate Tool, generate a certificate request, submit it to your certificate authority, apply the issued certificate, then return to Connection Settings.
    3. In Connection Settings under General Settings, select a period from the Session Expiration Time drop-down menu. After this period a login is no longer valid, and the user returns to the login page. The value applies to every account that logs into SecureAI.
    4. Click Save.
    5. Restart SecureAI on the machine it is installed on. Once it is running again, reach the web client on the selected protocol.

    Tips

    • Selecting HTTPS also satisfies the Enforce HTTPs recommendation under Security and Privacy, and raises the product security hardening figure reported there.
    • Tell your users before you restart, because the restart will end every active login, and the address will change along with the protocol.
    • Update bookmarks, scheduled links, and any monitoring check that points at SecureAI after a protocol change, because the old address will stop responding.
    • A browser certificate warning after the switch usually indicates the certificate in use is self-signed, or that it does not match the server name. Replace it with a certificate issued for that name.
    • A short session expiration time reduces the risk of an unattended browser being used by someone else, but it also logs help desk technicians out mid-task, so agree on the value .
    • Running SecureAI as a Windows service enables it to start with the machine and continue running after an administrator logs off the server.