3.1. MS and MC

MC itself is just a graphical frontend to MS. It is MS that stores configuration information and manages connections with the agents on managed hosts. The MS-based firewall management can only be performed through MC; there is no console alternative. MC is not “bound” to a particular MS host, as long as the proper username/password pair is known, it can be used to connect to any MS host.

MC can be started the following way:

  • Windows: Locate the PNS folder in the Start menu and click on the MC icon. If no such folder has been created when MC was installed, start zmc.exe manually from the installation folder.

  • Linux: Start MC from the Network or Internet menu of your desktop environment, or from the console by executing the following command: ./<installation-directory>/bin/zmc.

Selecting the MS engine to connect to

Figure 3.1. Selecting the MS engine to connect to

When you first start MC after the installation, the list of reachable MS hosts is empty, therefore you must define a new host. To define a new host, click New. MC configurations are stored in a folder named .zmsgui. This folder (for the Windows version of MC) is created in the installing user's profile directory, which is typically %systemroot%\Documents and Settings\%username% The name of the file that stores MC configurations is zmsgui.conf. The Linux version of MC stores configuration information in the same manner, within the user's home directory.

Expected outcome: 

After entering the correct password, if network connectivity is provided, the MC main screen greets you.

Note

When MC connects to a MS engine for the first time, it displays the SSH-style fingerprint of the MS host. During later connections, it checks the fingerprint automatically.

Warning

MC and the MS to be accessed must have matching version numbers, that is, MS 7.0.1 must be accessed with MC 7.0.1. Login is not permitted if the version number of MS and MS is different.

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