2.11  The firewall's console (Software Appliance / VMware Virtual Appliance)

On the console of the computer where Kerio WinRoute Firewall Software Appliance / VMware Virtual Appliance is running, information about the firewall remote administration options is displayed. Upon authenticating by the administration password (see above), this console allows to change some basic settings, restore default settings after installation and shut down or restart the computer.

By default, the console shows only information about URL or IP address which can be used for firewall administration via the firewall's web administration interface or the Kerio Administration Console. To access configuration options, authentication with the Admin password is required (Admin is the main firewall administrator's account). If idle for some time, the user gets logged out automatically and the welcome page of the console showing details on the firewall's remote administration is displayed again.

The firewall's console provides the following configuration options:

Network Interface Configurations

This option allows to show or/and edit parameters of individual network interfaces of the firewall. Each interface allows definition of automatic configuration via DHCP or manual configuration of IP address, subnet mask and default gateway.

Note: No default gateway should be set on interfaces connected to the local network, otherwise this firewall cannot be used as a gateway for the Internet access.

Remote administration policy settings

When you change the firewall's traffic policy (see chapter 7  Traffic Policy) via the web administration interface or the Kerio Administration Console, you may happen to block access to the remote administration accidentally.

If you are sure that the firewall's network interfaces are configured correctly and despite of that it is not possible to access the remote administration, you can use the Remote Administration option to change the traffic policy so that the rules do not block remote administration on any interface.

Upon saving changes in traffic rules, the Kerio WinRoute Firewall Engine service will be restarted automatically.

I the field, unblocking of the remote administration means that a rule will be added to the top of the traffic policy table that would allow access KWF Admin (connection with the Kerio Administration Console), KWF WebAdmin (unsecured web interface) and KWF WebAdmin-SSL (secured web interface) services from any computer .

Shutting down / restarting the firewall

If you need to shut your computer down or reboot it, these options provide secure closure of the Kerio WinRoute Firewall Engine and shutdown of the firewall's operating system.

Restoring default configuration

This option restores the default firewall settings as installed from the installation CD or upon the first startup of the VMware virtual host. All configuration files and data (logs, statistics, etc.) will be removed and it will then be necessary to execute the initial configuration of the firewall again as if a new installation (see chapter 2.7  Installation - Software Appliance and VMware Virtual Appliance).

Restoring the default configuration can be helpful if the firewall's configuration is accidentally damaged that much that it cannot be corrected by any other means.