Console Access to Dimension

If you lose your network connection to Dimension and cannot log in to Dimension in a web browser, you can use the predefined wgsupport user account to make a console connection to Dimension. The wgsupport user has read-only access to Dimension, and can only be used with a console connection to Dimension.

When you make a console connection to Dimension, the wgsupport user can review your network settings and determine why a connection cannot be made to Dimension. This user can also assign a static IP address to any of the available Ethernet interfaces. You can then use that static IP address to connect to Dimension in a web browser and log in with a standard user account, such as the admin account.

The default wgsupport user credentials are:

  • User name — wgsupport
  • Passphrase — readwrite

The first time you make a console connection to Dimension, you must change the default password for the wgsupport user.

To make a console connection to Dimension:

  1. Log in to the vSphere Client or Hyper-V Manager and select your Dimension VM.
  2. Start a console connection to your Dimension VM.
  3. Type the user name wgsupport.
  4. Type the passphrase readwrite.
  5. Type and confirm the new passphrase for the wgsupport user account.
  6. Run the commands described in the next sections.
  7. To log out, type exit.

Set a Static IP Address

After you have made a console connection to Dimension with the wgsupport user account, you can run the command to set a static IP address for the external (Eth0) interface. The command tool that you use to change the IP address is located in the /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin directory. To change the IP address, you must specify this directory, run the wg_ip_addr.sh command, and type the new IP address and default gateway for the interface.

To configure Dimension with a static IP address:

  1. At the command line, type:

/opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_ip_addr.sh -i <IP address> -m <mask> -g <gateway>

For example, to configure Dimension with a static IP address of 203.0.113.201/24 and a gateway of 203.0.113.1, type:

/opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_ip_addr.sh -i 203.0.113.201 -m 24 -g 203.0.113.1

  1. Press Enter on your keyboard.

See Command Help

To see the options available for this command and the Help descriptions of the command options:

  1. At the command line, type:

/opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_ip_addr.sh --help

  1. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The options and Help text for the wg_ip_addr.sh command appears.

Find the External IP Address

If the external network has a DHCP server, the Dimension external interface is automatically assigned an IP address. To find the IP address to use to connect to Dimension, and all the interface information for your instance of Dimension, you can use the command line.

  1. Log in to the vSphere Client or Hyper-V Manager and select your Dimension VM.
  2. Start a console connection to your Dimension VM.
  3. Type the user name wgsupport. Press Enter on your keyboard.
  4. Type the password you specified for the wgsupport account. Press Enter on your keyboard.
  5. Type ifconfig. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The IP address information for all Dimension interfaces appears.

Find Dimension Network Interface Details

You can use the console connection to find the IP address, configuration details, and route information for the Dimension network interfaces.

To find the IP address and configuration details:

  1. Log in to the vSphere Client or Hyper-V Manager and select your Dimension VM.
  2. Start a console connection to your Dimension VM and type the credentials for the wgsupport user. Press Enter on your keyboard.
  3. Type ip addr show. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The IP address assigned to the Eth0 interface and the configuration details for the interface appear.

To find the route information:

  1. Log in to the vSphere Client or Hyper-V Manager and select your Dimension VM.
  2. Start a console connection to your Dimension VM and type the credentials for the wgsupport user. Press Enter on your keyboard.
  3. Type ip route show. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The route information for the eth0 interface appears.

Enable Support Access to Dimension for Diagnostics

If you cannot connect to Dimension in a web browser, you can make a console connection to your Dimension VM and run the wg_support_access.sh command to enable or disable support access to dimension, and specify the port to use for support access. The support access command is located in the /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin directory.

The options you can run with the support access command include:

  • -e — Enable support access
  • -d — Disable support access
  • -p — Specify the port number to use for support access
  • -h — See the available support access command options and exit the support access command
    To exit the support access command, the option is 0. If you typed the exit option in error, the option is 1.

You can also run the --help option to see the available support access commands.

To enable support access to Dimension and specify the port number:

  1. Log in to the vSphere Client or Hyper-V Manager and select your Dimension VM.
  2. Start a console connection to your Dimension VM and type the credentials for the wgsupport user.
  3. Press Enter on your keyboard.
  4. Type /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_support_access.sh -e -p <port number>
    For example, to use port 22 for support access connections to Dimension, type /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_support_access.sh -e -p 22
  5. Press Enter on your keyboard.

To disable support access to Dimension, at the console connection prompt:

  1. Type /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_support_access.sh -d
  2. Press Enter on your keyboard.

To see the available support access command options, at the console connection prompt:

  1. Type /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_support_access.sh -h
  2. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The available support access command options appear.

To exit the support access command, at the console connection prompt:

  1. Type /opt/watchguard/dimension/bin/wg_support_access.sh -h 0
  2. Press Enter on your keyboard.

Related Topics

Set Up & Administer Dimension

Manage Dimension System Settings