Introducing the Management Console

The WSO2 Carbon Management console is a Web-based user interface powered by JSP and AJAX. It allows users to interact with a running Carbon instance, without having to directly interfere with any underlying configuration files.

The Management Console makes use of the default HTTPS servlet transport, which is configured in the catalina-server.xml file in directory <PRODUCT_HOME>/repository/conf/tomcat. It is essential for this transport to be properly configured in this file for the Management Console to be accessible by users.

Accessing the Management Console

Make sure you have run the product by executing the shell script (for Linux/Solaris) or the batch file (for Windows) as explained in the previous section. With any WSO2 product properly installed, you can access its Management Console (Web interface) by opening a Web browser and typing in the management console's URL as it appears in the start script's log. For example,

product management console URL

Accessing from Internet/LAN

To connect to the product's Web Interface from any computer connected to Internet/LAN, follow the instructions below.

1. Open a Web browser and access the real IP of the server. Typically, it is the IP address of the computer.

The URL should be in the following format:

https://<Server Host>:<Server Port>/carbon

2. The product's homepage opens.

Accessing from Local Machine

1. You can also connect to the product's Web Interface from the computer where it is installed by typing "localhost" instead of the IP: https://localhost:<Server Port>/carbon

The Management Console URL can be changed by modifying the value of the MgtHostName in the <PRODUCT_HOME>/repository/conf/carbon.xmlfile.

<MgtHostName>localhost</MgtHostName>

2. Once you have established a connection, the Management Console opens in the anonymous mode.

If you leave the Management Console unattended for a defined time, its login session will time out. The default timeout value is 15 minutes, but you can change this in <PRODUCT_HOME>/repository/conf/tomcat/carbon/WEB-INF/web.xml file as follows:

<session-config>
   <session-timeout>15</session-timeout>
</session-config>

Notice

When the product's homepage opens, it is possible that the Internet browser will display an "insecure connection" message, requiring your confirmation of being aware of the risks.

The Management Console is based on HTTPS protocol, which is a combination of HTTP and SSL protocols. This protocol is generally used to encrypt the traffic from the client to server for security reasons. The certificate it works with is used for encryption only, and does not prove the server identity. So when the users try to access the Management Console, a warning of untrusted connection is usually displayed. In order to continue working with this certificate, some steps should be taken to "accept" the certificate before access to the site is permitted. In case Mozilla Firefox browser is used, this usually occurs only on the first access to the server. Then the certificate is stored in the browser database marked as trusted. In case of some other browsers are used, insecure connection warning may be displayed every time server is accessed.

This scenario is suitable for testing purposes, or for running the program on the company's internal networks. But in case there is a need to provide an interface to the outside world, a company should obtain a certificate signed by a well-known CA. The role of a CA is to verify that the server accessed actually has the name it is accessed by, and that this server actually belongs to the given organization.

The homepage of the Management Console typically has the following sections:

Menu Items

Anonymous users can access some menu items including the "Home" menu displayed on the left-hand-side panel.

Links to Resources

The panel at the center provides links to several resources as follows:

The product's online documentation.
The product's forum.
Link to the product's issue tracking system.
The mailing lists at http://wso2.org/mail.

Sign-in Section

To access more controls, you need to log-in to the Management Console using the log-in panel at the right-hand-side. Type in admin as the default Username and admin as the default Password. Click on "Sign-in".

For example,

WSO2 management console signin

You will be logged in to the product's Management Console.

The controls in the Management Console are usually self-explanatory. However, the context-sensitive help tips, accessible by clicking the 'Help' link at the top right corner of any page, are a fast and easy way to get more information, if required. The product documentation provides further information about the technology and configurations.

The console's menu items appear in the left hand side. Usually they are divided as Main, Monitor, Configure and Tools although additional menus may appear depending on the availability of features. Each of these menus carries a list of sub menus. A product's menus and sub menus may vary depending on the product version and any additional feature you have installed to provision the server.