Setting Up the ActivID Appliance

The ActivID Appliance solution can be installed in various scenarios involving all or only some of the following components:

ActivID Authentication Services – consists of the following applications:
- ActivID Authentication Server – the core server that provides the authentication infrastructure to meet cross-channel requirements.
- About the ActivID Authentication Portal – the portal that provides the logon interface for service provider authentication (including the ActivID Management Console and ActivID Self-Service Portal).
About the ActivID Management Console – the web-based interface to manage the authentication system.
ActivID Console - a pre-installed component on the appliance that allows you to initialize and configure the appliance.
ActivID UNIX Terminal - a pre-installed component of the appliance that is used to perform critical operations such as restarting the appliance. You can access this interface by connecting a monitor and keyboard to the appliance, or through the SSH protocol.
About the ActivID Self-Service Portal – the web-based interface that offers end users activation and management services for soft and hardware authentication devices.
ActivID RADIUS Front End (RFE) – enables OTP and static password authentication using the RADIUS protocol.

Note:

The ActivID Appliance user interfaces, the ActivID Management Console, ActivID Authentication Portal, and ActivID Self-Service Portal, are browser-based and do not require client installation.
The portals support accessibility and are Section 508-compliant according to the US government regulations.

Important: Before proceeding, it is strongly recommended that you review the full setup procedure to understand the overall requirements and tasks, especially the sections that apply to your deployment and/or role.

If you have any questions, contact HID Global Professional Services.

Deployment Overview

The ActivID Appliance installation and configuration process consists of three steps:

Start the appliance according to your deployment:
- Connect and power on a physical hardware appliance – see Installing the ActivID Appliance (Hardware)
- Create the virtual machine and start a virtual appliance – see Creating a Virtual ActivID Appliance

Log on to the ActivID UNIX Terminal and perform the initial configuration.
Log on to the ActivID Console to:
- Install the relevant service packs (rebooting after installing each SP)
- Initialize and configure the appliance

Installation Types

The ActivID Appliance installation type can be either Full or Front End, respectively deploying all or only some of the applications/components.

With the exception of the ActivID Console, the Front-End applications can also be disabled according to requirements.

The following tables detail the applications/components installed for both types.

ActivID Application	Available for Installation Type	Can be Enabled/Disabled
ActivID Console	Full and Front End	No
ActivID Authentication Server	Full only	No
ActivID Authentication Portal	Full only	No
ActivID RADIUS Front End (RFE)	Full and Front End	Yes
ActivID Management Console (MC)	Full and Front End	Yes
ActivID Self-Service Portal (SSP)	Full and Front End	Yes

ActivID Appliance Component Deployment

Component/Feature	Available for Installation Type
Monitoring	Full and Front End
High Availability	Full only
License Management Server	Full only
Database	Full only
HSM	Full only

Note: Components that can be deployed off the appliance have to be installed on external systems.

About ActivID Appliance Administrator Accounts

The setup process requires the two administrator accounts:

For further information, see Manage the ActivID Appliance Administrator Accounts.

Topics in this section: