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Initial CLI Configuration

Once XLServer has been successfully deployed on your hypervisor (VMware or VirtualBox), you must perform an initial configuration using the command line interface (CLI). This step is required before accessing the web administration console.

1. Connect to XLServer CLI​

Use an SSH client to connect to the appliance using its IP address. The default credentials are:

  • Username: sysman
  • Password: sysman
login as: sysman
sysman@192.168.226.46's password:

Once logged in, you will see the CLI prompt:

Welcome to XLServer command line interface. Please, enter help for Help or quit to exit
XLSERVER>

For the initial configuration, at minimum, you must configure the hostname and the management network. These are essential for proper system identification and connectivity.

1. Configure the Hostname​

To configure the hostname, enter the host command at the main CLI prompt:

XLSERVER>host

You will enter the HOSTNAME submenu. From here, you can display the current hostname or set a new one.

To display the available commands in this submenu, use help or simply h:

XLSERVER:HOSTNAME>help
         help(h): to show this help
         quite(q): to back to previous screen
         show: display current hostname
         any string as hostname: to change the hostname

Display Current Hostname​

To see the current system hostname, enter:

XLSERVER:HOSTNAME>show
This will display output similar to:

   Static hostname: xls.localdomain
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: 8916ea1fd8214c148d823b7701fd45d3
           Boot ID: 6eebe5a4d6104ffba1785e1e5812bd2d
    Virtualization: vmware
  Operating System: CentOS Linux 8
       CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:8
            Kernel: Linux 4.18.0-348.7.1.el8_5.x86_64
      Architecture: x86-64

Set a New Hostname​

To change the hostname, simply type the new hostname you wish to assign and press Enter. You will be prompted to confirm:

XLSERVER:HOSTNAME>xlserver.localdomain
new hostname xlserver.localdomain
XLSERVER:HOSTNAME:Do you want to save hostname ?[NO]>YES
done
XLSERVER:HOSTNAME>

2. Configure the Network​

To return to the main menu from the hostname submenu, enter:

XLSERVER:HOSTNAME>q
XLSERVER>

Next, to configure the network settings, type:

XLSERVER>network

This will open the NETWORK submenu.

Display Help​

To list available commands in this submenu, enter:

XLSERVER:NETWORK>h

Output:

         help(h): to show this help
         quite(q): to back to previous screen
         device(dev): display attached devices
         show: display associated ip address with each device
         management: configure management network
         backup: configure backup network
         client: configure client network
         delete(del): remove configured network

Show Attached Network Devices​

To display available network interfaces:

XLSERVER:NETWORK>device

Example output:

NAME    UUID                                  TYPE      DEVICE
ens160  5a1f1ba5-4fb5-429c-992d-ba90255b8a8a  ethernet  ens160

Show Configured Networks​

To see current network configurations:

XLSERVER:NETWORK>show

Example output:

         Current network configuration:
  Network   |               NIC UUID               |    IP Address     |    gateway    | dhcp
------------+--------------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+------
 MANAGEMENT | 5a1f1ba5-4fb5-429c-992d-ba90255b8a8a | 192.168.226.46/24 | 192.168.226.2 | f

Remove Network Configuration​

If needed, you can delete a network (e.g., MANAGEMENT, BACKUP, CLIENT):

XLSERVER:NETWORK>delete
XLSERVER:NETWORK:DELETE: Enter network type to remove>MANAGEMENT
         MANAGEMENT network deleted!

Verify it was removed:

XLSERVER:NETWORK>show

3. Configure the Management Network​

⚠️ At a minimum, the MANAGEMENT network must be configured.

If only one NIC is available, BACKUP and CLIENT networks will use the same interface. If more NICs exist, you can configure up to 3 separate networks.

To begin setup:

XLSERVER:NETWORK>management

You’ll be prompted with the list of available network interfaces:

         Available network interfaces:
NAME    UUID                                  TYPE      DEVICE
ens160  5a1f1ba5-4fb5-429c-992d-ba90255b8a8a  ethernet  ens160

Step-by-Step Configuration​

Choose the Interface UUID (not the device name):

XLSERVER:NETWORK:SETUP: Choose network interface to use for MANAGEMENT network>5a1f1ba5-4fb5-429c-992d-ba90255b8a8a

Choose DHCP or Static IP (default is static):

XLSERVER:NETWORK:SETUP:Do you want to use DHCP ?[NO]>

(Leave blank for static IP, or type YES for DHCP) Enter the IP Address (CIDR notation):

XLSERVER:NETWORK:SETUP:Enter IP Address to use (CIDR annotation)>192.168.226.46/24

Enter DNS Server (optional):

XLSERVER:NETWORK:SETUP:Enter DNS Address>

Enable Jumbo Frame? (optional):

XLSERVER:NETWORK:SETUP:Do you want to enable jumbo frame for this interface ?[NO]>YES

📝 Note: A Jumbo Frame is a network packet larger than the standard 1500 bytes (typically up to 9000 bytes). Enabling jumbo frames can improve performance by reducing CPU load and increasing throughput — particularly useful in high-speed networks or storage-intensive environments.

✅ Only enable if your network infrastructure (switches, routers, NICs) supports jumbo frames.

Save or Discard Changes:

XLSERVER:NETWORK:SETUP:Do you want to save changes ?[NO]>YES

You'll see output similar to:

You will be disconnect, please connect again...
Connection 'ens160' successfully deactivated (D-Bus active path: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/1)
Connection successfully activated (D-Bus active path: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/2)
Generating a RSA private key
...........................................+++++
.......................+++++
writing new private key to 'xls_key.pem'
-----
✅ Keystore 'keystore.p12' created with alias 'xls'
Certificate created successfully...
MANAGEMENT network configured successfully!

4. NTP Configuration​

Once the hostname and management network are configured, it's recommended to configure NTP (Network Time Protocol) to keep the system clock synchronized.

To return to the main menu from the network menu, enter:

XLSERVER:NETWORK>q
XLSERVER>

Enter the NTP Configuration Menu To enter the NTP menu, type:

XLSERVER>ntp

You can always enter h or help to display available commands:

XLSERVER:NTP>h
         help(h): to show this help
         quite(q): to back to previous screen
         show: display current NTP configuration
         setup: reconfigure NTP servers

View Current NTP Configuration​

To see the current NTP configuration, use the show command:

XLSERVER:NTP>show
Current NTP Servers (from /etc/chrony.conf):
No NTP servers configured.

NTP Synchronization Status (chronyc sources -v):
506 Cannot talk to daemon

If no servers are configured or if the daemon is unreachable, you’ll need to set up new NTP servers.

Setup New NTP Servers​

To configure or reconfigure the NTP servers, enter:

XLSERVER:NTP>setup
NTP servers SETUP
XLSERVER:NTP:Do you want to save hostNTP configuration ?[NO]>

💡 Note: At the end of the NTP setup process, confirm the configuration by entering YES when prompted. If successful, the configuration will be applied and the NTP service will be restarted automatically.

5. Change sysman Password​

After setting up the NTP configuration, it's strongly recommended to change the default password for the sysman account to ensure system security.

To return to the main menu from a submenu, enter:

XLSERVER:PASSWORD>q
XLSERVER>

Enter the Password Menu From the main prompt, type:

XLSERVER>password

Then view the available commands:

XLSERVER:PASSWORD>h
         help(h): to show this help
         quite(q): to back to previous screen
         new password: to change sysman password

Change the Password​

To change the sysman password:

At the prompt, type the new password directly (e.g., sysman123) and press Enter.

When prompted to confirm the change, type YES.

XLSERVER:PASSWORD>sysman123
XLSERVER:PASSWORD:Do you want to confirm password modification ?[NO]>YES
Done

✅ The password has now been updated successfully.

6. Manage Application Service​

The CLI allows you to check the status of the application service, or to start/stop it when needed.

To return to the main menu from any submenu, enter:

XLSERVER:SERVICE>q
XLSERVER>

Enter the Service Menu​

From the main prompt, enter the following command to access service controls:

XLSERVER>service

To view available commands, enter:

XLSERVER:SERVICE>h
         help(h): to show this help
         quite(q): to back to previous screen
         status: display application service status
         stop: stop application service
         start: start application service

Check Service Status​

To check if the application service is running:

XLSERVER:SERVICE>status
service status
Running

Stop the Service​

To stop the application service:

XLSERVER:SERVICE>stop

⛔ Use this command with caution, especially in production environments.

Start the Service​

To start the application service again:

XLSERVER:SERVICE>start

✅ This will start the application service if it was previously stopped.

7. Manage Certificates via CLI​

The CLI allows you to view details of the current certificate or generate a new self-signed certificate.

ℹ️ Note: If you prefer to use your own certificate (not self-signed), you can import it using the Admin Web Console.

Enter the Certificate Menu​

From the main menu, type:

XLSERVER>certificate

You will enter the certificate management submenu:

XLSERVER:CERTIFICATE>

To display the list of available certificate commands, enter:

XLSERVER:CERTIFICATE>help
         help(h): to show this help
         quite(q): to back to previous screen
         show: display current certificate detail
         generate(gen): generate new certificate

View Current Certificate​

To inspect the currently installed certificate:

XLSERVER:CERTIFICATE>show

Output example:

Certificate Details:
Certificate:
    Data:
        Version: 3 (0x2)
        Serial Number: ...
        Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
        Issuer: CN = localhost
        Validity
            Not Before: Aug  2 15:51:01 2025 GMT
            Not After : Aug  2 15:51:01 2026 GMT
        Subject: CN = localhost
        Subject Public Key Info:
            RSA Public-Key: (2048 bit)
            ...
        X509v3 extensions:
            ...
    Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
        ...

Generate New Self-Signed Certificate​

To generate a new self-signed certificate:

XLSERVER:CERTIFICATE>generate

Output:

Generating a RSA private key
..+++++
..........................+++++
writing new private key to 'xls_key.pem'
-----
✅ Keystore 'keystore.p12' created with alias 'xls'
Certificate created successfully...

Return to Previous Menu To go back to the main CLI menu:

XLSERVER:CERTIFICATE>q