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SMC configuration
Security Management Center (SMC) configuration allows you to customize how the SMC components work.
Administrator accounts
Administrator accounts define administrator rights and permissions in the SMC.
Change administrator passwords
If you have not configured administrator passwords to automatically expire, we recommend that you change administrator passwords regularly.

About this Help
Introduction to the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall solution
Before setting up Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall (Forcepoint NGFW), it is useful to know what the different components do and what engine roles are available.
Deployment
Before you can set up the system and start configuring elements, you must consider how the different SMC components should be positioned and deployed.
Setting up
After deploying the SMC components, you are ready to start using the Management Client and carrying out some of the first configuration tasks.
Monitoring
You can use the SMC to monitor system components and third-party devices. You can also view and filter logs, and create Reports from them.
Controlling engines
You can command and set options for engines through the Management Client or on the engine command line. You can also stop traffic manually.
SMC configuration
Security Management Center (SMC) configuration allows you to customize how the SMC components work.
- Administrator accounts
  Administrator accounts define administrator rights and permissions in the SMC.
  - Getting started with administrator accounts
    An administrator account specifies the actions for which the administrator has permissions, such as creating elements and browsing logs.
  - How administrator accounts work
    Many elements are used in the configuration of administrator accounts, including NGFW Engine, Policy, Access Control List, Administrator Role, and Filter elements.
  - Default administrator account elements
    There are several predefined Administrator Roles and Access Control Lists that help you configure Administrator permissions. You cannot edit the predefined elements.
  - Administrator account configuration overview
    You must configure an administrator account for each administrator. You can create customized task and element lists that can be used to define permissions for administrators.
  - Creating Administrator Role and Access Control List elements
    You can use Administrator Role and Access Control List elements in accounts that define restricted administrator permissions.
  - Add administrator accounts
    Administrator elements represent administrator accounts in the SMC. Administrators configure and monitor the SMC and the NGFW Engines.
  - Enforce an approval workflow
    You can optionally enable an approval workflow in which an administrator must approve changes before they are committed and transferred to the engines.
  - Restrict the log data an administrator can view
    If an administrator is allowed to view logs and alerts, you apply local filters to the log data before it is displayed to the administrator.
  - Customize log colors for administrators
    By default, certain logs are shown with a colored background in the Logs view. Using administrator-specific log colors makes it easier to draw the administrator’s attention to particular logs.
  - Replicate administrator accounts on engines
    You can replicate SMC administrator accounts as local administrator accounts on selected engines. This enables several administrators to access an engine locally with the security privileges of the root user.
  - Enable and define password policy settings
    If you authenticate administrators or Web Portal users with internal authentication, you can enforce a password policy.
  - Change administrator passwords
    If you have not configured administrator passwords to automatically expire, we recommend that you change administrator passwords regularly.
    - Change passwords of other administrators
      An administrator who has the right to manage administrator accounts can change any other administrator’s password.
    - Change your own administrator password
      All administrators can change their own passwords in the Management Client or the Web Portal.
    - Change your own engine password
      If administrator accounts have been replicated on engines, administrators can change their own local engine passwords using the Management Client.
  - Authenticate administrators using RADIUS or TACACS+ methods
    You can authenticate administrators and Web Portal users using RADIUS or TACACS+ authentication methods.
  - Using LDAP authentication for administrators
    When you use LDAP authentication for administrators, administrator accounts are linked to user accounts in an integrated external directory server. The external directory server where the user accounts are stored verifies the user credentials.
  - Authenticate administrators using certificate-based authentication
    You can authenticate administrators using an X.509 certificate stored in the Windows certificate store or on a smart card, such as a Common Access Card (CAC).
  - Disable administrator accounts
    If an administrator account is no longer needed, you can disable the administrator account to remove access for the administrator.
  - Delete administrator accounts
    When you permanently delete an administrator account, all history of changes the administrator has made to elements is also deleted permanently.
  - API client accounts and how they work
    You can use the application programming interface (API) of the SMC to run certain actions in the SMC remotely using an external application or script.
  - Configure SMC API
    The Application Programming Interface (API) of SMC allows external applications to connect with the SMC.
- Alert escalation
  The SMC can escalate the alerts generated so that notifications are sent to the administrators through multiple channels.
- Domain elements
  Domain elements allow you to restrict which elements are displayed to the administrators in the Management Client and in the optional Web Portal. They also allow you to define in which administrative Domains an administrator has permissions. Configuring Domains requires a special license.
- Setting up the Web Portal
  The Web Portal provides browser-based access to logs, reports, and Policy Snapshots for specific authorized users. The Web Portal is provided by the Web Portal Server, which is an optional component that you can purchase for your SMC.
- Distributing Management Clients through Web Start
  The Management Client can be distributed through Web Start. There is no need for each administrator to upgrade their client when the SMC is upgraded to a new version. The version of the client must always match the version of the Management Server.
- Configuring the Log Server
  You can modify a Log Server element, configure settings for Log Servers, and recertify Log Servers.
- Configuring SMC servers for high availability
  You can install several Management Servers and Log Servers to provide high availability for the SMC.
- Reconfiguring the SMC and engines
  You can modify settings for Management Servers, change hardware platforms or the IP addresses used in system communications, change the type of certificate authority, and change the role of NGFW Engines.
Engine element configuration
You can create and modify Firewalls, IPS engines, Layer 2 Firewalls, Master NGFW Engines and Virtual NGFW Engines. You can configure the engine properties, activate optional features, and configure advanced engine settings.
Routing
Use the Management Client to configure static or dynamic routing, and use a Multi-Link configuration to manage and distribute inbound and outbound connections.
Traffic inspection policies
Policies are key elements that contain rules for allowing or blocking network traffic and inspecting the content of traffic.
Users and authentication
User accounts are stored in internal databases or external directory servers. You can use Forcepoint NGFW in the Firewall/VPN role or external authentication servers to authenticate users.
Virtual private networks
Forcepoint NGFW supports both policy-based and route-based VPNs (virtual private networks).
Maintenance and upgrades
Maintenance includes procedures that you do not typically need to do frequently.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting helps you resolve common problems in the Forcepoint NGFW and SMC.
Appendices

Change administrator passwords

If you have not configured administrator passwords to automatically expire, we recommend that you change administrator passwords regularly.

Change passwords of other administrators
An administrator who has the right to manage administrator accounts can change any other administrator’s password.
Change your own administrator password
All administrators can change their own passwords in the Management Client or the Web Portal.
Change your own engine password
If administrator accounts have been replicated on engines, administrators can change their own local engine passwords using the Management Client.

Related tasks

Enable and define password policy settings

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