Why?

• PCI Compliance requires multi-factor authentication for remote access to your cardholder data environment.  It’s also a good security practice if you use remote access.
• RSA SecurID is the most widely used form of multi-factor authentication, but there are certainly other options (Note: View only supports integration with RSA or RADIUS at this time).
• Users do not have to carry around a physical RSA keyfob.
• Users do not have to pull up the RSA app on their mobile device and remember the 8-digit token then fly over to the vmware view app and type in that code all within the 60- (or 30-) second window.  That’s a little much for some folks to handle.

Prerequisites:

• RSA Server 7.1 SP4 (This is what I tested against)
• View 5.1 with RSA enabled
• VMware View iPad App
• Access to your RSA server’s admin page or be able to get the specific type of token from your RSA administrator in your organization.

One point of clarification:

 What is the difference between PIN, tokencode and PASSCODE?

The terminology can be very confusing. With two-factor authentication there are two components that a user needs in order to authenticate. The two factors are “something the user has – RSA Token which displays a tokencode” and “something the user knows – PIN”.  The PASSCODE is a combination of the user’s PIN followed by the tokencode. For example, if your PIN is abc1234 and the current tokencode is 987654, your PASSCODE is abc1234987654.

There are several broad steps in the beginning and I will be focusing this post on the last few steps — but — I have included all of the steps to make sure you’re doing everything that needs to be done with info on how to do it.

1. Setup VMware View 5.1, a security server, and a connection server.  You should be able to access your view environment from outside your corporate network.

2. Setup RSA Server 7.1 SP4.  Or have your RSA admin upgrade you to this version. Make sure this is integrated into your Active Directory environment to sync up beautifully with View. *Tip: Make sure your RSA server’s computer name is all lowercase and never ever change the name.  Strange things happen if you do. *

Here are some other things you have to do but I will not be providing detailed instructions in this post:

Setup your internal view connection server (paired with security server) as an “authentication agent” in RSA.

Download the SDCONF.REC file from your RSA server.

Configure your View Connection Server to force RSA authentication before Active Directory authentication.  Once you’re ready to force users to use RSA (After training, and token setup, of course), you need to follow the instructions from the VMware View documentation, found here.

3. Install the iPhone software token device type.   Go here and download the documentation and device definition file.  You or your RSA admin will need to install the iPhone device type into the RSA console.

4. Assign a software token to a user.  Instructions are on page 39 of the admin guide, “Provisioning File-Based Tokens”.

5. Edit the user’s token issue the token.

• Go to Authentication > SecurID Tokens > Manage Existing.
• Find the new user’s token, press the down arrow beside it and press edit.
• Start and follow the steps beginning on page 40 of the admin guide, “Provisioning File-Based Tokens”.

Some settings of note (the instructions refer you back to Steps 1-4 of thee previous section, so check these settings):

• Pages 35-36 – If you want to restrict delivery of the token to ONE Device, then follow those instructions to retrieve the info from the user’s RSA app, replace the GUID serial number field, then issue the token.  BE WARNED:  This will BIND your token to that device.  If a user changes devices, then you will need to issue a new token.  This is also a 1-to-1 bind.  This means one software token license equals one device token.  In my use case, I am NOT binding tokens to devices and the user can use the same token in their View iPad app, on their iPad RSA app, and on their iPhone/Droid RSA app.
• Press “Save and Distribute Token.”
• Choose Distribution Method: “Issue Token File SDTID”.
• Page 37 – follow the suggestions in the graphic for “software token settings.”
• Turn back to page 40, picking up at step 3.  Give your token a password (required to install the token on their device – a 4 digit pin is ok, for example 5672).
• Press Next to issue the token file and download the zip file. Extract it and get ready to use.

5. Setup the Token Converter tool. Download the software token converter tool from RSA’s website here.  Setup a converter folder on your computer and put the “TokenConverter.exe” and “sdti2tsf.dll” files in this folder (like C:\Temp).  Drop all of the downloaded and extracted SDTID files (from step 4) into the folder as well.  You can identify them by the file name  … should be “username_0000135562626.sdtid” (where the numbers are the token ID.

6. Convert the SDTID files into the iPhone software token format.

• With your token converter files and the .SDTID files in one directory, open up a command prompt and navigate to that directory.
• The command to execute is below.  The NAMEtokenfile.txt is the output file (Name it whatever you like).  The output file consists of the “url” that you will send to each user via email, so you probably want to make the file name user specific as to not get confused.  The underlined portion is that specific SDTID file you want to convert.  5672 is the example password on the token that you or your admin put on the token file.
  • TokenConverter.exe username_0000135562626.sdtid -p 5672 -mobile -o NAMEtokenfile.txt

(Click to enlarge the graphic)

7. Send the token code to your user(s).  Open up your NAMEtokenfile.txt file(s) and copy the “url” out of the file and e-mail that to your user(s).  The URL is going to look something like this (I’ve changed the numbers so you can’t steal my token):  com.rsa.securid://ctf?ctfData=202222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222722

8. Users should setup their RSA Accounts on your network.  You can make the RSA Server public through your DMZ but that’s really not necessary for this purpose.  But you can.  In the same e-mail, direct your users to the link below.  They should click that link.  Login with their WINDOWS active directory username and password.  Then they will setup their PIN code and security questions.

https://rsaauthmgr.yourlocal.domain:7004/console-selfservice/SelfService.do

9. Install the token into the RSA app on your iPhone/iPad.

• Users should have the iPhone/iPad apps installed on their devices already (from the iTunes App store).
• Then they should open up their e-mail and click on the link you just sent them.
• This will open up the app and ask for the password (5672 in my example).
• It might also ask for the PIN code that they setup in the step above.

10. Install the token into your VMware View Client iPad app on your iPhone/iPad only after your connection server is RSA enabled. 

*Note: Remember that if in step 5, you chose to bind the token to a specific device, that you must use one token per app.  You cannot use the token for both #9 and #10.*

• Users should already have the VMware View iPad app installed, available for free from the iTunes App store.
• Copy the URL from the email (The whole text) to the iPad/iPhone clipboard.
• Open the View Client app.
• Go into your view connection server – click “external token”
• Token Description: call it whatever you want (plain text)
• URL: paste the complete URL from the e-mail (output of the NAMEtokenfile.txt)
• Password: if you put a password on the token (which you should have), then type that in (my example was 5672).

Your login screen on your iPad now looks like this (click to enlarge):

And if you press “token code available..” you get the next screen where you can actually authenticate using an external token (if someone else needs to login with their credentials on your iPad/iPhone) (click to enlarge):

So once you have everything setup, you/your user clicks the View connection server in the app.  They enter their windows username and their RSA PIN (since the token is stored), then press done.  (it authenticates to RSA).  Then you/your user logs in with the windows username and password.

And BAM – your user’s lives are easier while at the same time securing your critical data and being PCI Compliant!

Shoot me a note if you have any questions on twitter or send me an email to phillip(at)phillipreynolds(dot)com.

———————————————-

Phillip Reynolds is a guest blogger for eGroup and you can find more of his posts here.  You can also keep up with him on Twitter @philvirtual.

The post Integrating RSA SecurID with VMware View iPad Client – eGroup appeared first on eGroup.

As many of our readers know, eGroup recently relocated into its new Mt. Pleasant headquarters location. You probably also know that it took a TON of sweat equity by the entire eGroup team to get it in the shape it is today. From the sales bullpen to the showpiece entrance to the executive conference room and connected demo lab to the break areas, watch the video to see the transformation with your own eyes.

Be sure to swing by if you’re in the area, we’ll give you a tour!

The post eGroup’s New Headquarters: Video Mashup Before & After appeared first on eGroup.

And be sure to read about how we helped Conway Medical Center in deploy Avamar and Data Domain solutions that to back up its data to a remote hot site.

So why are we talking up Avamar? Well, in case you missed it, EMC just announced a complete end-to-end, channel solution geared towards the midmarket user. This is EXCELLENT news for our mid sized business users who require all the enterprise class functionality but at a lower price and complexity point. We listed some of the key important technical features below, but this analyst quote from Jason Buffington of Enterprise Strategy Group is spot on:

“Implementation of integrated backup appliances that combine software and hardware continues to expand briskly in the enterprise. Today’s mid-market companies operate the same kind of IT platforms (just on a smaller scale), so they face essentially the same backup challenges. The introduction of EMC Avamar Business Edition takes a highly effective and proven integrated backup appliance solution and packages it specifically for mid-sized customers. Avamar’s ability to address both physical and virtual backup should prove useful to these customers, and it comes without the complexities normally associated with disaggregated hardware and software elements.”

Avamar Business Edition provides all the value and features of Avamar, and:

• Reduces backup time and network load via client-side and global data deduplication

• Performs daily FULL backups (no need for incrementals or differentials) and one-step recovery

• Up to 95% reduction in backup storage

• Up to 99% reduction in data moved across the LAN from clients

• UP to 90% reduction in backup times

Finally, if you’re looking for some more general information on Avamar, eGroup’s Cloud Services Manager, Steve Rattacasa, has a few video demos up on our YouTube channel.

As always, feel free to contact us (sales@eGroup-us.com / 1.877.eGROUP.1) concerning all things Avamar and the newly launched Avamar Business Edition.

The post Why the midmarket should care about EMC’s Avamar Business Edition appeared first on eGroup.

Many hospitals have made a successful transition to EMR, with widespread adoption throughout the hospital. In doing so, they have provided physicians and clinicians with fast and secure access to information, which improves the overall quality of care.

For example, these hospitals are maintaining HIPPA compliance by providing secure access to patient information, in part done by reducing, or eliminating, the need for passwords; taking advantage of Meaningful Use dollars; and, leveraging virtual environments to provide physicians secure, efficient access to patient information when roaming from room to room.

But how can the identity and access management successes in healthcare be applied to other industries such as banking, legal, energy and state and local governmen?

Join the eGroup Roundtable for a discussion with Chris Feeney, senior sales engineer at Imprivata, to answer this key question, and how you can win at providing fast and secure access to data in any industry.

Fast & Secure Access to Data: a conversation with Imprivata will take place on Wednesday, November 28 at 9:30 am ET.

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now!  After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

The post eGROUP ROUNDTABLE: FAST & SECURE ACCESS TO DATA: A CONVERSATION WITH IMPRIVATA appeared first on eGroup.

XenApp 6.5 has been available for just over a year – so what’s the verdict? Are you happy with your application virtualization rollout? Are your users happy? Is your boss happy? Or, perhaps, you haven’t even deployed applications on demand and are simply looking for some third-party advice.

Well then, this eGroup Roundtable, “XenApp 6.5 and Beyond”, hosted by Jason Webster and eGroup’s “XenMaster” Steve Rattacasa, is definitely for you.

Please join Jason and Steve for an interactive discussion on application virtualization and a review of XenApp 6.5.

“XenApp and Beyond” will take place on Wednesday, September 26th at 9:30 am ET.

The agenda is as follows:

•What’s New?

•Why XA vs. XD vs. “VDI”

•Common issues

•Profile handling

•XA from the Cloud – Multi Site Design

The eGroup Roundtable Series is a twice monthly discussion covering the latest products, innovations, and use cases with eGroup thought leaders, partners and technology users. Participants delve into and dissect specific technology issues impacting today’s IT and business leaders.

The format of the eGroup Roundtable Series is an open discussion and Q&A hosted by eGroup’s Application Services Manager, Jason Webster. Attendees to the Roundtable Series are encouraged to interact with the thought leaders by asking questions and providing their specific experience and anecdotes as they relate to the topic at hand.

REGISTER!

The post 9.26 eGROUP ROUNDTABLE: XenApp 6.5 and Beyond! appeared first on eGroup.

So we wanted to share with you the release announcing our placement on this year’s list (see below). In fact, eGroup ranked as the largest South Carolina-based IT Services provider to be represented on the list. Not too shabby!

Building a successful IT solutions and services firm is challenging. Understanding that in order to grow consistently and effectively, a business needs to continually adapt, especially in our space, is an entirely different challenge. That said, the team at eGroup believes we’re incredibly well positioned as the industry moves through the current transformative period of technology delivery and innovation. But don’t just take our word for it, listen to Inc. and our customers!

eGroup Named to Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies

eGroup Ranks No. 3043 on the 2012 Inc. 500|5000 with Three-Year Sales Growth of 71%

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – August 23, 2012 – Inc. magazine today ranked eGroup No. 3043 on its sixth annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. eGroup is the Southeast’s leading provider of cloud, application and end-user computing services. According to the data, eGroup ranks as the largest South Carolina-based IT Services provider to be represented on the list.

The list represents a comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent entrepreneurs.

“I am delighted that Inc. has recognized eGroup’s consistent and impressive growth over the past several years, and we’re honored to be a part of such a successful community of business leaders,” said Mike Carter, Principal, eGroup. “The IT industry is facing an enormous transformative period which challenges those in our space who haven’t properly adapted. Inc.’s recognition of eGroup as a progressive and attentive application and cloud services provider is refreshing – and accurately reflects our focus on helping customers achieve more with less.”

eGroup’s solutions drive customers’ cost containment, revenue growth, and service objectives by addressing challenges associated with mobility, access to critical applications and data, and security. eGroup’s expertise and core competence is focused in three distinct areas: Cloud Services (public and private), Application Services, and End-User Computing.

“Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500|5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward.  Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is,” says Inc. Editor Eric Schurenberg.

The post eGroup Chest Thumping on Inc. 5000 (just this once!) appeared first on eGroup.

The latest July/August newsletter edition, “Optimizing Data Backup and Recovery,” is available online and via download.

By the way, our September/October newsletter will feature a new and exciting format, including more direct conversations with thought leaders, so don’t forget to sign up via email.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions at marketing_at_eGroup-us_dot_com. We welcome the feedback!

The post 5 Reasons Why You Need to Read the eGroup Advantage appeared first on eGroup.

If you are like me, you just love the vSphere console for remote connectivity into VMs. //SARCASM!

I can’t tell you the number of times I have literally cursed at the vSphere console for it slow response time.  The sweet moment always comes when you get your newly created virtual machine on the network, the VM tools installed and alas you can use Remote Desktop!  However, it is a bit cumbersome not to be able to natively RDP straight to your virtual machines within your vSphere client.  That is where Extravirt’s vSphere 4 Client RDP Plug-in comes into play.

The plug-in is an easy install and can be downloaded here.

Once installed, launch your vSphere client.  Right click on the VM you want to remote into and click connect via RDP.  That’s it!

From the plug-ins page there  are advanced settings such as:

• Default User login
• Disable Wallpaper
• Default Resolution Size

etc.

Don’t let the name fool you.  For those who are wondering, Extravirt’s vSphere 4 Client RDP Plug-in works just  fine with the  vSphere 5 client.

Tested and Flish approved!

Stay tuned as we count down the rest of Flish Picks of the Top 10 Absolutely Free vSphere Applications and Utilities.

The post Flish Picks – Top 10 Absolutely Free vSphere Applications and Utilities. Number 10: Extravirt vSphere 4 RDP Plugin appeared first on eGroup.

Mt. Pleasant, SC – July 6, 2012 — eGroup, Inc., the Southeast’s leading provider of cloud, application and end-user computing services, today announced that it has successfully completed the IaaS solution competency. This achievement demonstrates that eGroup is committed to be an expert in helping customers virtualize their IT environments. Further, in achieving this competency, eGroup acknowledges that this distinction and VMware solutions are key accelerators for enabling their growth in the virtualization and cloud markets.

“VMware is pleased to recognize eGroup for achieving the IaaS solution competency. Achieving this competency demonstrates to customers that eGroup is committed to be an expert in helping customers virtualize their IT environments, enabling them to confidently select eGroup as a solution provider capable of delivering VMware solutions to customers on the journey to cloud computing,” said Doug Smith, vice president, global partner strategy and operations, VMware. “We value our partnership with eGroup and we appreciate their efforts in achieving this VMware distinction.”

“Completion of the VMware IaaS competency is an important component of our market leadership goal in the cloud computing space,” said eGroup Principal Mike Carter. “IaaS is a critical component of our eCloud offering, which enables us to deliver efficient, flexible and cost-effective ways for IT departments to meet escalating business needs.”

VMware has established solution competencies as designations of expertise that enable customers to identify partners with the highest level of VMware technical solution knowledge and experience. VMware partners with competencies are able to earn customer credibility by driving deeper into customer engagements, based on knowledge and ability with the following VMware solution competencies:

Infrastructure Virtualization Competency: Recognizes partners for their demonstrated ability to virtualize and consolidate server environments using a VMware virtualization solution

Business Continuity Competency: Recognizes partners for their expertise in deploying VMware solutions for data protection, high availability and disaster recovery

Desktop Virtualization Competency: Recognizes partners for their expertise in deploying VMware solutions for virtualizing desktops and applications

Virtualization of Business Critical Applications (VBCA) Competency: Recognizes partners for their demonstrated ability to provide guidance and solutions for virtualizing business-critical applications such as Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, Oracle DB and SAP

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Competency: Recognizes partners for their expertise in VMware hybrid cloud solutions and services

Management Competency: Recognizes partners for their ability to help customers simplify and automate the operations of virtual and cloud environments with the VMware vCenter™ Operations Management Suite

VMware Partner Network is a comprehensive program that provides a common infrastructure, extensive sales and services tools, margin opportunities and industry-recognized training for the entire VMware partner ecosystem, including solution providers, technology partners and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). VMware Partner Network is designed to help ensure a more consistent and successful user experience as well as help partners increase their business potential by increasing their skills in VMware solutions. The program helps partners maximize their investments in VMware virtualization to provide customers with the best end-to-end virtualization solutions available.

Read more about VMware Partner Network.

About eGroup

Headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., eGroup provides innovative cloud, application and end-user computing services to businesses across the Southeast. One of the region’s fastest growing companies and winner of the 2012 CRN “Tech Elite 250”, eGroup’s solutions drive customer revenue while reducing cost to maintain IT infrastructures. Visit www.eGroup-us.com or call 1.877.eGROUP.1 (1.877.347.6871) for more information.

# # #

VMware is a registered trademark and/or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. The use of the term “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

The post eGROUP, INC. ACHIEVES VMWARE SOLUTION COMPETENCY IN IaaS appeared first on eGroup.

Registration is now open and available to all VMUG members. This is a great opportunity to meet with your peers to discuss virtualization trends, best practices, and the latest technology!

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
NWN Corporation
7025 Albert Pick Road, Suite 302
Greensboro, NC 27409
Click here for directions

Meeting Agenda

• 11:00 a.m. Registration and Member Mixer
• 11:15 a.m. Announcements, Agenda and Introductions
• 11:30 a.m. Performance Management – Stop the Virtualization Blame Game ~ Bernie Watson, Xangati
• 12:40 p.m. What is Better than a Great vSphere Application or Utility, a Free One ~ John Flisher, eGroup
• 1:45 p.m. Meeting Wrap-Up and Giveaways

Visit the Event Details Page for the full agenda. Be sure to share this meeting information with your colleagues.

Be sure to visit the North Carolina Triad VMUG Workspace and subscribe to the listserv! Connect with your fellow VMUG members in the forum, ask and answer questions about VMware, and get involved in your VMUG community.

Please note: You will need to log into the VMUG web site to register for this meeting. If you have not already obtained your VMUG login credentials, please visit the Username and/or Password Help page to request your username and password.

CLICH HERE TO REGISTER!

For questions, please contact memberservices@vmug.com.

The post REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: NORTH CAROLINA TRIAD VMUG MEETING appeared first on eGroup.