Quick Start Guide: Oracle VM VirtualBox

Introduction
This guide describes how to download, deploy and register a Sinefa Probe on an Oracle VM VirtualBox hypervisor.

Overview
Prerequisites
Step 1: Download
Step 2: Deploy
Step 3: Registration
Step 4: Subscription
Step 5: Direct SPAN traffic

Prerequisites
This Quick Start Guide assumes the following:

• You have registered for a Sinefa account (if not, go to http://www.sinefa.com/ and click on the "Free Trial" button to register)
• A basic knowledge of virtualization and Oracle VM VirtualBox
• A working Oracle VM VirtualBox hypervisor
• 8GB of HDD space
• 1 NIC with Internet access and 1 dedicated NIC connected to your SPAN/Mirror Port (no other devices can be connected to this NIC as it's purely for traffic monitoring purposes)
• The Virtual Machine has access to the Internet
• You need at least 2 Sinefa Probe deployed to receive Network Quality results

For help and support with Oracle VM VirtualBox, including downloading, visit http://www.virtualbox.org.

Guide Summary
Each of these sections will need to be completed to get the probe up and running

• Download the Probe Image
• Deploy the image in Virtual Box
• Register the Probe
• Subscribe the Probe
• Setup the SPAN/Mirror Port for monitoring purposes

Download
Locate the latest Oracle VM VirtualBox Sinefa Probe software from the "Settings - Probes - Add Probe - Software" section of the Sinefa User Interface. The software is packaged as an OVA file (this file contains the VM configuration together with the VMDK disk image). Store this OVA file somewhere locally on your PC.

Deploy

1. Open VirtualBox and select "Import Appliance..." from the "File" menu. Select the OVA file that was downloaded and click "Open" then click "Next".
2. The following Summary Screen will be displayed. You should change the Network Adaptor to "Paravirtualized Network (virtio-net)" and also check the "Reinitialize the MAC address of all network cards" option, then click "Import".
   
3. Review the EULA and click "Agree".
   
4. VirtualBox will now import the Sinefa Probe.
   
5. Highlight your newly created Sinefa Probe VM, select "Settings" then go into "Network"
6. Select "Adapter 2" tab and then select "Enable Network Adapter"
7. Ensure "Bridged Adapter" is selected next to "Attached to"
8. Next to Name, select the NIC on your machine that's connected to the SPAN/Mirror port that's been configured for traffic monitoring
9. Press "OK"
10. Click "Start" to start the Sinefa Probe.
11. VirtualBox will now show the Sinefa Probe login prompt.

Register

1. Log into the Sinefa Probe with the username "admin" (no password is required by default).
2. You will need to register this Sinefa Probe with your Sinefa Account. You can do this by selecting "Registration" from the menu.
   NOTE: By default, the Sinefa Probe will obtain an IP Address from DHCP. If DHCP is not available, you will need to manually configure a static IP Address using the "Network" option in the menu. See the Configuring a Static IP Address on a Sinefa Probe article for more information.
   
3. Enter your Registration Key (What is a Registration Key?), then select "OK". You can optionally set the hostname at this point, so the Probe is easily identifiable when it's shown in the User Interface.
   
4. You will be returned to the menu where the Registration Status will be updated to "Registered" if registration was successful. Select the "Refresh" button at the bottom to update this status (registration may take a few seconds depending on network speed and latency).
   NOTE: If registration was not successful after a few seconds, try entering your Registration Key again or verify your network settings. The Sinefa Probe requires access to the Internet.
   
5. Once the Sinefa Probe is registered, you can now manage it using the Sinefa UI by logging in at www.ui.sinefa.com.

Subscription
Once the Probe is registered to Sinefa, you must Subscribe the probe to the Sinefa service. Log into ui.sinefa.com and go into Settings > Probes and then select Subscribe.  

NOTE: As there is a charge associated with the subscription of Probes, only the Administrator can subscribe Probes. If you are not the Administrator then please notify the Administrator to complete this step.

1. On the Account drop down box at the top right of the screen, make sure you are using the right Account. Under Account, select "<YOUR ACCOUNT>". 
2. Assuming the Probe is turned on and can communicate via HTTPS to controller.sinefa.com, it will appear online (green) under Settings | Probes.
3. Click on 'Subscribe' button and follow the prompts to add a Subscription to the Probe. A valid credit card will be required during the Active or Trial period.

Step 5. Direct SPAN traffic (for out-of-path deployment)
Once you have set-up the above successfully, you will need to set-up the SPAN port on your switch/router and set-up SPAN port monitoring through the Sinefa UI

What Next?
How to Setup Network Quality Scoring (NQS)  
How to Setup SPAN Port Monitoring
Probe Networking Setup
Sinefa Best Practice Guide