From ISP admin

ISP admin system implementation process

This wiki is under reconstruction at present thus count on incomplete texts, mistakes, older screenshots and sometimes not corresponding links. Before the final edit, all these flaws will be corrected :-)

After the installation of the system you can set to the ISP admin system implementation into your network. Implementing our control system usually runs fluently and in most cases may be running in parallel with a gradual layby of previous solution.

Under no circumstances is it a "Start-Stop" action for a course of one afternoon which could have fatal effects on the whole network functioning. We thus recommend a gradual activation of assigned routers in the way when you proceed from the most distant points of the network towards the network center or its backbone. Thus you can disconnect only a small number of clients in the old system, which you connect again only by a click. Switching the router from passive to active mode will cause that the necessary rules will duplicate into its configuration and the clients will be consequently connected again.

With a quality preparation for such a turning point in the system, you will preclude from future troubles and you will noticeably lower the occurence of usual problems with the ISP admin implementation. It is highly necessary to say that the integration of such extansive system into the ISP network may be considerably individual. It is thus advisable to get ready in advance for potential complications and to devote special work force for their solutions, at least during hte first days of integration the system into your network.

Following procedure should make your work with using a new solution easy so that the transition to the new system is "painless" as much as possible.

1. Administrator accounts

The first step of the pure installation is creating administrator accounts under which the individual employees will log in to the system. It is advisable to create several user accounts with different competence towards the access into the system administration. Maintaining of the administrator accounts is provided in the bookmark of Settings / Administrators. For better understanding of how to set the competence of individual accounts, browse through the following example

The correct setup and use of the administrator accounts is important mainly for logging events in the changes history into which you may see by means of the menu of Client card / History for individual contacts or globally Statistics / Logger. Moreover, according to the administrator accounts Ids you may also identify tasks in the planning module, if you thus remove the administrator account, planning and other created tasks will disappear.

2. Setting the routers into the system

Before you start setting the routers into the system, you have to fill in some items in the menu of Settings / Codebooks.

Always set routers into the system in the monitoring mode. Thus you ensure that the system will not intervene into the router configuration in no way, it will only passively read out information available.

Correct functions of the router are dependent on the correct loggin to the router services ( SNMP, SSH, API ); it is thus advisable to check connection onto the router.

You need to have the IP ranges defined to enable connecting the clients to the router. In the settings of Routered networks of a specific router, there are read-out networks which are directed by this router. These networks may be defined into the system as so called IP ramges for clients, VoIP, and other HW devices. Free IP addresses will thus be automatically offered from the defined IP ranges for clients when a new Internet service is being added. However, IP ranges for HW devices will not be offered and will remain restricted only for the devices ( gateways, servers, etc. ).

If you already have had some clients added into the system, you can now start establishing Active services and thus assign the clients to individual routers.

Once you have routers setup in this way you can switch the router from the monitoring mode into the normal one and only now the ISPadmin will start to duplicate settings into the routerboard configuration. We recommend the gradual activation of the given routers in the way when you proceed from the most distant points of the network towards the network center or the backbone. Thus you can disconnect only a small number of clients from the old system, and you will be able to re-connect them by one click. By switching the router from passive into active mode, the necessary rules will write into its configuration and the clients will be re-connected the very next moment.

Note: If there is Apply the firewall rules set on the router, all the clients added by means of the ISPadmin system will be written into the configuration and the whole range will be dropped at the end. Thus you ensure that there will be no "soot souls" connected to the router.

If you, however, wish to add clients into the ISPadmin onto the router gradually from the previous system, you must temporarily disable this firewall rules application, otherwise the system would "cut off" your previous clients.

Filling in the codebook

For correct operation of the router, there must be some items in the menu of Settings / Codebooks correctly filled in:

• Router groups

The list of router groups serves for grouping routers on the screen of Routers / All. These groups may be defined arbitrarily according to your own consideration, for instance according to the network division Spine routes, Main routers, Bridge, Gateways, City border, AP, Client routers and so on, or according to the router type RB433, RB433AH, RB600, RB1000, Linux, CISCO.

Speaking about the latter division, it is also possible to later filter records and users. By this division you make the router preview much better-arranged in the individual screens of the whole system.

• Ending device

Here you define the type of devices connected to the routers or ending devices installed with the clients. This serves mainly for overview and evidence of the hardware. In the case when a device being connected to the router allows reading SNMP data, it is possible to define a SNMP OID template. The client devices are monitored separately. The groups displayed are firmly given by the system: microwave-svm, switch, adsl-modem, ap-5-ghz, ap-2.4-ghz, client-5-ghz, client-2-4GHz, ip-telephony, linux-router, technology, ups, server, computer, microwave-10-ghz, ip-camera, printer, snmp-device, Client ending devices.

Into each group you can add device types which you are using and connecting. All groups except for the last Client ending devices will be shown as items fot selection in the menu for adding a router. The last group of Client ending devices will be displayed when creating the Internet service such as the item of Ending device hardware.

• Locations

Here you can define locations for routers, which allows you to create geographical groups into which you will assign the routers according to specific locations ( Šumperk, Olomouc, Brno - center, Brno - north, etc… ). This serves for a better orientation in the area of coverage.

You can use names of towns and cities if you maintain more of them, or only town/city districts if you maintain only a few towns/cities. If your network is larger, it is better to divide the locations into districts or regions.

Using this division you will make the router overview much better-arranged in the individual screens of the system. You can also filter records and users according to this division, eg. bulk e-mail and SMS.

• IP ranges

For correct opearion of the router it is necessary to have correctly assigned IP address ranges. An automatic read-out of the ranges out of their settings is done for all routers and thus you do not have to do this manually. This manual setting of the IP ranges may serve only as an overview of selected ranges which you are particularly interested in. Thus set IP ranges are displayed in the bookmark of Statistics / IP ranges, where you can browse through the details of assigned addresses.

• Nagios

Contact groups for the monitoring system NAGIOS, these notification groups are used by the system to distribute notifications of routers, servers failures and of connected network devices (UPS, IP camera) among the individual network administrators.

These groups does not have to be necessarily defined directly during the system implementation, it is, however, easier to assign notification groups right during the setting the routers than to later add them one by one.

Test connection

Another step is to test the connection which will be done by clicking upon the icon of connection at the right top part of the screen or separately at the end of the line of each router. If the test runs successfully, the connected routers will start drawing read-out values, statistics and graphs periodically in five-minute intervals. If the test shows erroneous attempt of connection, it is necessary to check the entered login details in the router detail as well as directly in the MikroTik.

More information on the Connection test to be found in FAQs: Test connection.

Enable services on the MikroTik router

The condition for flawless operation if the router is active communication between the router and the ISPadmin system.

• SNMP – Monitoring the router, ( cpu, mem, trafic, uptime, etc. ).

IP / SNMP - [SNMP settings] > enable, [+] New SNMP community > name, read access

• SSH – Communication with the router, duplicating the configuration.

IP / Services - enable SSH service

• API – Mightier communication with the router, status communication, reading-out the WiFi signal, MikroTik status, etc.

IP / Services - enable API (TCP/8728) service

Monitoring mode

Now you can start adding individual routers into the system. When adding a router which already exists within the existing network, it is advisable to add this one in so called monitoring mode. In this mode the ISPadmin system does not duplicate any changes into the router configuration; they is only information passively read out by means of SNMP and possibly also API interface. No intervention into the router can appear in the monitoring mode.

If you add all routers from your network into the system, you will get an overall overview of all of them in one place. You can also monitor the availability of routers and to these connected devices by means of the bookmark of [[Documentation/Routers/Availability/cs|Routers/ Availability]; better options of monitoring are however provided by the integrated monitoring system Nagios which is capable of notifications of failures.

More information on Monitoring mode to be found in FAQs: Monitoring mode.

To be able to connect clients it is necessary to have defined IP ranges. In the settings of Routered networks of a given router there are networks read out which are directed by this router. These networks may be defined into the system as so called IP ranges for clients, VoIP, and other HW devices.

Free and unoccupied IP addresses will thus be offered automatically out of the defined IP rranges for clients when the new Internet service will be being added. IP ranges for HW devices, however, will not be offered and will remain restricted only for the devices ( gateways, servers, etc. ).

If there are some occupied addresses in the given range, you can easily fill in the gaps in the range (free address blocks). If you then have set automatical assigning of the IP addresses, you will start from the first free one and you will go on offering the next free addresses until you bump into the first occupied address, you will skip this one and offer the next one from the gap. You can display the overall overview of assigned IP addresses in the bookmark of Statistics / IP ranges, where everything is presented graphically and in a well-arranged way.

The ISPadmin system also allows Manual assigning of IP addresses. This function may come in handy if you have already had some clients added or you wish to assign IP addresses manually. You can do the change of settings in the menu of Settings / System settings / Public where you edit the item of ip_set_type. As soon as you will have assigned all the required IP addresses, you can get back to automatical assigning, which allows you to fill in the gaps in the range.

More information on Routered networks to be found on the page: Routers / All > Routered networks, or also on Statistics / IP ranges.

The ISPadmin system understands user as a connection between the contact and at least one active service. A contact is expected to be a record about a person in the system bookmark of Users / Contacts. In most cases it is a person who has been recommended to you as a potential customer, a call requiring ordering an installation, or an interested person from the location in which the coverage has been planned so far. In this way added contact is of course not counted among the issued licences. If then such a potential customer calls and orders an installation, you can file them here and state them as a mere contact with whom you can later work in the planning module and then directly plan the installation visit

A service is then understood as one of the items in the menu of Settings / Active services; here you can edit the system so that it shows and uses only those services in the administration which you really offer. Medium-sized ISP may restrict the display of services only to the Internet, VoIP, Public services and will not be bothered by bookmarks of other services and redundant choices.

An ordinary contact becomes a customer when they are assigned any service, most frequently it is the Internet service. The overview of customers using the Internet service may be displayed in the bookmark of Users / Internet; here you can order all customers according to individual items in the column headers or filter out only a specific group of customers.

If a contact is assigned the Internet service, the system automatically carries out setup of the client on the router. In practice it means that it connects to the target router, allows client`s IP address on firewall, sets QOS, limits the speed and does setting of the DHCP server. This change will show in five minutes the latest. The configuration update of the router may also be run manually by using the button of Configuration update of the router.

If the contact is a cable TV user, a booting configuration file is created automatically with setting of a correct speed. During the installation for the client, the only thing is to connect a cable modem and that one is booted. Then the network configuration is set through DHCP and thus the installation is done. There is also another way how to install cable clients. The modem is added to so called installation modems. Thus a boot file is created for the modem, which boots wherever on the network. A computer connected through this "installation modem" will boot, but it is only possible to access the ISPadmin administration via the web browser. Here is the client added within the system, the IP address and other details are set. The modem will then automatically boot and the client will obtain a new IP address for their computer. After this reboot the connection works fully.

For adding users into the system it is necessary to set certain settings into the system:

Filling in the codebook

The first step in the pure installation is filling in a codebook. Codebooks are lists of different items which are needed for the ISPadmin system operation. You will find these in the bookmark of Settings / Codebooks.

• User type

Here you can define technology types with which you will connect your clients. You can use these model titles: WiFi 5GHz, WiFi 2,4GHz, Radius, FTTB, LAN, PPPoE, etc. These items will then be possible to be chosen when creating the Internet service in the card of each client.

By means of such defined items it will also be possible to sort the clients and filter them in selected system bookmarks.

• Client groups

This list allows grouping the customers into defined groups according to your own requirements. As an example we state the following: New users, Current users, VIP, Waiting for connection, according to location, the name of the company or firm.* Users statuses

This list shows in what statuses the clients are towards you. You can approach these clients according to these statuses. The division is advisable to be used in the way in which every customer is correctly marked, which later makes it easier for the technicians to orient themselves in the details of the client card. In this way defined status may later be assigned to every client in their client card - Add / edit a contact.

Examples: Connected, Disconnected, Limited, Normal, Player, Downloader, Spammer, Bad payer, Troublemaker, etc. Then you know that the downloader may be limited to p2p networks, players require low feedback, badpayers will be urged on the payments or will be suspended.

• Material

The definition of used material which is installed with the clients. Later you can assigne these items in the client card - Material; here you will have the list of devices used when installing or during the service interventions displayed for every client.

• Ending devices

Here you define the types of devices connected to routers or ending devices installed with the clients. This serves as an overview and evidence of the hardware. If the device connecting to the router allows reading out the SNMP data, it is possible to define a SNMP OID template. Client devices are monitored separately. Displayed groupsare firmly given by the system: microwave-svm, switch, adsl-modem, ap-5-ghz, ap-2.4-ghz, client-5-ghz, client-2-4GHz, ip-telephony, linux-router, technology, ups, server, computer, microwave-10-ghz, ip-camera, printer, snmp-device, Client ending devices.

You can input types of devices used or being connected into each group. All groups except for the last one Client ending devices will be displayed as items in the selection of the menu for adding a device to the router. The last group of Client end devices will be shown when making a new Internet service as an item of Ending device hardware.

Create an invoicing group

Even for a mere adding of a contact in the menu of Users / Contacts it is necessary to have a correctly completed invoicing group. An invoicing group groups needed invoicing details about your ISP firm. When inputting a contact, you must always set which invoicing group the contact belongs to. Invoicing groups to be defined in the menu of Invoicing / Settings / Invoicing groups.

Add a contact

Adding a contact is done in the bookmark of Users / Contacts; at the left top corner you will find a button Add a new contact. Here you have some notes on correct data entering:

• Client number

A client number of every customer is stored in the system database. It is their unique identifier with which the system later works, that is why the number must always be unique. The client number or also client`s ID is also used as the number of the contract made, as the variable symbol stated in the invoice for payment identification and also as the default login name into the user interface. Technically, the client`s ID is used for marking and processing the client`s packets ( mangle ) when passing through the individual MikroTik routers.

Assigning the client numbers

Within the system it is possible to set manual or automatic assigning of the identification numbers to clients. Manual assigning is used mainly when you wish to keep identical numbers to the previous system. Another possibility is to use manual assigning when you maintain some specific rows of client numbers, for instance according to years. If you assign the client`s identification number manually when you are adding a client, a new number will be pre-filled higher by one when you will be adding another client. Newly added clients will thus be easily marked by numbers: 20090001, 20090002, 20090003, etc. Marking the customers in this way will tell you at the first sight when was the specific client connected, which may be usable regarding the fact that the client`s ID is at the same time their contract number.

Last but not least you will also make the ordering better-arranged in different screens with the users overviews. Manual assigning of the client`s number will be taken advantage of when you are assigning and already disconnected user and you wish to give them the same number as was the previous one, which is useful when browsing the history and earlier issued documents.

If you do not feel the need to cope with the previous ways of assigning of the clients numbers, you can select automatic assigning of the clients numbers and the system will deal with this on its own automatically. This option eliminates the potential human error because the number field in the form will be hidden. Settings of the client numbers may be defined in the menu of Settings / Systém settings / Public the item type_client_number. This item may be edited any time and both ways may be combined.

Client numbers collision

If you use manual assigning, the system automatically watches for the collisions of the client numbers so that every number is always unique. Every change in the client number is, in addition to that, recorded in the history of changes in the client card.

If you have selected automatic assigning, there can never appear a collision in the client numbers, the system still watches for the collisions of variable symbols (or specific symbols, according to the invoicing settings) so that these are always assigned only to one and only contact.

• Client`s name

We recommend to enter this in this form Surname First name so that the surnames can be more easily ordered in the lists and thus be better-organized.

• Address

In the client card you may encounter three different addresse:

1. Mailing address for the purposes of sending things by ragular mail.

2. Billing address designated mainly for sending invoices, the firm domicile is often different than the one of the subsidiary, or of the extension-line installation.

3. Installation address is a place where the Internet connection is physically realized.

Creating a tariff rate

It is also necessary to create individual tariffs according to which the Internet services will be provided. You will have the possibility to choose from the defined tariffs when you are starting Active Internet service] in the client card.

It is possible to create and maintain the tariffs in the bookmark of Settings / Tariffs.

If you are not displayed the correct currency for the tariffs ( Kč, CZK, €, EUR ), edit the item of used_currency in the menu of Invoicing / Settings / Public.

Active Internet service setup

From the system point of vies, an ordinary contact becomes a customer only when you assign them any service, most often it is the Internet service.

Active Internet service setup may be done in the menu: Client card / Active services.

The date Invoice since is a setup of a day since when the service is going to be invoiced for. Most frequently it is the first day of the upcoming month for to make invoicing easier for the customers, but you can of course select any other day and then an aliquot counting will be carried out to the number of days up to the end of the current month.

It is essential to enter also the invoicing period: do not invoice, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annually. Quarterly invoicing period is convenient, which is also defaultly pre-set for quarterly allignment due to the VAT. Quarterly alignment may be switched off in the settings of Invoicing / Settings / Public, here you activate the item Floating invoicing period.

Then select one from the offered tariffs which you have defined. Thus other correspondent items will automatically fill in ( Download, Upload, Price, Description of the tariff in the invoice ). If you wish to set the speed, price, or discount individually, set the tariff to not stated. You will be thus able to fill in the related items manually and independently on the pre-set tariffs.

Notes: 1) When starting an Active service, it also suitable to create a contract.

2) It is not possible for the client to log into the Client interface with no active service.

Switching the router into operating mode

If you are sure with the settings of the router as well as the Internet services of the added clients, you can proceed to the last step – to connect the clients into your network and thus duplicate the settings which you have done in the ISPadmin into the router configuration. Switch off the mode Monitoring the router only on the router.

The changes saved on the router will show in five minutes the latest since the edit. The update process of the router configuration may be also run manually by the button of Router configuration update by which the router configuration is updated immediately.

<!—and now the users are duplicated into the routerboard configuration, QTs are set and maintained with the occupied clients. -->

<!—in order not to wait for five minutes, I will have a look right now what the ISPadmin has written into my MK. -->

First invoicing steps

It is really important to learn how to deal with invoicing in the ISPadmin correctly. After the essential introduction by means of a tutorial or seminar, or reading the documentation, you can gradually make acquaintance with the options and functions of the invoicing module.

As the first step, complete the setting of the invoicing module in the menu of Invoicing / Settings.

The client suspension (Internet service) function when not paying for the invoice to be enabled only when you are sure you are entirely familiar with invoicing of the new system. Otherwise there might appear some unreasoning suspensions of clients due to human error.

If you are learning to use the system, be careful not to send the issued "sample invoices" to the clients e-mails.

As soon as you are done with testing the invoicing options, you can contact our tech support who will remove all the testing records and details from your invoicing. Thus you will be able to start working in the clear invoicing module again.

The documentation guidepost of the invoicing module together with the instructions and directions relating to invoicing to be found here: Invoicing.

5. Backups

The most essential thing which belongs to the first steps when implementing a system is backing up without doubts. It is important to realize that the whole business of your ISP firm will now be dependent on the availability of the ISPadmin system. Recovery of the system from backups is possible to be done in several tens of minutes, which is rather fundamental for a firm providing connectivity to hundreds of households and to tens of companies, in case of a sudden system failure.

The backups are the absolute base for successful running of any system of such a extension such as the ISPadmin, that is why you should not underestimate backups.

To get better acquainted with the ISPadmin system backups, read the article Backuping.

Update

If a new version of the application is available, we recommend to update the system as soon as possible. By regular update you will receive new functions implemented into the current system as well as amendments of various errors appearing in latter versions of the application.

You will be notified about the new version automatically in the upper panel of the ISPadmin application. It is information Latest version available; if you click on the version number, the system will automatically update. It is important to keep the udpate process run to the end, otherwise you can interrupt the installation and damage it or the data stored in the database. If this happens, the system may be recovered from the regular daily backups.

If the information about the currently installing version (stated at the end of the same line) is identical ot the current version, you are using a fully updated system.

After a successful update, we recommend to get familiar with the news and changes which the updated version brings. This information is given in the bookmark of Others / Changelog.

<!> The system update must run in its full extension, If it is stopped unfinished (ctrl+c, electricity blackout, or connectivity failure), the system or the database may be damaged. Often it is enough to donwload the update again if the system is regarded; the database when damaged must be repaired manually.

2. Filling in the codebook

The first step in the pure installation is filling in a codebook. Codebooks are lists of different items which are needed for the ISPadmin system operation. You will find these in the bookmark of Settings / Codebooks.

• User type

Here you can define technology types with which you will connect your clients. You can use these model titles: WiFi 5GHz, WiFi 2,4GHz, Radius, FTTB, LAN, PPPoE, etc. These items will then be possible to be chosen when creating the Internet service in the card of each client.

By means of such defined items it will also be possible to sort the clients and filter them in selected system bookmarks.

• Client groups

This list allows grouping the customers into defined groups according to your own requirements. As an example we state the following: New users, Current users, VIP, Waiting for connection, according to location, the name of the company or firm.

• Router groups

The list of router groups serves for grouping routers on the screen of Routers / All. These groups may be defined arbitrarily according to your own consideration, for instance according to the network division Spine routes, Main routers, Bridge, Gateways, City border, AP, Client routers and so on, or according to the router type RB433, RB433AH, RB600, RB1000, Linux, CISCO.

Speaking about the latter division, it is also possible to later filter records and users. By this division you make the router preview much better-arranged in the individual screens of the whole system.

• Users statuses

This list shows in what statuses the clients are towards you. You can approach these clients according to these statuses. The division is advisable to be used in the way in which every customer is correctly marked, which later makes it easier for the technicians to orient themselves in the details of the client card. In this way defined status may later be assigned to every client in their client card - Add / edit a contact.

Examples: Connected, Disconnected, Limited, Normal, Player, Downloader, Spammer, Bad payer, Troublemaker, etc. Then you know that the downloader may be limited to p2p networks, players require low feedback, badpayers will be urged on the payments or will be suspended.

• Material

The definition of used material which is installed with the clients. Later you can assigne these items in the client card - Material; here you will have the list of devices used when installing or during the service interventions displayed for every client.

• Ending devices

Here you define the types of devices connected to routers or ending devices installed with the clients. This serves as an overview and evidence of the hardware. If the device connecting to the router allows reading out the SNMP data, it is possible to define a SNMP OID template. Client devices are monitored separately. Displayed groupsare firmly given by the system: microwave-svm, switch, adsl-modem, ap-5-ghz, ap-2.4-ghz, client-5-ghz, client-2-4GHz, ip-telephony, linux-router, technology, ups, server, computer, microwave-10-ghz, ip-camera, printer, snmp-device, Client ending devices.

You can input types of devices used or being connected into each group. All groups except for the last one Client ending devices will be displayed as items in the selection of the menu for adding a device to the router. The last group of Client end devices will be shown when making a new Internet service as an item of Hardware of the ending device.

• Locations

Here you can define locations for routers, which allows you to create geographical groups into which you will assign the routers according to specific locations ( Šumperk, Olomouc, Brno - center, Brno - north, etc… ). This serves for a better orientation in the area of coverage.

You can use names of towns and cities if you maintain more of them, or only town/city districts if you maintain only a few towns/cities. If your network is larger, it is better to divide the locations into districts or regions.

Using this division you will make the router overview much better-arranged in the individual screens of the system. You can also filter records and users according to this division, eg. bulk e-mail and SMS.

• IP ranges

For correct opearion of the router it is necessary to have correctly assigned IP address ranges. An automatic read-out of the ranges out of their settings is done for all routers and thus you do not have to do this manually. This manual setting of the IP ranges may serve only as an overview of selected ranges which you are particularly interested in. Thus set IP ranges are displayed in the bookmark of Statistics / IP ranges, where you can browse through the details of assigned addresses.

• Holidays

The overview of the public holidays and days off. These dates are used mainly for the purposes of planning where the holidays show in the calendar and thus you will avoid planning tasks on days off or also to a day before.

The customers from Slovakia and other locations must adjust and edit the records about the holidays according to their own country.

• Nagios

Contact groups for the monitoring system NAGIOS, these notification groups are used by the system to distribute notifications of routers, servers failures and of connected network devices (UPS, IP camera) among the individual network administrators.

These groups does not have to be necessarily defined directly during the system implementation, it is, however, easier to assign notification groups right during the setting the routers than to later add them one by one.

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translation notes

ispadmin_update stable  # tím dojde k updatu na poslední stabilní verzi

ispadmin_update beta  # tím dojde k updatu na poslední vývojovou beta verzi