How to purchase and install the Protex Web filtering software for the Appliansys CB050 and CB200 CacheBoxes

First buy your CacheBox!

Currently the local, school server version of the Protex web filtering solution is only available as an addition to the Appliansys CacheBox range of cache servers. This is because the software is integrated into the Appliansys installation and has been thoroughly tested and tuned for this hardware.

The CacheBox itself may be provided by your Local Authority or purchased from Appliansys via the C&W/E2BN Framework Contract. See the main Protex website - http://protex.e2bn.org - for general Protex details or here for purchasing.

Once you have your CacheBox and it is working as a cache - i.e. you can direct a browser to its IP address on port 800 and browse the internet - you can order and install Protex. It is very important that you confirm that the cache is working correctly before attempting to install Protex as the installation will fail if the CacheBox is not set up correctly. (Instructions for installing the cache in your network and, in particular, how to set the IP address should be included with your cache hardware).

Protex Version2, which now includes NTLM authentication, has more stringent system requirements: if you have an older CacheBox then please check the following carefully.

System Requirements

Protex can only be installed on a Appliansys CacheBox (CB050 or CB200) running version 3.12 or 3.16 of their operating system. Servers running prior versions are not supported.

On previously installed Appliansys servers currently running a pre v3.12 o/s we strongly recommend a clean install of v3.12/v3.16 and reconfiguring the server before installing Protex V2. While installation over an upgrade may work if there are problems we cannot offer technical support until a clean install of 3.12/3.16 and a reinstall of Protex V2 has been completed.

Browser Setting Requirements (for NTLM Authentication)

• must allow JavaScript
• must allow cookies
• "do not proxy for" setting must include the Protex V2 server's FQDN and IP address.

Ordering the Protex Software Licence

Protex is available as a yearly subscription service only - details of current server and subscription costs. Please note that these are special prices for schools on the E2BN network. If you are not part of the E2BN network we would be happy to provide you with a quotation. Please request this from filtering@e2bn.org.

In order to install the filter software we need to know about your network. There is a link to the online form on the Protex website.

Setting up the CacheBox as a cache

Unless pre-configured by your LA or Appliansys you will need to do the initial setup from the terminal (i.e. with a screen and keyboard plugged in). The minimal setting at this point is to give the CacheBox its correct IP details (IP address, netmask and DNS). Once these have been set all other configuration and management of both its cache and filter functions can take place via the web-interface. Please follow the manufacturer's instructions and any local policies (e.g. do you need to access the internet via a LA cache as parent?) to set up the CacheBox as a cache. Once it is working then you can go on to install the Protex Filtering system.

Installing Protex

First Log-in to the CacheBox via its IP address.

You will be asked to accept the CacheBox certificates - accept and follow the prompts at these screens.

Then enter the administrator username and password. If this is still the default change it to a more secure password as soon as possible.

This should take you into the Configure/Network tab of the CacheBox interface where you can see the current settings of your cache. In this case you can see that the hostname has been set to icon2.cache.e2bn.org and the IP address is 192.168.10.100. These are critical pieces of information: when you come to install the Protex software these are checked against the information you originally supplied. If they do not match the software will not install. The hostname in particular MUST be changed from the default name to the assigned one which will be of the form xyx.cache.e2bn.org

For some authorities you may need to set a parent cache before you will be able to access the internet. Click on the local menu item on the left to reach this screen where it can be both set and forced. The name/IP of the parent please will need to be obtained from your LA.

Now you have the cache working and configured with the correct hostname, IP address and parent cache you can install the Protex software. Go to the Content tab: this is where you can control the cache element of the server and access the Protex admin interface once it has been installed.

To install the Protex software click on the install software menu item.

If you click on Admin interface before installing the software (or if the installation fails) then this is what you see...

Click Install software and enter your subscription key.

It takes a few minutes to install the software depending upon the speed of your internet connection and how busy it is: the main blacklists are some 40Mb so please be patient! Once completed you see this page displayed assuming there have been no problems.

Now go back to the System tab and click on shutdown...

Select the reboot option...

and Confirm....

You will need to log back into the cache once it has rebooted then go to the Content tab and click on the Admin interface item to bring up the web interface to the Protex content filtering software.