FAQs By Topic
The frequently asked questions (FAQs) on this page are categorized by topic. Click Answer under
each question to view the answer. If you do not find an answer to your question, you can log a
service record (SR) in eService to the solution of CareAware iBus. For more information about
logging an SR, see Resolve the Issue or Engage Cerner for Assistance.
General
What is CCEAdmin?
Answer
CCEAdmin is an appliance server, designed to support initial installation, upgrades and migrations of
Cerner appliance devices running Linux. CCEAdmin uses open source software to facilitate these
processes (Linux running LAMP and NFSv4). The server also contains Clonezilla Live media, which
is used to perform a disk-less boot and re-image the appliance device remotely. CCEAdmin was
originally intended to be a short-lived tool to assist in migrating Connectivity Engines (CE) from OS
version, between CareAware iBus environments, deployment, and troubleshooting for new
installations. Additional work has provided a more long-term approach for the tool. CCEAdmin is not
a real-time monitoring system but can be used to assist with CE troubleshooting. Although not
specifically designed to be an inventory tool, CCEAdmin provides a simple means for CE
management. Keep in mind, CCEAdmin is intrusive with all actions initiated manually and falling
outside of the formal support model for appliance devices. CCEAdmin is a supplemental tool to
assist with system management not covered by the CareAware iBus environment.
What appliance devices are supported?
Answer
CCE3TouchScreen CCE3BlackBox, Roomlink3Linux, CCE4 (CCE4 Unified - both Touchscreen and
Blackbox) and CCE4TS (Terminal Server) running Ubuntu LTS releases (Ubuntu 10.04, 14.04, and
16.04). Re-imaging is only supported going to Ubuntu 14 or later. Downgrading back to Ubuntu 10
is not supported.
How does CCEAdmin find my appliance devices?
Answer
CCEAdmin discovers appliance devices by searching an IPv4 address range (user provided) for a
custom TCP port used by the appliance software when found. Additionally, by checking for SSH
(TCP/22) is also performed to distinguish between Windows-based assemblies (for example, nursing
and ambulatory) and Unix-based. If both checks pass, an attempt is made to log in and collect
system information used to categorize and manage the device. Once discovered, if possible, a
scripted agent is added to the system to periodically post updates to the CCEAdmin server and keep
the server database current. Some older Ubuntu 10 disk images do not support this correctly and
can require re-scans if devices changes.
Important!
For appliance running current disk images (Dec-2018 or later), the custom TCP port is blocked.
Check "Skip Appliance Check" when performing network discovery.
Note
CCEAdmin restricts IP ranges to less then 1024 IP addresses; however, multiple ranges can be
scanned at the same time.
What are the network requirements to use CCEAdmin?
Answer
Fast Ethernet is enough for basic remote management; however, Gigabit Ethernet is required if
imaging more than one device at a time. The appliance device must be on a network that provides
DHCP to facilitate address assignment during the imaging process. Disk-less boots are handled
through an iPXE kernel; however, no additional infrastructure changes are required. The following
tables list port requirements.
Important!
Imaging of a Connectivity Engine over wireless is not supported. Wired connectivity is required.
Spanning-tree can delay DHCP discovery. If iPXE fails to get an IP address turning on port-fast can
be required. The imaging of appliances chained together through the bridged interface is not
recommended and can require manually imaging if attempted.
Varied network infrastructure, security and optimization tools can affect functionality. The most
reliable method is through local LAN connectivity.
The imaging process demand can have a detrimental effect to other clinical traffic. It is
recommended to test your specific use case to determine the effect and plan accordingly.
Web Interface Access
Source Destination Destination Port
Workstation browser CCEAdmin Web Server TCP/80, TCP/443
Discovery and Remote Management
Source Destination Destination Port
CCEAdmin Server Appliance Device TCP/22
CCEAdmin Server Appliance Device TCP/22 (remote mgmt)
Remote Device Imaging - NFS4 Image Repo
Source Destination Destination Port
CCEAdmin Server Appliance Device TCP/22 (start and trigger)
Source Destination Destination Port
Appliance Device CCEAdmin Server TCP/80, TCP/2049 (remote boot, image and configure)
What are the system requirements to install
CCEAdmin?
Answer
CCEAdmin requires a dedicated system (VMWare is also supported). All data on the system hard
drive will be removed when installing through the ISO/CDROM. A Virtual Appliance (OVA) is also
available.
Note
For CCEAdmin ISO installation/build, it is recommended to have DHCP and Internet access for full
automation of the server installation.
Recommended
Processor 1 x CPU (4 logical) 4th generation i3/i5
Memory 4-8 GB RAM
Storage 1 x DISK @ 32 GB (SATA 3.0/SAS-2)
Network 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mb/s)
Optical Drive 1 x DVD-ROM
Why does CCEAdmin require a dedicated system?
Answer
To help guarantee a high level of success and reduce the overall risk, a controlled server
environment was determined to be required. This allows for a very defined setup, tuning and
restrictions as guardrails for the imaging process. By limiting the variance, it is expected to have a
high degree of success while providing an easily repeatable process across knowledge and skill
levels. A dedicated server also allows for additional management options.
What kind of "guardrails" are provided?
Answer
With very few exceptions, the installation is an unattended process. This provides required
resources (APACHE, MySQL, PHP with modules, NFSv4) with configurations based on our needs
and best practices. This allows someone with little Linux knowledge to setup CCEAdmin with
confidence in the end state. Additionally, a VMWare OVA file (virtual appliance) can be imported
into an existing system and includes "helper" script for CCEAdmin server configuration items like IP
addresses, DNS servers, NTP servers, timezone, and so on.
The CCEAdmin scripts will perform various checks before making changes to an appliance device.
The appliance device MAC address (first interface), is used to identify the device uniquely. (As
devices reboot and are reconfigured, the host-name and IP address can change.) Additionally, items
collected from the device are tagged with the MAC address including configuration backup,
troubleshooting logs and monitoring graphs.
When preparing to re-image an appliance device, a series of actions are taken:
Can the server reach the device to control it?
Does the device we are about to change have the
correct MAC address? Did the IP address change?
Are there any Device Adapters connected? Could
there be clinical data loss if we proceed?
Can the device reach the sever on TCP/80 (disk-less
boot) and TCP/2049 (disk image repo)?
A backup of the current appliance configuration is
made.
A small kernel is uploaded to the device and grub
change is made to facilitate the disk-less boot.
"Call Home" triggers are sent from CE to the server
during and immediately after re-imaging to monitor
progress and identify failures.
To limit downtime, CCDAdmin can install and
configure the assembly during the imaging process.
If the device fails its' disk-less boot, the device will reboot; however, no permanent change has been
made yet. If the reboot solves the problem (delayed DHCP response, brief network interruption, and
so on), the process will continue. In the event the process does not recover automatically, physically
connecting to the device and selecting the original boot options will bring it back into production.
These guardrails, greatly reduce the risks associated with remotely imaging these devices.
Note
Post imaging steps, for example, restoring or modifying the configuration, allows for more flexibility
but ensure that it is tested before using as a part of the re-imaging process.
Where can I download CCEAdmin?
Answer
The server build for CCEAdmin and appliance disk images can be download through package
management. Package 151636 contains the required media.
