SmartConsole Toolbars

Global Toolbar (top of SmartConsole)

	Description
	The main SmartConsole Menu. When SmartConsole is connected to a Security Management Server, this includes: Manage policies and layers Open Object Explorer New object (opens menu to create a new object) Publish session Discard session Session details Install policy Verify Access Control Policy Install Database Uninstall Threat Prevention policy Management High Availability Manage Licenses and Packages Global Properties View (opens menu to select a View to open)
	Create new objects or open the Object Explorer
	Install policy on managed gateways

Session Management Toolbar (top of SmartConsole)

	Description
	Discard changes made during the session
	Enter session details and see the number of changes made in the session.
	Publish changes, to make them visible to other administrators, and ready to install on gateways. Note - When the policy is installed, published changes are installed on the gateways and enforced.

Navigation Toolbar (left side of SmartConsole)

	Keyboard Shortcut	Description
	Ctrl+1	Gateways & Servers configuration view: Manage Security Gateways Activate Software Blades Add, edit, or delete gateways and clusters (including virtual clusters) Run scripts Backup and restore gateways Open a command line interface on the gateway View gateway status
	Ctrl+2	Security Policies Access Control view: Manage Access Control: Content Awareness, VPN, Application & URL Filtering, and Mobile Access Edit multiple policies at the same time Add, edit, or delete NAT rules Use the Access Tools Security Policies Threat Prevention view: Manage Threat Prevention: IPS, Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, Threat Emulation Edit the unified threat Rule Base Configure threat profiles Add, edit, or delete exceptions and exception groups Use the Threat Tools Shared Policies Views: Manage Mobile Access, DLP, Geo Policy and inspection Settings
	Ctrl+3	Logs & Monitor view: See high level graphs and plots Search through logs Schedule customized reports Monitor gateways See compliance information
	Ctrl+4	Manage & Settings view - review and configure the Security Management Server settings: Administrators Permissions profiles Trusted clients Administrator sessions, and session settings Blades Revisions Preferences Sync with User Center

Command Line Interface Button (left bottom corner of SmartConsole)

	Keyboard Shortcut	Description
	F9	Open a command line interface for management scripting and API

For more SmartConsole shortcuts, see Keyboard Shortcuts for SmartConsole.

Objects Bar (right side of SmartConsole)

	Description
Objects	Manage security and network objects

Validations Pane (right side of SmartConsole)

	Description
Validations	See validation errors

System Information Area (bottom of SmartConsole)

	Description
Task List	See management tasks in progress and expand to see recent tasks
Server Details	See the IP address of the server to which SmartConsole is connected. If Management High Availability is configured, click to see the details.
Session Status	See the number of changes made in the session and the session status.
Connected administrators	See connected administrators: Yourself and others.

Connecting to the Security Management Server through SmartConsole

To log in to a Security Management Server through Check Point SmartConsole, you must have an administrator account configured on the Security Management Server. When installing the Security Management Server, you create one administrator in the First Time Configuration Wizard. After that, you can create additional administrators accounts with SmartConsole, or using the Gaia Portal.

To log in to the Security Management Server through SmartConsole:

1. Launch the SmartConsole application.
2. Enter your administrator authentication credentials. These can be a username, or a certificate file, or a CAPI certificate.

   Logging in with a username:

   • Enter the Username and Password.

   Logging in with a certificate file:

   • From the drop-down list, select Certificate File.
   • Browse to the file.
   • Enter the password of the certificate file.

   Logging in with a certificate in the CAPI repository:

   • From the drop-down list, select CAPI Certificate.
   • Select the certificate from drop-down list.
3. Enter the name or the IP address of the Security Management Server.
4. Click Login.

   The SmartConsole authenticates the Security Management Server. The first time you connect, SmartConsole shows the fingerprint.

5. Confirm the fingerprint.

The fingerprint and the IP address of the Security Management Server are saved to the user settings in Windows.

Setting Up for Security Management

To start setting up your security environment, configure the Security Management Server and the Security Gateways. The Security Gateways enforce the security policy that you define on the Security Management Server.

To configure the Security Management Server in SmartConsole:

1. In the Gateways & Servers view, find the Security Management Server object.

   You can search for it by name or IP address in the Search box at the top of the view.

   When you select the Security Management Server object, the Summary tab at the bottom of the pane shows the Software Blades that are enabled on it.

2. Open the object properties window, and enable the Management Software Blades, as necessary:
   • Network Policy Management - Manage a comprehensive security policy, unified for all security functionalities. This is automatically enabled.
   • Endpoint Policy Management - Manage security and data on end-user computers and hand-held devices. Enable this Software Blade if you have or will install an Endpoint Security Management Server.
   • Logging & Status - Monitor security events and status of gateways, VPNs, users, and more, with advanced visuals and data management features.
   • Identity Logging - Add user identities, and data of their computers and devices, from Active Directory domains, to log entries.
   • User Directory - Populate your security scope with user accounts from the LDAP servers in your environment.
   • Compliance - Optimize your security settings and comply with regulatory requirements
   • SmartEvent - Manage and correlate security events in real-time.

To configure the Security Gateways in SmartConsole:

1. From the navigation toolbar, select Gateways & Servers.
2. Click New, and select Gateway.
3. In the Check Point Security Gateway Creation window that opens, select a configuration mode:
   • Wizard Mode - run the configuration wizard
   • Classic Mode - configure the gateway in classic mode

Setting up for Team Work

As an administrator, you can delegate tasks, such as defining objects and users, to other administrators. Make sure to create administrator accounts with the privileges that are required to accomplish those tasks.

If you are the only administrator, we recommend that you create a second administrator account with Read Only permissions, which is useful for troubleshooting, consultation, or auditing.

Managing Security through API and CLI

You can configure and control the Management Server with the new command line tools and through web services. You must first configure the API server.

The API server runs scripts that automate daily tasks and integrate the Check Point solutions with third party systems such as virtualization servers, ticketing systems, and change management systems.

You can use these tools to run API scripts on the Management Server:

• Standalone management tool, included with SmartConsole. You can copy this tool to computers that run Windows or Gaia operating system.
  • mgmt_cli.exe (for Windows operating system)
  • mgmt_cli (for Gaia operating system)
• Web Services API that allows communication and data exchange between the clients and the Management Server over the HTTP protocol. It also lets other Check Point processes communicate with the Management Server over the HTTPS protocol.

All API clients use the same port as the Gaia Portal.

To learn more about the management APIs, to see code samples, and to take advantage of user forums, see:

• The Online Check Point Management API Reference Guide.
• The Developers Network section of CheckMates.

Configuring the API Server

To configure the API Server:

1. In SmartConsole, go to Manage & Settings > Blades.
2. In the Management API section, click Advanced Settings.

   The Management API Settings window opens.

3. Configure the Startup Settings and the Access Settings.

Management API Settings

• Startup Settings
  • Select Automatic start to automatically start the API server when the Security Management Server starts.

    In these environments, Automatic start is selected by default:

    • Distributed Security Management Servers (without gateway functionality) with at least 4GB of RAM
    • Standalone Security Management Servers (with gateway functionality) with at least 8GB of RAM

  In other environments, to reduce the memory consumption on the management server, Automatic start is not selected by default.

• Access Settings

  Configure IP addresses from which the API server accepts requests:

  • Management server only (default) - API server will accept scripts and web service requests only from the Security Management Server. You must open a command line interface on the server and use the mgmt_cli utility to send API requests.
  • All IP addresses that can be used for GUI clients - API server will accept scripts and web service requests from the same devices that are allowed access to the Security Management Server.
  • All IP addresses - API server will accept scripts and web-service requests from any device.

To apply changes, you must publish the session, and run the api restart command on the Security Management Server.