With this configuration, the administrator can specify the ThinMan Server address.
What is ThinMan?
ThinMan is the Praim software that allows to easily monitor and manage all the thin client devices in the network. You can read the ThinMan Webpage and the ThinMan User Guide for more information.
It is very important to specify which is the referenced ThinMan because when it is configured, the thin client will use HTTPS Protocol instead of TCP/UDP and will send ThinMan more information on the Thin Client itself (Serial, Subnet, …).
VERY IMPORTANT: MANDATORY PARAMETER
This configuration is necessary in order to use all the features of the ThinMan Server. Without the correct configuration, you cannot properly manage the devices with the ThinMan Server.Examples:
- Features like Scheduled Activities and Event Activities cannot be used.
- The ThinMan Profile Manager can be used only on devices that link the ThinMan Server. Note that the Profile Manager allows automatically distributing configuration on the devices and to maintain the profile aligned between many devices.
- Furthermore, the ThinOX device could be protected by the ThinMan Login (see How to protect the Thin Client with ThinMan Login).
For more information, you can read these links: ThinMan: How to Setup ThinMan Address on Thin Client and ThinMan: Network Browsing and Device Refreshing.
More important information
You can read this link How to Setup ThinMan Address on Thin Client to find more information about how the ThinMan is contacted. Read it carefully.
Enable Connection from ThinMan: allows the thin client to receive ThinMan communications and commands. It has to be flagged if ThinMan is used to manage the thin clients.
DHCP Option: the number of DHCP Option configured on the DHCP Server to set ThinMan Address. The default value is 163.
ThinMan Address: whether the DHCP Option is not configured the thin client will use this address to communicate with ThinMan. The default value is PRAIMSERVER.
Timeout: timeout, expressed in the number of seconds, that is used to communicate with ThinMan.
Listening Port: Is the port used by the device to receive the ThinMan communication.
Click "Test Connection" to try the information entered.
Click "OK" to close the configuration window and save the parameters.
Providing the ThinMan Server address via network parameters (DHCP Option 163 or PRAIMSERVER resolution name) can be useful; it avoids local changes on device configurations, and brand new installed devices will automatically notify to the ThinMan Server. Praim strongly suggests using this practice to provide the ThinMan Server information to the devices in a production environment. In a demo environment, you can link the ThinMan Server by entering its IP Address (or the FQDN name) where the demo ThinMan Server is installed. This manual configuration is not suggested in a production environment where is more convenient and time-saving to provide the information using the network parameters.
"Authentication" tab allows defining the options for the ThinMan Login (see ThinMan Documentation for more information on ThinMan Login).
802.1x / Imprivata OneSign / VPN Agent - Credentials Passthrough: when one of the options is enabled, then the ThinMan Login will use the same credential given on the network login without asking it again. See VPN Configuration, Imprivata OneSign Agent and Port Based Authentication for more information on those clients.
Logoff 802.1x at ThinMan Logoff: when enabled the thin client will log off the Port Based Authentication when the user logoff the ThinMan Login.
Show last logged user: will pre-compile the ThinMan Login with the last username logged in the thin client.
Behaviour if ThinMan not available: select the behavior of the thin client when ThinMan Login is not available at the startup of the thin client or during the user authentication.
Force Retry: is strictly connected to the Timeout parameter in the previous tab. When the thin client tries to contact the ThinMan Server at the thin client startup and this parameter is enabled then the thin client wait and eventually retry the connection for all the timeout seconds before accepting that the ThinMan Server does not respond to the request. Beware because if there is no ThinMan Server on the network, this flag will increase the boot-time of the thin client. This parameters is useful for a thin client configured with static IP Address.
The other parameters instead are used when the ThinMan is not reachable during the user authentication:
- Use local configuration: in this case, the thin client will act as normal authentication. Because ThinMan is not reachable, every credential inserted by the user cannot be checked; the thin client normally starts as it would if there were no ThinMan Server.
- Use last cached profile: in this case, the thin client will check if the same user has already logged in another time. In the affirmative case, the last profile associated with that user is loaded into the thin client configuration.
- Force authentication: in this case, the thin client shows an error, and the credential request is shown again until the ThinMan Server is responding to the thin client. The thin client remains locked.