AI Powered Auto-curation

Using the AI Powered Auto-curation feature you'll be able to increase the total amount of normalized software in your Inventory repositories. This is done using AI that integrates with the inventory consolidation process. By using AI your organization will benefit from significant numbers of normalized software and a reduced manual effort needed to normalize software.

Before you enable AI Powered Auto-curation, ensure you've met the Tachyon 5.1 - Requirements and completed the Tachyon 5.1 - Preparation steps, in particular the additional disk and memory requirements on the Tachyon web server.

/*SCCM database query to get number of distinct software titles from SCCM database*/
USE [YourSCCMDBName]
GO
SELECT COUNT(*) AS 'Distinct Software Titles'
FROM (
	SELECT DISTINCT DisplayName0 AS Title FROM [v_ADD_REMOVE_PROGRAMS] WITH (NOLOCK)
	UNION
	SELECT DISTINCT [Caption0] AS Title FROM [v_GS_OPERATING_SYSTEM] WITH (NOLOCK)
) AS Titles

/*SLA query to get number of distinct software titles from SLA-Data database*/
USE [SLA-Data]
CREATE TABLE #Software
       (
              [SoftwareID]                      INT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
              [DataSource]                      NVARCHAR(255) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [SoftwareIdent]                   NVARCHAR(MAX) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [SoftwareIdent_Hash]		        VARBINARY(128),
              [Vendor]                          NVARCHAR(MAX) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [Vendor_Hash]			            VARBINARY(128),
              [Title]                           NVARCHAR(MAX) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [Title_Hash]                      VARBINARY(128),
              [Version]                         NVARCHAR(MAX) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [Version_Hash]                    VARBINARY(128),
              [ColloquialVersion]               NVARCHAR(MAX) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [ColloquialVersion_Hash]          VARBINARY(128),
              [Edition]                         NVARCHAR(MAX) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT,
              [Edition_Hash]                    VARBINARY(128),
              [NormalizedProductID]             INT
       );
SELECT * FROM #Software
EXEC [usp_ReportDataEx_se] 1, N'Software', N'#Software';
  
SELECT count(*) AS 'Distinct Software Titles'
FROM
(
SELECT DISTINCT [Title] FROM #Software
) a

DROP TABLE #Software

Server software

Disk space

Tachyon Server installation folder is approx. 70 MB.

Tachyon Server logs folder is approx. 210 MB. For more details about logs please refer to the Log files page.

For details of SQL database file sizes, please refer to Server requirements above.

Databases, Log and TempDB must be on separate disks for medium and large configurations.

Network interfaces

The following conditions apply to network interfaces, which must be configured before installing Tachyon on a server.

Each network interface must be assigned a static IP Address. Tachyon Setup supports installation using IPv4.

The table below summarizes the network interface requirements for a Response Stack's database and Switches, where n is the number of Switches on the server up to a maximum of five. 

The ActiveEfficiency column shows the additional network interface required if the Response Stack is installed on the same server as the Master Stack, that also has ActiveEfficiency installed. The interface can be added before or after installation.

Unless otherwise stated, all network interfaces must be a minimum of 1Gbps.

When a Response Stack uses an additional network interface for remote SQL, it needs a persistent route to be configured, to prevent outgoing SQL traffic using any other network interface. Please refer to Preparation: Configuring a persistent route for SQL traffic. Please ensure you also consult your server, firewall and networking teams.

A Background Channel is normally installed on the same server as Switches so that Tachyon client devices can connect to both using the same DNS Name FQDN.

Computername

The computername of a Tachyon Server must comply with Microsoft NetBIOS naming standards, which includes having a length of 15 characters or less.

Microsoft's guidance can be found here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/SysInfo/computer-names. 

DNS Names

Each server that has Tachyon platform components installed requires its own DNS Name.

The number of DNS Names used by a system depend on the location of Tachyon and other Platform services. The table below describes options.

Tachyon Setup supports installation of one HTTP and one HTTPS binding, but you can manually add more bindings after installation. HTTPS bindings can share a web server certificate provided it includes all DNS Names, or each HTTPS binding can have its own certificate.

Each DNS Name used to access a Tachyon Server must be included as a DNS Name in the Subject Alternate Name (SAN) entry of the web server certificate, and the Switch certificate files.

A DNS Name can be a DNS alias, CNAME or Host (A) record.

Service Principal Names

Tachyon Platform and applications use underlying IIS and SQL Server technology, and only require HTTP or MSSQLSvc class SPNs if your company security policy has configured IIS or SQL Server to use Kerberos authentication. 

If your IIS server is using Kerberos, then each DNS Name used to access a Tachyon Web Server requires an HTTP class Service Principal Name (SPN) to be registered against the relevant service account in Active Directory, which is computer$ by default. This allows Tachyon web applications to authenticate clients using Windows Authentication where Kerberos is an authentication provider (primary, fallback or negotiated).

SPNs are not required for DNS Names used to connect to Switches and Background Channel, because they do not use Windows Authentication. However, the same DNS Name may be used to access other web applications.

Windows Server roles and features

Items in bold are included in the PowerShell script available for download from Preparation: Windows Server roles and features.

The following roles, role services and features must be installed/enabled as a minimum. The Name column is the reference used in PowerShell commands.

In the case of .NET Framework features we refer to 4.X in the Display Name, as X may be different depending on the server OS. The PowerShell Name always uses 45 instead of the actual version.

The following roles, role services and features must be removed/disabled.

MSMQ

Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) Windows feature must be enabled in order to install the 1E ActiveEfficiency service component. This service is required by:

• Nomad Sync (dashboard and pre-cache features) even though it does not use MSMQ it is required for installation
• Nomad integration with WakeUp feature, which does use MSMQ and requires MSMQ to also be enabled on the NightWatchman Management Center server

MSMQ is only required to support the above features, and is no longer required by other 1E companion products that use ActiveEfficiency Server (AppClarity 5.x and Shopping 5.x).

Anti-Virus and Malware

The following should be excluded from scans to prevent file locking and resource deletion.

• 1E log files. See Log files for details of Tachyon Server and 1E Client logs
• The Background channel virtual directories (Agent, Content, Installers, PolicyDocuments, and Updates, which by default are in %programdata%\1E\Tachyon)

SQL Server requirements

Below is a list of SQL Server requirements covered in other sections on this page:

• SQL Server editions and configuration - see Server software section - a SQL Server database instance is required for databases, and also a SQL Server Analysis Server (SSAS) instance for the SLA-BI Cube.
• Network interface for remote SQL Server - see Network interfaces section
• SQL database sizing - see Server Sizing reference page

The server installation account requires SQL permissions during installation and upgrade, which can be temporary or permanent. The level of SQL permissions required by the installation account depends on which Tachyon components it is installing.

Master Stacks

For master stacks sysadmin is required as follows:

• to install 1E Catalog
• to create Linked Servers for SLA, which requires sysadmin for the SQL database instances for both SLA and 1E Catalog databases
• to create Linked Servers for BI, which requires sysadmin for the SQL database instances for both SLA and BI databases, and the SSAS instance for the BI cube (required only by Patch Success)
• to create a Linked Server for ActiveEfficiency, which requires sysadmin for the SQL database instance for the ActiveEfficiency database (required only by Nomad)

Response Stacks

The above information is also provided in SQL Login for the server installation account below.

Microsoft Bulk Copy Program (BCP) installed on the Response Stack server(s) where the Tachyon Core component is installed, as described in Export all feature below

MSDTC enabled and configured on the SQL database server for both ActiveEfficiency, and the Configuration Manager specified in the Nomad Sync settings during installation of ActiveEfficiency.

MSDTC

The following is relevant only if you are installing ActiveEfficiency to support Nomad Sync which is used for Nomad dashboard and pre-cache features.

ActiveEfficiency Server requires Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) to be enabled and configured on each of the SQL Servers used by:

• ActiveEfficiency database
• Configuration Manager site database - specified in the Nomad Sync settings during installation of ActiveEfficiency. This would normally be the CAS in a multi-site hierarchy, or the Primary Site in a single-site hierarchy.

MSDTC is a feature of Windows Server and is used to track of transactional processes, usually over multiple resource managers on multiple computers. MSDTC ensures that the transactions are completed and can be rolled-back if any part of the process fails. Nomad Sync uses MSDTC to perform complex queries on Configuration Manager and ActiveEfficiency data. For example, to retrieve computers targeted with Nomad Pre-cache policies and Nomad Dashboard data.

Active Directory requirements

Service accounts

Tachyon Server web applications and services use network service account, NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE.

Prior to Tachyon 5.0 a domain user account was required by the 1E Catalog Update Service and the CatalogWeb application pool, but now they use Network Service.

The BI SSAS User account has the following requirements:

• The account name and its password will be specified in the Tachyon Setup: BI SSAS database settings screen.
• Must be a domain user account 
  • configured with Password never expires

  • although this user might be referred to as a service account, it does not require Logon as a service on the server

• The SLA BI installer (used by Tachyon Setup) automatically grants rights to this user during installation, and stores its credentials encrypted in the following places:
  • a linked server connection for the BI database to access the BI cube
  • in the configuration file used by the MDX API to query the BI cube

SQL Login for the Network Service account

The SQL Login that is used by the Tachyon Server web applications and services depends on whether the SQL Server is remote from the Tachyon Server or is local, as described in the following table:

During installation, the Tachyon Setup will always:

• attempt to create the SQL Login
• grant it db_owner permission on each of the Tachyon databases
• remove the db_owner permissions when installation is completed.

User accounts

Each Tachyon user requires an account in Active Directory. AD accounts must have their userPrincipalName (UPN) attribute populated, which is normal, but may be missing if users accounts have been created using scripts.

Tachyon users and approvers should have email addresses to support approval workflow and notifications. Email addresses are mandatory if Two-factor Authentication is enabled.

Tachyon is supported in multi-domain, multi-forest environments. You have a choice of how Tachyon queries Active Directory, specified during installation.

Tachyon services locate users and computers and membership of security groups by querying a semi-colon delimited list of Active Directory GC and/or LDAP URLs.

Any domain which contains Tachyon servers, users or groups must:

• be resolvable from the Tachyon Server using DNS - that is, the server must be able to resolve domain names using DNS
• have a two-way trust with the domain in which the Tachyon (Master Stack) Server exists - so that users trust the server, and the server trusts users
• allow the Tachyon Server to read computer, user and security group objects in each domain

The default GC:// is sufficient for a Tachyon Server in a simple Active Directory environment of one forest which has a Global Catalog. You can include, but it is not required, the name of the server's local domain or root domain, for example: GC://acme.local

To add support for a remote forest which has its own GC, you would for example have GC://acme.local;GC://nadir.local and so forth adding the root domain of any other forests to the list of GC URLs.

If you prefer to use LDAP, or there are difficulties with trusts between forest domains, then you would create a list of LDAP URLs including all domains that have Tachyon users and groups, as well as domains in which a Tachyon server resides. For example:

LDAP://acme.local;LDAP://pop.acme.local;LDAP://rock.acme.local;LDAP://country.acme.local;LDAP://nadir.local;LDAP://disco.nadir.local

You can mix GC and LDAP URLs, but you should avoid mixing LDAP URLs that are also resolved by a GC URL. For example: GC://;LDAP://nadir.local;LDAP://disco.nadir.local

Active Directory Security Groups

Active Directory security groups are strongly recommended for role-based access control (RBAC) but are not mandatory. AD security groups can be assigned to Tachyon roles after installation, they are not required during installation. They are added as Tachyon users and configured in the same way as AD user accounts. A Tachyon user can therefore be a domain user account or a security group. Groups are not mandatory because users can be assigned to roles and managed within Tachyon instead of AD, or a combination.

Tachyon Setup assigns a limited set of permissions to the server installation account, as described in Tachyon user permissions, which cannot be edited. However, the installation account's permissions can be extended if the account is a member of one or more AD Groups configured as Tachyon users.

An AD security group is also useful to configure access to the CatalogWeb Admin page, as described in Rebuilding the 1E Catalog.

Active Directory in the cloud

The Tachyon software must be installed on a Windows Server that is part of an Active Directory domain. Companies do not always have their on-premises Active Directory extended into their cloud environment - there are security concerns that must be taken into account and there must be some mechanism for either a secure network connection between the customer's on-premises systems and the cloud environment (usually via VPN connection) or a way of synchronizing the cloud based Active Directory implementation with the on-premises one (through a directory synchronization of some sort).

Both AWS and Azure provide the following 'cloud' based versions of Active Directory:

1. AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory (Enterprise Edition) - This is a full implementation of Active Directory, but it requires a VPN and a trust relationship set up with any existing on-premises Active Directory to be able to use on-premises based accounts. This makes it quite a complex solution to implement and maintain. 

   1E have not yet tested any Tachyon implementation using this solution and as such it is only supported by 1E on a best-efforts basis.

2. AWS AD Connector - This is a mechanism for redirecting domain queries from the local network to an on-premises Domain Controller using a VPN instead of needing a domain controller in the cloud.

   1E have not yet tested any Tachyon implementation using this solution and as such it is only supported by 1E on a best-efforts basis.

3. AWS Simple AD - This is an implementation of Active Directory based upon Samba 4 and provides a limited subset of a full Active Directory. 

   1E do not support Tachyon running in this environment.

4. Azure Active Directory - Although this provides cloud based identity, it cannot be used for direct active directory connectivity from an Azure virtual machine, for that you need Azure Active Directory Services (next).
    

5. Azure Active Directory Services - This provides the ability to domain join Azure Virtual Machines to your Azure Active Directory, however, it is not a full AD as you cannot have domain admin or enterprise admin privileges.

   1E do not support Tachyon running in this environment.

The following is the only cloud solution that is fully supported by 1E, and is what we call Extended AD. It doesn't use any of the above, but has the following requirements, which provide an Active Directory presence in the cloud and brings the full capabilities of Active Directory to bear. 

• Virtual machines located in the customer's cloud network installed with Windows Server as hosts for:
  
  • Domain Controller(s) in the existing enterprise domain, which can be Read-Only domain controllers (RODC).
  • Other member server(s) which host the Tachyon Server components, including Microsoft SQL Server, must be joined to the same enterprise domain.
• A permanent site-to-site VPN connection from cloud to the corporate on-premises network.

Server Installation Account

Tachyon user permissions

This is the account used to run Tachyon Setup (and the MSI installer) when installing or upgrading a Tachyon Server. The account is automatically defined as a Tachyon admin user with limited rights which cannot be edited (called a system principal). The installation account only has sufficient rights to add other Tachyon users, assign them to Tachyon roles (including the Permissions Administrator role), and install Tachyon applications. The users and roles created by the installation account are then used for ongoing use and management of Tachyon.

If you need the installation account to have additional Tachyon roles or be a Global Administrator, then the recommended approach is:

• create a role-based AD Security group - add the installation and other accounts to this group
• the installation account then
  • logs into Tachyon and navigates to Settings → Permissions → Users
  • creates a new Tachyon user for the role-based AD Security Group
  • assigns the relevant system role(s) to the new Tachyon user - this can be Global Administrators

The server installation account is granted the following permissions as a Tachyon user, configured during installation of the Tachyon Server.

• It is the first Tachyon user account and is a System Principal which means it cannot be deleted or assigned any other rights.
• It is assigned to the Tachyon system roles of:
  • Permissions Administrators
  • Instruction Set Administrators
  • Consumer Administrators
  • Applications Administrators
• It should be used to add additional Tachyon users and administrators, assign them to Tachyon roles, including the Permissions Administrators role, which should then be used for ongoing use and management of Tachyon.
• It may be included in any AD security group assigned to a Tachyon system or custom role.

Local admin rights

The server installation account has the following requirements on the server.

• Local admin rights on the Tachyon Server. It must be an Active Directory domain user account that is a direct or indirect member of the Administrators local group on the server where Tachyon Server will be installed.
• Can be disabled (not deleted) in Active Directory after additional Tachyon admin users have been created in Tachyon, and installation has been verified.

SQL Login for the server installation account

The server installation account requires SQL permissions during installation and upgrade, which can be temporary or permanent. The level of SQL permissions required by the installation account depends on which Tachyon components it is installing.

Master Stacks

For master stacks sysadmin is required as follows:

• to install 1E Catalog
• to create Linked Servers for SLA, which requires sysadmin for the SQL database instances for both SLA and 1E Catalog databases
• to create Linked Servers for BI, which requires sysadmin for the SQL database instances for both SLA and BI databases, and the SSAS instance for the BI cube (required only by Patch Success)
• to create a Linked Server for ActiveEfficiency, which requires sysadmin for the SQL database instance for the ActiveEfficiency database (required only by Nomad)

Response Stacks

Please refer to Preparation: Example SQL scripts for creating a SQL Login and granting roles for example SQL scripts.

License file

1E will provide you with a Tachyon.lic license file that defines the products and features your Tachyon System is able to use, for how long, and how many devices it supports, this may be an evaluation or subscription license.

• The license must be activated. Once activated, it may be used only by the Tachyon System that activated it.
• Licenses can be renewed or updated, but if allowed to expire then the affected products or features will not be usable.
• For a new installation, the Tachyon Setup program will let you select the license file from any folder on disk.
• For an existing installation the license file is copied into the folder: %PROGRAMDATA%\1E\Licensing on your Tachyon Server.

For details of what the license file needs to contain, please refer to Design Considerations: License requirements for consumer applications.

Certificates

Public Key Infrastructure

You need to have a PKI in your environment with at least one Issuing CA.

Tachyon requires each Issuing CA has:

• a Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Distribution Point (CDP) that uses HTTP/S 
• this HTTP/S CDP information is included in certificates issued to Tachyon Server and client devices

Tachyon Server certificates

Each server that has Tachyon Server components installed requires its own Web Server certificate (except for a remote SQL Server). Tachyon Setup uses this certificate for all web site HTTPS bindings, API and web services, and Switches (if any) on the server. Tachyon Setup also provides a maintenance feature to update After installation, it is possible to manually create or modify web site HTTPS bindings to use a different certificate.  but this is not binding binTherefore, a single-server installation requires only one Web Server certificate. This certificate must be provided prior to installation of Tachyon on the server.

The Web Server certificate requires the minimum of the following:

1. Issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA)
   • The certificate for the Root CA in the Certification Path must exist in the Trusted Root CA store of the server
   • If the issuing CA is not the Root CA then the certificate for the issuing CA and any intermediate CA in the Certification Path must exist in the Intermediate CA store of the server
   • The above CA certificates must exist on the Tachyon Web Server and Windows client devices
   • Most organizations have automated distribution of these CA certificates to servers and clients, using Group Policy for example.
2. Has at least the following Key Usage:
   
   • Digital signature
   • Key encipherment
3. Has at least the following Enhanced Key Usages:
   
   • Server Authentication
4. Revocation information is included
   • References at least one CRL Distribution point that uses HTTP
5. Must have a private key available

The following need to be considered when requesting this type of certificate.

• The certificate can be used only on the server it was intended, that has the correct hostname FQDN and DNS Alias FQDN.
• It is not possible use the Create Certificate Request method in IIS Manager Server Certificates, because it does not support all the above requirements.
• If you have a Microsoft CA, and a suitable Web Server template has been issued and enabled in the Active Directory Enrollment Policy, then it is possible to Request New Certificate in the Certificates (Local Computer) mmc snap-in and use the Certificate Enrollment wizard.
• Many organizations have their own process for submitting a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). Please ensure all the above requirements are specified. Security administrators sometimes have difficulty providing a certificate with one or more Subject Alternative Names (SAN), and it helps to explain these are type DNS.

Tachyon client certificates

If you have configured Tachyon Server to require client certificates, then each device requires a certificate with the following properties, in order for the Tachyon client to be authenticated by the Tachyon Switch.

1. Issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA)
   • The certificate for the Root CA in the Certification Path must exist in the Trusted Root CA store
   • If the issuing CA is not the Root CA then the certificate for the issuing CA and any intermediate CA in the Certification Path must exist in the Intermediate CA store
   • If the above CA certificates are different to those used by the Tachyon Web Server, they will need to be exported and then
     1. imported on the Tachyon Web Server
     2. included in the PEM file used by the Tachyon Switch
2. Has at least the following Enhanced Key Usage
   • Client Authentication
3. Has a private key
   • For a non-Windows device, the private key must be exportable
4. Revocation information is included.
   • References at least one CRL Distribution point that uses HTTP.
5. Has a Subject Name of type Common Name (CN=<hostname>) or Subject Alternative Name (DNS Name=<hostname>) where <hostname> depends on the type of device:
   • On domain-joined Windows PCs this must be the hostname FQDN of the computer, for example W701.ACME.LOCAL
   • On workgroup Windows PCs and non-Windows devices, this must be the hostname of the computer - as returned by the hostname command, for example on Windows PC this could be W701, and on a Mac this could be MAC01.local

The client device's certificate is stored differently depending on the type of OS.

• For Windows devices, the certificate is stored in the Windows Local Computer personal certificates store. 
• For non-Windows devices, except for the Mac, the Tachyon client does not use proprietary certificate stores. Instead, the client requires the certificate to exist as a PFX in the client installation folder structure (see non-Windows Device Certificate).

If using a Microsoft Enterprise CA then the following should be considered.

• For domain joined Windows computers:
  • use the Computer template or a duplicate,
  • enable auto-enrollment - so that devices enroll automatically.

• For workgroup Windows and non-Windows devices:
  • use a duplicate or equivalent of the Computer or Workstation template,
  • the template's Subject Name uses supply in the request - so the hostname can be entered when requesting a certificate,
  • the template must Allow private key to be exported - so a certificate can be requested on a domain joined Windows computer, exported as a PFX and then imported on the target device (see non-Windows Device Certificate).

If using a standalone CA, then certificates must be deployed by other means.

Code signing certificates

You will need your own code signing certificate, and have it registered in your Tachyon license, if you want to develop your own custom Tachyon instructions, or modify those of other authors. Instructions that are provided in the Tachyon Platform zip or downloaded from the Tachyon Exchange have already been code signed using the Platform and Exchange certificates from 1E. Your Tachyon license controls whether you can use these instructions.

Ideally all of your Tachyon instruction developers should share a single code signing certificate between them. Each code signing certificate must be registered in your Tachyon license and associated with your organization's instruction name prefix. When you have chosen your prefix and have your code signing certificate(s) you then need to send details of these to 1E, who will update your Tachyon license. This will then automatically activate on your Tachyon Server (assuming it has connection to the Internet).

The following points apply to the importing and running of custom Tachyon instructions:

• Tachyon will only allow instructions to be imported if they have been signed and the code-signing certificate in the Tachyon Server's Trusted Publishers certificate store exists.
• Tachyon will only allow instructions to be run if their prefix and code-signing certificate have been registered in the Tachyon Server's license file (even if the instruction has been successfully imported it will be flagged as unlicensed if the license information is not there).

Custom Instructions must be signed by the Tachyon Instruction Management Studio (TIMS) using a code-signing certificate present in the Personal certificate store where TIMS is installed (either local user or machine store). The TIMS user signing the Instruction also needs to have access to the certificate's private key.

For a detailed step-by-step process, please refer to Setting up custom Tachyon Instructions for the first time.

Digital signing certificates

On Windows computers, the installation MSI files, and binary executable and DLL files of 1E software are digitally signed. The 1E code signing certificate uses a timestamping certificate as its countersignature. 1E occasionally changes its code signing certificate, as shown in the table below, and uses it for new releases and hotfixes for older versions, as shown in the table below.

The signature algorithm of the 1E code signing certificate is SHA256RSA. In most cases the file digest algorithm of an authenticode signature is SHA256, and the countersignature is a RFC3161 compliant timestamp. The exception is on legacy OS (Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008) which require the file digest algorithm of an authenticode signature to be SHA1, and a legacy countersignature. 

The root CA certificates (for signing and countersigning) must exist in the Third-Party Root Certification Authorities  store (which is replicated in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store). These root CA certificates are normally automatically provided by Microsoft's Update Root Certificates feature, however, this may not be true for legacy OS computers in a lab environment that are not connected to the Internet.

The table below applies to software and hotfixes released in 2020.

PKI in the Cloud

Tachyon relies on both client (device) and server side certificates to ensure secure communication. In order for these certificates to work the computers need to trust the PKI implementation (issuing Certification Authority and chain of trust). In a standard on-premises environment devices can be enrolled with certificates using Active Directory Group Policy.

It is possible to use a non-Windows based PKI, but it is then left as an exercise for the user as to how to distribute and enrol device certificates to all end-points.

Given the supported Active Directory configuration above, the PKI requirements described above still apply to a cloud based implementation.

Tachyon Web Server certificate

Since clients must be able to access the Tachyon Switch and Background Channel from both the internal corporate network and the Internet, there are some additional considerations when creating the Tachyon web server certificate.

1. The server must have a consistent external FQDN.
   

   In AWS a standard EC2 instance has an external FQDN based upon its externally accessible IP address. However, this IP address will change each time the server restarts, and since the Tachyon Switch relies on an HTTPS certificate that utilizes the FQDN to authenticate the server, this would cause the Switch to stop working. In order to work around this, any AWS implementation MUST use an Elastic IP address associated with the network interface of the Switch to ensure that the IP address never changes, and therefore the external FQDN is always the same. Alternatively you can create a CNAME entry in your external DNS to point to the external FQDN of the AWS instance and use the CNAME as the subject name of the server certificate.
    

2. The web server certificate must incorporate all DNS Names that will be used to access the server in the certificate SAN.
   

   Clients can be configured to connect to multiple Switches for resilience and geographic load balancing. In many cases a cloud based virtual machine may be able to be accessed through both an internal VPN network, and an external Internet connection. These connections can be made using the same DNS name (via a CNAME entry as specified in the main documentation) or by different DNS names (where there are separate internal and external DNS domains in use).

   The certificate crafted for the Tachyon Switch  must contain all  DNS Names that will be used to contact the server in the Subject Alternate Name (SAN) entry within the certificate.

Client certificates

Any devices that will connect to the Tachyon implementation must have a client certificate from a PKI infrastructure trusted by the Tachyon server. In a Windows domain environment this is usually provided through an Enterprise Certificate Authority and the use of Group Policy. It is also possible to provide certificates through SCEP, which 1E has tested and support the use of the Microsoft Device Enrollment Service (MDES) for this purpose. Use of other SCEP solutions will be supported on a best-efforts basis.

Email requirements

SMTP server

The Tachyon SMTP feature can optionally be enabled to send the following types of emails to Tachyon users.

• Approval request emails to approvers about pending action requests
• Notification emails to users about responses that will expire shortly
• One-time authentication code emails if the two-factor authentication feature is enabled.

Emails are HTML format, without any attachments, and have a typical size of approximately 70KBytes. You can choose to modify the email banner header.

Emails are sent by the Coordinator service (workflow module) which by default uses the built-in Network Service (NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE).

If the Tachyon SMTP feature is enabled, your SMTP relay/gateway may require the following to be configured.

• Add the Tachyon Server name or IP address to a new or existing white-list policy
• Disable require SMTP authentication (allow anonymous) - see note below
• Assign the "mail-from" address to an AD account - see Mail-From Address below - if it has a SPF (Sender Policy Framework) or Sender ID policy.

Mail-From address

If the Tachyon SMTP feature is enabled, then a Mail-From address is required as the Sender of Tachyon emails.

Tachyon does not require the Mail-From address to belong to a real AD account or have a real mailbox, however, your SMTP relay/gateway might have these requirements, therefore you may need to create an additional AD account.

Choose a suitable email address, especially if there is no mailbox, for example no_reply@acme.local.

Email for Users and Approvers

Tachyon users and approvers require email addresses otherwise they will not receive emails when actions require authentication or approval. Email addresses are mandatory if two-factor authentication is enabled.

If an AD Security Group is assigned rights in Tachyon to approve actions, and the Group has an email address, then Tachyon will use that. However, a group member will receive emails only if your organization's mail system supports group emails and the member has an email address. If the Group does not have an email address, then Tachyon will lookup group members and send emails to any member that has an email address. Irrespective of whether the Group has an email address, members must have emails addresses in order to receive emails.

Two-factor Authentication requirements

If the 2FA feature is enabled, Tachyon users are prompted to enter a one-time authentication code in addition to their password in order to confirm they want to submit an action instruction. 

The one-time authentication code is sent to the user by email. The two-factor authentication feature requires email.

Please refer to Tachyon Server post-installation tasks: Enabling or disabling Two-factor Authentication.

Feature Dependencies

1E companion products

The following tables show the 1E products that combine to support particular features.

Supported versions of 1E companion products with features that depend on Tachyon 5.1.

(For products that depend on the 1E Client, please refer to 1E Companion Products that depend on 1E Client 5.1)

Supported versions of 1E companion products that Tachyon 5.1 features depend on.

Connectors

Connectors are used to connect to other 1E and third party systems, retrieve their data and populate repositories. Tachyon provides the following inventory connectors to populate the Tachyon inventory repository:

• BigFix connector — Connects to a BigFix Inventory database server.
• BigFixInv connector — Connects to a BigFix Inventory database.
• File Upload connector — Uploads inventory data from a folder containing tab (TSV) and comma (CSV) separated value file(s).
• InTune connector —  Connects to an InTune application and pulls in inventory and usage data.
• Oracle LMS connector — Connects to Oracle LMS and queries it for inventory information.
• ServiceNow connector — Connects to a ServiceNow instance to import basic inventory data into SLA Platform.
• System Center Configuration Manager connector — Connects to a Configuration Manager database and pulls in inventory and usage data.
• Tachyon connector — Connects the Tachyon and SLA components to support Management group and Tachyon Powered Inventory features. The Tachyon Powered Inventory feature uses instructions to fetch inventory data from Tachyon clients, and is a prerequisite for Patch Success.
• vCenter connector — Connects to a vCenter server and pulls in inventory data.
• Windows Server Update Services connector — Connects to a WSUS database and pulls in patch data.

Use the links above to find more information about each type of connector. Please refer to Using Inventory for more information about viewing and exporting inventory repositories.

Please refer to the relevant connector page to identify security and other requirements for a specific connector.

Patch Success needs to get meta-data for patches. Ensure you add a connector for whichever one of the following sources that you use to approve patches:

• Configuration Manager (SCCM) if it is configured to manage WSUS
• Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)

If you are using Configuration Manager then you must add a Tachyon 5.1 - System Center Configuration Manager connector.

If you are using WSUS then you must add a Tachyon 5.1 - Windows Server Update Services connector.

Patch Success also requires a Tachyon connector.

The following table shows the supported versions of software used by the Tachyon out-of-box connectors.

Product Packs and Security Roles

Classic Product Packs:

• include instructions
• are uploaded using either of the following methods:
  • the Tachyon Product Pack deployment tool as described in Uploading Integrated Product Packs
  • the Upload button on the Settings - Instructions sets page, as described in Instruction sets page
• once the instructions are uploaded you must organize them manually into Instruction Sets, although the Tool will use the name of the zip file as the basis for the Instruction set name 
• Instruction Sets are the basis for assigning custom roles that determine who can do what with the instructions in each Set

Integrated Product Packs:

• include policies and/or instructions
• are uploaded using the Tachyon Product Pack deployment tool as described in Uploading Integrated Product Packs
• if the pack contains instructions, each one is automatically uploaded into an Instruction Set using the folder name as the basis for the Instruction set name
• policies are uploaded into Guaranteed State

The Integrated Product Packs provided by 1E include ready-made Policies, and any instructions included in the packs are intended to augment the policies, but can be used independently.

You may want to create AD security groups to use custom roles to control access to:

• Instructions Sets - you should think about groups of people who will need to view, question, action, and approve instructions
• Policies - you must decide who needs access to the Guaranteed State application - in this version of Tachyon you cannot grant access to individual Policies.

Export all feature

The Export all feature is available on the responses page for a question once it has finished retrieving all its responses. To enable Tachyon users with the appropriate permissions to use this feature you must ensure that the Microsoft Bulk Copy Program (BCP) is installed on the same Response Stack server(s) where the Tachyon Core component has been installed.

Please refer to Tachyon Server post-installation tasks: Configure the Tachyon Server to support the Export all responses feature for more details on configuring SQL BCP and setting up a suitable share.

Nomad integration

Nomad integration is available on Windows PC devices and is enabled by default (NomadContentDownloadEnabled=true), and can be disabled during or after installation of the 1E Client.

With the Nomad integration feature enabled, the Tachyon client will detect if the Nomad client module of the 1E Client is enabled, or if Nomad v6.0.100 or later version is running on the device, and automatically use it to download content from Tachyon Background Channel servers, and any other HTTP/S content source that Tachyon client may use.

Tachyon's use of Nomad works irrespective of whether Nomad is integrated with Configuration Manager or using advanced Nomad features that use ActiveEfficiency.

Configuration Manager is not a prerequisite for Nomad integration with Tachyon, but you will need to consider the following:

Configuration Manager present

You do not need to make any configuration changes to Nomad for it to integrate with Tachyon. Please refer to the Nomad documentation for guidance on designing and deploying Nomad.

Configuration Manager not present

You can deploy Nomad to Windows devices where the Configuration Manager client is not present. You will need to enable the following bits in relevant installer properties:

• CompatibilityFlags bit 1 - enable long hashes
• SpecialNetShare bit 13 - enable HTTP(S)

These are enabled by default in the Nomad client module of the 1E Client.

Configuration Manager integration

Tachyon is able to integrate into the Configuration Manager Console to provide a right-click context menu that can be invoked from Configuration Manager computer collections. Tachyon can then use the members of the computer collections as the coverage for any Tachyon instruction selected from the menu. The Configuration Manager extensions are part of the Tachyon Toolkit. For more details please refer to Preparing for the Tachyon Configuration Manager Console extensions.

Tachyon scripting requirements

You must ensure the appropriate scripting environment is present on Tachyon client devices. Tachyon SCALE - Simple Cross-platform Agent Language for Extensibility - supports running native PowerShell on Windows and bash on non-Windows devices, which can be script files downloaded when an instruction runs, or command text.

• Windows Tachyon clients can use PowerShell scripts. Ensure your client devices have an appropriate version of PowerShell installed to support any custom scripts you may develop. See PowerShell on Windows OS.
• Non-Windows Tachyon clients use bash as their scripting medium. This should be present on all non-Windows Tachyon client devices. See Bash on non-WindowsOS.

PowerShell on Windows OS

PowerShell is used by some Tachyon instructions (that have PowerShell commands embedded or scripts that are downloaded) and some of these require PowerShell 3.0 or later, although some scripts will support PowerShell 2.0. PowerShell scripts are supported only on Windows OS.

If installing or upgrading PowerShell, it is best to install the latest version available. However, do not expect full forward or backward compatibility between PowerShell versions.

The table below shows which versions of PowerShell are supported on each OS version and Service Pack, and if it is built-in or needs to be installed.

* These OS are regarded as legacy OS:

1. PowerShell is not built-in for these OS. These OS do not support 3.0 or later. See Constraints of Legacy OS
2. If PowerShell 1.0 is installed it must be removed in order to install a later version.
3. Support for PowerShell 2.0 is included in PowerShell 3.0 and later.
4. PowerShell is not installed by default on these OS but is an optional feature that should be enabled using Server Manager.
5. PowerShell 2.0 is part of WMF Core package (KB968930) with prerequisite of .NET Framework 3.51 (which includes .NET 2.0 SP1).
6. PowerShell 3.0 is part of WMF 3.0 with prerequisite of .NET Framework 4.0 or later. Refer https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34595
7. PowerShell 4.0 is part of WMF 4.0 with prerequisite of .NET Framework 4.5 or later. Refer https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40855
8. PowerShell 5.0 is part of WMF 5.0 with prerequisites of .NET Framework 4.5 or later and WMF 4.0. Refer https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50395
9. PowerShell 5.0 is part of WMF 5.0 without any other prerequisites. Refer https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50395
10. PowerShell 5.1 is part of WMF 5.1 with prerequisites of .NET Framework 4.6 or later, WMF 4.0 and SHA-2 Code Signing. Refer https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/wmf/5.1/install-configure
11. PowerShell 5.1 is part of WMF 5.1 with prerequisites of .NET Framework 4.6 or later and WMF 4.0. Refer https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/wmf/5.1/install-configure
12. PowerShell 5.1 is part of WMF 5.1 with prerequisite of .NET Framework 4.6 or later. Refer https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/wmf/5.1/install-configure
13. In these Server OS, PowerShell 5.1 is referred to as the Desktop Experience. You can use the PowerShell Core version if you prefer.

Microsoft ended support for .NET Framework 4, 4.5, and 4.5.1 on January 12, 2016. Please refer to https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17455/lifecycle-faq-net-framework.

Bash on non-Windows OS

Bash and perl are required for installation of all non-Windows 1E Clients.

Tachyon instructions support the use of Bash scripts on all supported non-Windows OS.

To see if an Instruction requires a Bash script, look in its Instruction Definition XML file for the Scripting.Run method. Bash is the preferred choice when developing custom Instructions for non-Windows OS.

There are slight differences between OS implementations of Bash, particularly on the Mac. Therefore, 1E recommends testing custom Bash scripts on each supported OS.

Whitelisting connections to 1E Cloud

For guidance on whitelisting and configuring Internet Explorer proxy settings, please refer to Preparation: Whitelisting for license activation and validation.

The 1E license service URL

Ensure the following URL is whitelisted:

• https://license.1e.com/

This URL must be accessible during setup and running of Tachyon.

The Tachyon license must be validated on a regular basis via internet contact with the 1E license service. The regular validation period is set when the license is requested.

For whitelisting purposes, the Tachyon Server (specifically the Coordinator Workflow module in the Master Stack) requires an Internet connection to the 1E license service, as defined in the license file itself. If activation fails, then the system will install but not be usable until activation is completed.

Tachyon Setup will report a warning in the Tachyon Setup - License File screen if it is unable to connect to the 1E license service. This is important only on the Tachyon Master Stack Server, not on other types of Tachyon Server. You can test the connection using Tachyon Setup or using Internet Explorer.

Your Tachyon Server may not be able to connect to the 1E license service if your environment is using web proxy servers. Contact 1E for advice in case you have this type of setup.

The 1E Catalog service URL

Ensure the following URL is whitelisted:

• https://catalog.1e.com/

This URL must be accessible during setup and running of 1E Catalog. This enables the Catalog Update service to connect to the 1E Cloud Catalog and download the latest catalog entries.

Firewall Ports

The following are extracts from the Communication Ports reference page.

The following table lists firewall requirements for a single-server where Tachyon Master Stack and Response Stack are installed on the same server. The table assumes a remote SQL Server hosting TachyonMaster and TachyonResponses databases.Each Tachyon component described in the table has at least one output and/or input. For each Tachyon component with an output there is a matching input.

Firewalls normally protect against incoming traffic from remote devices, however the table below also includes outgoing connections. The table does not include internal communications within the Server.

In addition to but not included in the table are various ports that Tachyon uses to communicate with Microsoft services, including Certificate Services and Active Directory. The Coordinator Workflow service queries AD for email details; the Consumer API query AD for security details.

Port requirements are not provided here for Nomad, Shopping and WakeUp modules of the 1E Client.  Only the ports used by the Tachyon client feature of the 1E Client are listed.

If 1E Nomad module is being used by the Tachyon client on Windows computers, it has additional port requirements of its own, which are not changed by Tachyon.

Additional ports may be required if Tachyon instructions need to connect to non-Tachyon content sources.

There may be additional requirements if the environment has had default security settings changed.

Tachyon Servers

The following table lists firewall requirements when using a Tachyon Response Stack that is remote from the Tachyon Master Stack, that are additional to the ports required for a Single-Server. Each Tachyon component described in the table has at least one output and/or input. For each Tachyon component with an output there is a matching input.

Browser support for the Tachyon Portal

 The table below shows Browser requirements for accessing the Tachyon Portal and its applications.

Deploying Tachyon clients

Tachyon client Windows Installation Account

The 1E Client installer installs a service as local system, therefore the installation account for Windows clients must be capable of being elevated in order to run the installer. The simplest way of achieving this is for the account to have full local administrator rights (as a member of the localgroup administrators, either directly or indirectly).

Tachyon client non-Windows Installation Account

To install the 1E Client on a non-Windows client the installation account must have privileges to run the sudo command.

Deployment

You must decide how you will configure the 1E Client and deploy to devices. For more information about configuring the 1E Client properties during and after installation, please refer to 1E Client configuration settings and installer properties.

Supported Device Platforms

Requirements for verifying the Tachyon installation

The Verifying page provides detailed steps for verifying a new or upgraded infrastructure, including firsts steps for uploading and running instructions. Below is a list of requirements to perform verification testing.

1. Tachyon Server installed
2. Remote workstation with a supported browser
3. The name and password for the server installation account 
   
   1. the AD account must be enabled
   2. the account may already be assigned to other Tachyon roles either directly or via membership of an AD group role.
4. Two AD User accounts, Test User 1 and 2 
   
   1. must not be existing Tachyon users because they will be assigned specific roles for the purpose of these tests
   2. must have email addresses and be able to read emails.
5. The 1E Tachyon Platform instruction set with two Verification instructions
   1. the verification steps describe how to create this instruction set by uploading the 1E Tachyon Platform Product Pack
   2. you may have already uploaded this Product Pack using the Product Pack Deployment Tool, either during Setup or after
   3. the 1E Tachyon Platform Product Pack is included in the TachyonPlatform zip file that you can download from the 1E Support Portal (1eportal.force.com/s/tachyontopicdetail).
6. At least one test device on which the 1E Client will be installed
7. 1E Client installation source files and configuration details required by your Tachyon implementation.

Constraints of Legacy OS

In this documentation, the following are referred to as legacy OS. Below are described some known issues for these OS.

1E does not provide support for 1E products on the following OS unless the OS is explicitly listed as being supported for a specific 1E product or product feature. This is because Microsoft has ended mainstream support for these OS or they are not significantly used by business organizations.

For Microsoft product lifecycle details, please refer to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search.

Microsoft legacy browsers

Support has been withdrawn for Internet Explorer 11 and legacy Microsoft Edge (non-Chromium version). 1E has taken this decision for new releases that are expected to remain in support by 1E beyond March 2021 when Microsoft Edge goes end of life and August 2021 when Internet Explorer 11 goes end of life. We recommend you use Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge Chromium browser.

Certificate limitations - SHA2

Like most software vendors, 1E software requires the OS to support SHA2. If your organization has a PKI configured to use SHA2 256 or higher encryption, then your legacy OS may have already been updated to support it.

Windows XP and Server 2003 require an update as described in KB968730.  Microsoft no longer provides this hotfix as a download. You must contact Microsoft Support if you need it.

Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 require an update as described in KB3033929. This update is not available for Vista and Server 2008.

Windows 8, 8.1, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2 and later OS already support SHA2.

Certificate limitations - encrypted certificate requests

Windows XP and Server 2003 are unable to encrypt certificate requests, whereas later OS are able to support higher more secure RPC authentication levels. If you are using a Microsoft CA and expect these clients to request (enrol) certificates then the CA must have its IF_ENFORCEENCRYPTICERTREQUEST flag disabled. It is disabled by default on Windows 2003 and 2008 CA, but is enabled by default on Windows 2012 CA.

To determine which InterfaceFlags are set, execute the following command on the CA server:

	certutil -getreg CA\InterfaceFlags

If the following is specified then it means the flag is enabled.

	IF_ENFORCEENCRYPTICERTREQUEST -- 200 (512)

To disable the encrypt certificate requests flag, execute the following commands on the CA server:

	certutil -setreg CA\InterfaceFlags -IF_ENFORCEENCRYPTICERTREQUEST
	sc stop certsvc
	sc start certsvc

Certificate limitations - signing certificates missing

On Windows computers, the installation MSI files, and binary executable and DLL files of 1E software are digitally signed. The 1E code signing certificate uses a timestamping certificate as its countersignature. 1E occasionally changes its code signing certificate, and uses it for new releases and patches for older versions, as shown in the table(s) below. 

Root Certificate Authorities are implicitly trusted to validate certificates, and their certificates must be correctly installed to do this. Your computers should already have the necessary root CA certificates installed, however this may have been prevented by your organization's security policies, or inability to connect to the Internet, or they are legacy OS. In general this is not an issue because by default Windows allows software to be installed and run without validation, although you may see a warning or experience a delay. However, you must have relevant CA certificates installed if you are using 1E Client (which self-validates its own files), or your organization has applied more secure polices (for example UAC, AppLocker or SmartScreen).

Typical reasons for issues with signing certificate are:

• If your organization has disabled Automatic Root Certificates Update then you must ensure the relevant root CA certificates are correctly installed on each computer
• If computers do not have access to the Internet then you must ensure the relevant root and issuing CA certificates are correctly installed on each computer, numbered in the table(s) below. 

The signature algorithm of the 1E code signing certificate is SHA256RSA. In most cases, the file digest algorithm of an authenticode signature is SHA256, and the countersignature is a RFC3161 compliant timestamp. The exception is on legacy OS (Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008) which require the file digest algorithm of an authenticode signature to be SHA1, and a legacy countersignature. 

The table below applies to software and hotfixes released in 2020.

Certificate limitations - expired root certificates

Ensure that your Root CA Certificates are up-to-date on clients and servers. The Automatic Root Certificates Update feature is enabled by default, but its configuration may have been changed or restricted by Group Policy Turn off Automatic Root Certificates Update.

If this GPO is enabled, then you will see DisableRootAutoUpdate = 1 (dword) in HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\AuthRoot.

PowerShell limitations

PowerShell version 3.0 (required by some Tachyon instructions) is not supported on Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003. However, PowerShell 2.0 is supported on the following OS versions:

• Windows XP SP3
• Vista SP1 & SP2
• Windows Server 2003 R2 & SP2