ISL AlwaysOn can add granted connections when the service starts. When you use a constant UID, you can place grant blobs in the registry. On service start, ISL AlwaysOn reads each blob, and if it is valid, the grant is executed silently and the blob is then removed from the registry.
The ISL AlwaysOn set up must meet the following requirements:
- ISL AlwaysOn is installed on the remote computer.
- The ISL AlwaysOn service is stopped. The grant runs on service start, so the blob must already be in place before the service starts.
- The grant blob is added to the registry.
- Constant UID is enabled and the computer uses a generated constant UID. If the UID has been changed on the computer, the grant will not run.
Note: To install ISL AlwaysOn, please follow our installation guide.
Note: To enable constant UID, see the master computer preparation guide. Constant UID can be enabled by setting the following registry key to true:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ISL Online\ISL AlwaysOn\constant_uid
Note: The registry locations mentioned in this guide only apply when doing the grant procedure on a Windows machine. On Linux and macOS, registry configuration is done by creating/adjusting appropriate files.
The corresponding file locations on Linux/macOS:
/etc/islonline/ISL+AlwaysOn/
/etc/islonline/ISL+AlwaysOn/grant/
Grant connections on service startup
Use the following steps to grant the connections on service startup.
Step 1
Ensure ISL AlwaysOn is installed and service is stopped.
net stop isl_always_on
Step 2
Enable constant_uid by creating the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ISL Online\ISL AlwaysOn\constant_uid and setting it to true.
Step 3
Prepare the grant blob(s) by following the set unattended access via link guide until you have your grant link. (ensure you retrieve the link for the appropriate connection you want to deploy, e.g. connection to your list of computers, or to a specific group).
The link will look similar to this example:
https://www.islonline.net/start/ISLAlwaysOn?cmdline=grant+%22zeJwdzrtKA0EUgGEOKbRIoyKoIGynBAxzv%2fQ2QdFCsNrmzMyZsJjsQnZjiJXkDVLoU1nqC1hpY2MtGO1%2ffj4EWIX9w52Ht%2bfXl8%2bPk9XT0eDr53Ttjt9Hy%2bX23vfFuoAMcN5MqS5uqzTFWR%2fGMfdgdHNZXNeTqqbiirpFM7vbhXGVeqAUizFybb2W3EUSKDByx4POpDxZTZrpwE0OlglDSWeWpCGWE1234CS6YiRYxqeSk58Y4oa3W0XDNJQUmvOQpe%2bNx06kkbZbCyUdoAXCywGXb1GeDYdVOmn%2fnsKbuAOYAZZma%2b7KjtmvnfZj%2foa3RinG7uSvZhy34BVH0U%2f4%3d%22
The bolded part is the grant blob which must be extracted from the URL (long string between the two “%22” strings).
Copy the string and URL decode it.
Note: On UNIX systems (Linux, macOS), the grant blob must be URL encoded. If you are performing this deployment on a UNIX system, skip the URL decode step.
Store the URL decoded grant blob string as it will be needed in the next steps. If you have multiple connections you want to set up the same way, do the same process for each connection.
Step 4
Create a new registry key called grant in the registry:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ISL Online\ISL AlwaysOn\grant
Inside the new key, create a new String Value registry. For the value name, choose any name.
For the value data, enter the grant blob prepared in the previous step.
If you have multiple blobs prepared, create a separate entry for each of them.
Step 5
Start the ISL AlwaysOn service. The grant blobs will be detected and connections will be granted.
net start isl_always_on