Network Security Platform 7.3.0 Online Help

Home
Monitoring
You can use the SMC to monitor system components and third-party devices. You can also view and filter logs, and create Reports from them.
Monitoring Forcepoint Network Security Platform components
You can monitor Forcepoint Network Security Platform components and view system summaries in the SMC Client.
System monitoring tools in the SMC Client
There are various tools and views that you can use to monitor the Security Engine system.

About this Help
This online help was created for Forcepoint Network Security Platform, version 7.3.0.
Introduction to the Forcepoint Network Security Platform solution
Before setting up Forcepoint Network Security Platform, it is useful to know what the different components do and what engine roles are available.
Deployment
Before you can set up the system and start configuring elements, you must consider how the different SMC components should be positioned and deployed.
Setting up
After deploying the SMC components, you are ready to start using the SMC Client and carrying out some of the first configuration tasks.
Monitoring
You can use the SMC to monitor system components and third-party devices. You can also view and filter logs, and create Reports from them.
- Monitoring Forcepoint Network Security Platform components
  You can monitor Forcepoint Network Security Platform components and view system summaries in the SMC Client.
  - Getting started with monitoring the system
    There are several ways to monitor the system in the SMC Client.
  - System monitoring tools in the SMC Client
    There are various tools and views that you can use to monitor the Security Engine system.
    - The Domain Overview
      Domain elements allow you to group elements that belong to specific configurations. The Domain Overview allows you to see the status of all Domains and their elements.
    - How the Dashboard is arranged
      On the Dashboard, you can view the status of Security Engine components and monitored third-party devices.
    - Run diagnostics on SMC servers
      You can run diagnostics to check the status of the communication between all the SMC servers (Management Servers, Log Servers, and Web Access Servers).
    - View the status of appliance configurations
      When you configure a Forcepoint Network Security Platform appliance using the plug-and-play configuration method, you can view the status of the configuration process.
    - Shortcuts for monitoring different elements
      Actions for monitoring a component are available in the Monitoring branch of the element's right-click menu. The available actions depend on the component type.
    - How component statuses are indicated
      The status of Security Engine components and monitored third-party components is indicated by colors in most views where the elements are displayed. The status of various system communications is indicated by colors in monitoring diagrams and in the Info pane.
  - Overviews and how they work
    Customizable Overviews contain information on the system’s status, including shortcuts to frequently used views and statistical charts of the system’s operation. An example of a frequently used view is a log filtered by criteria that you configured. Examples of statistical charts are engine load and traffic flow.
  - Monitoring users on the Dashboard
    In the Dashboard view of the SMC Client, there are user dashboards where you can see an overview of user activity.
  - Monitoring connections, block lists, VPN SAs, users, routing, SSL VPNs, and neighbors
    Engines track allowed connections, active VPN SAs, active users, routing, SSL VPN sessions, and directly connected neighbors in the network. Engine, Layer 2 Engine, and IPS engines also track combinations of IP addresses, ports, and protocols that are block listed.
  - View and compare Element Snapshot elements
    You can view earlier configurations of an element and compare them to the current configuration with Element Snapshots. You can also restore earlier configurations of an element.
  - Monitoring connections using Geolocation elements
    Using Geolocation elements, you can define the physical locations of network elements, such as Hosts.
  - Monitoring configurations and policies
    The engines receive their configuration when a policy is installed.
  - Monitor administrator actions
    A record of administrator actions is maintained in the SMC.
  - Monitor tasks
    You can check the status of running tasks and executed tasks (for example, upgrade tasks and system tasks).
  - Traffic captures and how they work
    You can capture network traffic data for network troubleshooting purposes. This data helps you to analyze network traffic to and from the engines.
  - Checking maintenance contract information
    You can view maintenance contract and support level information for your licenses in the SMC Client by allowing your Management Server to contact Forcepoint servers.
  - Upcoming event notification
    The upcoming events notification feature informs about events that are happening soon, such as expiration of licenses and certificates, and failures of scheduled tasks, that require administrator action.
- Application Health Monitoring
  The Application Health Monitoring dashboard lets administrators monitor network and application layers connection quality.
- Monitoring third-party devices
  The SMC can be configured to log and monitor other manufacturers’ devices in much the same way as SMC components are monitored.
- Viewing and exporting logged data
  You can view log, alert, and audit entries through the log browsing views. You can view data from SMC servers, all types of engines, and from third-party components that are configured to send data to the SMC.
- Reports
  Reports are summaries of logs and statistics that allow you to combine large amounts of data into an easily viewable form.
- Filtering data
  Filters allow you to select data based on values that it contains. Most frequently, you use filters when viewing logs, but filters can also be used for other tasks, such as exporting logs and selecting data for reports.
Controlling Security Engines
You can command and set options for engines through the SMC Client or on the engine command line. You can also stop traffic manually.
SMC configuration
SMC Manager configuration allows you to customize how the SMC components work.
Security Engine configuration
You can create and modify Engines, IPS engines, Layer 2 Engines, Master Engines and Virtual Security Engines. You can configure the Security Engine properties, activate optional features, and configure advanced Security Engine settings.
Routing
Use the SMC Client to configure static or dynamic routing, and use a Multi-Link configuration to manage and distribute inbound and outbound connections.
Traffic inspection policies
Policies are key elements that contain rules for allowing or blocking network traffic and inspecting the content of traffic.
Users and authentication
User accounts are stored in internal databases or external directory servers. You can use Forcepoint Network Security Platform in the Engine/VPN role or external authentication servers to authenticate users.
Virtual private networks
Forcepoint Network Security Platform supports both policy-based and Route-based Tunnels between VPN gateways. For full remote access, Forcepoint Network Security Platform supports both IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels for VPN clients.
Maintenance and upgrades
Maintenance includes procedures that you do not typically need to do frequently.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting helps you resolve common problems in the Forcepoint Network Security Platform and SMC.
Appendices

System monitoring tools in the SMC Client

There are various tools and views that you can use to monitor the Security Engine system.

The Domain Overview
Domain elements allow you to group elements that belong to specific configurations. The Domain Overview allows you to see the status of all Domains and their elements.
How the Dashboard is arranged
On the Dashboard, you can view the status of Security Engine components and monitored third-party devices.
Run diagnostics on SMC servers
You can run diagnostics to check the status of the communication between all the SMC servers (Management Servers, Log Servers, and Web Access Servers).
View the status of appliance configurations
When you configure a Forcepoint Network Security Platform appliance using the plug-and-play configuration method, you can view the status of the configuration process.
Shortcuts for monitoring different elements
Actions for monitoring a component are available in the Monitoring branch of the element's right-click menu. The available actions depend on the component type.
How component statuses are indicated
The status of Security Engine components and monitored third-party components is indicated by colors in most views where the elements are displayed. The status of various system communications is indicated by colors in monitoring diagrams and in the Info pane.

Copyright © 2025 Forcepoint LLC