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corresponding groups. Each menu under the Policies & Rules tab addresses these
principles:
•
Groups—who will be in the group?
•
Time of Day Rules—when will the rules take effect?
•
Internet Usage Rules—what web sites can group members visit?
•
Shaping Rules—what applications can group members access?
•
Policy Manager—how to correlate rules to groups?
As a general rule, these principles must be in line with these steps. For example, once you
create a group, you will then want to define a Time of Day Rule (TDR) and an Internet
Usage Rules (IUR). After those steps, you will create a shaping rule and tie all pieces
together with the Policy Manager.
In addition to these steps, please note that the more information you have about network
traffic, the better prepared you will be to implement policies. Because of this, it is highly
recommended that you first install and run Optinet in the network for at least 24 hours
before implementing any policies. Afterwards, you can review the information collected and
make a more precise decision on which web sites should be blocked, which applications
should be shaped, and what threats are present on the network. The more information you
have, the more adept you’ll be at deciding on policies and controlling the network and
users.
Policies & Rules tab
You will want to become very familiar with the Polices & Rules tab. This tab is used for
creating Groups, Time of Day Rules (TDRs), Internet Usage Rules (IURs), and Shaping
Rules. This is the main management tab used for almost all user organization and policy
implementation with Optinet. First let’s define Groups.
Groups
Optinet has by default 8 groups for your ease. These Groups are called Optinet Groups. All
users and devices are placed in the Default Group until assigned to another group. You can
assign users to Optinet Groups based on several different identifiers.
First let’s discuss the default Optinet Groups and their accompanying policies. Then we’ll
discuss how to add members to Optinet groups and how to create new Optinet Groups.
Each group is assigned a default policy for Internet use. These policies are called Internet
Usage Rules (IURs) and are covered in more detail under that section. Also, none of the
default Optinet Groups has any shaping rules.
•
Default Group—all users and devices are in this group by default. As such you will
not be able to add users or devices to this group but rather you will be able to
remove them from this group. This is done by creating new groups and adding users
or devices to the group or adding them to one of the other groups. The Default
Group by default uses the Default Usage Rules.
