GEODI Desktop Explorer(GDE) Setup

GEODI Desktop Explorer (GDE) is the solution for indexing data from Client Computers in a central GEODI.
GDE is installed on each PC manually or automatically with tools like SCCM or PDQ.
Directories to be indexed are specified in the settings.
GDE processes the new and changed files every 3 hours.
GDE may run as a Windows Service.
GDE does not copy the contents to the server. The contents found as a result of a search are found and opened from the respective computer. If the computer or GDE is not turned on, you can search but not access the document. If you want to make a backup of the documents, you should turn on the "Backup Contents" setting for the corresponding Resource in the GEODI project.

Setup Checklist

You can follow the information required for installation and the steps from the list.

Following these steps requires IT knowledge.
GEODI Server must be installed and activated before GDE.
The options specified below are committed to a set of settings published by GEODI Server. This page describes how the settings will be set.

Subject	Description	Status
GDE Token Should Be Created	GDEs require a GEODI user with appropriate authorization. This user does not have to be real. The Access Key (Token) created with the user will be used for GDE settings. The password for this user must not be changed. https://decesw.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/geodien/pages/3972202552/GEODI+Desktop+Explorer+GDE+Setup#Token-Creation-%5BinlineExtension%5D
Client Machines must have port 1982 open	For GDE-GEODI 2-way communication, port 1982 must be open on clients by default. This value can be changed. If the ExplorerPort value is not specified in the settings, GDE will do a one-way feed, you can search for files but not view them.
GEODI server must have a public address	The GEODI Server must be accessed from client machines. This access can be via internal network or internet. Therefore, the GEODI server must have a public address with SSL defined. You can test it on the client through a browser.
Clients must be Windows, Linux and MacOS	GDE currently supports Windows, Linux and MacOS operating systems. For Linux and MacOS machines, dotnet core 7.0 must be installed.
Server Disk capacity must be sufficient	With GDE, data from client machines is processed on the central server and additional space is needed for the generated index (not the files themselves). Assuming an average of 10Gb index for each machine: 100 machines need 1Tb, 1000 machines need 10Tb of additional storage. If you are using the option to backup client files, the disk requirement will increase. GEODI server can create indexes on different disks. Please refer to the related document.
Do you want to back up client data as a file?	Optionally, it may be desirable to back up the files transmitted by GDE in a centralized environment. The disk space required for this purpose should be taken into account.
Directories to be processed on Client Machines	You can specify the directories to be processed on the client machine according to your needs. The default directory is %UserProfile% (documents, downloads, desktop...). You can see which directories have been entered with Windows Explorer. GDE ignores some file types. Many of these are file types that are not useful for system-related search and discovery. Video and Mp3 files are ignored due to their size and content. You can change the settings according to your needs.
Additional Information of Files from Client Machines	In the meta content of files coming to GEODI from clients, the system ip, Windows username, computer name and LDAP information, if any, are written. The scope can be changed with Metadata definitions in the setting file.
Client data GEODI resource name	The "Source Name" of the data from the clients will appear in the GEODI Search Interface and in the data discovery reports. A ready-made panel called "Discovery" will come with your project. In order for the data counts from clients to work correctly in this panel, you must also add the diagnostic named GDE to your project.
MSI Package and Parameters Delivered to the Customer	Update your settings file according to the information above. You will then be ready for deployment. GDE installation can be done in an internet-free environment. When connected to the GEODI server, the feed process starts automatically. If there is a connection problem between GDE and the server, the feed process starts automatically when the connection is restored. After deployment, you can change the settings from the "Default.json" file on the GEODI server. The settings will be valid for new files. These settings will take effect in about 10 minutes.

GDE Client MSI Parameters

Parameter	Description
GEODI_URL=	The address that agents will use to access GEODI. It is recommended that DNS/port/SSL operations are completed and finalized before installations are made.
GEODI_TOKEN=	It is explained in the TOKEN Creation step on this page. It is necessary to use a different user and keep the password of this user. If the password changes, it may need to be recreated and reinstalled.

Windows Setup

Download GDE Windows MSI

Action

Command

Notes

Setup

"GEODI.DesktopExplorer.msi" /quiet GEODI_URL="https://icdemo.dece.com.tr/" GEODI_TOKEN="EAAAAL2FcQ9RvjWM…" UPDATE_URL="http://192.168.1.26:3323/GUI/autoupdate.txt"

The MSI is distributed with the parameters mentioned above.

“GEODI.DesktopExplorer.msi“ should be the directory of the MSI package. Some tools make you select the MSI package. This command is not needed.

/quiet is an msiexec parameter.https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/msiexec

UPDATE_URL is optional. It is explained in the update step.

Remove

msiexec.exe /x /qn /norestart "GEODI.DesktopExplorer.msi"

MSI is run with the uninstall parameter.

Update

start "GDE" "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\DECE Software\GEODI Desktop Explorer\Updater.exe"

Updater is runned.

Windows Servis Setup

GDE installation may be converted to a Windows Service using the WindowsServiceInstall.bat script in the GDE folder.
- WindowsServiceUninstall.bat reverses the service setup.
- Service mode does not require a login user.
- In order for GDE Exe and GDE Service Mods not to run at the same time, GDE Exe must be uninstalled from under startup.

Linux Setup

Download GDE Linux

GDE Core Linux running requirement is Dotnet Core 7.0 You can install using the commands below.

Dotnet Core 7.0 Setup

$ wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/11/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install -y apt-transport-https
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-7.0

GDE Linux Setup
In the downloaded *.deb package, setup is done by just saying next.
After thesetup of GDE linux and Dotnet Core is completed, TOKEN and URL settings are made with *.json on the client machine. With the following command, it is thrown to the directory where the package is installed. $ sudo cp /usr/share/dece/gde/Settings.json /usr/share/dotnet
For Autostart `sudo nano /home/user_name/.bashrc` the GDE dll file must be added to the *bashrc file with the path to the GDE files. Example : `/GDE_PATH/Dotnet Geodi.DesktopExplorer.Core.dll`

Linux Ret Hat Setup

Download GDE Linux Ret Hat

Dotnet Core 7.0 Installation

# dnf install dotnet-sdk-7.0 
# dotnet --i // You can check the installation with the command

GDE Linux Ret Hat Installation
In the downloaded *.rpm package, setup is done by just saying next.
After thesetup of GDE linux and Dotnet Core is completed, TOKEN and URL settings are made with *.json on the client machine. With the following command, it is thrown to the directory where the package is installed. $ sudo cp /usr/share/dece/gde/Settings.json /usr/lib64/dotnet

Red Hat Firewall settings should be checked if the documents are not displayed if feeding is started in GEODI.

MACOS Setup

Download GDE MACOS

MACOS Dotnet 7.0 Installation
Dotnet 7.0 installation is mandatory. You can install Dotnet Core 7.0 on MACOS machines as described below.
Microsoft .Net Core 7.0 For MacOS For MacOS link and click to run the installation
For machines using M1 Series Chip Dotnet 7.0 after installation. The following operations are performed Transactions must be made with an authorized user on the terminal. Copy Dotnet 7.0 Files: `sudo cp -a /usr/local/share/dotnet/x64 . /usr/local/share/dotnet` To run the dotnet command, create folders and shortcuts: `cd /usr/local/bin` `ln -s /usr/local/share/dotnet/dotnet dotnet`

MACOS GDE Setup
In the downloaded *.pkg package, the installation is done with click-to-run.
After installing GDE MACOS and Dotnet Core, TOKEN and URL are made in Settings.json on the client. After these settings are made, they are thrown to the directory where they are installed for the settings to be valid with the system command. $ sudo cp /Applications/GDE/Settings.json /usr/local/share/dotnet

GDE MACOS and Linux must be restarted when the initial setup specific settings file is changed.

Setting file (default.json)

Settings are available on the GEODI server in the default.json.sample file in the <GEODI_APP>/Settings/Geodi.DesktopExplorer. The *.sample extension is activated by removing it from the file. GDE installations will automatically retrieve these settings from the server.
- Settings can be changed after setup and while indexing is in progress, changes will take effect in about 1h.
- To scan different directory on multiple machines:
  - If files named <ClientIP>.json , <ClientUserName>.json or <ClientMachineName>.json are added in the <GEODI_APP>/Settings/Geodi.DesktopExplorer directory, these files will only be used for the relevant computer.

{
  "FolderList": ["%UserProfile%"],// "*" scan all directory //
  "ExplorerPort": 1982,
  "IgnoreFiles":["*.MP4","*.MOV","*.MP3"],
  "MetaData": {
	"LDAPDN":"=d.CurrentUser!=null?d.CurrentUser.DistinguishedName:null",
	"IP":"=d.ClientIP",
	"ComputerName":"=d.ClientMachineName",
	"UserName":"=d.ClientUserName"
	}
}

Setting Name	Type	Description
FolderList	string[]*	Used to specify the folders to be scanned. Folders can be identified by separating them with "," The default directory is %UserProfile% (includes documents, downloads, desktop...). A complete list can be found at https://docs.microsoft.com/tr-tr/dotnet/api/system.environment.specialfolder?view=netframework-4.0. Values are case sensitive. Subdirectories can also be defined as %UserProfile%\\Desktop. You can use ["*"] if you want to scan all disks.
ExplorerPort	int	If a value above 0 is entered, Explorer will run in APP→GEODI→APP mode. Firewall settings must be made in this mode. When a port to be used is defined, as long as the client is open, the content can be viewed on Geodi.
EnableLDAP	bool	If true value is given, LDAP authorizations of the files are also indexed. Default value: false
IgnoreFolders	string[]	List of folders to ignore. * is accepted. Used in combination with the settings under Geodi Settings/IgnoreFolders. Example: `[":\\data","C:\User"]` Default value: null
IgnoreFiles	string[]	List of folders to ignore. * is accepted. Used in combination with the settings under Geodi Settings/IgnoreFileTypes. Default value:`[".MP4",".MOV","*.MP3"]`
Metadata		You can define metadata for parsing files from clients. These metadata are specified in the settings file. The values used in the default settings can be seen in the example file. Searching with metadata is done with <metaname>:<value> Example `IP:192.168.1.1` The defined metadata and their values will be visible in the GEODI search interface.

Token Creation

Log in with a user accessing the Source that GDEs will feed.
Open the page: Generating a GEODI Token .
Check Feed Checkbox and enter the name of the Source in the AllowList.
Now you are ready to create the Token.

Deployment of the GDE Client Package

Script structures vary in tools such as PDQ, ManageEngine, and SCCM, but the operations to be performed are the same.
- Ready scripts exported for the PDQ Deploy tool are in the XML file. PDQ can be imported and used.

Update

In the default installation, packages use the DECE server to check and download current versions. If there is access to these servers after the above operations, the update is done without any problems.

If there is no access, the following steps should be followed.

Add UPDATE_URL parameter to the first installation step. The link to the autoupdate.txt file where updates will be checked should be given as http/https.
You can request the updated GDE package and autoupdate.txt file from DECE Support team. After receiving this file, the URL= in it should be changed.
- You can put the updated MSI file in a user accessible directory and give the path to it as http/https or file://<filepath>.
On the machine installed for Linux/MacOS update, the new version is automatically installed when the new package is to be installed.

Troubleshooting

If no data is received after setup, please check your Firewall/Antivirus settings and contact your IT consultant.
- The client may be Closed
- GDE may not be installed on the client
- GDE on the client may not be active (Geod.Desktopexplorer.exe may not be running)
- The port required for Server-Client communication (default 1982) may be closed or blocked.
- The client may not be able to access the GEODI server (GEODI Server may not have a public address). You can also run this test on the client through the browser.
- GDE is a continuous feeding software. Firewall/Virus software may be set to block continuous communication.
- The GEODI Server queues and processes data from many clients simultaneously. Therefore, the scanning process will necessarily progress.
If situations such as IP and Name Changes occur on the feeding machine, you can view the documents within ~3h.
- If the feeding machine is formatted, etc., GDE starts feeding from the beginning as if it has never been fed.
Central setting changes take effect within 1 hour.
By default, only the name and date of files larger than 100Mb are indexed by default in order not to slow down the Network Speed while feeding.
- It is set to 500Mb for compressed file contents.
When "Client is null \q \n" warning is received on GetLastEror, URL information should be checked through the Registry.