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How to use the System Admin area

System Admin is a second administration area at /system-admin on the installation's own address. It holds the settings that decide what kind of installation this is: its database, its instance type, its STS and its modules.

Most labs never open it. These settings are set once, at installation.

Before starting

  • A System Admin login. It is separate from InteLIS user accounts. An InteLIS administrator does not hold one automatically
  • A fresh database backup before changing System Configuration. See Maintenance

The sidebar

Sidebar item Holds
System Configuration Database connection, instance type, STS URL, lab, enabled modules, country, time zone, the Gmail account that sends support requests
Instance Overview The instance ID and the last sync time of each data stream
API Stats The API requests this installation has handled
User Login History Every sign-in attempt to InteLIS, with IP address, browser and operating system
Reset Password A new password for any InteLIS user
Sign out Ends the System Admin session

Sign in

  1. Open /system-admin on the installation's address, such as https://lab.example.org/system-admin.
  2. In User Name, enter the Login ID chosen at registration, then the Password.
  3. Select Login. System Configuration opens.
If no System Admin login exists yet

/system-admin opens Register new System Admin instead. The form asks for a Secret Key. It is in the file var/secret-key.txt of the installation folder, such as /var/www/intelis/var/secret-key.txt. On older installs, the folder is /var/www/vlsm. Open the page first, then read the key. It changes each time the page loads.

Fill in Secret Key, User Name, Email ID, Login ID, Password and Confirm Password, and select Submit. The Login ID is the name used to sign in.

Change the System Admin password

  1. Sign in to System Admin.
  2. Open the user menu at the top right and select Change Password. The Edit Password page opens.
  3. Enter Password and Confirm Password.
  4. Select Submit.

Change the system configuration

  1. Take a database backup.
  2. Sign in to System Admin.
  3. Select System Configuration in the sidebar. The page is titled Edit System Configuration.

  4. Change the setting:

    Section Settings
    System Settings Database Host Name, Database Username, Database Password, Database Name, Database Port
    Instance Settings Instance Type, STS URL and Lab Name (LIS only. Lab Name required), Enabled Modules, Country of Installation, Timezone
    SMTP Settings Email and Password of the Gmail account that sends support requests

  5. Select Submit.

  6. Open InteLIS and check the change. See Confirm it worked.
A wrong database setting stops InteLIS for everyone

A wrong Database Password, or any other wrong database value, makes InteLIS unreachable for every user until it is corrected. A blank Database Password is not kept blank: InteLIS saves a default password in its place.

Instance Type
Instance Type Means
LIS - LAB INFORMATION SYSTEM Runs in a lab and syncs to the STS
STS - SAMPLE TRACKING SYSTEM The central server labs sync to
Standalone Syncs nowhere

Changing the instance type on a running installation changes where its data goes, and which pages appear. Agree it with the national team first.

Enabled Modules

Enabling a module adds its menu and its config section. Disabling one hides them. The records already created stay in the database.

Read the instance overview

  1. Sign in to System Admin.
  2. Select Instance Overview in the sidebar.

  3. Read the rows:

    Field Means
    Instance ID The identifier this installation is known by
    Added On, Updated On When the instance was registered and last changed
    VL Last Sync, EID Last Sync, Covid-19 Last Sync When each module's data last went to the dashboard
    Remote Request Last Sync When test requests last came from the STS
    Remote Results Last Sync When results last went to the STS
    Remote Reference Last Sync When the lists and facilities last came from the STS

An old remote sync time means the installation is not reaching the STS. Confirm it under ADMIN → Monitoring → API History. See Monitoring and audit.

The pencil button edits these times. Change them only when InteLIS support asks.

Check who has been signing in

  1. Sign in to System Admin.
  2. Select User Login History in the sidebar.
  3. Set Date and Login ID, and select Search.
  4. Read the rows: Login ID, Attempted Datetime, IP Address, Browser, Operating System and Status.

One Login ID signing in from several places at once points to a shared or misused account.

Reset a user's password

Use this when no InteLIS administrator can sign in to reset it.

  1. Sign in to System Admin.
  2. Select Reset Password in the sidebar.
  3. Select the User.
  4. Enter Password and Confirm Password, or select Generate.
  5. Set Status to Active.
  6. Select Submit.
  7. Give the new password to the user in person. InteLIS does not ask the user to change this password.

Confirm it worked

Change Check
Module enabled Its section appears in the main menu and under ADMIN
Instance Type The pages of that type appear
STS URL API History records a successful sync to the new address
SMTP Settings Send a support request and confirm it arrives
Password reset The user signs in with the new password