Intella and the Cloud

    Intella Investigator and Intella Connect are powerful eDiscovery and digital investigation software tools. They are commonly used to process and review large volumes of electronically stored information including phone data.
    Intella Connect is focused on eDiscovery type review and production. While Intella Investigator is focused on computer forensic review and deeper investigations, both software packages process and deliver results to the reviewer/investigator via their preferred browser.

    Taking advantage of a centralized server to process and share cases for review via browser allows for either internal network deployment or installation on a public or private cloud platform, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure or other cloud providers. This offers a number of benefits, including, instant hardware access, scalability, cost savings, and accessibility.

    Instant hardware access

    For many organizations purchasing new equipment can be a long and drawn out process with budgets and procurement rules. However using a cloud provider can be a much faster process. Further, for some organizations they may wish to have their clients charged for the use of cloud services.

    Scalability

    Public cloud platforms offer scalable resources, so you can easily scale your Intella environment up or down as needed. This is ideal for organizations that need to be able to quickly respond to changes in demand, such as during peak periods or when investigating a major incident.

    Cost savings

    Public cloud platforms can offer cost savings over traditional on-premises deployments. This is because you only pay for the resources that you use, and you can easily scale up, down or add extra instances as needed. Additionally, public cloud providers often offer discounts for long-term commitments and for using multiple services.

    Accessibility

    Public cloud platforms and the use of VPNs can be accessed securely from anywhere with an internet connection. This makes them ideal for remote teams and for organizations that need to be able to access their case data from anywhere in the world. Further, consultant type users may find using a cloud instance per customer can be a great way to separate and manage client cases.

    Suggested cloud license setup

    Intella Connect and Intella Investigator have traditionally been sold with a USB dongle. This USB dongle type license is required to be plugged into the server running the software.

    With the move to annual licensing  Intella Investigator and Intella Connect can now make use of a network based software key (SL Licence) and not a USB dongle. Using a software key means that the license is hardware locked to one computer. This cuts out the need to have the cloud provider (or network admin) use a USB dongle or forward that USB dongle as previously recommended.

    When locking a license to a computer it is important to understand that any hardware changes to that machine could invalidate the license. As an example, if you reconfigured the available RAM or disk space this could invalidate the license. Our current recommendations for using a software key is to “lock’ the license to a low spec VM on the cloud instance. The software key when locked to the low spec'd VM will act as a license server and broadcast the correct license to your chosen Intella Connect or Intella Investigator server.  In this way you are free to change the specs of the Intella Connect or Intella Investigator server without affecting the license.

    Instructions at a glance

    To install Intella on a public cloud platform, follow these steps: 

    1. Create two VMs: the Intella Server VM that will host Intella Connect or Intella Investigator and the lower spec'd Licence VM. The two machines need to be in the same subnet and must be able to see each other over the network. (see the manual for exact ports)

    2. Install Intella on the Intella Server VM
      Follow the instructions in the Intella installation guide to install Intella Connect or Investigator.  For hardware specifications you can follow the same requirements from this article: https://support.vound-software.com/help/en-us/8-installation/66-selecting-a-computer-to-host-your-vound-software

    3. Install the license key on the License VM
      Follow the instructions from the support team on how to install the license on the License VM. 

    4. Configure the Intella Server VM to use the license being broadcast from the License VM
      Open the Intella License Manager on the Intella Server VM and configure it to use the license on the License VM. 

    5. Start using Intella
      Once you have configured the Intella Server VM to use the license, you can start using Intella to process and search your data.

    Tips for a successful installation

    Here are some additional tips for a successful Intella installation on a public cloud platform:

    • Use a high-performance VM configuration for the Intella Server VM.

    • Use a cloud firewall or VPN to protect your Intella environment from unauthorized access.

    • Involve a cloud infrastructure expert because every public cloud has a steep learning curve when it comes to understanding all facets.

    Detailed instructions

    This is a step-by-step guide on how to install Intella Investigator or Intella Connect on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This shows what practical steps are needed to achieve what is described in the above instructions overview. 

    Important note: The following procedures aim to provide a general understanding of setting up an instance of Intella Connect or Intella Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). However, it is important to note that this guide does not cover aspects such as OS security, firewall configurations, and infrastructure fortification, as these largely rely on your expertise and specific objectives.

    While we have focused on AWS, similar steps will be required on different cloud providers. 

    We are going to create this:

    Make sure you have an AWS account. https://aws.amazon.com

    1. Sign in to AWS console at following URL: https://eu-north-1.signin.aws.amazon.com/


    1. Once logged in, choose the region in which instances will be started. It is recommended to choose the region closest to you.


    1. From services tab, choose Compute and EC2:


    1. Click on Launch instance:


    1. In the "Launch an instance" window, type in the name “IntellaConnect”. Make sure that minimum requirements are met as described in https://vound.info/connect-admin-manual#_system_requirements_and_recommended_configuration

    Select a supported Windows OS, such as Windows Server 2022. Instance type needs to satisfy minimum requirements, such as 32GB RAM. The general purpose instance type t2.2xlarge meets this requirement.

    Note that this guide uses 50 GB disk space, but this can be changed based on demand.


    1. Scroll down to key pair section and click on "Create new key pair"


    1. Fill in the name “IntellaConnectKeyPair” and click "Create key pair"


    1. This will save a file CALLED “IntellaConnectKeyPair.pem” to the local disk based on browser preference. Make sure to note the location of where it was downloaded on your system:


    1. Click on "Launch instance"

    The instance “IntellaConnect” will now appear in the dashboard. Your newly set up instance may take a few minutes for it to transition to running state. Once in running state, select the instance and click "Connect" 


    1. Choose the RDP Client tab and click "Download remote desktop file" this will download a file that can be used to easily configure your RDP connection. 


    This will download the RDP file locally in the browser.

    1. Locate the RDP file in Windows Explorer and double click on it to launch your RDP client so you can access the newly created AWS instance for further configuration. 

    1. Click “Connect” which will show following window:

    1. The password can be retrieved by switching back to AWS console from step 10. Click on “Get password”

    1. Click “Upload private key file” and locate the “IntellaConnectKeyPair.pem” file from step 8. Click on “Decrypt password”

    1. Copy paste the password and continue logging in from step 12.

    1. Click Yes on the above screen.

    Now your AWS instance is configured and you have Desktop access. Proceed to install Intella Connect or Intella Investigator.

    1. Once logged in, open browser and navigate to https://www.vound-software.com/software-downloads and download Intella Connect installer

    1. Double click on the installer and follow the wizard to install Intella Connect. It is recommended to first install it NOT as Windows service at this moment, because currently the license is missing.

      The license will be available once it is set up on a separate instance. To do that follow steps 4. to 18. again, to prepare an instance with installed Intella Connect.

    2. When configuring the new instance to be launched, make sure to check the VPC ID and Subnet ID

    3. In the “Launch an instance” window, scroll down to “Network settings”, choose “edit” and then select the same VPC and Subnet ID as the other instance.




      Intella Connect on this instance will not be run or used, but it was needed in order to install the licensing system.

      The following steps will refer to one instance as “Intella Connect” instance and second as “Licensing” instance.

    To configure the Licensing instance:

    1. Reach out to Vound Software support for a license if you do not already have one. Install the license on this instance and once this has been done, it is expected to be available at http://localhost:1947/_int_/devices.html

    2. On the Licensing instance there will be changes made in the Sentinel Admin Control Center (SACC). The first setting is located in the 'Access from Remote Clients' tab which can be accessed at this link: http://localhost:1947/_int_/config_from.html. Make sure that the setting for 'Allow Access from Remote Clients' is checked. Click Submit if you have made changes.
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    3. The second setting is in the Basic Config page (http://localhost:1947/_int_/config.html). Make sure that the setting for 'Allow Remote Access to ACC' is checked. Click Submit if you have made changes. When prompted, set a password for remote access.
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    4. To configure the Intella Connect instance:

    You now need to configure the ACC so that the Intella Connect instance can access the Licensing instance to pick up a license. The first setting is the same as shown at step 3 for the local system (above). In the Basic Config page (http://localhost:1947/_int_/config.html), make sure that the setting for 'Allow Remote Access to ACC' is checked.

    1. The second settings are located in the 'Access to Remote License Manager' tab (http://localhost:1947/_int_/config_to.html).
      (i)    Check the setting for 'Allow Access to Remote Licenses'.
      (ii)   Check the setting for 'Broadcast Search for Remote Licenses'.
      (iii)  Enter the IP address for the local system in the 'Remote License Search Parameters' field. Once done, click Submit.94489

    2. To test the communication between the Intella Connect instance and the Licensing instance, open a browser on the cloud system, and type the following in the Address bar: http://localhost:1947/_int_/devices.html. Verify that you can view the network license key which is plugged into the local system. If you can see the network dongle, then this verifies that the Intella Connect instance is able to communicate with Licensing instance at a HASP level.

    3. Start Intella Connect. It is expected to receive the license from the Licensing instance.

    Tags
    Intella Connect Intella Investigator Cloud
    Published