Security Settings Following the Installation

The following setting should be implemented following the installation and setup of all Zixi software components.

Changing the default login password

Zixi includes the default passwords for the “Admin”, “Operator”, “User” and observer roles:

• Admin – can perform all actions.
• Operator – Can perform read/write on all streams but cannot modify the configurations in the Settings screens.
• User – can only perform read actions on streams and can switch between existing streams.
• Observer – can perform only read actions on the streams.

Every organization has its own password policy, but generally, a strong password should include the following:

• Consist of at least six characters.
• Combine letters, numbers and symbols (@, #, $, %, etc.)
• Contains letters in both uppercase and lowercase

To change the default passwords in Zixi Broadcaster:

1. Go to Settings > General.
2. In the Admin Password field, type a new strong password.
   
3. If you have selected the “Enable read/write user-except for settings screen…” and/or “Enable read only user + ability to switch streams…” and/or “Enable read only user" change the Operator, User, and Observer passwords.
    
4. Click Apply.

To change the default passwords in Zixi Feeder/Receiver:

1. Go to Settings > General.
2. In the Password field, type a new strong password.
    
3. Click Apply.

Enabling HTTPS/SSL

Refer to the Enabling HTTPS on your Zixi Broadcaster guide.

Changing the default root folder location

The root folder is used to store recordings and VOD content. Over time the size of the content in this folder may grow significantly. If this folder is in the same partition as the machine’s operating system and the capacity limit is reached, it may cause risks to the machine itself. It is therefore recommended to change Zixi’s root folder location to a separate partition (not the same partition as the OS). If the partition is filled it will not disrupt or harm the machine’s OS.

To change the default root folder location:

1. Open the ‘broadcaster-info.xml’ file, which is located in the folder as the Zixi’s executable file (e.g. zixi_broadcaster-1.10.1.24727.exe).
   The file includes the following content:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <ROOT_SETTINGS>
   <FOLDER>d:\ts</FOLDER>
   <MANAGED>false</MANAGED>
   <MANAGEMENT-ENABLED>false</MANAGEMENT-ENABLED>
   </ROOT_SETTINGS>
   <TUNNEL>
   <ALLOW>0</ALLOW>
   <MASTER>1</MASTER>
   </TUNNEL>

   
   
   

2. Change the path settings, which is under <ROOT_SETTINGS> and between <FOLDER>/</FOLDER> to a folder or to the root of a separate partition and save the file.
3. The folder setting is displayed in Settings > General in the Root Folder field:
   
   
   

Defining “non-root user”

Zixi includes some settings that modify the operating system settings on the host machine (e.g. networking settings, etc.). Modifying these settings requires Zixi Broadcaster to have “Root user” (the highest) access privileges on the machine. However, once these settings have been defined, Zixi Broadcaster does not need these high level access privileges anymore and it is recommended to change the access privileges to a non-root user.      

The following settings cannot be modified after changing the access privileges. Make sure you do not need to modify any of these settings:

• Settings > Network.
• Settings > SSH Connections
• Settings > ASI

To define non-root user privileges:

1. Open the ‘/etc/init.d/zixibc’ startup script.
2. Modify the ‘user=’ to a non-root user.