Frequently Asked Questions#

Common administrative tasks#

Where are the logs?#

The application logs are located at /opt/jans/jetty/jans-casa/logs. By default, Casa uses the INFO level for messages. You can change the log level at will using the app's admin UI.

How do I custom brand Casa?#

We have a dedicated page covering the topic of custom branding here.

What ports are used by the application?#

Casa uses port 8080. One way to see if the app is up and running is by checking whether this port is open by issuing a command like netstat -nltp.

How to turn 2FA off for a user?#

If a user has been locked out for any reason (e.g. lost devices), you can reset his "authentication method" to password by accessing the admin console and choosing the menu item labelled "Reset users preference". Type the username (or part of) in the text field and then press search. Once you locate the user in the result grid, click the corresponding row and then hit "Change to password". The row will become disabled, and you'll see a success message.

If you've followed the steps as described above, next time he attempts to log in, he won't be asked to present any credentials other than password to enter.

How to adjust the issuer for OTP tokens#

When people add OTP mobile apps, the enrollment appears in the device associated with an "issuer", so it is easy to recognize where the OTPs generated can be used. To keep track of which OTPs are valid for which IDPs, the issuer property can be adjusted in the Janssen Server OTP script. For example, you might want to set the issuer property to ACME Dev on your dev server, and ACME, Inc. on your production server.

Errors shown in the UI#

A page with a "Service Temporarily Unavailable" message appears when accessing the application#

This is the 503 HTTP error. There is an Apache server in front of the application and this means the reverse proxy couldn't establish a communication internally with the app. This usually happens when Casa hasn't started completely, so it's usually a matter of waiting a few seconds.

This reveals a problem in execution of casa custom script. Check if jans-auth_script.log is showing an error related to the authentication method in question.

If you cannot diagnose the issue, please use the Janssen Server discussions to ask for help.

An "Unauthorized access" error is shown when accessing the application#

This is caused by an unauthorized access attempt (e.g. users requesting URLs without ever logging in or after session has expired).

"An error occurred: Casa did not start properly" is shown when accessing the application#

This occurs whenever the application failed to start successfully. Check the log to diagnose the problem. Try to find a message like "WEBAPP INITIALIZATION FAILED" and see the traces above it. Often, error messages are self-explanatory.

Once fixed, please restart the application. You will have to see a "WEBAPP INITIALIZED SUCCESSFULLY" message to know that it's working.

Miscellanenous#

Admin console is not shown#

If you have logged in using an administrative account and cannot find any admin features in the UI ensure you have gone through these steps.

A previously enabled method is not available anymore#

If for some reason you disabled the custom script of an authentication method used by Casa, such method will not be available for enrollment or authentication until you enable both the custom script and the method (in Casa admin dashboard).

What kind of TOTP/HOTP devices are supported?#

Both soft (mobile apps) or hard tokens (keyfobs, cards, etc.) are supported. Supported algorithms are HmacSHA1, HmacSHA256, and HmacSHA512.

Authentication fails when using TOTP or HOTP with no apparent reason#

For Time-based OTP, ensure the time of your server is correctly synchronized (use NTP for instance). The time lag of the authentication device used (for instance, a mobile phone) with respect to server time should not be representative.

Big time differences can cause unsuccessful attempts to enroll TOTP credentials in Casa.

For Event-based OTP (HOTP), ensure you are using a suitable value for look ahead window (we suggest at least 10). Check contents of file /etc/certs/otp_configuration.json. If you apply editions, it is recommended to wait a couple of minutes before retrying..

The user interface is not showing any means to enroll credentials#

Ensure the following are met:

You have enabled custom scripts as needed. For instance, if you want to offer users the ability to authenticate using Google Authenticator, you have to enable the script "HOTP/TOPT authentication module". Whenever you enable or disable scripts, please wait a couple of minutes for oxAuth to pick the changes.
In the administration console, you can see which methods are already enabled in the server, and modify those you want to offer.

A user cannot turn 2FA on#

To turn 2FA on, the user has to have enrolled at least a certain number of credentials through the app. Only after this is met, he will be able to perform this action.

In the administration console you can specify the minimum number of enrolled credentials needed to enable second factor authentication for users. Please check the 2FA Settings plugin for more details.

Upon startup, the application needs to query the OpenID metadata URL of oxAuth to build the list of available authentication mechanisms. This warning is shown when the URL is not yet accessible or the list hasn't loaded fully. However, the application does several (around 15) evenly timed attempts in order to gather the required info. These messages are not a sign of a malfunction.

My problem is not listed here#

Feel free to ask Janssen Server community.

Last update: 2024-01-17
Created: 2023-10-05