How to install Check Point R75 Secure Platform

I’m using this image file for the install – Check_Point_R75.Splat.iso which can be downloaded from the Check Point websiteand is fully operational for 15 days for you to evaluate. The good thing about the Check Point installations is that they are very similar between versions. So you can also follow this guide for earlier version. Let’s begin!

1. Insert the DVD or boot the ISO image and boot the server. You will be presented with the Check Point SecurePlatform installation.

2. In between the previous step and this step your hardware would of been scanned and either found suitable or unsuitable for Check Point SecurePlatform. You can also add drivers by clicking on Add Driver. Click Ok.

3. Select your keyboard type and click Ok.

4. In this lab I have two network cards connected to my Check Point gateway. eth0 is for outside or untrusted networks and eth1 is for internal or trusted networks. I want to configure the internal network card at this stage. Select your internal network card and click Ok.

5. Enter the IP address and subnet mask. Only enter inthe default gateway information if you are configuring the external interface, as I’m configuring the internal interface I will leave the Default Gateway blank. Click Ok.

6. I want to turn on the HTTPS secure web server and have it run on port 443. This is the default setting. Click Ok.

7. Your hard drives will now be formatted and the SecurePlatform operating system installed. Click Ok.

8. The install is now complete. As you can see you can login to the secure web server by browsing to https://192.168.10.50 which we will use later. Click Ok and the server will be rebooted.

9. When the server has rebooted you are presented with the login prompt at the console. The default username and password is admin and admin. Once you type this in you are prompted to change the password. Enter in a new password.

10. You have the option to change the admin username as well. In this tutorial I will be changing it to cpadmin.

11. The username has now been changed and you are prompted to run sysconfig to further configure the gateway and install Check Point products.

If you have any technical questions about this tutorial or any other tutorials on this site, please send write a comment or send me an email and I will be able to help you out.

We will now continue on with the Check Point R75 Installation tutorial where we will configure the rest of the gateway settings and install the Check Point products.

1. We have now completed the previous Part 1 of the tutorial and have just changed the admin username from admin to cpadmin and were prompted to run sysconfig for system and product configuration. Type sysconfig and press enter.

2. The wizard begins. Type n and press enter to proceed to the next screen.

3. First up we are presented with some network configuration options.

4. Press 1 for Host Name configuration and set a host name for the Check Point gateway. When you are finished type e and press enter to go back to the previous screen.

5. Press 2 and set a domain name for the Check Point gateway. When you are finished type e and press enter to go back to the previous screen.

6. Press 3 to setup DNS server for name resolution. When you are finished type e and press enter to go back to the previous screen.

7. Press 4 to enter into the Network configuration options. Since we have only configured the internal interface with an ip address, we’ll need to configure our external interface. Type 2 and press enter to configure a connection, select eth0 and configure your external ip address, subnet mask and default gateway. When you are finished type e and press enter to go back to the previous screen.

8. Pressing 5 and entering into the routing configuration menu allows you to either set a new default gateway or show the current default gateway. When you are finished type e and press enter to go back to the previous screen.

9. Type n and press enter to proceed to the next screen. In this screen we can set our time zone, date, local time and display the current time settings. Set this as per your location. When you are finished type n and press enter to proceed to the next screen.

10. As this is a brand new installation we do now have any import configuration files, so we can just press n for next.

11. We have finished with the SecurePlatform side and now we can start installing the Check Point products we will be using. It is important to note that you don’t need to install all the products in this step, you can come back at a later stage, type sysconfig and install the software that you wish to use. Press n for next.

12. Press y to access the License Agreement.

13. Select New Installation and press n for next.

14. In this tutorial we will just be installing Security Gateway, Security Management, SmartEvent and SmartReporter Suite, Management Portal and Mobile Access. Press n for next.

15. As this is the first Gateway we will select Primary Security Management. Press n for next.

16. We will just be installing SmartReporter and SmartEvent Server. Press n for next.

17. You are now displayed a brief summary of what products you have chosen to install. If you are happy press n for next otherwise feel free to go back and make changes.

18. The installation begins.

19. Once the installation is finished there are just a few more settings that are needed before the gateway is ready. If you have a license I would wait to use SmartUpdate later on to install them. I will not be adding any licenses now. Press n.

20. Yes we will want to add an administrator to this Security management server. Press y.

21. Type the new administrators username and password.

22. Yes we will want to define GUI clients to be able to manage this gateway. Press y.

23. I would like to add my internal subnet as a GUI client. I type in 192.168.10.0/255.255.255.0, press enter, then press ctrl-D. Lastly confirm this is correct by pressing y.

24. The Fingerprint of the Security Management Server is displayed. This can be used to verify that you are connecting to the correct server. You have an option to save this to a file. I won’t be saving this so I’ll type n.

25. The installation is now complete. You must reboot to put the settings into effect. Press Enter.

26. Type reboot and Y to confirm. Once your firewall has booted up, you can continue onto how to install the management tools and connect to the firewall.