Server Management Walkthrough¶

Recording

CISentinel includes a built-in FastAPI web server that powers the web GUI dashboard.

Starting the Server¶

Foreground (blocks terminal)¶

sudo cis-hardening-tool server run

Background (detached)¶

sudo cis-hardening-tool server start --detach

The server starts on port 8000 and binds to 0.0.0.0 (accessible from any network interface).

Checking Server Status¶

cis-hardening-tool server status

Output: Web Server: Running (PID 12345) or Web Server: Stopped

Health Check API¶

curl -s http://localhost:8000/api/health | python3 -m json.tool

{
    "status": "ok",
    "version": "1.x.x",
    "tools_installed": 3,
    "tools_total": 6,
    "uptime_seconds": 120
}

System Info API¶

curl -s http://localhost:8000/api/system/info | python3 -m json.tool

{
    "os_type": "Ubuntu 22.04 LTS",
    "app_name": "CIS Hardening Sentinel",
    "app_subtitle": "Cross-Platform Security Compliance"
}

Viewing Server Logs¶

cis-hardening-tool server logs

Shows real-time log output from the web server, including: - HTTP request logs - WebSocket connection events - Tool status checks

Logs are stored at: ~/.cis-sentinel/logs/web_server_<timestamp>.log

Stopping the Server¶

cis-hardening-tool server stop

Gracefully stops the background web server process.

Server Architecture¶

┌──────────────────────┐
│   Browser / Client   │
└──────────┬───────────┘
           │ HTTP / WebSocket
┌──────────┴───────────┐
│   FastAPI Server     │
│   (port 8000)        │
├──────────────────────┤
│ Routers:             │
│ ├── /api/scan/*      │
│ ├── /api/report/*    │
│ ├── /api/tools/*     │
│ ├── /api/ai/*        │
│ ├── /api/health      │
│ └── /ws (WebSocket)  │
├──────────────────────┤
│ Frontend (SPA):      │
│ └── / (index.html)   │
└──────────────────────┘

WebSocket Real-Time Updates¶

The server provides real-time scan progress via WebSocket at /ws: - Initial state (all scans) on connection - Live scan logs as they happen - Scan status updates (started, completed, failed)