Install and operate the connector on Windows

You can use this article to install, upgrade and operate the connector Windows service with confidence. It covers the local service lifecycle, host-level settings and maintenance actions needed to keep the connector available after deployment.

Install the connector

Download the installer

Download Rainbow-Service-Installer.exe from the Rainbow support site. The installer is signed by Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise.

Run the installer

1. Log on to the Windows host with an account allowed to install Windows services.
2. Right-click the installer and select Run as administrator.
3. Complete the installation wizard.
4. Open the Windows services console and verify that the connector service is running.

Silent installation arguments

What the installer creates

• Program files are installed under %ProgramFiles(x86)%\rainbow-service.
• The connector service is registered as RainbowADService_3001 for the default instance.
• The legacy service name RainbowADService can be restored when upgrading from older versions.
• The service starts automatically after installation.

Upgrade or remove the connector

Upgrade behavior

Auto-update downloads the latest signed installer and runs it with /SILENT /IsUpgrade. For manual upgrades, run the installer as administrator and verify that the service restarts correctly.

Uninstall

Uninstall the connector from Windows Settings. The uninstaller stops and removes RainbowADService services and deletes the program folder. Local configuration stored under the service account profile is not removed automatically.

The local console is not used to configure synchronization rules. Synchronization parameters are configured in Rainbow Web Admin. The local console is used for connector status, proxy, certificates, paging, debug and diagnostic reports.

Configure the local connector console

Information panel

• Connector version and Rainbow domain.
• LDAP connector identifier and associated Rainbow company.
• Connection to Rainbow status.
• Per-domain LDAP status, last and next synchronization, current LDAP filter and counters.

Rainbow Domain field

Keep the default value web.openrainbow.com unless your tenant is hosted on a dedicated Rainbow Edge platform. When the domain is changed, the service restarts automatically.

Services list

Each connector instance running on the host appears as RainbowADService_<port>. Click an instance to open its local console in a new tab.

Certificate upload for private PKI and LDAPS

• Upload a CA certificate when the LDAPS server certificate is issued by a private CA not trusted by the Windows host.
• Accepted file extensions are .cer, .pem and .crt.
• The certificate content must be PEM/Base64 and start with -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----. DER/binary is rejected.
• Upload the root CA alone if the LDAPS server sends intermediates. Otherwise upload a PEM bundle containing the full chain.

openssl x509 -inform der -in cert.der -out cert.pem

HTTP proxy

Enable HTTP proxy when outbound HTTPS to Rainbow goes through a corporate proxy. Fill host, port and optional credentials. Restart the connector service to apply the change.

Paging flag

Paging is enabled by default. Disable it only for LDAP servers that do not support paged search results, typically OmniVista 8770 directory.

Debug, Save logs and Send report

• Enable Debug only for diagnostics, then disable it in production to avoid storing personal data in logs.
• Save logs packages local log files into a zip archive for support.
• Send report uploads the diagnostic archive to Rainbow so ALE support can retrieve it from Web Admin reports.

Operate and maintain the service

Auto-update

The connector periodically downloads the update metadata file, compares the listed version with the current connector version, and runs the signed installer when a newer version is available. The default check interval is one hour.

• The updater uses the configured update URL, by default under web.openrainbow.com/downloads.
• The installer is launched with /SILENT /IsUpgrade.
• A forced update can be triggered through backend settings when required for support or staged rollout.

Service management

Use Windows Services or PowerShell to start, stop and inspect connector instances.

Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "RainbowADService*" } | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType
Stop-Service RainbowADService_3001
Start-Service RainbowADService_3001
Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "RainbowADService*" } | Restart-Service

Log files

• Logs are stored under the service account profile in a per-port rainbow-service-<port> folder.
• Log files are rotated automatically, with a maximum size of 2 MB per file.
• Use Save logs from the local console to package logs for support.

Configuration files

Connector configuration is persisted locally in a per-port configuration folder. Sensitive values such as passwords, client secrets and OAuth tokens are encrypted at rest. Do not edit these files manually.

Audit trail

Use Rainbow Web Admin - History - Equipment to inspect connector events such as registration, start/stop, configuration changes, synchronization commands, LDAP connection events and errors.