TrilogyEC Professional Edition: Complete Guide & Key Features

TrilogyEC Professional Edition — Installation, Setup, and Best Practices### Overview

TrilogyEC Professional Edition is a commercial-grade email encryption and data protection solution designed for enterprises that need robust, policy-driven email security. It integrates with existing mail infrastructure (SMTP servers, Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, and popular MTA stacks), offers flexible encryption policies, supports multi-tenant deployments, and provides centralized monitoring and reporting. This article walks through installation, configuration, and recommended best practices to get the most out of TrilogyEC Professional Edition.

System Requirements

Before installation, ensure your environment meets the following recommended baseline:

Operating System: Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 or a supported Linux distribution (CentOS ⁄₈, RHEL ⁄₈, Ubuntu 18.04/20.04).
Processor: 2+ CPU cores (4+ cores recommended for production).
Memory: 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB recommended).
Storage: 100 GB free disk space for installation and logs; larger depending on journaling and archiving needs.
Network: Static IP, DNS entry for the appliance, firewall rules permitting SMTP (25), SMTPS (465), submission (587), HTTPS (443), and any management ports.
Mail Server Compatibility: Microsoft Exchange ⁄₂₀₁₉, Office 365 (via connector), Postfix, Exim, Sendmail.
Java Runtime: If appliance requires Java, have OpenJDK 11+ available.
Database: Embedded DB supported for small deployments; PostgreSQL or MS SQL recommended for medium/large deployments.

Pre-Installation Checklist

Obtain your TrilogyEC Professional Edition license and download package.
Back up current mail server configuration and message flow settings.
Reserve a hostname (e.g., triologyec.example.com) and create DNS records (A and PTR).
Generate or plan for SSL/TLS certificates (recommend using a CA-signed cert for production).
Review your organization’s encryption policy requirements and prepare sample policies.
Identify administrative accounts and integrate with LDAP/AD if required.

Installation Steps

1. Prepare the Host

Update operating system packages and reboot if required.
Install prerequisites: Java (if required), curl, unzip, and database client libraries.
Create a dedicated system user (e.g., trilogyec) and directories for installation and logs.

2. Install the Software

For RPM/DEB package:


sudo dpkg -i trilogyec-professional-<version>.deb   # Debian/Ubuntu sudo rpm -i trilogyec-professional-<version>.rpm   # RHEL/CentOS

For ZIP/tarball:


tar -xzvf trilogyec-professional-<version>.tar.gz sudo ./install.sh

Follow interactive prompts to set installation path and service account.

3. Configure the Database

For embedded DB, proceed with defaults for testing.

For external DB (PostgreSQL example):


CREATE DATABASE trilogyec; CREATE USER trilogyec_user WITH PASSWORD 'strongpassword'; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE trilogyec TO trilogyec_user;

Configure database connection in TrilogyEC config (usually /etc/trilogyec/application.properties).

4. Apply License and Certificates

Upload license file via the admin console or place it into the installation directory as instructed.
Install CA-signed TLS certificate and private key, configure the service to use them for SMTP and HTTPS.

5. Integrate with Mail Flow

Mail server as upstream relay: configure your MTA to route outbound/inbound mail through TrilogyEC appliance (example Postfix):
```
relayhost = [trilogyec.example.com]:25 
```
Or configure TrilogyEC as a smart host using connectors for Exchange/Office365.
Update MX records if TrilogyEC will handle inbound mail.

6. Start Services and Validate

Start TrilogyEC service:


sudo systemctl start trilogyec sudo systemctl enable trilogyec

Check logs (e.g., /var/log/trilogyec/) for errors and monitor listening ports:
```
ss -tuln | grep -E '25|465|587|443' 
```
Send test messages and verify encryption/decryption behavior and headers.

Initial Configuration & Policies

Admin Console Access

Login to the admin web UI (https://trilogyec.example.com:443) with default admin credentials and immediately change the admin password.
Configure two-factor authentication if available.

Directory Integration

Connect to LDAP/Active Directory for user sync and authentication. Map user attributes (email, displayName, department) accordingly.

Create Encryption Policies

Policy types: automatic content-based, user-initiated, gateway-level, and per-recipient.
Examples:
- Automatically encrypt emails containing keywords like “SSN”, “confidential”, or matching regex for credit card numbers.
- Encrypt all outbound messages to external recipients.
- Allow bypass for internal-to-internal traffic.

Key Management

Use built-in key management for small deployments. For enterprise, integrate with an HSM or external KMS (e.g., AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault) via KMIP or API.
Configure key rotation schedules and retention policies.

Journaling & Archiving

Enable journaling for compliance—forward copies to a secure archive or journaling mailbox.
Configure retention and legal hold features.

Testing & Validation

Functional tests:
- Send messages that match policies and confirm encrypted delivery.
- Verify decryption for intended recipients and failure for unauthorized recipients.
Interoperability tests:
- Test with Outlook, Gmail, mobile clients, and OWA.
- Test SMTP fallbacks and TLS negotiation with upstream/downstream MTAs.
Performance tests:
- Simulate peak load using a mail generator and monitor CPU, memory, disk I/O, and latency.

Monitoring & Maintenance

Logging: centralize logs using syslog/ELK/Graylog for long-term analysis.
Alerts: configure alerting for service outages, certificate expiry, failed deliveries, and high queue lengths.
Backups: schedule regular backups of configuration, DB, and keys. Store backups encrypted and offsite.
Upgrades: follow vendor upgrade notes; test upgrades in staging first.
Patch management: apply OS and application patches regularly during maintenance windows.

Security Best Practices

Use CA-signed TLS certificates for SMTP and HTTPS.
Restrict administrative access by IP and enable MFA.
Enforce least-privilege on service accounts and file permissions.
Implement network segmentation: place TrilogyEC in a secure DMZ or application zone.
Regularly rotate keys and credentials.
Conduct periodic security assessments and penetration tests.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Mail stuck in queue: check MTA connectivity, DNS resolution, and certificate errors.
Failed decryptions: verify recipient keys, policy exceptions, and header transformations.
High CPU: review real-time scanning settings and antivirus integrations.
LDAP sync failures: check bind credentials, network reachability, and attribute mappings.

Example Configuration Snippets

Postfix relayhost:


postconf -e "relayhost = [trilogyec.example.com]:25"

Systemd service check:


sudo systemctl status trilogyec tail -n 200 /var/log/trilogyec/trilogyec.log

Conclusion

Following these installation and setup steps will get TrilogyEC Professional Edition operational and secured for enterprise use. Focus on careful policy design, strong key management, and ongoing monitoring to maintain a reliable encryption posture in production.