Site Identity & Portable Mode
StacksAtlas separates who this appliance is (identity) from how it runs (portable vs installed). Business appliances use Settings → IDENTITY; free portable builds use Settings → PORTABLE plus a subset of identity controls on INFRASTRUCTURE.
Settings → IDENTITY (Business appliance)
Available on installed Business appliances (Admin role). Open Settings and select IDENTITY.
Hub vs Node layout
| Appliance role | Panel title | Primary fields |
|---|---|---|
| Central Hub | HUB IDENTITY | Hub name (global fleet identifier). |
| Federated Node | INSTANCE IDENTITY | Friendly site name, geographic hierarchy, user preferences. |
| Standalone | INSTANCE IDENTITY | Same as Node without federation lock on site name. |
Network identifier
- Hub: HUB NAME, visible on fleet dashboards and alerts (e.g. "Central Fleet Manager").
- Node / standalone: FRIENDLY SITE NAME, shown in Hub fleet tables and CSV exports.
When a Node is enrolled to a Central Hub, the friendly site name is locked. The Hub governs the canonical site label. Change it from the Hub fleet UI or disenroll first.
Geographic hierarchy (Nodes only)
Optional labels for multi-site reporting and device grid grouping:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| CLIENT / ORGANIZATION | Acme Corp |
| BUILDING / SITE | Building 4 |
| ROOM / RACK | Server Room A |
These populate Group by → Client and Group by → Location on the Device inventory page.
User preferences
| Toggle | Effect |
|---|---|
| DARK THEME | Switches the UI color scheme (also available on portable Infrastructure tab). |
| DIAGNOSTICS MODE | Surfaces technician-level detail in the UI (advanced operators). |
Click COMMIT IDENTITY CHANGES after editing (button shows IDENTIFIED when nothing is dirty).
For federation enrollment and Hub-side identity locks, see User management and Hub & fleet.
Settings → PORTABLE (portable builds only)
Free portable sessions (Windows EXE, macOS DMG, Docker portable) expose a PORTABLE tab instead of full licensing and federation tabs.
What portable includes
- Unlimited discovery and monitoring for the session
- Network interfaces, scanning, and local alerts
- Dashboard and on-demand diagnostics
- Data stored under your user profile (TRIAL DATA FOLDER path shown on the tab)
What requires a full install
| Full install unlocks | Notes |
|---|---|
| Background service (always-on) | MSI, Mac Install, or Docker Business appliance |
| License activation (Business) | Settings → LICENSING |
| Hub federation and SSO | Settings → FEDERATION, AUTH (SSO) |
| Alerts, webhooks, and persistence | Always-on monitoring with a local database |
The tab shows a Move to full appliance install hint (platform-specific) and an ACTIVE chip confirming portable mode.
Portable operators can still tune scopes on SCANNING, export data via Data governance, and use INFRASTRUCTURE for HTTP/HTTPS ports and TLS certificate download.
Related guides
- Infrastructure: ports, syslog, API tokens, software updates
- Getting started: first-run portable flow
- Installation: promote to Business MSI/Mac/Docker