Customer Panel

The customer panel is how you, as customers, can access and view your services with Exa. We have two portals, one just for the SurfProtect service and one for full panel access.

Once logged in, you will see your service. Select the correct one 

Once selected, you will see on the left-hand side of the page under Customer Overview every service you have with Exa 

We'll go through each service a customer can have and what can be found under there: 

Connectivity: 

We offer different types of connectivity ranging from, DSLs, SoGEA, Leased Line and DarkLight. Each service displays the Service Address, usage and history. 

Broadband: 

Broadband is a type of internet connection that lets you:

• Browse websites
• Watch videos
• Play games online
• Make video calls and do all of these things quickly and at the same time.

Under Broadband, you will see one of three services: 

• SoTAP
• SoGEA
• FTTP 

SoTAP is a broadband service designed for the UK to deliver internet over existing copper lines without a traditional telephone line. Replacing ADSL services

SoGEA is a type of broadband connection that gives you fast internet over a phone line without needing a traditional phone service (no dial tone, no landline number). Replaces FTTC services

FTTP stands for Fibre to the Premises. It’s a type of ultrafast broadband where a fiber optic cable runs all the way from your internet provider to your home or business.

Once you have selected the broadband service you want to view, you will see the following page: 

The main page will display a lot of information, which is explained below: 

• Order Details: The name of the business/school the line is for 
• Customer Network Ranges: The public IP range assigned to the connection. 
• Broadband Details: These are the details required to raise a fault to our suppliers. This will include the circuit ref, the service type, the Address and the Exchange the circuit terminates on as well as the IP address for the connection 
• Service Authentication: These are the details required to authenticate and bring the connection online. 
• Extra Services: Any additional services they may have ie PCA or Securus 
• Related Service: Any service that is linked of to the Broadband account e.g, SurfProtect. Related Services are assets that can be accessed through the panel and Extra services are not. 

On the left-hand side, you will see more options: 

Each are explained below: 

• Usage - Allows you to see the circuits' upload and download metrics for the last 30 days. This is detailed in this guide. 
• Sessions - Provides you with a graph of any drops and re-connects that have occurred.
• Session History - Provides a log to show further information on any drops and re-connects
• Line Tests - Allows you to run a test on the external line which provides diagnostic information. More info can be found here

Leased Line: 

A Leased Line is a dedicated internet connection that runs directly from your business or school to your internet provider, and only you use it.

When selecting Leased Line, you will be able to see the Leased Line circuits that currently sit under the account, with the unique information each line has. 

Once you have selected the Leased Line service you want to view, you will see the following page:  

The main page will display a lot of information, which is explained below: 

• Order Details: The name of the business/school the line is for 
• Leased Line Details: The address of the location, the live date and the Transit Speed. Transit speed is the bandiwdth you have available on your line, e.g. 1Gbps line (bearer) can have 200 Mbps transit. 
• Telco Information: The supplier details needed for raising a fault, and the bearer speed information. A-End and B-End Termination are where the circuit is installed. A-End is the supplier's Exchange, and B-End is the customer's side 
• Customer Network Ranges: The public IP range assigned to the connection. 
• Extra Services: Any additional services they may have, i.e., PCA or Securus 
• Related Service: Any service that is linked of to the Broadband account e.g, SurfProtect. Related Services are assets that can be accessed through the panel and Extra services are not. 

You will also see Usage and Service Details as options on the left-hand side menu 

Service details: Details of where the service is provisioned. 

Usage: Allows you to see the circuits' upload and download metrics for the last 30 days. This is detailed in this guide. 

DarkLight: 

A DarkLight (dark fibre) connection is an unlit fibre optic cable you light up to create a private, high-capacity, point‑to‑point network. It is only available in City centres. 

Selecting DarkLight, will allow you to see the Darklight circuits that currently sit under the account with the unique information each line has. 

Once you have selected the DarkLight service you want to view, you will see the following page:  

The main page will display a lot of information, which is explained below:  

• Order Details: The name of the business/school the line is for 
• DarkLight Details: The address of the location, the live date and the Serivce Name and Speed and Termination details. 
• IP Details: IPs assigned to the circuit 
• VLAN details: The VLANS assigned to the circuit 
• Extra Services: Any additional services they may have, i.e., PCA or Securus 
• Related Service: Any service that is linked of to the Broadband account e.g, SurfProtect. Related Services are assets that can be accessed through the panel, and Extra Services can not. 

You will also see Usage and Service Details as options on the left-hand side menu 

Service details: Details of where the service is provisioned. 

Usage: Allows you to see the circuits' upload and download metrics for the last 30 days. This is detailed in this guide. 

Domain: 

A domain is the name of a website, in this case, for your school or business. The DNS panel is the place where you add DNS records which are the settings that tell the internet to: 

• Where to find your website
• Where to deliver your emails
• What services are connected to your domain

Once you have selected the DarkLight service you want to view, you will see the following page:  

Here you will see Host Records, which are the individual entries in your DNS settings that link a domain or subdomain to a specific IP address or service. A host refers to the specific part of the domain you're controlling, e.g. host “mail” means mail.contendemo.exa

The types of records you could add here are: 

• A record, commonly known as a blank A record: Maps a domain to an IPv4 address, e.g. contentdemo.exa → 192.0.2.1
• AAAA records: Maps a domain to an IPv6 address, e.g. contentdemo.exa → 2001:db8::1
• CNAME record:   Maps a domain to another domain name (alias)    www.contentdemo.exa → wehostthis.co

Now that we've covered the Host records on the main page, we need to look at the other settings a domain holds. On the left-hand side, you will see the following: 

Mail settings: are the configuration options that control how your domain handles email, such as:

• Where email gets delivered (incoming)
• How email is sent (outgoing)
• How to protect your domain from spam and spoofing

SRV settings: SRV stands for Service (SRV) record.

It’s a type of DNS record that tells systems where to find a specific service on a network, like VoIP (Voice over IP) or LDAP. To set this up, you need: 

• The hostname of the server
• The port number used by the service
• The priority and weight (in case there are multiple servers)
• The protocol (like TCP or UDP)

NAPTR settings: This is similar to the SRV records. A NAPTR record (short for Name Authority Pointer) is a special type of DNS record that helps route certain kinds of network services, like VoIP (Voice over IP) or SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).

TXT settings: A TXT record (short for Text record) is a type of DNS record that lets domain owners store plain text information in their DNS settings. Even though it just holds text, TXT records are very powerful and widely used, especially for email security, domain ownership verification, and custom configurations.

A subdomain is a prefix added to a domain name used to organise a website into distinct, independent sections. It acts as a subset of your main domain, enabling specialised content, separate platforms, or localised, language-specific versions of a site.