Web HelpDesk
Administrator Guide
Version 12.4.0
Table of Contents
Introduction
24
Key features
25
25
25
Asset management
25
Change management
25
26
26
Ticket processing
26
27
Installation requirements
28
28
Hardware
28
Web server
28
Operating system
28
Web browser
29
30
30
30
30
30
31
Database requirements
31
32
MySQL requirements
32
32
3
Software
33
Hardware
33
33
Hypervisor requirements
34
LDAP requirements
34
35
Software
35
Supported protocols
35
35
35
35
36
36
37
38
Database datatypes
38
39
39
39
39
40
40
40
Installation
40
42
43
43
Installation
43
44
45
45
47
Get started
48
48
48
48
48
49
50
51
53
53
55
56
56
56
56
Requirements
57
58
Deployment checklist
58
59
59
59
59
5. Update the Environment Variables Path setting in your Windows Server operating system
60
60
61
61
61
61
62
63
63
64
64
64
65
68
68
69
69
Deployment checklist
69
70
70
71
71
5. Update the Environment Variables Path setting in your Windows Server operating system
71
72
72
Install the preconfigured Web Help Desk files for FIPS deployment
72
72
73
73
74
75
76
7. Create a signed Web Help Desk certificate for your NSS database
76
76
76
78
80
81
81
83
83
84
84
84
84
85
85
86
86
86
87
87
88
89
Setup overview
89
89
91
91
91
92
93
94
95
96
96
97
97
97
97
99
101
101
102
102
103
Configure MySQL
103
104
Disable IIS
104
104
104
105
105
105
106
106
107
108
108
109
111
Template layout
112
112
114
117
Set up tickets
119
120
121
123
123
124
125
Create tasks
126
127
127
129
130
131
132
134
135
Request types
135
Tech groups
136
136
138
138
139
139
140
141
141
142
142
Approvers
142
Approval processes
142
Approver roles
142
142
143
Criteria tab
143
Action tab
143
144
146
147
Approvers
147
148
Approval patterns
149
150
150
151
152
152
153
Create a CAB
153
154
155
156
157
157
158
159
10
162
Apply approvals
163
Ticket approvals
163
Approver action
164
Email approvals
164
164
Enter locations
165
165
166
Define clients
167
167
167
168
168
169
170
About LDAP
170
Validate LDAPcertificates
170
171
Import clients
172
Define assets
173
174
174
174
174
175
175
175
Add manufacturers
177
11
Add vendors
178
179
180
181
181
Perform Invoicing
182
182
183
183
184
186
Purchase a license
186
187
187
187
187
188
188
188
189
189
189
189
189
190
191
193
193
193
12
194
195
195
195
195
196
Enable HTTPS
197
197
197
198
198
198
199
199
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199
199
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201
201
201
202
203
204
204
205
Import errors
205
205
13
205
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206
206
207
208
208
209
209
210
212
212
213
213
214
214
214
214
215
215
215
Enable HTTPrequests
215
215
Manage clients
217
Create a client
217
217
218
Manage tickets
220
Ticket flow
220
14
Create a ticket
223
223
224
224
225
225
226
227
227
227
227
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229
230
230
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231
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232
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235
235
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236
15
237
237
Ticket information
237
237
238
239
239
240
Resolve a ticket
240
Merge tickets
241
241
241
242
243
244
246
249
249
251
251
252
254
254
Manage assets
256
Discover assets
256
257
257
258
259
16
259
260
260
261
261
262
Configure Web Help Desk to discover assets stored in SolarWinds NPM, SAM, or NCM
262
264
265
265
265
265
265
266
Search assets
266
267
Save a query
267
Run a query
267
Remove assets
267
268
269
270
271
272
Add a vendor
272
272
272
273
Reserve assets
273
17
273
273
274
274
274
276
277
TSVtemplates
277
277
278
Export data
279
Export tickets
279
Export clients
279
Export assets
279
Export parts
280
Export FAQs
280
281
Sample reports
282
282
Category
282
283
Chart Metric
283
Putting it together
284
284
285
285
286
287
288
18
289
290
291
292
294
295
295
297
299
300
Schedule reports
301
303
303
303
304
305
305
305
306
307
Create surveys
307
308
308
308
Create messages
309
309
309
311
311
19
312
313
313
314
314
315
318
319
320
Filters
320
320
Matching rules
321
Complex rules
322
322
323
323
325
327
327
Configure integration
328
329
329
329
330
330
333
333
335
337
20
Upgrade on vSphere
337
Upgrade on Hyper-V
338
338
339
339
339
340
341
341
Knowledge-centered support
342
Benefits of KCS
342
342
342
343
343
343
344
Search FAQs
345
345
345
Get connected
347
347
347
348
349
349
349
350
Appendix
351
21
Deployment considerations
351
351
351
351
352
352
352
352
353
354
356
Configuration options
356
Memory allocation
357
357
357
357
358
358
359
360
362
362
365
365
365
Databases
366
Emails
366
LDAP/AD
367
Asset Discovery
367
22
367
368
368
No redirect to HTTPS
372
372
373
373
373
IP address
373
Privileged networks
373
374
Memory allocation
374
Database connections
375
375
JVM arguments
376
392
392
392
393
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Introduction
SolarWinds Web Help Desk is a web-based automated ticketing solution that helps you manage your IT
support requests for both internal and external clients. Use Web Help Desk to create and manage tickets
through the web console. It also supports email ticket creation, automatic ticket assignment and escalation,
asset management, and incident and problem management.
The following illustration provides a high-level view of the Web Help Desk software architecture.
All help desk processes are managed through the web console. After you set up the application, you can
configure Web Help Desk to perform specific tasks, such as routing tickets to a specific help desk
technician or work group, billing customers for parts and labor costs, and creating new tickets from email
requests or alert messages from a supported monitoring application.
You can run Web Help Desk on the following operating systems and platforms:
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Apple OS X
Fedora
CentOS
VMware vSphere
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Web Help Desk includes an extensive library of FAQs, integrated tool tips, and online help you can access
from the Web console. See the Web Help Desk documentation website for additional information.
Key features
Web Help Desk provides the following features for managing your enterprise or managed service provider
(MSP) help desk operations:
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Asset management
Change management
Asset management
Using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or supported third-party discovery tools, you can
search a specific IPaddress range in your corporate network and create a list of client assets (such as
computer systems, installed software, and attached peripherals). When asset discovery is completed, you
can use DameWare MRCto connect remotely to a client system, troubleshoot the issue, and append
remote session information to a new or existing ticket.
Change management
You can manage change control in your organization using automated approval processes. These include
creating approver roles, assigning departments and clients to approver roles, and configuring approval
processes.
25
If the ticket is not resolved within a preconfigured span of time, Web Help Desk can escalate the ticket and
send an SMSalert to the assigned help desk technician. Additionally, when you create new tickets, you can
send notes to the end user to provide status or request additional information.
Ticket processing
SolarWinds Web Help Desk initiates and manages your help desk processes through the Web console,
email, SMS, and built-in procedures. After you configure Web Help Desk, it automatically routes tickets to
the proper technician and updates your customer.
If a repair requires spare parts, Web Help Desk orders the required parts and automatically bills the
customer for parts and labor costs. Web Help Desk accepts email ticket requests and opens a ticket based
on the information in the email. You can also update and close tickets using email.
Each customer can access a Web console dedicated to their help desk needs. Customers can access all of
their help desk features through a Web portal, but they cannot access information from other help desk
customers.
The following illustration provides an overview of Web Help Desk processes at a high level.
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27
Installation requirements
SolarWinds recommends reviewing the followingrequirements before you install, upgrade, or migrate your
software.
Hardware
COMPONENT
CPU
REQUIREMENTS
64-bit Dual Core 2.0GHz or faster
3GB (up to 10 technicians)
RAM
Add 1GB for every 10 additional technicians
Hard Drive Space
20GB
8081 (or alternate browser port)
Application Ports
20293 (PostgreSQL)
Web server
PRODUCT
Apache Tomcat
V ERSION
7.0.68
Operating system
PLATFORM
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
Windows Server 2008 (32- and 64-bit)
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Windows 7 (64-bit)
28
PLATFORM
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
Apple iPhone
Apple iOS 8
(for Web Help Desk Mobile)
Apple iOS 9
10.10.2 (Yosemite)
Apple OS X
10.11.0 (El Capitan)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
CentOS
CentOS7.0 (64-bit)
Fedora 22 (64-bit)
Fedora
Fedora 23 (64-bit)
Oracle Java
Version 8.0
Web browser
Due to frequent Google Chrome v32 and Mozilla Firefox v32 updates, check the SolarWinds
support website for the latest information about compatibility issues between these web browsers
and the latest version of Web Help Desk.
TYPE
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
Google Chrome
Latest version
Mozilla Firefox
Latest version
IE9
Microsoft Internet
Explorer (IE)
IE10
IE11
Apple Safari
Safari 7
Safari 8
Microsoft Edge
Latest version
29
4GBRAM (up to 3.7GB for the tech sessions, JVMsupport, operating system, and any additional
services you need to run on the system)
A 64-bit JVM
3GB RAM for 20 tech sessions plus 1GB RAM for each additional 10 tech sessions
JAVA_OPTS="-d64"
To increase the max heap memory on a 64-bit JVM, edit the MAXIMUM_MEMORY option in the
WebHelpDesk/conf/whd.conf file.
For other operating systems, install your own 64-bit JVM and then update the JAVA_HOMEoption in the
30
SUPPORTED PRODUCT
V ERSION
Database requirements
Web Help Desk uses an embedded PostgreSQL database as its standard database. See the embedded
database requirements for specific requirements.
The following table lists the supported databases.
DATABASE
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
PostgreSQL 9.2
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL 9.3.2
PostgreSQL9.4
MySQL 5.6
MySQL
MySQL5.7
SQL Server 2008 R2 SP3
Microsoft SQLServer
For optimal external database performance, run Web Help Desk and a supported external database
on separate servers.
See MySQL requirements and SQL Server requirements for specific software and hardware requirements.
31
The embedded FrontBase uses the whd and user whd schemas.
The new server includes enough free space to support the database migration. Web Help Desk
notifies you about the space required before migration begins.
The migration process creates a $WEB_HELPDESK_HOME/temp folder with the associated files. The system
administrator performing the installation must have write privileges on both the FrontBase and
PostgreSQL databases.
After you upgrade to v12.0.0, you can upgrade to the latest version. The version 12.0.0 upgrade converts
your embedded FrontBase database to an embedded PostgreSQL database. No additional database
conversions are required.
MySQL requirements
The following table lists the minimum software and hardware requirements for a MySQL database server.
PRODUCT
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
MySQL 5.6
MySQLdatabase
MySQL 5.7
CPU speed
20GB
Memory
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Software
SOFTWARE
REQUIREMENTS
SQL Server 2008 R2 SP3
Hardware
COMPONENT
REQUIREMENTS
CPU
20GB
RAM
DISCOVERY CONNECTOR
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
SUPPORTED V ERSIONS
SolarWinds NCM 7.4.1
SolarWinds NPM 11.5.2
Casper
Casper 9.73
Lansweeper
Lansweeper 5.3.0.33
System Center Configuration Manager 2007
33
Hypervisor requirements
The following table lists the supported hypervisor requirements.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server is included with Windows Server 2008 and later.
PRODUCT
VMware
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
VMware 6.0
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Hyper-V
LDAP requirements
The following table lists the supported Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) software products.
PRODUCT
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
Active Directory 2003
Open Directory
OpenLDAP
Open Directory 4
OpenLDAP 2.4
OpenLDAP 2.4.42
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Software
PRODUCT
SUPPORTED VERSIONS
Exchange Server 2010
Supported protocols
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IMAP
POP3
SMTP
PLATFORM
Apple
iOS 8
iOS 9
35
See Run Web Help Desk on embedded and external Java if you are migrating your database on a server
running Apple OS X.
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6. Click Continue.
The database migration program migrates the FrontBase data to the PostgreSQLdatabase.
During the migration, the program verifies the PostgreSQLdatabase tables against the FrontBase
database tables. When completed, the migration program shuts down the embedded FrontBase
database.
Next, the program prompts you to update the database with your current Web Help Desk
installation.
7. Click Continue.
Web Help Desk is now running an embedded PostgreSQLdatabase.
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3. Map identical database types located in MySQL and SQLServer (such as DATETIME) using SSMA.
See the instructions included with the software for more information.
4. Map inconsistent database types (such as DECIMALin MySQL and money in SQLServer) manually
using database mapping tables.
See Database datatypes for a complete list of current and previous Web Help Desk database data
types that include MySQL and SQL Server. SolarWinds recommends converting datatypes before you
begin the migration process. SSMAdoes not support inconsistent datatypes.
6. Change your database settings to connect Web Help Desk to your new SQL Server database.
7. Continue the upgrade to the latest version.
SolarWinds does not provide support, tools, or assistance with database migration. For information
about migrating your database using a third-party tool, contact the tool vendor for assistance.
Database datatypes
The following table provides a reference for mapping data types from other databases to PostgreSQL(and
to each other).
WHD
FRONTBASE
ORACLE
OPEN
POSTGRE
BASE
SQL
MYSQL
SQL SERVER
PK
INTEGER
NUMBER
int
int4
INT
int
currency
DECIMAL
NUMBER
money
numeric
DECIMAL
money
datetime
TIMESTAMP
DATE
datetime
timestamptz
DATETIME
datetime
integer
INTEGER
NUMBER
int
int4
INT
int
pk
BLOB
BLOB
object
bytea
BLOB
data
BLOB
BLOB
object
bytea
LONGBLOB
CLOB
char4000
text
TEXT
VARCHAR2
char
varchar
VARCHAR
text
varchar
VARCHAR
1000000
VARCHAR
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varbinary
(max)
varbinary
(max)
nvarchar
(max)
nvarchar
Ensure that the host system meets or exceeds the recommended server requirements.
Decide whether to use an embedded or external database. Web Help Desk v12.0.0 and later comes
standard with an embedded PostgreSQL database.
Prepare your Microsoft SQL Server or MySQLdatabase if you are using an external database.
Review the database migration options if you are migrating your database to another database type.
Review the FIPSinstallation instructions if you are enabling FIPS 140-2 cryptography on a Windows
Server 64-bit system.
SETTING
TCP/IP Protocol
V ALUE
Enabled in SQLServer Network Configuration >Protocols for SQL 20xx
127.0.0.1 (if installed on the Web Help Desk server)
IPAddress
Server IPaddress (if installed on a separate server)
TCPPort
1433
TCPDynamic Ports
Blank
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SETTING
V ALUE
Enabled
Login Name
whd
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Database name
whd
Database owner
whd
Verify the account is not subject to any local or group policy restrictions.
Use the Run as administrator option when launching the installer on a system running Windows
Server 2008.
If you do not use the default embedded database, ensure that you know:
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Installation
1. Obtain a copy of the software and your activation key from the SolarWinds Customer Portal. The
activation key limits your use based on the number of seats you purchased.
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2. Log in as an administrator to the server on which you are installing Web Help Desk.
3. Extract the contents of the downloaded installation ZIPfile.
4. Run WebHelpDesk-12.4.0-x64_eval.exe or WebHelpDesk-12.4.0-x64.exe.
5. Complete the on-screen instructions.
6. When the installation is complete, click Done.
The system opens your browser where you can Select the Web Help Desk database.
7. To use the database included with Web Help Desk, select Use Embedded PostgreSQL database, and
click Next.
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Web Help Desk and its associated data are uninstalled from the system.
Installation
1. Obtain a copy of the software and your activation key from the SolarWinds Customer Portal. The
activation key limits your use based on the number of seats you purchased.
2. Log in as an administrator to the server on which you are installing Web Help Desk.
3. Double-click WebHelpDesk-12.4.0.pkg.
4. Complete the on-screen instructions.
5. When the installation is complete, click Done.
The system opens your browser where you can select the Web Help Desk database.
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6. To use the database included with Web Help Desk, select Use Embedded PostgreSQL database, and
click Next.
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gunzip webhelpdesk-12.4.X.XXX-1.i386.rpm
For 64-bit systems, run:
gunzip webhelpdesk-12.4.X.XXX-1.x86_64.rpm
5. Run the appropriate installer command based on your system configuration.
To upgrade an existing 32-bit Linux system, replace the installation command (rpm -ivh)
with the update command (rpm-Uvh). During the upgrade, several warning messages may
open, stating that multiple files or directories failed to be removed. This is normal.
For 32-bit systems, run:
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/usr/local/webhelpdesk/WHD start
To stop the application, run:
/usr/local/webhelpdesk/WHD stop
7. Launch your web browser and enter the following URL:
http://127.0.0.1:8081
A dialog box displays to select your Web Help Desk database.
8. To use the database included with Web Help Desk, select Use Embedded PostgreSQL database, and
click Next.
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10. In the Web console, enter admin for the user email address and admin for the password, and then
clickLog In.
# rpm -e webhelpdesk-12.4.X.XXX-1.i386.rpm
yum remove webhelpdesk-12.4.X.XXX-1.x86_64.rpm
The uninstall is completed.
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Get started
The first time you use SolarWinds Web Help Desk, the Getting Started wizard opens and assists you with
setting up your Web Help Desk deployment. When completed, you can log in to Web Help Desk and apply
an activation key.
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2. Click the Database Type drop-down menu and select the appropriate database.
3. Enter the appropriate information in the remaining fields.
4. Click Test to test the database connection.
If Web Help Desk connects with the external database, click Next.
If Web Help Desk cannot connect with the external database, check your settings and rerun the test.
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2. Expand Advanced.
3. In the Incoming Mail Port field, enter the port number for incoming email.
By default, Web Help Desk uses your first configured incoming email account request type as
the default. After you complete the Getting Started Wizard, you can update your email account
information at Setup > E-Mail.
4. In the SMTPport field, enter the port number for outgoing email.
5. Complete the remaining fields and check boxes as required.
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Log in to SolarWinds Web Help Desk for the first time and configure the application.
Administrators with a default admin account can create all user accounts, including additional admin
accounts. The default admin account includes tech account privileges, so you can create and process
tickets with tech privileges. Techs can have either Tech or Tech Admin account privileges.
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After you complete the Getting Started Wizard and create your Admin account, the Getting Started Wizard
is no longer accessible. To access Web Help Desk, log in through the Web Help Desk login page.
If you try to access the Getting Started Wizard, an error message displays with a link to the login page, as
shown below.
To change your settings after you initialize the application, use the Web Help Desk setup area.
The default admin account is the only Web Help Desk account that can view and use the blue Switch to
Client account toolbar button.
When you create the default admin account, the Getting Started Wizard automatically links the client
account. Additional admin and tech accounts must be specifically configured to link to a client account.
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1. Use the following formula to determine the appropriate amount of memory for your deployment:
(Average number of concurrent techs x 150) + (Average number of concurrent users x 25) =
MAXIMUM_MEMORY value
Example: If the average number of concurrent techs is 10 and the average number of concurrent
users is 50, the recommended MAXIMUM_MEMORY value is 2750 (which is 2.75 GB):
(10 x 150 = 1500) + (50 x 25 = 1250) = 2750
The MAXIMUM_MEMORY value should not be greater than the Web Help Desk server's RAM.
2. Open the whd.conf file in a text editor. The default file location is:
C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\conf\whd.conf
3. Change the MAXIMUM_MEMORY value and save the file.
4. Restart Web Help Desk:
a. Open the installation directory (C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk, by default).
b. Right-click whd_stop.bat and choose Run As Administrator.
c. After the command prompt window closes, right-click whd_start.bat and choose Run As
Administrator.
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After you enable FIPS140-2 compliant cryptography in your Web Help Desk deployment, you cannot
revert back to your previous configuration.
Requirements
SolarWinds recommends reviewing the followingrequirements before you enable FIPS 140-2 compliant
cryptography in your Web Help Desk deployment.
COMPONENT
REQUIREMENT
Hardware system
Non-virtualized platform
Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
Operating system
Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)
MySQL5.6 2
PostgreSQL9.2 (embedded)
Database 1
LDAP
57
COMPONENT
REQUIREMENT
SQL Server 2012 SP1
SQL Server 2014
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
Google Chrome (Latest version)
Web browser
SolarWinds Integration
on the same physical server running the Web Help Desk instance.
3 MD5 authentication is not supported.
Deployment checklist
Use the following checklist to guide you through the deployment procedures.
1. Review the requirements to ensure your current deployment will support FIPS140-2 compliant
cryptography.
2. Download Web Help Desk 12.4.0 from the Customer Portal.
3. Install Web Help Desk in your deployment.
4. Install Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013 in your deployment.
This software is included with your Web Help Desk installation package.
5. Update the Environment Variables Path setting in your Windows Server operating system.
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NSS binaries
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<WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64\lib\;
where <WebHelpDesk> is the path to your Web Help Desk directory.
Below is an example of the system PATHvariable.
%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%SYSTEMROOT
%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft
SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\
When you append the path with your nss-x64 library path, the path displays as follows:
C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nssx64\lib\;%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%S
YSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft
SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft
SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\
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1. Determine if you want to define a host name specifically for Web Help Desk that is different from the
real server host name registered in DNS.
If you are using the existing host name, go to Edit the whd.conf file.
If you are defining a new host name, go to step 2.
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
3. Add the following string in the file:
127.0.0.1 mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
where mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is the domain name you chose for WebHelpDesk and will be
used for the remaining procedures.
<WebHelpDesk>\conf\whd.conf
2. Ensure that the following string is uncommented and includes a port number that is not occupied by
another process:
HTTPS_PORT=443
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3. Locate and follow the instructions in the # Privileged networks section to populate
PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS= with the IPaddress or IPaddress range where the Web Help Desk host
belongs.
Use a valid IPaddress and not a loopback address.
For example:
PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS=12.20.30.40
or
PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS=12.20.30.*
4. Add the following WHD_HOSTvariable:
WHD_HOST=mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
where mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is the domain name you chose for your installation.
java.security
pkcs11_nss.cfg
<WebHelpDesk>\conf\tomcat_server_template.xml
2. Locate the SSL HTTP/1.1 connector section, as shown below.
<!-- Define a SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port @@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_PORT@@@
This connector uses the JSSE configuration, when using APR, the
connector should be using the OpenSSL style configuration
described in the APR documentation.
@@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_START@@@
...
...
@@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_STOP@@@ -->
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c:\\Program Files\\WebHelpDesk\\
b. Replace this path with the path to your Web Help Desk installation.
Be sure to include the double slashes ( \\ ) as path delimiters.
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\jre\lib\security
2. Open the java.security file in a text editor.
3. In the file, locate the following path:
c:\\Program\ Files\\WebHelpDesk\\
4. Replace this path with the path to your Web Help Desk installation.
Be sure to include the double slashes ( \\ ) as path delimiters.
Use single slashes for escape spaces. For example:Program\ Files.
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64\config\pkcs11_nss.cfg
2. Locate the following strings:
c:\\Program Files\\WebHelpDesk
with the path to your Web Help Desk installation.
Be sure to include the double slashes ( \\ )as path delimiters.
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Obtain a signed certificate by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This procedure creates a certificate
for a production environment. The certificate is signed by a world-wide trusted CA (such as Verisign
or Globalsign) and may require several weeks to certify and receive.
Create and use a self-signed certificate. This procedure creates a certificate for a test environment
and is not recommended for a production environment. The certificate is signed by your
organization and is ready to use after you complete the procedure.
If you currently have a signed certificate for your NSS database, you can skip this procedure.
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cd c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\bin\
c. Create a certificate signing request.
The default password to your NSSdatabase is P@ssw0rd.
Copy and paste the following code from the copy-paste.txt file to the command prompt
and execute:
3. Send the generated file to a trusted CA (such as Verisign) to validate the certificate identity.
The CA validates the certificate, and then sends the validated certificate back to you. This process
may require several weeks to complete.
cd c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\bin\
c. Copy and paste the following code from the copy-paste.txt file to the command prompt
and execute:
.\certutil -A -n tomcat -t "TCu,TCu,TCu" -i "c:\Program
Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\dbnss\mycert.crt" -d "c:\Program
Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\dbnss"
Change the path to mycert.crt if you want to use a different location.
P@ssw0rd
e. Verify that the certificate is stored in your NSS database.
At the prompt, execute:
.\certutil -L -d ../dbnss
5. Go to Complete the installation.
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<WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64\bin\
3. Create a certificate signing request.
Copy and paste the following code from the copy-paste.txt file to the command prompt and
execute:
mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is the Web Help Desk domain name you configured for the
WHD_HOST variable in the whd.conf file.
4. Follow the prompts after each .\certutil command line to complete the certificate signing
request.
When prompted for the default NSS database password, enter:
P@ssw0rd
5. Create a certificate called myissuer that will be used as the local CA to sign the tomcat certificate.
Copy and paste the following code from the copy-paste.txt file to the command prompt and
execute:
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https://mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
where mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is your Web Help Desk domain name.
A certificate error message displays.
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11. Import the CA certificate into the Trusted Root CA store of your operating system.
a. In your web browser, click Proceed anyway.
b. Double-click Certificate error.
c. Click View Certificate and select Certification path tab >My Issuer >View Certificate >Install
Certificate.
d. Select Local Machine >TRUSTED ROOT CERTIFICATION AUTHORITIES and click Next.
e. Click Finish.
f. Click OK.
12. Import the server certificate into the Trusted Publishers store.
a. In your web browser, click Proceed anyway.
b. In your web browser, double-click Certificate error.
c. Click View Certificate and select General tab >Install Certificate.
d. Select Local Machine >TRUSTEDPUBLISHERS and click Next.
e. Click Finish.
f. Press F5 to refresh the web page.
If Web Help Desk is not loaded after pressing F5, stop and then restart Web Help Desk.
https://ORION_IP_Address:17778/SolarWinds/InformationService/v3/OrionBasic/
2. Export the certificate into a file in .cer format.
a. Click the lock icon next to the URL address and select Certificate Information >Details >Copy
to File.
b. Follow the prompts in the export wizard, selecting the .der format of the exported
certificate.
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cd c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\bin\
4. Import the certificate.
At the prompt, enter:
Your database is not connected to Web Help Desk using an SSL connection.
Your Web Help Desk hostname is configured in the General Options screen at Setup > General >
Options.
Deployment checklist
Use the following checklist to guide you through the deployment procedures.
5. Update the Environment Variables Path setting in your Windows Server operating system.
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NSSbinaries
70
1. In your Windows Server operating system, locate and open the Environment Variables properties.
2. In the Environment Variables properties, locate Path in the System Variables.
3. Open the PATHstring in Edit mode.
4. Update the PATHstring with the following path to your nss-x64 library:
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64\lib\;
where <WebHelpDesk> is the path to your Web Help Desk directory.
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%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%SYSTEMROOT
%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft
SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\
When you append the path with your nss-x64 library path, the path displays as follows:
C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nssx64\lib\;%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%S
YSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft
SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL
Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft
SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\
Install the preconfigured Web Help Desk files for FIPS deployment
Edit the wrapper_template.conf file
1. Open the following file in a text editor:
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\wrapper\conf\wrapper_template.conf
2. Locate the following section:
wrapper.java.additional.1=-XX:MaxPermSize=@@@WHD_MAX_PERM_MEMORY@@@m
wrapper.java.additional.2=-Djava.endorsed.dirs=../../../conf/endorsed
wrapper.java.additional.3-Dcatalina.base=../../tomcat
...
...
wrapper.java.additional.17=-DWHDWebObjectsMonitorDeployment=false
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wrapper.java.additional.XX=-DWHDnss
wrapper.java.additional.XX=-Djavax.net.ssl.keyStore=NONE
wrapper.java.additional.XX=-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=NONE
where XX equals the next incremented number in the section.
If you do not have any customizations in this file, you can use section 1 in the copy_paste.txt file
to copy from and paste into your wrapper_template.conf file. The copy_paste.txt file is
located in the following directory:
<WebHelpDesk>\conf\additional\fips-140-2\WebHelpDesk - upgrade\
For example:
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
2. Determine if you want to define a host name specifically for Web Help Desk that is different from the
real server host name registered in DNS.
To use the existing host name, go to the next step.
To define a new host name, add the following string:
127.0.0.1 mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
4. Save and close the file.
<WebHelpDesk>\conf\whd.conf
2. Ensure that the following string is uncommented and includes a port number that is not occupied by
another process:
HTTPS_PORT=443
If you are upgrading your deployment to FIPS140-2 compliance, add this string to the file.
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3. Locate and follow the instructions in the # Privileged networks section to populate
PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS= with the IPaddress or IPaddress range where the Web Help Desk host
belongs.
For example:
PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS=12.20.30.40
or
PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS=12.20.30.*
4. Uncomment the following WHD_HOSTvariable:
WHD_HOST=mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
5. Save and close the file.
6. If you installed Web Help Desk in the default <WebHelpDesk> directory, go to Create a Web Help
Desk server certificate.
If you installed Web Help Desk in another location, edit the following files:
n
tomcat_server_template.xml
java.security
pkcs11_nss.cfg
<WebHelpDesk>\conf\tomcat_server_template.xml
2. Locate the SSL HTTP/1.1 connector section, as shown below.
<!-- Define a SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port @@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_PORT@@@
This connector uses the JSSE configuration, when using APR, the
connector should be using the OpenSSL style configuration
described in the APR documentation.
@@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_START@@@
...
...
@@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_STOP@@@ -->
3. Replace the code between
@@@WEBHELPDSK_SSL_START@@@
and
@@@WEBHELPDESK_SSL_STOP@@@
with the code included in the copy_paste.txt file, where c:\\Program
Files\\WebHelpDesk\\ is the path to your default WebHelpDesk installation directory.
Be sure to include the double slashes ( \\ ) as path delimiters.
4. If you are installing Web Help Desk in a non-default location, update the path to the nss-x64 in the
code.
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<WebHelpDesk>\bin\jre\lib\security\java.security
2. Locate the following section:
security.provider.1=sun.security.provider.Sun
security.provider.2=sun.security.rsa.SunRsaSign
security.provider.3=sun.security.ec.sunEC
security.provider.4=com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.Provider
security.provider.5=com.sun.crypto.provider.SunJCE
security.provider.6=sun.security.jgss.SunProvider
security.provider.7=com.sun.security.sasl.Provider
security.provider.8=org.jcp.xml.dsig.internal.dom.SMLDSigRI
security.provider.9=sun.security.smartcardio.SunPCSC
security.provider.10=sun.security.mscapi.SunMSCAPI
3. Remove the following string:
security.provider.4=com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.Provider
4. Add the following strings before security.provider.5=com.sun.crypto.provider.SunJCE:
security.provider.XX=sun.security.pkcs11.SunPKCS11 c:\\Program\
Files\\WebHelpDesk\\bin\\nss-x64\\config\\pkcs11_nss.cfg
security.provider.XX=com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.Provider SunPKCS11NSScrypto
where XX equals the appropriate string increment number.
5. Adjust the increment numbers of each string so they are in sequential order (such as 1, 2, 3, and so
on).
When completed, this section should appear exactly as follows:
security.provider.1=sun.security.provider.Sun
security.provider.2=sun.security.rsa.SunRsaSign
security.provider.3=sun.security.ec.SunEC
security.provider.4=sun.security.pkcs11.SunPKCS11 c:\\Program\
Files\\WebHelpDesk\\bin\\nss-x64\\config\\pkcs11_nss.cfg
security.provider.5=com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.Provider SunPKCS11NSScrypto
security.provider.6=com.sun.crypto.provider.SunJCE
security.provider.7=sun.security.jgss.SunProvider
security.provider.8=com.sun.security.sasl.Provider
security.provider.9=org.jcp.xml.dsig.internal.dom.XMLDSigRI
security.provider.10=sun.security.smartcardio.SunPCSC
security.provider.11=sun.security.mscapi.SunMSCAPI
keystore.type=PKCS11
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keystore.type=jks
For example:
# keystore.type=jks
7. Save and close the file.
c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk
1. Open the following file in a text editor:
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64\config\pkcs11_nss.cfg
2. Locate the following strings:
c:\\Program Files\\WebHelpDesk
with the path to your Web Help Desk installation.
Be sure to include the double slashes ( \\ ) as path delimiters.
7. Create a signed Web Help Desk certificate for your NSS database
Create a Web Help Desk server certificate by obtaining a signed certificate by a trusted CA or creating and
using a self-signed certificate.
If you currently have a signed certificate for your NSS database, you can skip this procedure.
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cd c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\bin\
c. Create a certificate signing request.
The default password to your NSSdatabase is P@ssw0rd.
Change the path to mycert.req if you want to use a different location.
At the prompt, execute:
2. Send the generated file to a trusted CA (such as Verisign) to validate the certificate identity.
The CA validates the certificate, and then sends the validated certificate back to you. This process
may require several weeks to complete.
cd c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\bin\
c. At the prompt, execute:
Change the path to mycert.crt if you want to use a different location
P@ssw0rd
e. When prompted, enter the password for your Web Help Desk private key.
The default password is:
changeit
f. Verify that the certificate is stored in your NSS database.
At the prompt, execute:
.\certutil -L -d ../dbnss
4. Start Web Help Desk.
Navigate to your <WebHelpDesk> directory and double-click whd_start.bat.
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https://mywebhelpdesk.mydomain:443/helpdesk/
where mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is your Web Help Desk domain name.
If you configured HTTPS_PORTdifferently in an earlier step, choose a port other than port
443.
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64\bin\
2. Create a certificate signing request.
Change the path to mycert.req if you want to use a different location.
At the command prompt, execute:
mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is the Web Help Desk domain name you configured for the
WHD_HOST variable in the whd.conf file.
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3. Follow the prompts after each .\certutil command line to complete the certificate signing
request.
When prompted for the default NSS database password, enter:
P@ssw0rd
4. Create a certificate called myissuer that will be used as the local CA to sign the tomcat certificate.
At the command prompt, execute:
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https://mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
where mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is your Web Help Desk domain name.
A certificate error message displays.
10. Import the CA certificate into the Trusted Root CA store of your operating system.
a. In your web browser, click Proceed anyway.
b. Double-click Certificate error.
c. Click View Certificate and select Certification path tab >My Issuer >View Certificate >Install
Certificate.
d. Select Local Machine >TRUSTED ROOT CERTIFICATION AUTHORITIES and click Next.
e. Click Finish.
f. Click OK.
11. Import the server certificate into the Trusted Publishers store.
a. In your web browser, click Proceed anyway.
b. In your web browser, double-click Certificate error.
c. Click View Certificate and select General tab >Install Certificate.
d. Select Local Machine >TRUSTEDPUBLISHERS and click Next.
e. Click Finish.
f. Press F5 to refresh the web page.
g. If Web Help Desk is not loaded after pressing F5, stop and then restart Web Help Desk.
12. Log in to Web Help Desk as an administrator.
13. Open a web browser and navigate to:
https://mywebhelpdesk.mydomain
where mywebhelpdesk.mydomain is your Web Help Desk domain name.
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4. Log in to Web Help Desk using admin as your user name and password.
5. In the toolbar, click Setup and select General >Options.
6. In the Server DNS Name field, enter your Web Help Desk fully qualified domain name.
7. Set Force HTTPS to Always.
8. Click Save.
9. Update your Web Help Desk password to a secure password.
10. Activate your Web Help Desk license.
https://ORION_IP_Address:17778/SolarWinds/InformationService/v3/OrionBasic/
2. Export the certificate into a file in .cer format.
a. Click the lock icon next to the URL address and select Certificate Information >Details >Copy
to File.
b. Follow the prompts in the export wizard, selecting the .der format of the exported
certificate.
3. Open a command prompt window.
At the prompt, enter:
c:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk\bin\nss-x64\bin\
4. Import the certificate.
At the prompt, enter:
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MILESTONE
COMPLETED TASKS
Web Help Desk 12.4.0 is installed in your deployment.
You scheduled a date to invalidate all tech and client passwords in your current Web
Help Desk database stored with weaker cryptography and a date to verify system status
using the Audit Tool.
You configured a FIPS140-2 cryptography provider in your Web Help Desk deployment.
Web Help Desk begins using FIPS140-2 cryptography for user passwords and a nonFIPSprovider for hash attachment links and third-party connection passwords.
All techs and clients are notified to log in to Web Help Desk before your scheduled
date.
The Web Help Desk Admin runs the Password Security Migration Tool.
All non-migrated clients and techs using the non-FIPSprovider are invalidated. These
users are forced to change their password before they can log in and access the
application.
All third-party connection passwords are re-encrypted to AES with the FIPSprovider.
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2. Notify all techs and clients to log in to Web Help Desk 12.4.0.
Ensure that all clients and techs receive confirmation about the planned migration. Provide a
deadline date and ample time for all users to proactively log in to Web Help Desk 12.4.0. If your
clients and techs do not log in to Web Help Desk 12.4.0 by the deadline date, they will be forced to
change their password after the migration before they can log in and access Web Help Desk.
b. Double-click a connection.
c. Record the connection information listed in the screen.
d. Click Next.
e. Record the filter settings listed on the screen.
f. In the SolarWinds Integration menu, click SolarWinds Connection.
g. Record the connection settings for any remaining connections.
5. Decide whether to invalidate all passwords in your database using the weaker cryptography.
If you click No and do not invalidate all passwords, Web Help Desk will not erase any passwords from
your database that are using weaker cryptography.
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4. Click Save.
The migration is completed.
5. Decide whether to invalidate all passwords in your database using the weaker cryptography.
If you click No and do not invalidate all passwords, Web Help Desk will not erase any passwords from
your database that are using weaker cryptography.
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4. Click Save.
The migration is completed.
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3. Before you run the Web Help Desk installer, ensure that:
n
The embedded FrontBase database uses the whd and user whd schemas.
The server hosting Web Help Desk includes enough free space to support the database
migration. Web Help Desk notifies you about the required space before the migration begins.
You have write privileges on both the FrontBase and PostgreSQL databases.
Database datatypes for information about mapping datatypes from other databases to PostgreSQL.
Migrating external or unsupported databases to PostgreSQL for more information about database
migration.
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1. Back up your Web Help Desk server and any database server associated with Web Help Desk.
Upgrading Web Help Desk may add new tables, but the procedure does not impact your
database and database table data. See Database migration options for more information.
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Setup overview
The following steps provide a basic overview of how to set up Web Help Desk in a typical help desk
deployment.
1. Configure your general settings, such as logging in and activating your Web Help Desk license,
configuring general user interface options, setting up your authentication method, customizing your
database connection, setting up the time zone and local work hours for your employees, and
configuring the look and feel of the Web Help Desk console.
2. Set up your incoming and outgoing email settings, such as setting up your inbound and outbound
email accounts, applying email templates, and applying tags in email templates.
3. Configure your ticket functions, such as defining request types, status types, priority types and alert
triggers, custom ticket fields and tasks.
4. Define the techs in your help desk deployment, such as adding each tech, defining your tech groups,
and setting up the tech's permissions.
5. Define the ticket routing processes for all requests, such as setting up action rules for ticket
processing, adding approver roles, defining your approval processes, and apply approvals to tickets.
6. Configure your customer locations, such as the room locations, location groups and assigned
locations, departments, and department groups.
7. Add and configure your clients, such as setting up client administration roles, defining client custom
fields, importing Active Directory or LDAP directory connections, and importing clients.
8. Define your assets, including your asset import and permission options, asset types, asset custom
fields, manufacturer and model information, purchase order custom fields, and import asset data.
9. Set up your parts and billing processes for applying parts and billing options, creating invoicing
options, defining rates and terms, and defining custom fields for your parts.
10. Activate your license before your 30-day evaluation period ends. When your evaluation license
expires, your single admin or tech account remains active, but all advanced features are disabled.
MENU OPTION
General
DESCRIPTION
Defines licensing information, authentication methods, interface
appearance, time and location, logging, and information about the Web
Help Desk software.
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MENU OPTION
DESCRIPTION
Defines email options, incoming and outgoing email accounts, and email
templates.
Companies &Locations
Tickets
Defines the Web Help Desk user interface and the fields and information
they contain, request types (such as facilities and hardware), status types
(such as Open and Pending), priority types and alerts (such as Urgent, High,
and Low), custom ticket fields, and task names.
Clients
Defines the client options (such as ticket approval methods, display name
template, and default client view), client administration roles, client custom
fields, and Active Directory / LDAPconnections.
Techs
Defines your account information (My Account), all techs configured to use
Web Help Desk and their assigned tech groups, and tech permissions.
Assets
SolarWinds Integration
automatically create new tickets from Orion platform alerts and dispatch
the appropriate techs to address the issue. You must be connected to Orion
Platform 2012.2 or later.
Processes
Defines how Web Help Desk defines, stores, and applies action rules and
the roles that approve action rules. Action rules apply custom actions
triggered by events you define, such as ticket routing.
Surveys
Defines your survey options and associated text to set up surveys and
gather feedback from your client users.
Defines your parts and billing options; custom fields; inventory alerts;
invoicing options; and billing rates, terms, and tax rates.
Data Import
Defines how Web Help Desk imports data for locations, clients, assets,
purchase orders, tickets, and more.
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Tickets: Support requests that are opened through and managed within Web Help Desk.
Tickets can be initiated through email, created in the Web Help Desk console, or imported from
another application.
Clients: End users or customers who can open tickets in Web Help Desk.
Clients can enter tickets through email or through the Web console.
Techs: Web Help Desk users who troubleshoot and resolve tickets.
Techs can also enter tickets. For example, when a client calls the IT Help Desk, the tech opens a ticket
on the client's behalf. In addition, techs can open tickets that are not associated with a client, such as
tickets to schedule routine maintenance or system upgrades.
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3. Click Setup.
92
Limiting the amount of data displayed in search results or the dashboard can significantly increase
performance.
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The following table describes the authentication methods you can select in the screen.
AUTHENTICATION METHOD
Web Help Desk
SAML 2.0
(Security Assertion Markup
Language)
DESCRIPTION
Authenticates the user with the user name and password. User
names and passwords are pulled from the Web Help Desk
database or imported from Active Directory or LDAP connections.
An XMLprotocol for providing authentication from an Identity
Provider (IdP) to a Service Provider (SP).
See Deploy SSO with SAML Using AD FS for information about
configuring SAML with AD FS for Web Help Desk.
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AUTHENTICATION METHOD
DESCRIPTION
AD FS must be configured separately to integrate with Web
Help Desk. See the AD FS 2.0 step-by-step and how to
guides at the Microsoft TechNet website for more
information.
CAS 2.0
(Central Authentication Service)
Servlet Authentication
(for Apache Tomcat installations)
HTTPHeader
HTTPForm Value
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2. Copy the content of the zipped .css file into the clipboard.
97
3. In the Client Style Sheet row, select Custom and click Edit CSS to open the CSS editor.
98
8. Review the new style sheet implementation at the bottom of the page.
9. Adjust the template Header, Help Desk Name, and Button Bar color, size, and spacing parameters to
suit your needs.
For information about color code names and colors, see the w3schools.com HTML Color
Names site.
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When you select both of these options, the Database field is removed and the Backup Folder and
Number of backups options become available.
3. In the Host field, enter the IP address or DNSname of the server hosting the Web Help Desk
database.
4. In the Port field, enter the port number for the database connection.
The default ports include:
n 3306 (MySQL)
n
5432 (PostgreSQL)
5. In the Database field (if available), enter the name of your Web Help Desk database.
6. In the Username and Password fields, enter the user name and password for your Web Help Desk
database connection.
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7. In the Backup Schedule row, select the days of the week and time of day when Web Help Desk will
automatically backup the database.
Otherwise, leave this row blank to prevent Web Help Desk from scheduling a backup.
8. In the Backup Folder row (if available), select or enter the appropriate backup folder path to store
your database backup files.
9. In the Number of backups drop-down menu (if available), select the total number of backups to store
in your database backup file.
Web Help Desk uses first-in, first-out database storage logic. For example, if you choose to save five
backup files and in time save a sixth backup file, the first backup in the series will be deleted.
10. Click Backup Now to backup your new Web Help Desk database file to your backup folder.
11. Click Save.
12. Restart Web Help Desk to enable your new database connection settings.
FIELD
DESCRIPTION
Displays the version of your SolarWinds Web Help Desk
software version.
See the SolarWinds Customer Portal website for updates.
Java Version
Java Home
Classpath
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FIELD
DESCRIPTION
The default installation only includes WOBoostrap.jar, which
provides a class loader for other files needed by the software.
The default setting can be extended by defining the
CLASSPATH environment variable.
Extension Dirs
Temp Dir
Operating System
JVMMemory
Daemon Mode
The mode that the daemon services are running from within
this instance of SolarWinds Web Help Desk.
SETTING
TCP/IP Protocol
V ALUE
Enabled in SQLServer Network Configuration >Protocols for SQL 20xx
127.0.0.1 (if installed on the Web Help Desk server)
IPAddress
Server IPaddress (if installed on a separate server)
TCPPort
1433
TCPDynamic Ports
Blank
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SETTING
V ALUE
Enabled
Login Name
whd
Disabled
Disabled
Disabled
Database name
whd
Database owner
whd
Configure MySQL
1. Start MySQLWorkbench and connect to the MySQLdatabase server.
2. Create a new schema with the following settings:
n
Name:whd
Networking - Port:3306
General - default-storage-engine:InnoDB
Login Name:whd
Password:<your_password>
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c. In the Schema box, select Selected Schema and whd and click OK.
d. Select all Object, DDL, and Other rights check boxes.
8. Save your changes.
1. Stop Apache.
2. Set the DEFAULT_PORT variable in webhelpdesk/conf/whd.conf to 80.
3. Restart Web Help Desk.
Execute:
/usr/local/webhelpdesk/whdstart
4. Enable Apache to run on port 80 by allowing it to proxy requests to the Web Help Desk on port 8081.
a. Open the webhelpdesk/conf/whd.conf file.
b. In the file, set the URL_DEFAULT_PORT setting to 80
c. Save the webhelpdesk/conf/whd.conf file.
d. Enable mod_proxy as described in the Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0.
See Apache Module mod_proxy on the Apache Software Foundation site for more
information.
e. Add the following lines at the end of your Apache httpd.conf configuration file:
]>ProxyPass /helpdesk
http://localhost:8081/helpdeskProxyPassReverse /helpdesk
http://localhost:8081/helpdesk
f. Save the file.
When completed, the application will appear as if it is running on port 80.
5. Restart your Apache server.
Disable IIS
Web Help Desk does not integrate with IIS. Web Help Desk runs on port 8081 by default. To run Web Help
Desk on port 80, disable IIS on your Windows Server system.
Additionally, if your system is connected to multiple IP addresses and one IPaddress uses IIS, bind IIS and
Web Help Desk to separate the IP addresses.
To run Web Help Desk on port 80 and disable IIS on Windows Server 2008:
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DEFAULT_PORT= 80
8. Save the following file:
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3. In the SMTP Server field, enter the IP address of your SMTP server. Use port 25 unless your server
uses something other than the default port.
A green indicator
A red indicator
5. Click Save.
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You can use the built-in templates included with Web Help Desk or you can create your own custom
templates.
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TEMPLATE
DESCRIPTION
SMSMessage
Creates the message sent to a client when you create their Web
Help Desk account.
Creates the message sent to clients when they create a new
account.
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TEMPLATE
DESCRIPTION
Techs are not authorized if they are not an admin or their
assigned tech permission configured at Setup > Tech > Tech
Permissions is not configured appropriately.
Web Help Desk also uses this template if the Require E-Mail
Validation check box is selected in the Client Options screen at
Setup > Clients > Options but clients are not authenticated with
their e-mail address.
Creates the message greeting in response to tickets that
completed the final Approval step (if approvals are required for
the ticket request type).
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TEMPLATE
Resolved Ticket Greeting
DESCRIPTION
Creates the message greeting when tickets are resolved.
TEMPLATE
Message Body When Adding a
Client Note
DESCRIPTION
Creates the default message for email opened by clicking the Add
Note action link in an email from Web Help Desk.
This setting only addresses client email.
Ticket
This setting only addresses client email.
Creates the default message for email opened by clicking the Yes
action link in a Web Help Desk email sent when a Ticket status is
changed to Resolved.
This setting only addresses client e-mail.
Creates the default message for email opened by clicking the Yes
action link in a ticket-approval email from Web Help Desk.
This setting only addresses client email.
Approve a Ticket
This setting only addresses client email.
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Template layout
Each built-in template includes a detailed description of its purpose and the text and tags included with
the template.
Below is an example of a typical email template configuration page for SMS messages.
Modify the information that appears in the resulting email by moving, adding, or removing the text
and tags available for that template. See Apply email tags for a complete list of tags available for all
email templates.
Apply an email footer you have already defined in Setup > Email > Options.
The following procedure describes how to customize an outgoing built-in template called Unrecognized EMail Reply. Web Help Desk uses this template to send replies received from clients who submitted a
request using an unrecognized email address. The goal for this example is to have the resulting emails
reflect the actual name of the help desk.
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We're sorry. Your e-mail address was not recognized by the help desk, so
your request for support could not be submitted.
to
We're sorry. <helpdesk_name> does not recognize your email address and
cannot process your request.
6. Click Save.
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5. In the optional Description field, enter a description that indicates when your help desk personnel
should apply this template. Explain the purpose and reason for using this template.
For example,
Use this template for emails sent to clients who opened tickets requiring
IT support only - no HR or Facilities requests.
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6. In the Template field, enter the customer correspondence to include in the email.
Because the purpose of this template is to acknowledge that the client's new ticket is being
addressed in your help desk system, include information such as:
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Ticket number
See Apply tags in email templates for a complete list of available tags.
Below is an example of your completed email template.
Email or Outlook
Facilities
Hardware
HR
IT General or Other
Network
Phone or Voicemail
Printer or Toner
User Administration
To enable the template to apply to all open ticket greeting emails, select All. The template is
applied to all default and custom-created request types.
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10. (Optional) Select the Use Email Footer check box to include the footer as defined in Setup > E-Mail >
Options > E-Mail Footer, with this template.
When completed, your template is configured with your new selections, as shown below.
TAG
<ticket_url>
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TAG
<login_url>
<ticket_ID>
<request_type>
The ticket request type. A request type defines the trouble area. For
example, Email/Outlook, Network, Printer/Toner, or User Administration.
<status_type>
The ticket status indicating the ticket's state of completion. The ticket
status can be Open, Closed, Pending, Canceled, or Resolved.
<priority_type>
The ticket priority type that determines the ticket due date. The default
priorities include Urgent, High, Medium, and Low.
<client>
<client_short>
The abbreviated version of the client name. Use this tag to minimize
space, such as in lists.
<client_phone>
<client_email>
<assigned _to>
<assigned_to_short>
<tech>
<tech_short>
The abbreviated version of the tech's name. Use this tag to minimize
space, such as in lists.
<tech_phone>
<tech_email>
<room>
<company>
<location>
<subject>
<report>
<due_datetime>
<scheduled_worktime>
<worktime>
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TAG
<first_initial>
<last_name>
<last_initial>
<email>
<last_name>
<helpdesk_contact_info>
<helpdesk_name>
<custom_x>
See Apply email templates for information about using tags in templates.
Set up tickets
Clients and techs create tickets, either through the Web Help Desk user interface or through email, and
use tickets to correspond to each other.
The Tickets tab in the left menu defines ticketing functions, such as how tickets are generated, routed,
updated, and closed. These functions include:
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Create tasks
When a client or tech creates a ticket, they select a request type that determines which custom fields
display on the ticket and which techs can be assigned to it. The request type also determines how the
ticket is routed to a tech.
Each ticket is assigned a status and a priority. The status indicates the ticket's stage of completion (for
example, Open, Acknowledged, Resolved, or Closed) and determines whether time should be counted
against the ticket while in that stage.
The priority determines the ticket due date. Each priority can be configured with three alert levels to warn
techs when a ticket needs attention.
Tasks facilitate how tickets are automatically created. A task contains one or more task elements, each of
which provides settings for a new ticket. When the task runs, a ticket is created for each task element,
either sequentially or all at once, depending on how the task has been configured. Tasks can be run
manually or automatically at given intervals.
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You can group identical tickets together to troubleshoot and resolve all tickets as one service
request. See parent/child service relationships for more information.
General Options
Client Options
Tech Options
4. Review and update settings in the Client Options section, including how clients can create tickets
and who can update the priority.
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6. Click Save.
1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select Tickets > Request Types.
The Request Types window displays current request types.
2. Click New.
3. Enter a name to identify this request type.
4. To create a nested request type, select the parent type. Optionally, click
remaining fields from the parent type.
5. Select the tech group that will handle this type of request.
If the tech group has not been defined, leave this field blank. You can map the request type to a tech
group when you define the tech group.
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6. Specify the default priority and whether fields are hidden or required.
7. In the Detailed Instructions field, enter additional information to be displayed on the ticket. For
example, you can provide specific instructions for creating this type of ticket, or explain the request
type's purpose so a client can choose the correct type.
You can apply BBCode formatting to format lists, add emphasis, or include links to supporting
information. See Customize tickets, notes, instructions, and emails with BBCode for details.
8. Specify whether this type of ticket is listed in the menu displayed to clients. Clear this option for
types that are selected only by techs (for example, a request type used by techs to schedule an
equipment maintenance window).
9. Specify whether the user will be prompted to select an asset or model when they create this type of
ticket.
10. Optionally, restrict this ticket type to specific companies, locations, or departments. Only clients or
techs associated with your selections will see this request type. For example, if the request type will
be routed to a facilities maintenance group for a specific location, restrict the type to that location.
11. If an approval process should be automatically initiated when a ticket is saved with this request type,
select the approval process. (Alternatively, you can associate a request type with an approval process
when you create the approval process.)
12. To include custom fields on this type of ticket, specify which fields to include.
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13. Specify whether clients can attach files to this type of ticket, and whether this request type is
available as a category when techs create an FAQ.
The Attachments Enabled option does not affect whether techs can attach files.
14. Identify the tech who will receive the highest level escalation (after the tech group manager).
15. Select the survey that is sent to clients when this type of ticket is closed, or select None to disable
surveys for this ticket type.
Open
Closed
Canceled
Resolved
To enable Change Access Board (CAB) features, add Pending Approval, Approved, and Denied status types.
Adding these status types is not necessary if you do not use a CAB Process. SolarWinds
recommends adding these status types in case you need to enable the CAB feature at a later date.
1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select Tickets > Status Types.
2. Click New.
3. In the Name field enter:
Denied
4. In the Description field enter:
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1. Click Setup.
2. Select Tickets >Priority Types and Alerts.
3. Click New.
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9. (Optional) In the Alert Level rows, set the conditions (such as time interval, criteria, and email
recipients) for each Alert Level, beginning with Alert Level 1 and ending with AlertLevel 3.
1. Click Setup.
2. Select Tickets >Ticket Custom Fields.
3. Click New.
The Ticket Custom Fields screen displays the default values for a new custom field.
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5. In the Display Order drop-down menu, select this field's position within the Custom Fields section of
a ticket.
6. In the Clients and Techs sections, specify whether each group can see or edit the custom field.
Techs with admin accounts can edit all custom fields.
8. Complete the remaining fields. Point to any field name to display information.
9. Click Save.
The Request Types field and an Edit link is displayed on the Ticket Custom Fields screen.
10. Specify which request types apply to this custom field. Only tickets with the selected request type
will display this field.
a. Click the Edit link. A new tab displays a list of request types.
b. Select one or more request types. To display the custom field on all tickets, click Select All
below the list.
Create tasks
Web Help Desk uses tasks to create tickets. A task contains one or more task elements, and each task
element provides settings for a new ticket. When the task runs, Web Help Desk creates a ticket for each
task element, either sequentially or all at once, depending on the configured task. Tasks can run manually
or automatically, at given intervals or based on specific criteria, depending on how you configure them.
Tasks are especially useful for handling repetitive processes.
For example, if your HR department has a set of routine onboarding tasks to complete for a new employee,
you can create a task called New Employee and define each task element required to help a new employee
get started in their new position.
Related tasks can include:
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You can trigger a new task when requiredfor example, when you on-board a new employee. When you
run the task, Web Help Desk generates a ticket for each task element. These tickets can be assigned to
techs, who ensure each task element is completed.
You can create action rules that automatically trigger your tasks. See Automating parent/child
tickets for more information.
To create a new task:
When you create a new task, the task appears in this screen.
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New Employee
2. (Optional) If this task pertains to a specific employee, search for the appropriate client in the Client
Lookup box fields and assign a client to the task.
Otherwise, leave this box blank.
3. Select the Scheduled check box to schedule this task to run at a specific time interval. Otherwise,
leave this check box unchecked.
4. Select the Shared check box to share this task with other users.
Selecting this check box will also make the task available as an action rule and be visible to other
techs.
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5. Click Save.
Amessage appears stating that the task was created successfully. The Task Elements and History
tabs appear in the screen.
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1. Click the Element Order drop-down menu and select 1 so this task element runs first.
2. (Optional) Select the Link to Parent check box to link this task to a parent ticket and automate
parent/child ticket creation.
When selected, the task element is inherited from the parent ticket.
Configure a new computer system with Microsoft Office and all required
corporate software.
7. In the Tech drop-down menu, select a specific tech for this element (if required).
8. In the Priority drop-down menu, select the appropriate priority for this element.
9. In the Asset No. field, enter an asset number (if required).
10. In the Generate Next Element field, select On Creation to trigger the next element immediately after
the ticket for this element is created.
Otherwise, you can select When Status Equals and select the appropriate selection to trigger the
next element.
After you create your first task elements, add additional elements to create new task elements for
your task. For example, for the New Employee task, you can create new elements to create an email
account, assign a specific desk in a building, and enroll the employee in on-site new hire classes.
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After you execute a task, click Tickets and verify that the task created the appropriate tickets. For example,
when you click the Green arrow in the example above, Web Help Desk creates a new ticket for the task, as
shown below.
The Admin account type provides unlimited access to all Web Help Desk functionality. All
permissions are granted to admins.
The Tech account type allows limited access to Web Help Desk functionality based on the tech's
permissions.
Use the Techs tab in Setup to assign your techs to specific support areas, such as Locations & Departments
and Clients. When completed, Web Help Desk will automatically assign tickets to the appropriate tech
based on your selections, such as Tech Group, Locations & Departments, and Assets.
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The Tech Name column includes a list of a techs in your tech group. Some tech names may include the
following icons indicating their availability status.
INDICATOR
STATUS
DESCRIPTION
[C]
Concurrent
[D]
Deleted
[I]
Inactive
[S]
Not on schedule
[V]
Vacation
You can configure all statuses except Concurrent in the Scheduling Setup section of each tech account. If
the tech is assigned to a Concurrent license, the tech must wait for an available license to use Web Help
Desk.
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SolarWinds recommends creating the supervisor before creating the techs who report to that supervisor.
Using this method, you can assign a supervisor to each tech as you create the tech.
4. Specify the account type. For tech accounts, specify the tech's permissions and supervisor.
A supervisor is required for tech accounts, but optional for admin accounts.
5. To enable the tech to access the Web Help Desk client interface, link the tech to a client account.
When the tech account is linked to a client account, the Switch to Client Account icon
is available
in the upper-right corner. The tech can click this button to display the interface exactly as the
selected client sees it.
Tech accounts can be linked to actual client accounts or a demo client account. If you link to a
demo client account with the same user name as the tech, a message warns you that the
client won't be able to log in except as a tech linked to the client account. Because that is the
intent, you can ignore the message.
6. Specify the number of notes and history entries to display on a ticket. Additional entries will be
collapsed by default.
7. In the Asset Setup section, select the technologies that this tech can use to connect remotely to an
asset.
The Assets > Options configuration determines which technologies this section lists.
8. In the E-Mail Setup section, specify the email settings and select the events that generate an email to
this tech.
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9. To prevent Web Help Desk from escalating a ticket to this tech when the tech is not scheduled to
work:
a. Specify the tech's business zone.
b. If the tech's work schedule is different than the default work schedule for that zone, specify
the work schedule.
c. Indicate if the tech is on vacation.
d. Optionally, select a backup tech to receive this tech's escalated tickets.
e. Indicate whether the account is active.
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3. Add or update your admin account information as needed, then click Save.
Click the tool tips next to each selection for more information.
Request types
Web Help Desk uses request types to categorize and route help desk tickets. They define the basic
structure of your help desk system. Users cannot submit a ticket without a defined request type.
Request types are used to:
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Facilitate reporting
Web Help Desk provides several default request types, but you can define a set of request types that meet
your organization's needs.
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Tech groups
You can define groups of techs with similar skills and technical expertise, and then map these groups to
the request types they will service. A tech group can include multiple levels, so that complex or difficult
tickets can be escalated to more experienced techs.
Tech groups are optional. Small organizations with just a few techs probably don't need to define tech
groups. Without tech groups, each ticket is assigned to the lead tech for the ticket's request type.
Larger organizations can use tech groups to automatically route tickets to techs with the required skill set.
Web Help Desk can assign tickets to group members using a load-balancing or round-robin algorithm, or
you can route all tickets to the group manager or lead tech for manual assignment.
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5. If tickets should be assigned to the manager of the location group associated with the ticket (instead
of the tech group manager), select When a Ticket's Location.
Tickets are assigned to a group manager when auto-assignment is not enabled on the Tech
Group Levels tab, or when auto-assignment is enabled but no techs in the group are available.
6. Click Save.
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3. Specify how Web Help Desk will assign tickets for this level.
a. Select the type of tech Web Help Desk will assign tickets to.
Tickets are not automatically assigned to individuals, but belong to
None
the group level.
A Level Tech
Group Manager or
Lead Tech
All tickets are assigned to the manager or lead tech, who then
reassign them to techs.
Round Robin assigns tickets sequentially to all techs in the level, regardless of the tech's
current backlog.
4. Select the Ignore Location and Department check box only for level groups assigned to receive e-mail
notifications for tickets created from SolarWinds Orion Platform alerts.
5. In the Force E-Mail Notification To row, select who receives email notifications when a ticket is
created or updated by the RESTAPI or a SolarWinds alert, or updated by a client. These notifications
are sent regardless of the email options selected for each tech account.
6. In the Default Selected E-Mail Recipients row, specify who is selected by default to receive an email
when a tech clicks Save and E-Mail in a customer ticket.
7. Select the techs assigned to this level.
8. Click Save.
2. Click Edit.
The tab displays all request types not assigned to any tech group.
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4. Click Save.
Repeat the procedures above as needed to assign tech group levels and supported request types to each
tech group.
4. In Location Permissions, specify whether ticket access is restricted based on the company, location
group, or department group a tech is assigned to.
The tooltips provide more information about each permission.
5. In Ticket Permissions, define what actions a tech can perform within a ticket.
6. In Client Permissions, specify whether a tech can edit, delete, import, or download clients.
7. In Asset Permissions, specify whether a tech can view and edit assets and associated elements.
8. In Other Permissions, define the options that enable techs to edit locations, manage parts, edit and
import FAQs, work with reports and surveys, and view hourly billing rates.
9. Click Save.
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3. Click Save.
Approvers
You can add client personnel responsible for approving or denying changes, as well as define the process
work flow and requirements. When you create your SolarWinds Web Help Desk ticket routing processes,
you define your action rules. approver roles, and approval processes.
Approval processes
Web Help Desk supports approval processes to authorize work to proceed for certain request types.
Approval processes consist of multiple approval steps that specify a set of clients, change advisory board,
or a location/department approver who authorizes a ticket so a tech can work on it. Change Advisory
Boards (CABs) comprise a set of clients who authorize approval steps assigned to them.
Approver roles
Clients with approver roles approve ticket assignments based on the location or department associated
with a given ticket. For example, each location could have a facilities representative and faculty
representative location approver role who must approve requests to get a new printer.
You can configure these roles for each location in the Location Approvers screen located at Setup
>Processes >Location Approvers. If these roles are assigned to an approval process for a Procure Printer
request type, Web Help Deskautomatically sends approval requests for this request type to the clientsassigned approver roles for the ticket location.
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Specify the priority level when included with multiple action rules.
Criteria tab
You can use this tab to select the conditions that must occur before a ticket triggers the action rule. For
example, to address service requests, issues, or problems initiated by the CEO, you can select Client
>E-mail > Is equal to >CEO@email.com. When the ticket meets this condition, Web Help Desk
triggers the action rule.
Action tab
You can use this tab to select the action that executes when the action rule criteria is met.
The Assign To action assigns the ticket to a specific tech or tech group. If you assign the ticket to a Tech
Group, you can change the assignment algorithm to balance ticket processing during periods of high call
volume. For example, you can select Load Balancing to assign a ticket to a tech within a tech group level
with the least amount of assigned tickets. You can also select Round Robin to reassign the ticket assigned
sequentially to a member of a tech group level. See Load balance action rules for ticket processing for
more information.
The Add Approval Process action assigns the ticket to an approval process that you define at Setup
>Processes >Approval Processes. When the action rule is triggered, the ticket is assigned to your selected
approval process for review. For example, if your company requires approvals for all new corporate assets
(such as new computers or laser printers), you can assign this action to an action rule for all service
requests used for new asset purchases.
The Change Priority action assigns the ticket to a specific status based on the nature of the ticket. For
example, if your CEOcontacts the help desk to request an immediate action, you can create an action rule
with Change Priority set to Critical so it jumps to the top of the ticket queue.
TheChange Status action changes the ticket status to another status type based on the action rule.
The Run Task action triggers a task that you create in Setup >Tickets > Tasks. For example, you can set up a
task called New Employee with task elements that include request types for HR, Facilities, and IT. These
request types can include task elements for setting up employee health insurance, setting up a work
environment, and purchasing a new computer. When a tech creates a ticket to onboard a new employee,
the assigned action rule triggers the New Employee task.
The Shared check box in the task must be checked to enable an action rule.
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The Modify Ticket action provides options to automatically modify specific information within the ticket,
such as Client &Location, Ticket Details, and Tech Note tabs in the ticket. For example, you can create a
new action that assigns all new employee onboarding tickets to a specific tech or request type.
The Send E-mail action sends an email to one or more specific recipients with a predefined subject and
message to one or more recipients in your organization. For example, when you create a ticket to address a
CEOissue, you can add an action to send an email to the director stating that the ticket is being processed
and will be resolved as quickly as possible.
4. Select the Cascade check box to trigger all defined actions for a ticket.
Do not select Cascade to trigger only the highest priority action.
5. Select the rule triggering options to define when and how often Web Help Desk applies the action
rule.
6. Click Criteria.
7. Configure the conditions that tickets must match to trigger the action:
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Every condition in the All section must be true. If any condition is false, the action is not
triggered.
Web Help Desk evaluates these conditions using the Boolean ANDoperator.
The Any section defines a group of conditions. At least one of these conditions must be true to
trigger the action, but they do not all have to be true.
Web Help Desk evaluates these conditions using the Boolean OR operator.
If both sections include conditions, all conditions in the All section and at least one condition in
the Any section must be true.
Web Help Desk evaluates the two groups with a Boolean AND operator between the groups:
If no conditions are defined in the All section, at least one condition in the Any section must be
true.
8. Click Actions.
9. Specify the action to take when the conditions are met.
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Load Balancing. Reassigns tickets specifically to assigned techs in another tech group with the least
amount of ticket backlog.
Round Robin. Reassigns tickets sequentially to assigned techs in another tech group.
When completed, the Action Rule will automatically assign tickets that meet the criteria to another tech
group and request type.
3. Select the appropriate options on the Action Rule Info tab for your new or existing Action Rule
according to your needs.
If you are creating a new rule, enter a name in the Rule Name field.
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8. Select any additional options on the Actions tab according to your needs.
9. Click Save.
Approvers
An approval process can contain one or more steps, and each step of the process involves one of the
following types of approvers:
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Client. Only clients can be selected as an approver. If a tech is involved in an approval process, link
the tech account to a client account.
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Pros:
Because all clients are available as approvers, using clients provides a high degree of
flexibility when you configure the approval process. For example, you can define a multistep approval process that includes clients in various locations and departments.
Cons:
If a client leaves your organization and they are involved in multiple approval processes,
you need to update each approval process with another approver.
Department approver. You can configure a client to act as an approver for a department.
Pros:
If a department approver leaves your organization and they are involved in multiple
approval processes, you only need to update the department approver once in the system.
That change propagates throughout all approval processes.
A department can only have one approver, and you cannot configure an approval process
to include multiple department approvers. For example, you cannot configure the first step
of an approval process to be approved by the ITdepartment approver, and then configure
Cons:
the second step of the process to be approved by the Finance department approver. If you
need individuals from multiple departments to approve a ticket, configure the approval
process to use clients or a Change Advisory Board (CAB).
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Location approver. You can configure a client to act as an approver for a location.
Pros:
If a location approver leaves your organization and that person is involved in multiple
approval processes, you only need to update the location approver once in the system. That
change propagates throughout all approval processes.
Unlike department approvers, an approval process can include multiple locations.
Change Advisory Board (CAB). A CAB is a group of approvers that review and vote on requests as a
team. You decide how many members must agree before the ticket is approved or rejected. For
example, if a seven-member CAB reviews an upgrade request ticket, you can configure the step in
the approval process to be approved if only five members vote Yes.
Pros:
A CAB can approve requests even when some members disagree. Members of a non-CAB
approval process review tickets in series, and any member can reject the ticket at any step
of the process. If you need a "majority rules" approval process, use a CAB.
Cons:
A CAB is not appropriate for ticket approval processes requiring one approval or a
unanimous approval.
Only one department approver can be in a process. For example, you cannot have the Director of IT
approve a ticket, and then have the Director of Finance approve the same ticket.
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You can include multiple location approvers in an approval process. For example, you can configure
an approval process so the ticket is approved by the location approver in San Francisco, and then the
location approver in New York City.
An approval process can have multiple request types linked to it. The same process can be
used for more than one type of ticket.
A request type cannot be linked to more than one approval process. Multiple approval process
cannot be required for the same ticket.
If the request type associated with the approval process includes one or more children, select one of
the children as the supported request type. You cannot select the parent request type as the
supported request type.
When a request is approved by the minimum number of CAB approvers, the ticket is removed from
the approvals queue for the remaining CAB members.
You can string multiple CABs together in an approval process. For example, the first step of an
approval process can be approved by five out of seven approvers, and the second step can be
approved by three out of four approvers.
The client who submits a ticket can approve the ticket, provided they are set up as the approver.
Approval patterns
The simplest approval process includes a single step that is approved by a client, a location approver, a
department approver, or a CAB. But you can configure more complex, multi-step approval processes that
include any of these approver types. For example, you can configure an approval process so a client
approves first, followed by a department approver and a location approver.
An approval process can contain any combination of:
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For example, you can configure an approval process so three clients approve the ticket first, followed by a
department approver and a location approver.
You can also configure an approval process so a location approver approves the ticket first, followed by two
CABs.
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Do you have a simple approval process with just one step, or do you have a multi-step approval
process?
In an approval process, who (or what) approves each step?Is it a client approver, a department
approver, a location approver, or a CAB?
Do you need multiple department approvers?If yes, use client approvers instead of department
approvers.
Which request type are you using in the approval process?Keep in mind that a request type can be
associated with only one approval process.
Are there any steps in the approval process where you want a team of approvers to vote, and you
can specify the required minimum number of approvers? Use a CAB to create a group of approvers
and select the minimum number of Yes votes needed to approve the request or move to the next
step in the process.
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Request type
In this scenario, the server administrator submits a ticket using a request type created for upgrade
requests. For example, the Upgrade Request type was added to the preconfigured IT General/Other
request type.
In the following example, the IT Department Approver role is created for the Information Technology
department.
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5. Click Save.
Austin Approver
5. Click Save.
Your selected name is added as an approver role name.
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Create a CAB
A CAB is a group of approvers that all review, and then together, vote on requests. The ticket is approved
or rejected when a number of members that you decide approve or reject the ticket. For example, if a CAB
consisting of seven members reviews an upgrade request ticket, you can configure the step in the
approval process to be approved if only five members vote Yes.
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3. In the Change Advisory Board Details screen, enter a CABname in the CABName field.
To locate a CABname, enter first and last name in the Client Lookup box and click Search.
6. Click Save.
Add CAB status types
Techs assigns a status type when they create a ticket. Before you configure the Processes section, check
the ticket status types to ensure that the Approved, Approval Pending, and Denied CAB status types are
configured correctly.
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6. Click Save.
7. Repeat step 2 through step 6 to add the Approved and Approval Pending status types.
When completed, you can set the status types options to enable the CABfeatures.
Set the status type options for the CABfeature
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4. Click Save.
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6. Click Save.
Request in process
Request Approved
Request Denied
These status types will be assigned to tickets that must be reviewed and approved.
4. Enter a name for the status type. For example, Request in process.
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When the ticket is submitted by a client, the system assigns the status type Request in process.
If the ticket is approved, the system assigns the status type Request Approved.
If the ticket is denied, the system assigns the status type Request Denied.
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3. Click Save.
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8. Click Save.
9. If necessary, add additional approval steps.
10. When you have added all steps, click Request Types Supported.
11. Click Edit.
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12. Select all request types to associate with this approval process, and click Save.
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6. Log in to Web Help Desk as the admin (or tech), and search for the ticket you approved or rejected.
7. Open the ticket and review the status.
In this scenario, if you approved the ticket, the status changes to Request Approved. If you rejected
the ticket, the status changes to Request Denied.
You can also use the Approvals field to track where tickets are in the approval process, and if
necessary, you can override an approval step.
Apply approvals
This section provides information about:
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Ticket approvals
Approver action
Email approvals
Ticket approvals
When a client logs in, creates a new ticket, and selects a request type assigned to an approval process, the
following notification appears:
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To complete the approval process, Web Help Desk sends an email to the approver assigned to the first step
of the approval process. The first approver approves the change, and an email is sent to the next approver.
The process continues until the ticket is approved or declined as specified in the approval process criteria.
Approver action
An approver views or responds to the approval request in email or the Web interface.
Email approvals
To complete the email approval process, approvers receive an email when a ticket is created with an
assigned approval process. The approver responds by clicking Yes or No. Web Help Desk opens a Web
page asking the approver to confirm their decision. If the required number of required approvers choose
Yes, the ticket status changes to Approved. If the required number of required approvers do not choose
Yes, the ticket status changes to Denied.
If an approver clicks No, the approver receives an Explanation text box where they provide reasons for
declining the request. The approver can also use a Visible to Requestor check box that allows the
explanation to appear to the requestor.
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3. Select Visible to Requester to share the denial explanation as a note in the ticket.
4. Click Save.
Enter locations
Locations allow you to store information about customer locations and map those locations to techs in the
same geographical area. Populating this section is another step towards automated ticket processing and
technician dispatch.
When you first use Locations, only four Location pages (Options, Locations & Rooms, Location
Groups, and Location Custom Fields) are listed, as seen above. Depending on the features you
choose, the names and screens will change.
1. Click Setup and select Locations > Location > Custom Fields.
2. In the Label field, enter a name for the custom field.
3. Click the Type drop-down menu and select the appropriate text format type.
4. Click the Width drop-down menu and select the number of columns in the custom field text area.
5. Click the Height drop-down menu and select the number of rows in the custom field text area.
6. In the Info field, enter a description that appears in a tool tip for this field.
When you create a tool tip, an Info icon appears next to the custom field. When the user mouses over
the icon, the tool tip appears.
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b. Select the Encrypt in database check box to AES-encrypt the data entered in the custom field
before it is stored in the database.
If you select this option after your data is entered, the existing values are not encrypted until
they are updated.
c. Select the Searchable check box to enable the custom field to appear as a search option on
the Advanced Search page.
d. Select the Allow full-text search (slower) check box when the custom field value may exceed
255 characters.
For performance reasons, only the first 255 characters are indexed. Selecting this option
reduces the search performance.
8. Click the Display Order drop-down menu and select the order the custom field appears with the
current custom fields.
9. In the Techs section, select the appropriate client permissions, defining whether the field is hidden,
visible, editable, or required or the tech.
Administrators have at least Editable access to all custom fields. Required fields are required
for all administrators.
10. In the Request Types section, click Edit and select the request type(s) where this custom field
appears. When completed, clickDone.
11. Click Save.
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Define clients
The Clients tab options define Web Help Desk Client users and how they enter information into the
application. When a new client accesses Web Help Desk and is accepted by the system, they are
automatically given the access and interaction permissions you defined for each client.
The AD / LDAP Connections option copies and adds client data from Microsoft Exchange and other mail
servers and add this data to Web Help Desk. Using this feature streamlines the process to help you avoid
manually adding all your clients.
See Define client custom fields to define field features such as field name and display order.
See Discover and add Active Directory/LDAP directory connections to discover and import client AD / LDAP
information from the client Microsoft Exchange or LDAP server.
4. Update other options as needed. See the tooltips for more information.
5. Click Save.
If you selected the client option E-mail Client When Account is Created, Web Help Desk sends a
confirmation email to the client.
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3. If you want to allow clients to create accounts from the client interface, change the Client Can Create
Account setting.
If you allow clients to create accounts, SolarWinds recommends selecting Only if the client's email
matches an Accepted Domain. Specify the accepted domains below.
4. If you want to email login information to new clients, select E-Mail Client When Account Is Created.
To change the text of the email that Web Help Desk sends, choose Setup >E-Mail > Templates
and open the New Account Message template.
5. Review and update other settings as needed. See the tooltips for information about each option.
6. Click Save.
5. Click Save.
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1. Click Setup and select Companies and Locations, Location & Rooms.
2. Click the appropriate location in the Location Name column.
3. Click the pencil icon in the Location Info tab to edit the tab preferences.
4. In the Default Client Admin Permissions row, select the appropriate values for the client admin.
If you select Client Admin Can Report for Others, the client admin has the option of creating a ticket
and assigning a different client as the originator.
You can override the Default Client Admin Permissions values for each client admin by
clicking the icon next to each client.
5. Click Save.
1. Click Setup.
2. Select Clients >Client Custom Fields.
3. Click New.
The Client Custom Fields screen displays the default values for a new custom field.
5. On the Display Order drop-down menu, select this field's position within the Custom Fields section of
a ticket.
6. In the Clients and Techs sections, specify whether each group can see or edit the custom field.
Techs with admin accounts can edit all custom fields.
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8. Complete the remaining fields. Point to any field name to display information.
9. Click Save.
About LDAP
LDAP is a protocol that creates a central user database for single sign-on (SSO), allowing you to access
resources and services in a network. LDAP implementations use self-signed certificates by default. To use
a trusted certificate issued by a Certificate Authority (CA), you can import the certificate into your Javakey
store.
Validate LDAPcertificates
You can establish a secure connection from Web Help Desk to an LDAPserver by selecting the SSLcheck
box. To accept certificates issued by a CA, select the Accept only trusted Certificates check box. When
selected, Web Help Desk verifies the host LDAP certificate against the certificates in your Java key store. If
Web Help Desk detects a certificate that is not signed by a trusted CA or uploaded to your Java key store,
Web Help Desk generates a warning in the user interface and does not store the LDAP connection.
The WHDGlobalConfig.properties file contains the name, password, and location of your Java key
store. This file is located in the following directory:
c:\\<WebHelpDesk>\conf
To update these parameters, edit the file with your new settings, save the file, and then restart Web Help
Desk. See Keystore Settings (for SSLConnections)for more information.
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Ensure the person configuring and using this import is experienced with AD and LDAP
administration.
Work with a client representative familiar with AD/LDAP and the existing structure. The client
representative must have administrative access to the customer AD/LDAP server.
If your AD/LDAP directory contains mostly users not using Web Help Desk, SolarWinds does not
recommend performing a bulk AD/LDAP import.
to edit.
6. Maximize the Advanced window and review or update the advanced settings.
7. If you want to use bulk synchronization, select Enabled and then specify when the synchronization
should occur.
To avoid affecting network performance, schedule the synchronization for a time when the
network is least busy.
8. Click Save.
9. Click Test Settings to test your settings, and make adjustments if needed.
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Import clients
Use the Import Clients function to import client data into Web Help Desk. See Import data using templates
for information on applying templates.
1. In the toolbar click Setup and select Data Import >Import Clients.
The Import Clients screen appears.
2. Click the Sync Based On drop-down menu and select the column in the import file used to
synchronize the import data with existing records.
3. Select the Ignore Blank Fields check box to ignore blank fields in the imported file.
If not selected, the blank fields in the import file will clear the corresponding values in the existing
records.
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4. Select the Add New Entities check box to add new entities referred by the import records if they do
not exist in the database.
1. Select the Abort Import on First Error check box to stop the import procedure when Web Help Desk
encounters an error.
If not selected, Web Help Desk will continue the import if errors appear.
5. In the File Type row, select the appropriate import file format.
6. Click the File Encoding drop-down menu and select the method used to encode the import file.
If your import file contains any Unicode characters, select Microsoft Excel, as this file format encodes
in UTF-16 format.
7. In the Import Data File row, click Choose File and select the file to use for the import procedure.
The first line of the import file must match the import template. SolarWinds recommends
copying and pasting the template into your data file to ensure that it is identical. The import
procedure will generate an error if the first row of the import file does not match the
template.
8. Click Import.
The file contents is imported into the Web Help Desk database.
Define assets
Assets are the Client-owned software and hardware that Techs work with. Web Help Desk tracks Assets by
properties such as:
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Location
Type
Status
Owner
Serial Number
Warranty Dates
Lease Types
Ticket History
Purchase Orders
Because Clients usually have large numbers of Assets, and Assets have a large number of properties
associated with each one, assets are not typically entered manually. Web Help Desk includes an extensive
selection of asset import and discovery options. These options include interfaces to:
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JAMF Casper
Lansweeper
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Spreadsheet import
See Import data for details on how to import Asset Data. For information about configuring connections to
import asset data, see Discover assets.
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7. Click Save.
6. Click Save.
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DESCRIPTION
The name of your custom field.
Select one of the following types using semicolons to delimit multiple choices
in the Options setting:
Type
Width
Currency
Date
Dateline
Time Period
Info
When the tool tip is created, an Info icon is displayed next to the custom field.
When the user mouses over the Info icon, the tool tip pops up.
Display Order
Click the drop-down menu and select the custom field order.
Height
Clients
Configures the Client permissions, defining whether the client can see, edit, or
interact with the custom field.
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DESCRIPTION
These fields are disabled when the custom field is not visible in the client
interface.
Configures the Tech permissions, defining whether the tech can see, edit, or
interact with the custom field.
Techs
Administrative users have at least Editable access to all custom fields. The
Required fields are required for Administrators.
Limit Input to Text Box
Width
Ensures the maximum number of characters does not exceed the number of
characters chosen in the Width option.
AES-encrypts the data entered in the custom field before it is stored in the
database.
Encrypt in database
If you select this option after the data is entered, the existing values are not
encrypted until they are updated.
Searchable
Includes the custom field as a search option in the Advanced Search page.
Indexes only the first 255 characters in a custom field.
Select this option when the custom field values could exceed 255 characters.
Applying this option greatly reduces search performance.
Ensures the custom field is not shown in emails to clients or techs.
Add manufacturers
Use the Manufacturers Info page to add hardware and software and other asset manufacturer contact
information.
Click the Edit button to enter information. Click Save when you finish entering the manufacturer
information.
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Add vendors
The Vendors page defines contacts for ordering parts or software.
Fill in the pertinent information for each vendor contact, and click Save.
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DESCRIPTION
The name of your custom field.
Select one of the following types using semicolons to delimit multiple choices
in the Options setting:
Type
Currency
Date
Dateline
Time Period
Width
Info
Creates a tool tip that helps users complete the custom field.
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DESCRIPTION
When the tool tip is created, an Info icon appears next to the custom field.
When the user mouses over the Info icon, the tool tip pops up.
Display Order
Click the drop-down menu and select the custom field order.
Height
Clients
These fields are disabled when the custom field is not visible in the client
interface.
Configures the Tech permissions, defining whether the Tech can see, edit, or
interact with the custom field.
Techs
Administrative users have at least Editable access to all custom fields. The
Required fields are required for Administrators.
Limit Input to Text Box
Width
Ensures the maximum number of characters allowed does not exceed the
number of characters chosen in the Width option.
AES-encrypts the data entered in the custom field before ti is stored in the
database.
Encrypt in database
If you select this option after the data is entered, the existing values are not
encrypted until they are updated.
Searchable
Enables the custom field to appear as a search option in the Advanced Search
page.
Indexes only the first 255 characters in a custom field.
Select this option when the custom field values may exceed 255 characters.
Applying this option greatly reduces search performance.
Ensures the custom field does not appear in emails to Clients or Techs.
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3. Click Import.
The file is imported into Web Help Desk.
Manage parts
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Disabling Parts & Billing hides the main Parts icon, the ticket detail Parts & Billing tab, billing preferences
and the billing reporting options.
Perform Invoicing
Set up your company contacts in Web Help Desk for each billing invoice. When completed, you can
generate an invoice or quote from a ticket.
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5. Click Save.
1. Click Setup and select Parts & Billing > Rates & Terms.
2. Click New.
3. Complete the fields and selections as required, then click Save.
Click the tooltips for additional information.
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6. Complete the field and drop-down menu as required, then click Save.
Click the tooltips for more information.
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DESCRIPTION
The name of your custom field.
Select one of the following types using semicolons to delimit multiple choices
in the Options setting:
Type
Width
Currency
Date
Dateline
Time Period
Info
When the tool tip is created, an Info icon appears next to the custom field.
When the user mouses over the Info icon, the tool tip pops up.
Display Order
Click the drop-down menu and select the custom field order.
Height
Clients
These fields are disabled when the custom field is not visible in the client
interface.
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DESCRIPTION
Configures the Tech permissions, defining whether the Tech can see, edit, or
interact with the custom field.
Techs
Administrative users have at least Editable access to all custom fields. The
Required fields are required for Administrators.
Limit Input to Text Box
Width
Ensures the maximum number of characters allowed does not exceed the
number of characters chosen in the Width option.
AES encrypts the data entered in the custom field before it is stored in the
database.
Encrypt in database
If you select this option after the data is entered, the existing values are not
encrypted until they are updated.
Searchable
Enables the custom field to appear as a search option in the Advanced Search
page.
Indexes only the first 255 characters in a custom field.
Select this option when the custom field values may exceed 255 characters.
Applying this option greatly reduces search performance.
Ensures the custom field does not appear in emails to Clients or Techs.
Purchase a license
You can purchase a Web Help Desk license by:
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You will receive an email with your SolarWinds customer ID(SWID) and password along with your invoice (if
purchased directly). After you apply a commercial license key to your Web Help Desk software, you cannot
change the license back to a trial or free single-seat license.
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TERM
DESCRIPTION
A single point of access linking applications to one sign-on point.
Using SSO, you can log in once to gain access to all linked systems without
logging in to each system. For example, when you log in to your Microsoft
Windows system, your user login provides SSOfunctionality to your
corporate network and email.
Single Sign On
(SSO)
Hypertext Transfer
Protocol Secure
(HTTPS)
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TERM
DESCRIPTION
The HTTPS channel results from layering SSL security on top of HTTP. When
a browser submits an HTTPS request to Web Help Desk, the SSL protocol
requires Web Help Desk to respond with a certificate to prove the
authenticity of the server.
The certificate contains a public key used for encryption and a digital
signature from a Certification Authority (CA). The digital signature indicates
which CA verified the authenticity of the server.
A data file containing a cryptographic key that verifies the owner.
SSL certificates
SSLcertificates contain a public and private key pair. The private key
contains the code and the public key decodes the private key. The private
key is installed on your server and kept secret. The public key is
incorporated into the SSL certificate and shared with web browsers. The
certificates included with your browser and application contain the keys
that can decrypt the application root certificates.
See Manage keys and certificates for additional information about using
keys in Web Help Desk.
See the following sections for information about configuring and managing Web Help Desk single sign-on
and security authentication:
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Enable HTTPS
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The Common Name (CN) certificate attribute only contains the fully-qualified domain name
(FQDN) with no descriptions or comments. The exact value of this field is matched against the
domain name of the server to verify its identity.
See Working with Keys and Certificates for information about trusting certificates.
https://adfs.<mydomain>.com/adfs/ls
To bypass external authentication, add the following to your login URL:
?username=<username>&password=<password>
5. Click Upload to apply a Verification certificate and enable SSL.
Apply the same certificate used to sign the assertion in the of AD FS 2.0 Relying Party (RP) setting.
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6. In the Logout URLfield, enter the following URLor leave this field blank to use the Web Help Desk
default logout page:
https://adfs.<mydomain.com>/adfs/ls
Web Help Desk redirects the users to this page to log out.
Identifier: <mydomain.com>/helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa
Signature: Enter the name of the certificate you uploaded to Web Help Desk in the Web Help
Desk SAML configuration instructions.
https://<ADFS_Server_fqdn>/<domain name>/adfs/ls/?wa=wsignout1.0
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LDAP attribute: Usually an email address. If your Web Help Desk client login attribute is a
user name rather than an email address, use the user ID or account name instead of the
email address.
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cas-server-webapp-3.5.2.war
to
cas.war
7. Start your Web Help Desk server.
CAS 2.0 is now accessible from the following URL:
https://webhelpdesk:port/cas
8. Verify that the HTTPSport is enabled on Apache Tomcat.
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If the HTTPS port is not enabled, go to Enabling SSLon Web Help Desk.
<WebHelpDesk>/conf
2. In the conf directory, open the whd.conf file using a text editor.
3. In the file, comment out the following entry:
HTTPS_PORT=443
4. Save and close the file.
5. Using Portecl, create a new certificate (as described in Generating a New Certificate in Portecl).
6. Insert the certificate to the following location:
/conf/keystore.jks
7. Restart Web Help Desk.
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https://fqdn:port/cas/login
5. In the CAS validate URLfield, enter:
https://fqdn:port/cas/serviceValidate
6. Under Verification certificate, click Upload and select a certificate that uses CASfor signing the
responses.
The Web Help Desk Tomcat certificate is from keystore.jks.
https://fqdn:port/cas/logout
8. Click Save.
You can now log in using CAS 2.0.
1. Log on to the Web Help Desk domain using the Domain Administrator account.
2. Click Start and select Run.
3. In the Run field, enter the following command and then click OK:
mmc
The Microsoft Management Console appears.
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*.yourdomain.com
18. Click Add.
19. Select the Require server verification (https) for all sites in this zone check box.
20. Click Close.
21. Click OK.
Enable HTTPS
When a browser submits an HTTPS request to Web Help Desk, the SSL protocol requires Web Help Desk to
respond with a certificate to prove the authenticity of the server. Begin your security configuration by
enabling HTTPS.
To activate HTTPS in Web Help Desk:
WebHelpDesk/conf/whd.conf
3. In the whd.conf file locate the Ports section.
4. Enter the port number Web Help Desk monitors for HTTPS requests, which appears after the
following entry:
HTTPS_PORTS=
5. Save your changes.
6. Close the whd.conf file.
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URL_HTTPS_PORT=
3. Save and close the file.
https://localhost:8443
WebHelpDesk/conf/keystore.jks
The new keystore contains a self-signed certificate.
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Tomcat requires identical keystore and keypair passwords. To use your own password, change the
KEYSTORE_PASSWORD setting in the whd.conf file located in the WebHelpDesk/conf directory.
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This CA Reply (or CSR Reply) is typically an X.509 certificate file (with a .cer, .crt, .pem, or .der
extension) or a PKCS7 file (such as .p7b).
Program Files\WebHelpDesk
3. Click the Files of Type drop-down menu and select:
.jks
4. Select the .jks file type.
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changeit
The keystore appears, with a keypair entry alias labeled tomcat.
Web Help Desk automatically created this key pair.
The next section will help you replace the key pair with a new key pair configured for your domain.
Replace an existing keypair
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b. The validity period is the period you specified when you purchased the certificate from the
CA.
c. Enter a common name that matches the site used in the certificate.
For example, if Web Help Desk is hosted at support.example.com, your CNmust be
support.example.com.
d. Enter an organization unit that helps distinguish this certificate from others for your
organization.
e. Enter an organization name, which is typically the name of your organization.
f. Enter a locality name, which is typically a city name.
g. Enter a state name.
This is the full name of the state, province, region, or territory where your organization is
located.
h. Enter the country where your organization is located.
This should be the two letter ISO 3166 country code for your country.
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2. Enter a name for the CSR to help you remember the domain it validates.
For example:
support.example.com.csr
3. Click Generate.
The file is created.
1. Verify if the certificate vendor requires you to include any other certificates to complete the
certificate chain.
2. In the toolbar, click Tools and select Import Trusted Certificate.
3. Locate each of the certificates provided by your CA. and import them into the keystore.
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If your certificate is in Base64-encoded format (with a *.pem or *.cer extension) and you import the
certificate with another file, an error may appear. If this occurs, copy the certificate text that includes:
------END CERTIFICATE------After you import your certificate reply, Portecl reports that the certificate was imported successfully.
Import errors
If you import the CA Reply and Portecl generates an error stating that the certificate cannot be trusted,
the root certificate may not be included. To determine which certificate you need, temporarily import your
CA Reply as a Trusted Certificate (rather than a CA Reply certificate) and examine the Certificate Details.
Locate the issuer property
Obtain a certificate from your CA that matches the Locate the Issuer property value and import the
certificate into Portecl as a Trusted Certificate. Once you import this certificate into Portecl, as well as
any other certificates needed by its issuer, you can delete your own trusted certificate and re-import it as a
CA Reply to your keypair.
<WHD>/portecle.bat
If you are running Apple OS X, navigate to Applications > WebHelpDesk > Portecl and double-click
the Portecl icon.
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<WHD>/bin/jre/lib/security/cacerts
If you are running Apple OS X, open a terminal window and execute the following command:
/usr/libexec/java_home; e.g.
System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0jdk/Contents/Home/lib/security
/cacerts
4. When prompted, enter the default password:
changeit
5. Click Tools > Import Trusted Certificates and locate the .crt file.
6. Choose the following file and alias/name:
FileSaveKeystore
7. Restart Web Help Desk.
echo -n | openssl s_client -connect <exchange_address>:<port> | sed -ne '/BEGIN CERTIFICATE-/,/-END CERTIFICATE-/p' > /tmp/<cert_name>.crt
2. Enter the following command:
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-in <signed_cert_filename> \
-inkey <private_key_filename> \
-name tomcat \
-out keystore.p12
If you have a chain of certificates, combine the certificates into a single file and use it for the input file, as
shown below. The order of certificates must be from server certificate to the CA root certificate. See RFC
2246 section 7.4.2 for details on this order.
cat <signed_cert_filename> \
<intermediate.cert> [<intermediate2.cert>]
... \
> cert-chain.txt
-in cert-chain.txt \
-inkey <private_key_filename> \
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-name tomcat \
-out keystore.p12
You are prompted to provide a password for the new keystore, which you will need to provide when
importing the keystore into the Web Help Desk Java keystore.
mmc
A Microsoft Management Console window opens.
6. Right-click your certificate and select More Actions > Export List..
7. Follow the Certificate Export Wizard prompts to export a Personal Information Exchange PKCS #12
(.pfx) file.
Note the location where you saved the .pfx file.
8. Select the option to Include all certificates in the certification path if possible, leaving the two other
options unselected.
9. Import the certificate into Portecl using the instructions in Importing PKCS#12 file Into the
keystore.
Open the PKCS#12 keystore in File > Open Keystore File, convert it to a Java keystore in Tools >
Change Keystore Type > JKS, and overwrite the existing keystore by saving it as
WebHelpDesk/conf/keystore.jks.
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Open the Web Help Desk keystore file and import the keypair containing your certificate using Tools
> Import Keypair. Portecl prompts you to select which keypair in your PKCS#12 keystore to import.
If your keystore contains a default, unsigned Tomcat certificate, delete this certificate before you import
your PKCS#12 file.
When you import your file, ensure that:
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Your certificate chain is intact in the Web Help Desk keystore. You can inspect the certificate chain by
double-clicking the certificate to view the certificate details. Use the left and right arrows at the top
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of the details panel to navigate through each certificate in the chain. If you do not see the full
certificate chain, try importing the CA certificates first at Tools > Import Trusted Certificate and then
import your keypair again. Portecl does not establish trust when a certificate is imported before the
certificate that was used to sign it.
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Your root certificate is imported first, then the next certificate in the chain, and so on until you get to
your own certificate.
Your certificate is aliased as tomcat. The password for your certificate and the keystore must be
identical and match the KEYSTORE_PASSWORD setting in the WebHelpDesk/conf/whd.conf file
(changeit by default).
These instructions, including those for sudo commands, assume you have root access to the Virtual
Appliance. Use the Virtual Appliance login credentials wherever a password is required in the steps that
follow.
/usr/local/webhelpdesk
3. Enter the following command:
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Your domain name instead of a first and last name. For example:
webhelpdesk.solarwinds.com
If you do not use the domain name for the name, you will receive certificate errors.
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Organizational unit
Organization
City or locality
State or province
This information is available to users accessing the Virtual Appliance through a secure
connection.
sudo vi conf/whd.conf
(i to edit, <esc> to quit edit mode,:w to save edits, :q to quit the editor)
KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=<oldpassword> KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=<newpassword>
KEYSTORE_FILE=/usr/local/webhelpdesk/conf/keystore_new.jks
11. Stop Web Help Desk by entering the following command:
./whd stop
12. Start Web Help Desk by entering the following command:
./whd start
/usr/local/webhelpdesk
3. Enter the following command:
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5. Enter the information needed for the new certificate, providing the following information:
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Your domain name, instead of a first and last name. For example:
webhelpdesk.solarwinds.com
If you do not use the domain name for the name, you receive certificate errors.
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Organizational unit
Organization
City or locality
State or province
This information appears to users accessing the Virtual Appliance through a secure
connection.
a. Import the Root or intermediate CA. These certificates need to be loaded in order: root first
and then the intermediate.
sudo vi conf/whd.conf
Press i to edit, <esc> to exit edit mode, :w to save edits, or :q to quit the editor.
14. In the keystore settings section of the file, add a value for the KEYSTORE_FILE= setting.
KEYSTORE_FILE=/usr/local/webhelpdesk/conf/keystore_new.jks
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./whd stop
16. Start Web Help Desk by entering:
./whd start
If you need additional clarification on adding a certificate from a certificate authority to your virtual
appliance, see Installing a Certificate from a Certificate Authority on the Tomcat website or your CA
help page. SolarWinds Customer Support can only assist you with adding a self-signed certificate to
your virtual appliance.
1. Transfer your .pfx file to the WebHelpDesk folder on the Virtual Appliance using a file transfer tool
(such as WinSCP).
2. Create or select a target keystore for modification.
For example, you can copy the existing keystore:
sudo vi conf/whd.conf
5. Change the KEYSTORE_FILEsetting to:
KEYSTORE_FILE=/usr/local/webhelpdesk/conf/keystore_imported.jks
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The certificate is issued for a specific domain name. If you are accessing Web Help Desk through an
IPaddress, you will receive a security error. In this case, add an entry to the hosts file that maps the
IPaddress to the domain where the certificate was issued.
For example:
172.31.219.83.webhelpdesk.solarwinds.com
Close all instances of your Internet Explorer or Chrome and completely clear your cache.
3. In the address bar, click the lock icon to view the site information.
4. On the Connections tab, click Certificate Information.
5. On the Details tab, click Copy to File.
6. Click Next.
7. Select DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER), and click Next.
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\Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applications\...
To avoid making hidden files visible, browse to a different location to save the certificate.
9. Click Next.
10. Check the location of the certificate, and click Finish.
11. In Chrome, open Settings > Advanced Settings, and click Manage certificates.
12. Navigate to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities tab.
13. Click Import.
14. Click Next.
15. Browse to the certificate you exported, and click Next.
16. Select Place all certificates in the following store and select Trusted Root Certification Authorities.
17. Click Next, and click Finish.
18. When prompted, select Yes.
19. Close the tab and restart Chrome.
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WebHelpDesk/conf/keystore.jks
Enable HTTPrequests
When using HTTPS, ensure that your Setup settings are set correctly. To verify, click Setup and select
Options. In the General Options screen, ensure that the Force HTTPS setting is set to Always. This setting
ensures that links pointing to Web Help Desk use HTTPS.
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Verify that your private key was generated using the DSA algorithm. DSA keys can fail with many browsers,
including Internet Explorer. Try using RSA instead.
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Manage clients
Clients typically interact with Web Help Desk using the Web interface, but they can also be set up to work
with Web Help Desk using email.
Create a client
When you manually add a new client, the information is saved in the Web Help Desk database.
SolarWinds recommends allowing clients to create accounts only if their emails match the accepted
domains.
4. Update other options as needed. See the tooltips for more information.
5. Click Save.
If you selected the client option E-mail Client When Account is Created, Web Help Desk sends a
confirmation email to the client.
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Clients must be qualified to set up their own account. To verify, click Setup and select Clients >Options. In
the Client Options screen, ensure that the options are configured correctly. SolarWinds recommends
requiring domain matching for new clients, as shown below.
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4. In the tab window, select or enter the appropriate criteria to locate the asset.
To locate the asset using a specific set of conditions, click the Advanced Search tab and enter your
search criteria.
5. Click Search.
Your results appear in the bottom window.
8. In the Clients field, search and select the client for this asset.
9. Complete the remaining fields as required, then click Save.
The asset is assigned to the client.
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Manage tickets
Web Help Deskuses tickets to manage service requests. These tickets can be initiated through email,
created in the application, and imported from another application. Techs, admins, and clients can also
manage tickets through email or through the application in a web browser.
Using Web Help Desk, you can:
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Create a ticket using the Web Help Desk tech interface or email.
Configure ticket status types to identify the ticket's current stage of completion and indicate whether
action is needed.
Configure ticket details such as selecting a request type, improving ticket resolution with ticket types,
adding details to tickets with tech notes, and escalating or de-escalating a ticket.
Create ticket bulk actions to run a set of ticket changes against one or more tickets.
Update and resolve tickets by changing ticket information and performing actions on multiple
tickets.
Merge tickets and their associated attachments and messages into one ticket.
Create parent/child service relationships to change a service request to a problem ticket (or parent)
and attach related service requests (or children) to the problem ticket for ticket automation.
For information about using commands (instead of the Web Help Desk interface) to manage tickets,
see the Tickets section in the Web Help Desk REST API Guide.
Ticket flow
The following diagram details the Web Help Desk ticket assignment logic.
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The illustration includes numbered references for some processes. Listed below are the corresponding
paths in the Web Help Desk user interface to make any needed changes for each numbered process.
NUMBER
1
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NUMBER
2
See Define Request Types for more information.
Setup > Techs >Tech Groups > [Group] Tech Group Levels > Level 1 > Auto Assign
Tickets To
See Define Tech Groups for more information.
Setup >Techs > Tech Groups > [Group] >Level 1 > Assigned Techs
See Define Tech Groups for more information.
If the Tech is marked On Vacation, the ticket is assigned to the Backup Tech in the
Tech's profile.
See Define Request Types for more information.
Setup > Techs > Tech Groups > [Group] > Tech Group Info > Group Manager
You can use Location Group Manager instead of the specified Tech at:
Setup > Techs >Tech Groups > [Group] > Tech Group Info
If this Tech is marked On Vacation, the ticket is assigned to the Backup Tech in the
Tech's profile.
See Define Tech Groups for more information.
Setup > Techs > Tech Groups >[Group] >Techs Assigned
7
See Define Tech Groups for more information.
Setup > Techs > Techs > [Technician] >On Vacation
8
Setup >Locations >Location Groups > [Group] > Assigned Locations tab
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NUMBER
10
See Enter Locations for more information.
Setup >Locations >Department Groups >[Groups] >Assigned Departments
To enable departments:
11
Setup > Locations >Options >Use Departments check box
See Enter Locations for more information.
Specify which status types are used in calculating ticket load balance at:
12
Setup >Tickets >Status Types >[Status Type] >Use for Load Balance check box
See Define Status Types for more information.
Create a ticket
Clients can create tickets through email or through the web using the Web Help Desk client interface. The
client interface is what clients see when they log in to the web console..
Techs can also create tickets through email or through the web. In most cases, techs create tickets through
the web using the Web Help Desk tech interface. The tech interface is what techs see by default when they
log in to the web console.
A tech can access the client interface if the tech's profile is associated with a client account.
In addition, admins can define Web Help Desk tasks (scripts) which will create certain types of tickets
automatically.
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Save and Send E-mail:Saves the ticket and sends an email to the specified recipients. The
tech, client, location, and ticket setup options determine who receives email.
You can launch DameWare MRC from a customer ticket or from the Web Help Desk Toolbar.
EMAIL ADDRESS
REQUEST TYPE
TECH GROUP
5. At the bottom of the ticket, locate the Save Quick Ticket as field.
6. In the field, enter a name for this quick ticket type.
7. Click Shared to allow others to use this quick ticket template.
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8. Click Save.
9. Click Apply.
STATUS
Open
DESCRPITION
The issue requires a resolution. This is the default status of a ticket when it is created.
The ticket has been received, but it is currently on hold. For example, this status could be
used to indicate that a feature request was received but management has not yet decided if
the request will be granted.
Pending
This status can also be used to indicated that the assigned tech is waiting for information
from a client. Or you can create a new status for this purpose, as described in the example
below.
The tech believes that a solution has been provided and is waiting for the client to confirm
the resolution.
Resolved
Closed
Canceled
By default, when a tech changes a ticket status to Resolved, the client receives an email
asking if the issue is resolved to their satisfaction. If the client clicks Yes, the ticket status
changes to Closed. If the clients clicks No, the ticket status changes to Open.
The client has confirmed that the issue is resolved. You can also configure Web Help Desk to
automatically close a ticket if the client does not respond to the confirmation request within
the specified time period.
The client is no longer experiencing the problem, or no longer needs the service requested in
the ticket.
You can create a Web Help Desk report to show the total amount of time or the average amount of
time spent in each status.
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5. Click Save.
5. Change the Display Order so that tickets with this status are displayed above Closed, Canceled, or
Resolved tickets.
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Every condition specified in the ALLgroup must be met for a ticket to be found. These
conditions are evaluated with a Boolean AND operator.
At least one condition specified in the ANYgroup must be met for a ticket to be found. These
conditions are evaluated with a Boolean OR operator.
Enter conditions in either or both groups. See the following section for examples of advanced
searches.
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Which tickets assigned to a specific tech have not been updated within the last 10 days?
Which tickets contain the words "network outage" in a client note ORthe request details ORthe
subject?
Which tickets assigned to a tech group have a priority of Urgent ORhave an escalation level of 2 or
higher?
To assign a technician to the ticket use the Assigned Tech list or click Add Tech.
To escalate the ticket, click the up triangle on the Tech Group.
In the Details page, you can edit all ticket fields.
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TICKET TYPE
ServiceRequest
DESCRIPTION
EXAMPLE
Reset a password.
Access a shared network resource.
Replace a printer toner cartridge.
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When a ticket type is set to Problem in the Ticket Details tab, the ticket becomes available in the Problems
drawer, as shown below.
This capability provides a parent root cause for related tickets. When a ticket is linked to a Problem ticket, it
becomes an Incident ticket. Changing the ticket back to a Service Request removes the link to the Problem
ticket.
When a Parent ticket is closed, all of its Child tickets close as well. When you view a Parent ticket, you can
view notes from Child tickets. When you view an Incident ticket, you can also view the notes from the
Problem ticket.
In the Ticket Details >Details pane, changing the existing ticket type to another selection removes all
existing ticket relationships, whether they are Parent/Child or Problem/Incident relations.
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5. Click Save.
Your permissions are saved.
Clicking Save does not generate an email unless the ticket is re-assigned. In this case, the newly-assigned
tech receives an email. Clicking the lock toggles the ticket privacy setting. When tickets are private, nontech users cannot see the tickets.
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When the assigned tech is reassigned, Web Help Desk sends escalation or de-escalation emails to the
current and former techs assigned to the ticket.
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The My Tickets and Group Tickets views are pre-filtered tickets lists that display tickets assigned to you or
your group.
In the first column, you can select tickets for bulk actions, such as merging tickets.
The second column provides color-coded ticket information:
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The following table describes the columns in the Group Tickets view.
COLUMN NAME
DESCRIPTION
No.
Date
Updated
Request Type
The category of the help request, such as for hardware support, email
support, network connectivity, and facilities requests.
Request Detail
Details about the client's request type. For example, if a client requested
hardware support, the request detail might show that they are requesting
additional memory for their notebook computer.
Latest Notes
Client
Status
Priority
Determines the ticket due date, with priority names such as Urgent, High,
Medium, and Low.
Alert Level
The message warning techs when a ticket needs attention. Alerts are
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COLUMN NAME
DESCRIPTION
email notifications about ticket priorities, with three configurable levels
for automatic escalation.
Tech
Location
See Set up tickets for information about configuring the information that appears in the My Tickets and
Group Tickets screens.
Techs can only see their assigned tickets in the My Tickets view, as well as tickets assigned directly to a
tech group they belong to in the Group Tickets screen. These two restrictions apply to all accounts,
including admin accounts.
3. Click Search.
The conditions specified in the ALL grouping must have all condition true to result in a found
ticket. These conditions are qualified using the Boolean AND.
The conditions specified in the ANY grouping must have at least one condition true to result
in a found ticket. These conditions are qualified using the Boolean OR.
The ANY condition group begins with and. As a result, the ANY group is evaluated along with
the conditions in the ALL condition group, if the ALL group is used.
If no condition exists in the ALL group, Web Help Desk evaluates the ANY condition is using
only the Boolean OR.
4. When completed, click Search.
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The following illustrates a query that returns tickets that meet these criteria:
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Priority = Urgent
Status = Open
-- And either
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Escalation is 2 or above
-- Or
Company = ABC Co
To save the search, enter a query name and then click Save. The Shared check box allows other techs to
access the query.
My Tickets
Group Tickets
Flagged Tickets
Recent Tickets
Search Tickets
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and locate the Bulk Action box.
5. In Bulk Action, click [+].
6. In the Bulk Action Details screen, select the items you want to change.
7. In the Save Bulk Action as field, enter a name for this bulk action.
8. (Optional) Select the Shared check box to share this bulk action with other users.
9. Click Save.
The saved bulk action will be listed in the Bulk Action drop-down menu in the Tickets screen.
4. Click the Bulk Action drop-down arrow and select the bulk action you want to edit.
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6. Click OK.
A message appears, stating that your action was applied to your selected tickets.
Ticket information
Tickets in Web Help Desk include information on the following tabs:
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The Client Info tab identifies the client who requested support. This information is populated
automatically from the client account.
The Asset Info tab identifies assets (PCs or servers, for example) that are associated with the client or
with the support request.
The Ticket Details tab contains specific information about this request, incident, or problem. This is
the tab that techs update to add notes or change the status.
TheParts and Billing tab identifies parts ordered to complete this request and information about
billing for the part.
1. Search for the ticket you want to edit, or locate it in your ticket queue.
2. Click the ticket number to open it.
The Ticket Details tab is displayed.
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3. Add or update ticket information. The following table describes some of the fields you might need to
update.
Most tickets are classified as service requests. A service request is a request for
information, assistance, or repairs. Examples include requests to reset a password,
requests for access to a shared network resource, or requests to fix a computer problem.
Use problem and incident tickets to link multiple tickets that report the same problem to
the root cause of the problem.
n Problem tickets describe the root cause of a general problem. For example, if the
Ticket
email system stops working, a problem ticket tracks the effort to resolve the
Type
problem with the email system.
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Incident tickets report incidents of the problem. For example, while the email
system is down, multiple clients will create tickets to report that they cannot send
or receive email. When you classify these as incidents, you can link them to the
problem ticket. The problem ticket is the parent and incident tickets are children.
When the problem ticket is closed, all linked incident tickets are also closed.
Select the request type that accurately reflects the type of ticket. The ticket is transferred
Request
to the tech group that services the request type you selected. Add a note to explain the
Type
reason you changed the request type.
Add notes to record all actions you take to resolve the issue and any information that
you gather. You can also use notes to update clients on your progress. To add a note:
a. Click the green + button.
c. If an FAQ in Web Help Desk describes the resolution, click Link FAQ and select
the FAQ.
d. If the note is an internal note to other techs, clear Visible to Client.
e. Enter your work time.
f. Click Save.
The priority determines the ticket's due date, and should reflect the severity of the issue
and the people or business functions affected.
Priority
Status
Update the Status field to cancel, reopen, or resolve tickets. See Resolving a ticket for
more information.
Save and Send E-Mail:Saves the ticket and sends an email to the specified recipients.
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1. In the Notes section, select the action you want to perform. You can add a note, add a hidden note,
or delete the ticket.
2. Hold down the Control key and click the ticket number.
Web Help Desk creates an email similar to the following example. In this example, the tech chose to
add a note that is visible to the client.
The Action is based on the action you selected. For example, if you select Add Note, the
action in the Subject is TechUpdate.
The EmailClient option defaults to YES. Enter NO if you do not want to email the client. (This
option is not case-sensitive.)
4. Enter your note as the body of the email and send the email.
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To select all tickets on the page, select the check box above the first column.
To select individual tickets, select the check box in the first column of each ticket row.
4. Below the list of tickets, select an option from the Bulk Action drop-down menu.
5. Click the Run button to apply the bulk action.
A message summarizes the changes that will be applied to the selected tickets.
6. Click OK.
A message confirms that the changes were applied.
Resolve a ticket
When you have completed all activities required to resolve an issue, edit the ticket:
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Add a note to describe the resolution. Select the Solution check box because this helps other techs
when they search for solutions to similar issues.
If this resolution would be helpful for other Web Help Desk users, click Create FAQ to create an FAQ
based on the ticket note.
When you change the status to Resolved, Web Help Desk sends an email to the client asking them to
confirm that the issue is resolved.
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If the client clicks Yes, Web Help Desk changes the Status to Closed.
If the client clicks No, Web Help Desk reopens the ticket and notifies you.
If the client does not respond within the specified number of days, Web Help Desk changes the
Status to Closed.
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Merge tickets
You can merge two or more tickets and their associated attachments and messages into one ticket using
the Merge Tickets function.
For example, if a client submitted three separate tickets for items related to the same problem, you can
merge the tickets into one single ticket.
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The parent ticket displays each service as a linked child ticket. Linking the tickets will help Rich manage his
service requests for new equipment. When all service requests are resolved, Rich can close the parent
service request ticket.
When you close a parent service request ticket, all child service requests are not closed
automatically.
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For example, Janet, Ellen, and Bruce submit a service request ticket stating that they cannot access their
email in Microsoft Outlook. After researching the problem, you discover that your Microsoft Exchange
server is down and needs to be restarted. To troubleshoot and resolve all client tickets in one ticket, you
can change the request type on one client ticket to Problem and the remaining tickets to Incident. Then
link all the incident tickets to the problem ticket so they are shown as linked incidents. When all incidents
are resolved, you can close the parent ticket.
When you close a parent problem ticket, all incident tickets are closed automatically.
Assign one of the tickets as the parent ticket (for incident and problem tickets)
Assign a new ticket as the parent ticket (for service request tickets)
For example, if you have multiple Incident tickets with a similar problem, change the ticket type in one
ticket to Problem and link the remaining Incident tickets to the Problem ticket. If you have multiple Service
Request tickets with related tasks, create a new Problem ticket that describes the task and link the related
Service Request tickets to the Problem ticket.
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3. Open the service request ticket that you want to change to an incident ticket.
4. Click Incident.
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6. Search for the problem ticket that you want to make the parent of the incident.
7. In the Action column, click Link to make the selected ticket the parent of the current ticket.
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10. To manage the tickets as a group, open the problem ticket and perform the following actions, as
necessary.
Click delete if you want to remove the relationship between the problem and the incident.
When you add a note to the problem, you can also propagate the note to linked incidents.
When you close a problem ticket, all linked incident tickets also close.
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2. Open a service request ticket that you want to link to the parent ticket.
3. Within the service request ticket, click the Requests tab.
4. Search for the service request ticket that you want to make the parent ticket.
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5. In the Action column, click Link to make the selected ticket the parent of the current ticket.
When you close the Problem ticket, the Child tickets are not closed automatically. You must close
each individual ticket.
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1. Open the child ticket and delete the link in the Linked Parent box.
2. Open the sub-child ticket.
3. In the top right section, click the Problems tab.
4. In the tab window under Request Search, select the appropriate field parameters to locate the
targeted child ticket.
A list of related tickets appear, based on your search parameters.
7. Click OK.
8. Click Save.
The parent ticket appears in the Linked Parent box and the sub-child ticket appears in the Linked
Children box.
Parent ticket notes propagate to first-level child tickets. Parent ticket notes do not appear in subchild tickets.
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Child ticket notes propagate to the linked parent ticket (if desired) or first-level sub-child tickets.
Propagated notes can be edited in the ticket where the technician created the note.
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1. Configure a task with elements. Create a task with one or more related task elements with the Link
to Parent check box selected in each task element.
2. Configure an action rule that executes the task. Create an action rule that runs these tasks and
elements when a new ticket is created or modified.
3. Create parent/child tickets. Create child tickets automatically when a ticket matches the criteria in an
action rule.
When a tech creates a new ticket or edits an existing ticket, a child ticket represented by the task element
is created and linked to the new ticket.
You can configure action rules to load balance ticket processing to assigned techs in other tech
groups during periods of high call volume. See Load balance action rules for ticket processing for
more information.
TASK ELEMENTS
REQUEST TYPE
IT/General
Phone/Voicemail
Facilities
When you create each task element, ensure that the Link to Parent check box is selected. When completed,
the task elements appear in the Task Elements tab for the task, as shown below.
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If you select Link to Parent in the Task Elements tab window, your selected task elements are inherited
from the parent ticket (for example, location, room, or tech) and Inherit appears in the Request Type and
Request Detail columns. If the inherited elements include a location, room, or tech, Inherit appears in the
Location, Room, and Tech columns, depending on the elements you choose to inherit from the parent
ticket.
The Generate Next column displays when each task element is triggered. When you arrange your task
elements in a specific order, you can control when the next element is triggered. The On Creationstatus is
selected by default in the Task Elements tab window, which immediately triggers the next element after
the previous element is triggered. If you select another status in the Generate Next Element row of the
Task Elements tab window (such as Open, Pending, Closed, Canceled, or Resolved), your selected status
appears in the Generate Next column for your task element.
The following illustration shows a list of task elements that inherit all tasks from the parent ticket. Each
task triggers at a separate stage, depending on the options you select in the Task Elements tab window.
When you configure your task elements, the following rules apply:
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Each task you configure at Setup > Tickets > Tasks can include multiple task elements.
The Link to Parent check box must be selected in a task element that triggers the execution of the
next task element.
A linked child ticket with a task element set to Generate Next Element: When Status Equals must
match the status setting (such as Closed or Resolved) to trigger the next task element.
The parent ticket cannot be changed until the linked task elements are completed.
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You can use the Inherited column to select the field data you want to inherit from the parent ticket. If you
deselect Link to Parent, all previous selections are removed, and you can edit the child ticket fields as
needed. If you select Link to Parent again, the Inherited check boxes are cleared, and you must select the
appropriate check boxes. The Subject and Request Detail fields are combined with the parent ticket and
appended with a space between both field values.
After you select the appropriate Inherited column check boxes, perform the following steps:
1. In the Generate Next Element row, select when your task element will be triggered.
2. Click the Element Order drop-down menu and select when this task will be triggered in comparison
with your existing task elements.
3. Click Save to save your changes.
4. Navigate to the Task Elements tab window and ensure all tasks are listed in the proper order and
generate the next element when each task equals a specific status.
Some fields include specific logic used to inherit selected field data from the parent ticket. The following
table describes the inherited field logic for specific fields in the child ticket.
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FIELD
Subject
Request Detail
Custom Text
If any of these fields are empty, the child ticket inherits the corresponding
field value of the parent ticket.
Tech
Request Type
Asset No.
When you select this field check box, the child ticket inherits the value of
the parent ticket, and the Tech drop-down menu is disabled. When you
clear this check box, the drop-down menu returns to its preselected value.
When you select this field check box, the child ticket inherits all
attachments from the parent ticket.
Action Rule Info. Create a rule named On-board New Employee and select the Enabled check box.
Criteria tab. Under Tickets matching ALLof these conditions, you can select Subject | Contains | New
Hire.
In the Actions tab drop-down menus, select Run Task | New Employee.
Only shared tasks appear in the drop-down menu.
After you click Save, the new On-board New Employee rule appears in the Action Rules tab.
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Manage assets
Web Help Desk provides the following options to work with assets:
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Discover assets
Remove assets
Search assets
Reserve assets
Discover assets
Web Help Desk supports several methods of automated asset discovery. Using one or more of these tools,
you can synchronize Web Help Desk with your selected discovery tool and import the assets into the Web
Help Desk database.
Web Help Desk discovers assets using its native WMI discovery engine and can pull assets from the
following asset discovery tools and databases:
n
Systems Management Server (SMS) / Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)
Lansweeper 5.x
Use the Attribute Mapping tab to map asset custom fields to the discovery tool attributes. The
available asset attributes you can map depend on your selected discovery tool. These values come
directly from the discovery tools database.
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Lansweeper
Microsoft SMS/SCCM
An Absolute Manage MySQL Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) connection to Web Help Desk.
Remote control of the Absolute Manage system using a link in Web Help Desk.
1. Configure the Absolute Manage MySQL ODBC export, as described in the Absolute Manage User
Guide.
2. Configure the Absolute Manage admin console to respond to HTML requests from Web Help Desk, as
described in the Absolute Manage User Guide.
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3. Create and configure an Absolute Manager connection in Web Help Desk to import client inventory
data from the Absolute Manage MySQL database and enable the Absolute Manage inventory and
remote control links.
a. In the toolbar, click Setup and select Assets > Discovery Connections.
b. In the Asset Discovery Connections window, click New.
The Connection Basics tab appears.
c. In the Connection Name field, enter a name for this connection.
d. Click the Discovery Tool drop-down menu and select Absolute Manage (LANrev).
The tab window expands to include additional fields.
e. Complete the remaining fields as required. See the tooltips for additional information.
f. Click Save.
Your changes are saved.
g. Click the Attribute Mapping tab.
h. Click Edit.
i. Map the desired custom asset fields. The Asset attributes are different for each discovery
tool, mapping directly to the values in the discovery tools database.
j. Click Save.
k. Click Assets >Search Assets to view your imported assets.
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8. In Web Help Desk, click Setup > Assets > Discovery Connections.
9. Click New.
10. In the Connection Name field, enter a name for this connection.
11. Complete the remaining fields as required. See the tooltips for more information.
12. Click the Attribute Mapping tab.
13. Click Edit.
14. Map the desired custom asset fields. The Asset attributes are different for each discovery tool,
mapping directly to the values in the discovery tools database.
15. Click Save.
16. Click Assets >Search Assets to view your imported assets.
2. Start Apple Remote Desktop and ensure that the application scans for systems.
3. Open Remote Desktop and select the systems to import.
4. Navigate to Report > System Overview and click Run to run a System Overview Report.
ARD does not remove systems from the database when they are no longer included in a
System Overview report. Remove any retired assets from ARD before synchronizing with Web
Help Desk.
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9. In the Remote Desktop Version row, select 3.3 or later. Click the tooltip for additional information.
10. Complete the remaining fields as required. Click the tooltips for more information.
11. Click Save.
12. Click the Attribute Mapping tab and click Edit.
13. Map the desired custom asset fields to ARDs attributes.
The asset attributes are different for each discovery tool, mapping directly to the values in the
discovery tool database.
1. In the toolbar, click Setup, select Assets > Discovery Connections, and then click New.
2. Click the Discovery Tool drop-down menu and select Casper as the discovery type.
3. In the Casper MySQL Database Host and Port fields, enter your Casper IPaddress and port number,
respectively.
4. In the Database Name field, enter the name of your database.
5. In the Username and Password fields, enter the database user name and password, respectively.
6. (Optional) In the Auto-Sync Schedule row, select the day or days to auto-sync and define a time and
how often to run the auto-sync.
7. In the Advanced Options section, complete the check boxes and selections as needed.
Click the tooltips for more information.
8. Click Save.
9. Click the Attribute Mapping tab.
10. Click Edit.
11. Map the desired custom asset fields to Caspers attributes.
The asset attributes are different for each discovery tool, mapping directly to the values in the
discovery tools database.
1. In the toolbar, click Setup, select Assets > Discovery Connections, and then click New.
2. Click the Discovery Tool drop-down menu and select Casper 9.
3. Complete the remaining fields.
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4. Click Save.
5. Click the Attribute Mapping tab.
6. Click Edit.
Map the desired custom asset fields to Caspers attributes.
The asset attributes are different for each discovery tool, mapping directly to the values in the
discovery tool database.
7. Click Save.
8. Click Assets >Search Assets to view your imported assets.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Assets >Search Assets to view your imported assets.
1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select Assets > Discovery Connections.
2. Click New.
3. In the Connection Name field, enter a name for the new connection.
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7. Click the Attribute Mapping tab, and map the asset fields as appropriate. All bold selections are
required.
8. Click Save.
9. To view the imported assets, on the toolbar, click Assets >Search.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Assets >Search Assets to view your imported assets.
Configure Web Help Desk to discover assets stored in SolarWinds NPM, SAM, or
NCM
You can configure Web Help Desk to periodically discover assets stored in SolarWinds Network
Performance Monitor (NPM), Server & Application Monitor (SAM), and Network Configuration Manager
(NCM).
Before you begin, locate the following information:
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To configure Web Help Desk to discover assets stored in SolarWinds NPM, SAM, or NCM:
4. In the Connection Name field, enter a name for the new connection.
5. Click the Discovery Tool drop-down menu and select one of the following, depending on which
connection you want to discover your assets:
n
6. Enter the NPM, SAM, or NCM database host name, port number, database name, user name, and
password.
8. Click the Attribute Mapping tab, and map the asset fields as appropriate. All bold selections are
required.
9. Click Save.
10. To view the imported assets, on the toolbar, click Assets >Search.
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Host name
Model
Serial number
Logged-in user
Operating system
Hard drive
Memory
Installed software
TheDiscovery Engine uses a set of administrator credentials to scan at least one IP address range for a
new discovery connection. Web Help Desk stores and encrypts all administrator credentials in the
database with the connection parameters (such as IP ranges and schedule).
Using this discovery connection, you can create separate DiscoveryandAuto-Sync job schedules. A
Discovery job scans a selected IP address range and discovers endpoints that accept at least one of the
saved credentials. The first time you run the discovery job, it forces an auto-sync (collection) that collects
configuration data from endpoints retrieved by the discovery job.
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8. Click the Attribute Mapping tab and map the asset fields. All bold selections are required.
The asset attributes are different for each discovery tool, mapping directly to the values in the
discovery tools database.
9. Click Save.
10. Run the discovery job manually, or wait until the scheduled discovery job completes.
11. To view the imported assets, click Assets >Search on the toolbar.
<WebHelpDesk>\bin\webapps\helpdesk\WEB-INF\lib\
3. Restart Web Help Desk
The OpenBase JDBCdriver is installed on your system.
Library/WebHelpDesk/bin/webapps/helpdesk/WEB-INF/lib/
3. Restart Web Help Desk
The OpenBase JDBCdriver is installed on your system.
usr/local/WebHelpDesk/bin/webapps/helpdesk/WEB-INF/lib/
3. Restart Web Help Desk
The OpenBase JDBCdriver is installed on your system.
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3. Click OK.
4. In the Connection Basics tab under Discovery Status, monitor your discovery and collection progress
and results.
5. When the discovery and sync process is completed, click Done.
4. Click Save.
For information about import options and discovery tools, see Discover assets.
Search assets
You can search for assets in the Basic or Advanced tabs. Basic searching provides a simplified subset of
the search criteria available in the advanced search mode.
To sort your search results, click the appropriate column header. To download the search results in PDF,
TSV, or Excel format, click the appropriate icon.
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Save a query
1. Define your search criteria using the same method explained in Search tickets.
2. Click the Advanced Search tab.
3. In the Save Query as field, enter an appropriate name.
4. Select the Shared check box to allow other techs to use this search.
Depending on your access level, you may not have access to the Shared box.
5. Click Save.
Run a query
Select the query name from the Query menu at the top of the search results display. When selected, the
query runs automatically.
Remove assets
In Web Help Desk, the default aging interval for all assets is 90 days. If a node is not rediscovered or
provided data within the last 90 days, its life cycle status changes from Active(0) to DECOMISSIONED
(2).
To update the default aging interval:
webhelpdesk\bin\wrapper\conf\wrapper_template.conf
For Linux and Apple OSX systems, open the whd.conf file located at:
WebHelpDesk\conf\whd.conf
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-Dasset.agingInterval=30d
In this example, all Web Help Desk assets are decommissioned if not rediscovered within 30 days.
4. Click Search.
Your search results appear in the bottom window.
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Asset Basics provides general asset information you can edit, including the asset type, model
location, and status.
Asset Details provides detailed asset information you can edit, including serial number,
version, and IPaddress.
Asset History provides dates and actions when an asset was removed, modified, or changed
status, as well as the associated tech. You cannot edit this information.
n Ticket History provides the ticket number, date, status, and problem report associated with the
asset, as well as the associated tech in each instance. This information cannot be edited.
6. In the window, click the Edit icon.
n
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Removing the parent status orphans all the child assets for that parent.
Child assets inherit priorities from the parent objects including location, status, and other
properties.
Parent/child status is set by adding child assets to a parent asset. You cannot add a parent to a
child.
4. Click Search.
5. In the No. field, click an asset number.
The Asset Basics tab windows appears, displaying information about your selected asset.
The Child Assets box appears at the bottom of the window.
8. Select or enter the search criteria to locate the appropriate asset, and then click Search.
The Search Results box appears with a list of assets.
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4. Click Search.
Your search results appear in the bottom window.
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Add a vendor
Before you add a new PO, add one or more vendors into the database.
Associate specific assets by providing a valid asset number. If you link a line item to an asset number
that does not exist or is already linked to another PO, Web Help Desk generates an error message.
All line items must define a model and may contain part number and price information. Assets can
also be associated to a PO from within the Asset detail view.
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Include a free line item defined in the PO to link the asset. For example, if you add a new Apple
Macintosh asset, you could associate it with the free line item because the computer system line
item is free (not linked) to any asset number.
Reserve assets
To ensure that your assets are available when needed, use the Asset reservation feature.
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5. Click Save.
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3. Click Import.
The file is imported into Web Help Desk.
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Absolute Manage
JAMF Casper
Lansweeper
Microsoft SMS/SCCM
See Discover assets for information on how to set up connections with these discovery tools.
The data import options let you import data in bulk, rather than manually adding individual items. You can
import data using either predefined templates, or by using an asset discovery tool. Web Help Desk
provides templates in three formats: Excel spreadsheets, tab-separated variable (TSV) files, and commaseparated variable (CSV) files.
Use template data imports for the following Web Help Desk selections:
n
Locations
Clients
Assets
Purchase Orders
Tickets
FAQs
Parts
Inventory
See Use templates to import data for details on how to set up and apply Web Help Desk templates to
import your data.
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TSVtemplates
A typical TSV template contains column headings similar to the following client TSV template.
When you click Download Template in the Import Clients screen and download the template file, you can
re-import the file into the Clients importer template.
Because ticket TSV downloads are typically used for reporting instead of bulk changes, the columns in the
ticket TSV download match the columns in the selected column set rather than the columns in the ticket
import template.
If you are using an Excel spreadsheet to format the data and your data file contains Unicode
characters, deselect the MS Excel Unicode (UTF-16) file encoding optionboth in Excel and in Web
Help Desk.
TYPE OF IMPORT
REQUIRED FIELDS
Location
Location Name
Companies
Clients
Assets
Purchase Orders
PO Number, Vendor
Tickets
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TYPE OF IMPORT
REQUIRED FIELDS
FAQs
Parts
Inventory
To prevent failed imports, do not change the data order or delete columns in any import.
Define all inventory import parts in Web Help Desk before you import your inventory.
If the tickets implement request sub-types, enter the type and sub-type in the Type column
and separate the type and sub-type with a semicolon.
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Export data
The following table lists the data types and corresponding export formats to use when you export your
Web Help Desk data.
TSVfile cells are limited to 32KB.
DATA TYPE
EXPORT FORMATS
Tickets
Clients
Assets
Parts
FAQs
Export tickets
You can export ticket data to a TSV format for export to other locations or applications.
Export clients
You can export Client information to a TSV or Excel format for export to other locations or applications.
Export assets
You can export asset information to a PDF, TSV, or Excel format and send the file to other locations or
applications.
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3. Save the PDF, Asset_export.txt or Asset_export.xls file to your hard drive or other location.
Export parts
You can export parts information to a TSV or Excel file to export to another location or application.
Export FAQs
You can export FAQs information to a TSV or Excel format for review or export the file to another location or
application. .
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Reports can be displayed in the web interface or generated in PDFformat. You can also create schedules
to automatically run reports and email them to groups of recipients.
From any report, you can click the ticket or asset total to display detailed information about the items
included in that total.
The Reports screen includes a list of predefined reports that focus on asset, billing, and ticket
information. You can also create composite reports that link together a mixture of reports. Each report can
include charts or tables that display the number of items in possible categories.
Click Reports in the toolbar to access the Reports screen.
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Sample reports
Using sample reports included with Web Help Desk, you can create asset and ticket reports to help you
monitor technician performance, customer support needs by location, and incidence frequency. Using
additional features incorporated into Reports, you can categorize reports into report groups, generate
survey results, and schedule automated reports for distribution.
Category
Each bar or slice represents a group of tickets or assets. The Category is used to group the tickets or
assets. (It is the element that each bar or slice represents.) To select a Category, choose the element you
want to compare.
For example:
n
In this bar chart, tickets are grouped by assigned tech. Each bar represents a tech.
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In this pie chart, tickets are grouped by request type. Each slice represents a request type.
Chart Metric
The Chart Metric determines the size of the bars or slices. In many cases, it is the total number of tickets or
assets in each group. For ticket reports, it can also be a time measurement, such as the open time or work
time.
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Putting it together
In a bar or pie chart, the Category is the element being compared and the Chart Metric is the basis for
comparison. The Category and Chart Metric are reflected in the questions a chart can answer. For
example:
n
tech
Chart Metric:
ticket count
assets
Chart Metric:
ticket count
tech
Chart Metric:
location
Chart Metric:
ticket count
4. In the Tech Groups and Location Groups rows, select the Tech Groups, Location Groups, and
Department Groups that can access the reports.
5. Click the Included Reports tab.
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5. Click the Report Type drop-down menu and select Asset Report.
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6. Click Save.
Bar chart
Pie chart
Table-only
3. Click the Bar Stack Category drop-down menu and select Asset Type to specify the data stacked on
each bar.
4. (Optional) To draw the bar stack categories with percentage values, select the Draw as percentages
check box.
5. Complete the remaining fields as required.
Click the tooltips for more information.
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3. For each category, select how many asset types and locations to show in the chart. Pie charts default
to show the top 10 items, unless you specify another number.
For the best illustration, keep the number of items shown in the pie chart to 15 items or less. If you
need to add more than 15 items to a pie chart, consider using a bar chart instead.
4. To include a table in the report, select the number of items to include in the table.
The default amount of items shown in tables is 100.
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7.
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5. Click the Report Type drop-down menu and select Ticket Report.
The Report Details and Report Filters tabs appear. These tabs define what the report looks like and
the data it contains.
6. Click Save.
The Report Details tab window appears.
Bar Chart
Pie Chart
Table Only
5. Click Save.
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4. Click Save.
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Row Category:Status
Table Data:Tickets
4. (Optional) Click the Report Group drop-down menu and select a report group.
5. Click the Report Type drop-down menu and select Billing Report.
6. Click Save.
7. Click the Category drop-down menu and select the category used to generate the rows in the report.
8. (Optional) Select the Show Filters check box to indicate whether a list of the filters configured for the
report will be included in the report.
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9. In the Time Range row, determine the amount of time to include in the report.
The time range applies to the date you select in the Date Attribute for Time Range drop-down menu.
10. Click the Date Attribute for Time Range drop-down menu and select a ticket date attribute to use
when applying the values you select for the Time Range.
11. (Optional). Click the Report Filters tab to add a report filter.
a. Click New.
The Report Filters Options appear.
b. Click the Filter Attribute drop-down menu and specify the ticket attribute that will apply to the
filter.
c. In the Filter Type row, select how the values chosen for the filter will be included or excluded
from the report.
Select Inclusive to include tickets with one of the selected values.
Select Exclusive to exclude tickets with one of the selected values.
12. Click Save.
13. In the Report Details tab, click Run Reports.
The example below shows a generated billing report with Tech Group as the selected category in the
Report Details tab window.
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3. On the Report Basics tab, enter the report name and request type.
Report groups are optional. If you have a large number of reports, you can use them to
classify the reports.
6. As the Bar Category, select what each bar represents. In this example, each bar represents a tech.
For more information about bar and pie chart options, see Bar and pie chart configuration
options.
7. As the Bar Stack Category, select Priority to subdivide each bar by ticket priority.
8. As the Chart Metric, select the measurement that determines the height of each bar. In this example,
the height reflects the number of tickets.
9. Select Show Table to display this information in a table below the bar chart.
10. For this report, leave the time range blank so that it will include all open tickets. When the time
range is blank the Date Attribute has no impact, so you can accept the default.
11. Click the Report Filters tab, and then click New.
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5. Select the value used to define the table rows. In this example, the table will include a row for each
request type.
6. Select the value used to define the table columns. In this example, leave the Column Category blank.
The table will include one data column showing totals for the week.
To include columns that show subtotals for each day, select Date Closed as the Column
Category.
8. Select the time range that the report will include. Select the Round back option to include the
previous week from Sunday through Sunday (rather than today and the previous seven days).
9. To include only tickets closed during the specified time range, select Date Closed as the Date
Attribute.
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3. On the Report Details tab, change the Bar Category from Asset No. to Model. Each bar will represent
an asset model instead of an individual asset.
4. For the Bar Stack Category, select Asset No. This subdivides each bar by individual assets to identify
individual assets generating more tickets than others with the same model.
5. Click the Report Filters tab, and then click the name of the existing filter to open it.
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7. Click the Report Basics tab, and then change the name of the report to reflect its new contents.
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Schedule reports
Use report schedules to automatically generate one or more reports in PDF format and email them to the
specified recipients via their default outgoing email accounts. Recipients can be clients, techs, or people
who do not have Web Help Desk accounts.
This example schedules two asset reports to be distributed at the beginning of every month.
4. Specify how often the report is distributed and when the distribution begins.
5. (Optional) Update the email message to which the reports will be attached.
See the tooltips for more information about any field.
6. To distribute the report to clients, search for a client and then click the client name.
If you defined a connection to an LDAPserver, the Search LDAPcheck box is displayed. Select this
option to include names from the LDAPdirectory in the search. Point to the Search LDAP label for
more information.
7. To add recipients who are not Web Help Desk clients and techs, enter their email addresses in the
Other Recipients E-Mails field.
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4. Click the Storage Location drop-down menu for a specific part and select a storage location.
5. In the Add Count field, add the number of available parts.
To reduce the number of available parts, use a negative number. For example, to change the
number of available parts from 6 to 5, enter -1.
6. Click Save.
When a part inventory reaches zero, the inventory status changes from Available to Back
Ordered.
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3. Click the second Inventory Alert drop-down menu and select the appropriate alert frequency.
4. In the Default Inventory Alerts Recipients field, enter the email addresses for each recipient who will
receive inventory alerts.
Click the tooltips for more information.
5. Click Save.
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For an expired block, the usable value may be lower than the block value depending on how much
time was used before the block expired.
The amount of service time available for a location displays within the Ticket Details of a ticket
under the location pop-up. If the value is negative, it appears in red.
WebHelpDesk\\bin\webapps\helpdesk\WEB-INF\lib\whdweb.jar\Resources\Invoice.wo\Invoice.html
For example, if you wanted to remove the signature line, you could remove lines 433 - 438:
<fo:table-row>
<fo:table-cell number-columns-spanned="<webobject
name=LineItemColumnCount></webobject>" padding-top="10mm">
</fo:block>
</fo:table-cell>
</fo:table-row>
After you delete these lines or make any other changes, restart Web Help Desk to enable your changes.
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Create surveys
1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select Surveys > Surveys.
2. In the Surveys screen, click New.
3. In the Survey Name and Description fields, enter the appropriate information for your survey.
5. Click Save.
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3. Click Save.
3. Click Search.
4. In the search results toolbar, click Send Survey.
5. In the Survey Invitation Mailer screen, click the Survey drop-down menu and select a survey.
6. Edit the survey content (if required).
7. Click Save & Email.
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Create messages
Use this feature to send messages to techs and clients.
4. Click Save.
The message is sent to your selected recipients.
3. Click Search.
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4. In the generated table, select the appropriate clients to receive the survey.
5. Click Send Survey.
6. In the Survey Invitation Mailer screen, click the Survey drop-down menu and select a survey.
7. Review the survey E-Mail Subject and Message Preview boxes and modify the email message content
as required.
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Using a communication link (or SolarWinds connection) between Web Help Desk and a supported Orion
platform, Web Help Desk can generate help desk tickets that respond to monitored events occurring in
your corporate enterprise, such as a failed hard drive or a change in server health.
After you configure a SolarWinds connection in Web Help Desk and a shared alert is triggered (for
example, a SolarWinds-monitored network node failed for any reason), the Orion Platform sends Web Help
Desk an HTTP request to create an alert-based ticket. You can configure Web Help Desk to receive all or
only specific alerts to generate a corresponding ticket that addresses the issue described in the alert.
Integrating Web Help Desk with your Orion platform applications helps you ensure that all monitored
alerts are addressed in a timely manner. If your monitored servers and applications are located in a
remote area or you have limited staff to monitor your corporate enterprise, Web Help Desk can
automatically route the issue to the appropriate tech who can address the problem in the least amount of
time.
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For example, if you are creating a connection to SolarWinds SAMto address alerts related to server health,
click the WHDRequest Type drop-down menu and select a request type linked to a tech group that
troubleshoots and resolves server issues.
Below are some notes that appear in the Web Help Desk ticket from the Orion alert.
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Configure Orion alert sharing for Orion Platform 2015.1.0 and later
3. Maximize Alert Integration and select the Integrate alert check box.
4. Select the properties you want to include in the alert, and click Submit.
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For more information about Orion alert properties, see NPM variables and examples in the SolarWinds Orion
NPM Administrator Guide.
Example:Create an alert for a failed node
The following example describes how to create and configure an Orion Platform 2015.1.0 shared alert with
Web Help Desk. In this example, Orion will send Web Help Desk an alert concerning a failed node.
1. On the Orion server, click Start and select SolarWinds Orion > Alerting, Reporting, and Mapping >
Advanced Alert Manager.
2. Click Configure Alerts.
3. In the Manage Alerts window, select the alert you want sent to Web Help Desk and click Edit.
4. In the Edit Alert dialog General tab, ensure the Enable this Alert option is selected.
The Orion server will send the alert only when this option is active.
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7. Click the first asterisk * in the condition, and then select Network Nodes > Node Details > Node
Name.
8. Click the second asterisk in the condition and select the node from which you want Web Help Desk to
receive alerts.
9. Click Add and then click Simple Condition.
10. Click the first asterisk [*] in the condition, and then select Network Nodes > Node Status > Node
Status.
11. Click the second asterisk [*] in the condition and select Down.
12. Select the Alert Suppression tab.
Make sure this tab is not configured. Otherwise, your system will not generate an alert to the
Web Help Desk system.
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22. In the Properties to Include box, review the property names in the Name column.
IPAddress
Status Description
Node Name
Vendor
Web Help Desk uses the actual names of the properties as alert fields in rules it uses to filter
alerts from Orion.
1. In the Alert Manager - Quick Start window toolbar, click Active Alerts.
The Orion server processes and displays the alert state. When completed, the server sends the alert
to the Web Help Desk integration email account.
Next, the Active Alerts tab displays the time when the alert was triggered.
If the alert does not appear in the Active Alerts tab:
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1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select SolarWinds Integration >SolarWinds Connection.
2. In the SolarWinds Connection screen, click Add New SolarWinds Source.
3. In the Add New SolarWinds Source screen, enter the new SolarWinds source name in the Source
Name field.
4. Select a request type.
5. Enter the SolarWinds Server IP Address or Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).
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7. Click Test.
When Web Help Desk creates a connection with a SolarWindsOrion alert source, the checked areas
in the window contain green check marks.
Filters
Web Help Desk creates help desk tickets from Orion alerts by matching the Orion alert contents or features
to filters you set up in the application. To create alert filtering rules, apply the property names that exist in
your Web Help Desk Orion alerts.
These alerts can include default names or other types of name configurations assigned by the Orion user.
After you set up the SolarWinds server in Web Help Desk and gather information about your Orion alerts
and associated properties, configure Web Help Desk to transform Orion alerts into client tickets.
About rule configuration
By default, Web Help Desk does not monitor Orion platform alerts. To transform alerts into Web Help Desk
tickets, select and define the appropriate rules so the application can recognize the alerts.
The following table describes the filtering rule types.
Matching Rule
RULE DESCRIPTION
Defines the characteristics alerts must contain for Web Help Desk to
recognize and transform the alerts into tickets or ignore them.
These characteristics include:
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RULE DESCRIPTION
n
Field name (such as Date, Alert Type, Operating System, and so on)
Operator (such as equals, is not equal to, starts with, and so on)
AND/OR block
Child Rule
Complex Rule
Matching rules
Adding a new matching rule notifies Web Help Desk to match certain variables in alert text fields or a
defined severity level.
The following table provides the Web Help Desk filtering options.
FILTER OPTION
DESCRIPTION
Accept alert
Reject alert
if Severity
if Alert Field
is equal to:Select this option to match alerts by one of the following Orion
alert levels:Notice, Information, Warning, Critical, or Serious.
is not equal to:Select this option to match all severity levels except the one
selected. If you select this option, choose one of the following alert levels to
ignore:Notice, Information, Warning, Critical, or Serious.
In the following example, Web Help Desk will create a ticket from all Orion alerts containing Windows 8 in
the Operating System field.
The Operating System field must be added to the Orion Alert integration.
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Complex rules
You can add an And/Or block to a create a filter rule based on more than one condition. The Any rule
creates a ticket when any child condition is true. The All rule creates a ticket only when all child conditions
are true.
In the following All child rule example, a ticket is created when a node from an IPaddress is up and
component availability is down.
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The figures below show an example of a matching rule that accepts the alert if the value of the Node
Status field is Up.
3. Configure the rule based on the severity of the alert, or an alert field value.
For both the Accept alert and Reject alert options, Ignore case and Ignore white space are
active by default. To ensure the best results, leave these options selected.
The figures below show an example of an And/Or block that accepts the alert if the severity is Critical or if
the value of the Node Status field is Up.
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5. Configure the rule based on the severity of the alert, or an alert field value.
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2. Select a severity.
3. Click Add New Property, select an alert field, and enter the value.
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4. Add all alert properties defined in the filter rule, and click Test.
If your rules are configured correctly, a message states that the filter rules match and the alert is accepted
in the Test Results pane. Click Done.
If your rules are not configured correctly, a message states that the filter rules did not match and the alert
is rejected in the Test Results pane. Click Back to resolve your configuration errors.
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Connect to remote computers directly from help desk trouble tickets and asset inventory
Establish and save chat sessions with remote users to client tickets
DameWare MRC can access and troubleshoot computers running a variety of supported operating
systems, including:
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Microsoft Windows
1. Install DameWare MRC on all tech systems running Web Help Desk.
See your SolarWinds product integration requirements for the supported versions.
See the DameWare Mini Remote Control (Standalone)Evaluation Guide for more information.
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Configure integration
After you install and deploy DameWare MRC on all tech systems in your deployment, log in as an
administrator and configure Web Help Desk to integrate with DameWare MRC.
3. Click the Default Request Type drop-down menu and select the request type used when a tech
creates a new DameWare-based ticket.
This selection determines the custom fields in the ticket, the assigned tech, and how the Ticket is
routed to a tech.
The Request Type you select should be the type most likely to result from a DameWare
troubleshooting session. For example, if you know you will be using DameWare to
troubleshoot mostly hardware issues, select Hardware as the request type. See Select a
request type for additional information.
To ensure seamless integration with DameWare, ensure that the Web Help Desk request type
used to create DameWare tickets does not include required custom fields.
4. Click Save.
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4. Scroll down to Asset Setup and select the Enable DameWare Links check box.
5. Click Save.
6. Repeat step 3 through step 6 for each additional tech who needs access.
Tech notes
Chat transcripts
Screen shots
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3. Select the ticket and click Use selected ticket to save the session details to the Web Help Desk ticket
listed on the screen.
You must either have a ticket number or create a new ticket so the information can be saved
to Web Help Desk.
To save the session to a new ticket, click Create new ticket.
4. Enter any information you or the client may want to refer to later about the troubleshooting session.
To make this information available to clients, select Make the session details and attachments visible
to clients.
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7. After the WHD-vSphere-12.0.x.xxx.ova deploys and the wizard completes, click Close.
8. On the VM Summary tab, click the Power On link or right-click the VM name in the vSphere Client
inventory pane.
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9. In the context menu, click Power > Power On to start the appliance.
You can also press Ctrl-B to start the appliance.
11. To manage the appliance, launch a Web browser and navigate to the vSphere Client Console tab at
the following IP address:
https://<ip_address>/5480
The Virtual Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) login displays.
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12. To login to the appliance for the first time, use the following credentials:
Username:admin
Password: admin
SolarWinds recommend changing the default password after your first login. See Change the
administrator password for more information.
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10. Specify the network settings the appliance should use, and then click OK.
11. Right-click the appliance in the inventory, and then click Action >Connect.
If you use DHCP for network setup and your deployment ends with deployment ends with
"warnings/errors - No networking detected," see Configuring Network Settings to set up the virtual
appliance with a static IP configuration.
You will need some or all of the following information:
n Virtual appliance IPaddress
n
Network mask
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12. In the virtual console window, click Action > Start and wait for the appliance to start.
SolarWindsrecommends changing the default password after your first login. See Changing
the Administrator Password. for information about changing your password.
13. To start Web Help Desk, launch a web browser and navigate to the URL shown in the Hyper-V
Console tab.
12.X.X.XXX.zip from the SolarWinds Customer Portal. See the appropriate procedure below to
upgrade Web Help Desk on the vSphere or Hyper-V virtual appliance.
Upgrade on vSphere
1. Save the .iso file to the computer you use to access the vSphere client.
2. Run the vSphere Client and then log on as an administrator.
3. Select the appliance currently running Web Help Desk.
4. Click the CD/DVD utility icon and then click CD/DVD Drive 1 > Connect to ISO image on local disk.
5. Select the .iso file and then click Open.
6. Open a browser to the following URL:
https://ip_address:5480
7. Log on to the website using the following credentials:
admin/admin
8. Click the Update tab.
9. Click Check Updates.
10. Click Install Updates and then click OK.
If Web Help Desk displays odd behavior after an upgrade, clear your browser cache.
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Upgrade on Hyper-V
1. Save the .iso file to a data store that you can access from the appliance running Web Help Desk.
2. Run the Hyper-V Manager.
3. Select the appliance currently running Web Help Desk.
4. Click Settings.
5. Click DVD Drive.
6. Select the Image file, and then click Browse.
7. Select the .iso file and then click Open.
8. Click OK.
9. Open a web browser window.
10. Log in to theWeb Help Desk Management Console interface at:
https://ip_address:5480
where ip_address is the IP address or name of the Web Help Desk server and 5480 is the port
number for theWeb Help Desk Management Console interface.
11. Log on to the website using the following default login credentials:
admin/admin
12. Click the Update tab.
13. Click Check Updates.
14. Click Install Updates and click OK.
If Web Help Desk displays odd behavior after an upgrade, clear your browser cache.
Time zone
Network settings
Proxy settings
When completed, reboot the appliance and change the administrator password (if required).
The configuration process takes approximately 10 minutes.
Both vSphere and Hyper-V virtual appliances use the same interface once you reach the appliance
log in. As a result, the instructions for both machines are the same after you log in.
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https://<ip_address>:5480
where ip_address is the appliance URL shown in the URL shown in the Console tab.
3. In the Login screen, enter your user name and password in the appropriate fields.
If you are logging in for the first time, use the following credentials:
User Name: admin
Password:admin
SolarWinds recommends changing the default password after your first login. See Changing
the administrator password for more information.
4. Click Login.
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You can locate an incorrect setup in the SQL tables for Orion Alert subscribers. If the entry for the Web
Help Desk URLis localhost.localdom, the DNS is not configured correctly and needs to be
reconfigured.
Hostname
The host name labels may contain only the ASCII letters a through z (case-insensitive), 0
through 9, and the hyphen (-). Host names cannot begin with a digit or a hyphen and
must not end with a hyphen. No other symbols, punctuation characters, or white spaces
are permitted.
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Restart the systems time synchronization network time protocol daemon (ntpd)
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Knowledge-centered support
Benefits of KCS
Knowledge-centered support (KCS) is a set of practices that make information available and easily
accessible to both clients and techs. With KCS, knowledge is considered a fundamental asset of the
technical support organization. The goals of KCS include:
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If so, the tech follows the instructions in the FAQ (and updates it if any steps have changed). The tech
can also attach the FAQ to the ticket.
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In addition, clients can search the FAQs that are available to them.
An FAQ can be available to all Web Help Desk clients, or it can be limited to a specific audience (for
example, only to clients from a certain company).
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6. Use the radio buttons to restrict who can view this FAQ or specify what model the FAQ applies to.
7. In the Attachments row, click Add File to add an attachment, such as a supporting document,
graphic, or spreadsheet.
8. If you have permission to approve FAQs, select the Approved check box to publish the FAQ.
Otherwise, notify an approver that the FAQ is ready for review.
FAQs can be approved by all admins and by techs with the Approve FAQs permission.
9. If you want the FAQ to expire, select an expiration date and time.
10. Click Save, and then click Done.
TICKET
FAQ
Request Detail
Question
Note text
Answer
Request Type
Category
The FAQ is created, but it is not approved. Also, any attachments to the note are not attached
to the FAQ.
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Edit the Question and Answer text to make it appropriate for a general audience. For
example, remove people's names and company-specific information.
Use the radio buttons to restrict who can view this FAQ or specify what model the FAQ
applies to.
If the note included an attachment, attach that file to the FAQ.
If necessary, first download the attachment from the ticket to your computer, and then attach it
to the FAQ.
7. If you have permission to approve FAQs, select the Approved check box to publish the FAQ.
Otherwise, notify an approver that the FAQ is ready for review.
FAQs can be approved by all admins and by techs with the Approve FAQs permission.
8. If you want the FAQ to expire, select an expiration date and time.
9. Click Save, and then click Done.
Search FAQs
1. Click FAQs in the Web Help Desk toolbar.
2. Specify the search criteria at the top of the window.
3. Click Search.
The FAQs that meet your search criteria are listed.
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You can view any FAQ in the list. Techs with the appropriate permissions can edit FAQs.
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5. Click the Link FAQ button on the right side of the FAQ's row.
A link to the FAQ is added to the note.
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Get connected
This section contains information on accessing the SolarWinds Customer Portal and engaging with thwack,
the SolarWinds community of ITpros:
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1. Go to customerportal.solarwinds.com.
2. Click the Register tab.
3. Enter your organization's SWID and your email address.
If you have multiple SWIDs, enter any SWID to create your profile. Later, use the User Profile
menu to link the other SWIDs to your profile.
The account administrator will review the request, and you will receive an email when it is approved.
For more information about creating an account, see this FAQ page.
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Account Administrator: Can access all areas of the Customer Portal. Can also add and remove
users, edit user profile information, and assign roles and contact types to users.
No Access: Cannot access the Customer Portal, but is listed as a contact on the account.
1. Go to thwack.solarwinds.com.
2. Click Register in the top right.
3. Enter the required information and accept the license agreement.
4. Click Create Account.
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n
n
n
n
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Appendix
This section contains additional information for managing your Web Help Desk deployment.
Deployment considerations
When you plan your Web Help Desk deployment, consider adding additional system RAMand Java Virtual
Machine (JVM)heap memory to support the number of techs in your help desk operations. Filling up the
JVMheap memory can degrade your Web Help Desk performance.
Additionally, consider creating a high availability deployment to protect your Web Help Desk operations
from a single point of failure.
Apple OSX
Microsoft Windows
Linux
/Library/WebHelpDesk/bin/ com.macsdesign.RestartWebHelpDesk.plist
3. Execute the following command:
launchctl list
5. To unload the LaunchDaemon, execute the following command:
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The plist file is configured to restart Web Help Desk each night at 1 AM. You can change the schedule by
editing the StartCalendarInterval property in the plist. See your Apple OS X documentation for
details.
When you schedule your nightly restart, the following conventions apply:
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The launch daemon works only with the standard Web Help Desk Tomcat deployment. WebObjects
Monitor deployments use the Monitor tool to configure automatic restarts.
When scheduling with the Monitor, make sure to clear Is Graceful to force the instances to restart.
Depending on your Microsoft Windows operating system version, these steps may vary.
1. Click Start and select Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks > Add Scheduled Task.
2. In the Scheduled Task Wizard, select any application to run.
3. Select a daily time to run the task.
4. Select Open Advanced.
5. Change the Run command to:
Create a nightly cron job that calls the stop or start scripts as root or use sudo.
You can create the cron job using the following command:
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1. Install WebObjects.
2. Run the Web Help Desk installer to extract the application to /Library/WebHelpDesk.
3. Run the following script to configure Web Help Desk with WebObjects:
sudo /Library/WebHelpDesk/bin/UpdateWebObjectsConfiguration
4. In WebObjects Monitor, add a new application named Helpdesk with the following path:
/Library/WebHelpDesk/bin/webapps/helpdesk/WEB-INF/Helpdesk.woa/Helpdesk
5. In WebObjects Monitor, add a new application named HelpdeskDaemon with the following path:
/Library/WebHelpDesk/bin/webapps/helpdesk/WEB-INF/Helpdesk.woa/Helpdesk
6. In the instance configuration page for HelpdeskDaemon, add the following to the Additional
Arguments setting:
-DWHDDaemonMode=dedicated
Only one Web Help Desk instance should ever be running as a daemon.
After you start the applications in WebObjects Monitor, connect to Web Help Desk using the
following URL:
http://localhost/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa
1. Download Apache Tomcat 7.0.68 from the Apache Tomcat Core 7 website.
2. Unzip the files to a directory you create on your Tomcat server running Linux.
For example:/cluster/apache-tomcat-7.0.68
This location will be referred to as template_tomcat_home_directory in this procedure.
3. Download the Apache httpd server version for your operating system from the Apache HTTPServer
Project site.
See Compiling and Installing at the Apache HTTPServer Project Website for information about
installing HTTP Server.
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5. Install the latest version of SolarWinds Web Help Desk for Linux from the rpm package. See the Web
Help Desk Admin Guide for installation instructions.
The default installation directory is:
/user/local/webhelpdesk
This location will be known as <whd_home> in this procedure.
You can create multiple Tomcat instances that point to the <tomcat_home>/webapps directory. These
Tomcat instances run as separate processes with their own long files, port numbers, and resources.
In -s template_tomcate_home_directory/webapps/ webapps
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<File>TOMCAT_1_HOME/logs/whd-spring.log</File>
<fileNamePattern>TOMCAT_1_HOME/logs/whd-spring.%d{yyyy-MMdd}.log</fileNamePattern>
7. Update the catalina.sh script in the TOMCAT_1_HOME/bin directory to accommodate TOMCAT_
1_HOME port changes in the server.xml file and modify activemq.broker.port to avoid conflicts.
Update the script as follows:
-Djava.endorsed.dirs=TOMCAT_1_HOME/webapps/endorsed
-DWHDconfig=TOMCAT_1_HOME/webapps/.whd.properties
-Dlogback.configurationFile=TOMCAT_1_HOME/logback-config.xml
-DWHDPort=8200
-DWHDPrivateBaseUrl=http://localhost:8200
-Dactivemq.broker.port=61618
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<Proxy balancer://cluster>
BalancerMember http://localhost:8080 loadfactor=1 route=worker1
ProxySet lbmethod=byrequests stickysession=JSESSIONID|jsessionid|wosid
</Proxy>
to the following values:
<Proxy balancer://cluster>
BalancerMember http://localhost:8080 loadfactor=1 route=worker1
BalancerMember http://localhost:8200 loadfactor=1 route=worker2
ProxySet lbmethod=byrequests stickysession=JSESSIONID|jsessionid|wosid
</Proxy>
9. Restart the Apache httpd service and both Tomcat instances.
10. Start Web Help Desk.
Configure multiple instance Tomcat daemons
You can configure multiple instance Tomcat daemons by editing the tomcat_web_template.xml file
located at:
<WebHelpDesk>/conf
For multiple-instance Web Help Deskinstallations, use the following guidelines:
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Configure one instance to provide either dedicated or background daemon services. Having more
than one instance provide daemon services can result in duplicate tickets and unnecessary use of
system resources.
Set the single daemon instance to either dedicated or background. Set the remaining instance to
none.
Ensure that all but one instance is running without daemon services.
For example:
WHDDaemonMode=none
Configuration options
When you configure your daemon settings, use the following options:
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Dedicated. The Web Help Desk installation instance functions only as a daemon, and the login page
is disabled.
Background. The Web Help Desk instance functions as a daemon, but users can also log in to it.
None (default). The Web Help Desk instance does not execute daemon tasks.
To configure a multiple instance installation, set the memory, the Tomcat deployment descriptor, and the
WebObjects daemon mode.
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You can configure only one Web Help Desk instance to run as the daemoneither in dedicated or
background mode. SolarWinds recommends running the instance in background mode so that it can be
restarted when requiredon a more frequent basis than the front-end instanceswithout interfering
with the front-end application. For information about configuring the daemon, see the SolarWinds
knowledge base article entitled How to Implement Large Deployments with Web Help Desk.
Memory allocation
Allocate at least 256MB of RAM to your daemon processes. If the Web Help Desk DaemonMode parameter
is set to background, allocate an additional 256MB RAM beyond the amount allocated to other instances.
This RAMconfiguration will support the daemon services memory resources in addition to supporting the
application user interface.
See the following sections to set the daemons required for multiple Tomcat instances:
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Beginning in v12.4.0, Web Help Desk upgraded to Apache Tomcat v7.0.68 for improved security. When you
upgrade your Web Help Desk software, the upgrade procedure replaces the tomcat_web_template.xml
file with an updated file that includes the Tomcat v7.0.68 settings.
Before you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, back up your current tomcat_web_template.xml
file to an external directory. When the upgrade is completed, add your personal settings to the updated
file from your backup file, and then restart Web Help Desk.
Set the Tomcat daemon
webhelpdesk\conf\tomcat_web_template.xml
3. Set the Web Help Desk Daemon Mode (near the end of the xml file) setting for the instance type
described above.
4. Save the file.
5. Restart Web Help Desk.
Set the daemon memory
webhelpdesk\conf\whd.conf
3. Change the MAXIMUM_MEMORY setting to:
MAXIMUM_MEMORY=1024
4. Save the whd.conf file.
5. Restart Web Help Desk.
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\webhelpdesk\bin\wrapper\conf\wrapper_template.conf
3. Add the following parameter to the end of the # Java Additional Wrappers section:
wrapper.java.additional.14=-DWHDDaemonMode=background
4. Save the file.
5. Restart Web Help Desk.
SolarWinds recommends creating a separate WebObjects Monitor application called HelpdeskDaemon for
the daemon instance. This naming convention ensures the WebObjects adapter does not attempt direct
login requests intended for the Helpdesk instance to the daemon instance.
When completed, set the daemon instance application path to:
/Library/webhelpdesk/bin/webapps/helpdesk/WEB-INF/Helpdesk.woa/Helpdesk
Since the default daemon mode is none, setting the WHDDaemonMode argument for non-daemon
instances is not required.
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Web Help Desk uses its own customizable implementation of BBCode. Below is an example of BBCode you
can use in a Web page:
[size=20]Title[/size]
[img]http://www.SolarWinds.com/favicon.ico[/img]
<p>
</p>
[list]
[/list]
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[list=A]
[/list]
This texta mixture of BBCode and HTMLappears in the following format:
Web Help Desk stores transformation rules for tags in the following location:
WebHelpDesk/bin/webapps/helpdesk/WEB-INF/Helpdesk.woa/Contents/Resources/bb_
config.xml
The following sections provide addition information about working with BBCode to format custom
information in Web Help Desk:
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The following table lists the tags supported by Web Help Desk:
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TAG
DESCRIPTION
[quote]Text[/quote]
[quote=Author]Text[/quote]
[b]bold[/b]
[i]italics[/i]
[u]underscored[/u]
[img]URL[/img]
[email]address[/email]
[email=address]Text[/email]
[color=name]Text[/color]
[size=number of pixels]Text
[/size]
[google]key words[/google]
[google=key words]Text[/google]
[faq id=number]
You can also use the following HTML tags with BBCode tags:
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<li>
<ul>
<ol>
<font>
<br />
<p>
<pre>
<center>
<faq>
<hr>
<strong>
You can implement BBCode in many areas, such as ticket subjects, request details, notes, and custom field
descriptions.
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Most ticket fields support BBCode, but some fields (such as secondary email fields in your account
details) do not support these fields. Be sure to test the code prior to implementation.
<!-- S -->
<match name="s">
<regex>(?s)(?i)\[s\](.*?)\[/s\]</regex>
<replace>
<![CDATA[
<strike>$1</strike>
]] >
</replace>
</match>
To apply the formatting, save your changes and restart Web Help Desk.
When you are working on an incident or writing an FAQ, you can refer to other tickets, referencing a
specific ticket or terms like request, case, or problem. To transform these references into clickable links
that open the referenced tickets, create a rule.
To create a rule linking to other tickets, add the following syntax to the bb_config.xml file:
<regex>(?s)(?i)((?:ticket|incident|case|problem|request)
\s*)([0-9]+)</regex>
<replace>
<![CDATA[
<a href="http://webhelpdesk.com:8081/
helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa/wa/TicketActionsview?ticke
t=$2">$1$2</a>
]]>
</replace>
</match>
Be sure to replace the URL with the link to your system.
Entering case 22 automatically creates a link to case 22, as shown below.
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webhelpdesk/conf/whd.conf
When you upgrade Web Help Desk, the upgrade procedure only replaces the whd.conf.orig file located
in the same directory. Use this file as a reference for new options available in the upgraded version. You
can copy options into the existing whd.conf file or replace the whd.conf file with the whd.conf.orig
file and edit the file as needed.
If you update the file, restart Web Help Desk for changes to take effect. On Web Help Desk systems running
Microsoft Windows Server, restart your system using the Start menu option. Restarting Windows Services
will not apply your configuration changes.
The following sections explain how to customize and use the default settings in the whd.conf file.
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Privileged networks
Memory allocation
IP address
Database connections
Databases
Emails
LDAP/AD
Asset Discovery
PORT
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
80
TCP
443
TCP
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PORT
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
5480
TCP
8081
TCP
Non-secure traffic from the Web Help Desk Console (Windows, Linux, OSX)
61616
TCP
Databases
The following table lists the Web Help Desk ports for external and embedded database communications.
PORT
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
Microsoft SQLexternal database
Lansweeper
Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) / System Center Configuration
1433
TCP
Manager (SCCM),
Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
Network Performance Monitor (NCM)
Server and Application Monitor (SAM)
3306
TCP
External MySQLdatabase
5432
TCP
External PostgreSQLdatabase
20293
TCP
Emails
The following table lists the Web Help Desk ports for email traffic.
PORT
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
25
TCP
Traffic from the Web Help Desk appliance to your email server for automated
email notifications
80
TCP
110
TCP
Non-secure POP3
143
TCP
Non-secure IMAP
443
TCP
993
TCP
SecureIMAP
995
TCP
Secure POP3
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LDAP/AD
The following table lists the Web Help Desk ports for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol / Active
Directory (LDAP / AD).
PORT
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
389
TCP
Traffic from the Web Help Desk appliance to a designated server (usually a
domain controller) for use with the Directory Service tool (LDAP, AD)
636
TCP
Secure traffic from the Web Help Desk appliance to designated server (usually a
domain controller) for use with the Directory Service tool (LDAP, AD)
Asset Discovery
The following table lists the Web Help Desk ports for Asset Recovery.
PORT
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
135
TCP
Asset Discovery via WMI(WMIcalls uses port 135 and then chooses a random
port for further communication)
1433
TCP
1521
TCP
3306
TCP
4445
TCP
5433
TCP
7100
TCP
No redirect to HTTPS
IP address
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DEFAULT_PORT=8081HTTPS_PORT=443
The Apache Tomcat application server that hosts Web Help Desk is configured to use non-secure http on
port 8081 by default. To run on a different http port, change the DEFAULT_PORT value. Be sure that the
newly-selected port is available, or Web Help Desk will not be able to start.
To run the application over https, uncomment the HTTPS_PORT option. To use the standard https port
(443), the port must be available or Web Help Desk will be unable to start. When the application
successfully starts up on the configured https port, it automatically generates a self-signed certificate at:
webhelpdesk/conf/keystore.jks
See Adding third-party SSL certificates for additional information about importing an SSLcertificate into
the keystore.jks file.
1. Copy the certificate to the appliance /tmp directory, using a protocol such as SFTP or SCP.
The certificate in this example procedure is:
whd.crt
2. Change your directory to the Web Help Desk root directory.
Execute:
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5. List the current keys in the keystore, entering your keystore password when prompted.
Execute:
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Extensions:
#1: ObjectId: 2.5.29.14 Criticality=falseSubjectKeyIdentifier
[KeyIdentifier [0000: 12 4E F7 45 EC EE 6C A7 58 26 44 1A 5B 66 B7 AC
.N.E..l.X&D.[f..0010: 2E 37 A2 E5
.7..]]
#2: ObjectId: 2.5.29.19 Criticality=falseBasicConstraints:[ CA:true
PathLen:2147483647]
#3: ObjectId: 2.5.29.35 Criticality=falseAuthorityKeyIdentifier
[KeyIdentifier [0000: 12 4E F7 45 EC EE 6C A7 58 26 44 1A 5B 66 B7 AC
.N.E..l.X&D.[f..0010: 2E 37 A2 E5.7..]
Trust this certificate? [no]: yes
Certificate was added to keystore
9. Re-list the keystore keys.
Execute:
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11. If the HTTPS service does not appear, stop and then restart whd debug. When completed, look for
error messages.
Execute:
No redirect to HTTPS
NO_REDIRECT=true
When both the DEFAULT_PORT and HTTPS_PORT are enabled, the default behavior is to automatically
redirect all http requests to https. If this is not the desired behavior, uncomment the NO_REDIRECT=true
option.
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In some deployments, Web Help Desk needs to use a port other than the Tomcat port in URLs it generates
for external links.
For example, a Tomcat web server can be configured to route requests for the default port (80) to go to the
default Web Help Desk port (8081) using a proxy pass. In this case, Web Help Desk should generate URLs
with port 80, rather than port 8081. Port 8081 could be configured behind a firewall and be unreachable
from other systems.
JAVA_HOME=C:\Progra~1\Java\jre8
IP address
IP_ADDRESS=
By default, Tomcat listens on the configured DEFAULT_PORT and HTTPS_PORT for all IP addresses
assigned to the machine. To limit Tomcat to a specific port, use this setting.
Privileged networks
Privileged networks are networks that allow database updates.
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In the whd.conf server configuration file, the PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS= setting identifies networks that
allow database updates. If the database requires an update, browser connections from hosts not
belonging to these privileged networks receive a message indicating an update is in progress.
Use the PRIVILEGED_NETWORKS=setting when installing headless servers.
You can customize the browser message by editing login.msg.applicationUpdateInProgress in
the custom labels file.
To remove the info popup icon on this page, use an empty entry for:
login.msg.applicationUpdateInProgressHelp
The localhost (127.0.0.1) is always permitted to update. However, a Windows server with multiple IP
addresses may not respond to the localhost address. In this example, the IP_ADDRESS option must be set
to one of the server IPs, and the PRIVILEGED_NETWORK should also use that same IP.
SETTING
KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=changeit
DESCRIPTION
If you are using SSL, ensure that the password matches the
password set when you created the new tomcat keypair.
See Importing an SSL Certificate for more information.
The default keystore file is:
KEYSTORE_FILE=
webhelpdesk/conf/keystore.jks
KEYSTORE_TYPE=JKS
Memory allocation
Most Web Help Desk systems perform well on 3.0 GHz systems with 3 GB of RAM. However, when you
create a large number of techs, consider the hardware used and the system configuration. SolarWinds
recommends adding 1 GB of memory to the Web Help Desk server for every 10 additional techs.
If you plan to integrate Web Help Desk with SolarWinds Orion, ensure your Orion server is SolarWinds
Orion Core 2012.2 or higher. Web Help Desk requires this version of Orion Core so it can automatically
integrate SolarWinds alerts. For SolarWinds NPM upgrade and licensing instructions, see Installing
SolarWinds Orion Network Performance Monitor, in the SolarWinds Orion Network Performance Monitor
Administrator Guide.
374
Database connections
DATABASE_CONNECTIONS=10
The maximum number of connections made between the Web Help Desk application and the configured
database. Larger installations may want to increase this value. One connection for every five simultaneous
users is a conservative ratio.
JAVA_OPTS="-Darg1=true -Darg2=true
This property is only effective on Mac OS X and Linux servers. For Windows servers, additional JVM
arguments must be specified in the Java Additional Parameters section of the wrapper_template.conf
file located at <webhelpdesk>\bin\wrapper\conf\wrapper_template.conf.
The following table provides a list of the available command-line options.
OPTION
DESCRIPTION
Sets the number of seconds between each
email check.
-DWHDEmailCheckInterval=60
-DWHDLdapPasswordCacheHours=168
-DWHDDashboardEnabled=true
Set to false to remove the Tickets >
Dashboard tab for all users.
Enables SQLdebug logging to the
helpdesk.log file.
-DWHDsql=false
Set to true to enable SQL debug logging to
helpdesk.log
Describes how the targeted daemon will run
in this instance.
-DWHDDaemonMode=background
Set to background to run a daemon as a
background process.
375
JVM arguments
JVM arguments are flags that are passed to the Java Virtual Machine at the time the application is
launched. On Linux or Mac machines, they can be provided through the JAVA_OPTS setting in the
whd.conf file. Configure Windows machines located at:
whd_home>/bin/wrapper/conf/wrapper_template.conf
For example, on a Linux or Mac installation, you could disable concurrent request handling and set the
Casper requestor thread count to 6 by setting JAVA_OPTS in the whd.conf file as follows:
JAVA_OPTS=-DWHDconcurrentRequests=false -DCasper9RequestorThreadCount=6"
The syntax for Windows machines (in wrapper_template.con) is slightly different:
wrapper.java.additional.12=-DWHDconcurrentRequests=false
wrapper.java.additional.13=-DCasper9RequestorThreadCount=6
The number to use for each line depends on your particular configuration. Additionally, if you are
adding arguments, you must use -D<argument>.
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Defines port used by ActiveMQ. Needs to be unique
activemq.broker.port
<port>
61616
Casper9RequestorThreadCount
integer
WHDlog4jConfigOverride
WHDmax_clients
true |
false
<intege
r>
whd.smtp.host
<host>
whd.smtp.port
<port>
376
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Indicates that Web Help Desk is running in a standard
deployment. Standard deployment is the default
configuration the Web Help Desk installer provides,
whd.stdDeploy
true |
false
false
org.apache.tomcat.util.
http.ServerCookie.ALLOW_
HTTP_SEPARATORS_IN_V0
false
WHDconnections
<coun
t>
10
WHDconcurrentRequests
true |
false
WHDhosted
true |
false
false
377
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
(Hosted) Determines whether Web Help Desk should
run in hosted standalone mode. When running in
hosted standalone mode, certain features are disabled
WHDhostedStandalone
true |
false
false
WHDhostedAlertsFeed
<url>
WHDhostedSubscriberRange
x..y |
x..
WHDhostName
<host>
WHDsecureHostName
<host>
webhelpdesk.co
Help Desk.
secure.webhelp
desk.com
WHDdemo
true |
false
WHDliveDemo
true |
false
false
WHDsupport
true |
false
378
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Determines whether Web Help Desk should run in
TEST mode. Test mode enables certain features that
are helpful during development, e.g., the ability to run
individual daemons manually, by clicking links at the
TEST
true |
false
false
WHDsql
true |
false
false
WHDtimeouts
true |
false
false
<port>
WHDFingerPort
|1=disa
bled
WHDIgnoreClientPassword
true |
false
WHDActivityMonitorMaxInactivi
<secon
ty
ds>
5*
WHDDaemonIn
terval
WHDPrivilegedNetworks
<list>
localhost
n
379
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Prescribes the port to use in URLs that refer back to
WHDPort
<port>
80 if hosted
WHDSecurePort
<port>
443
<whd_home>
WHDLabelsFolder
<path>
/conf/labels
/Helpdesk.wo
a/..
/Helpdesk.wo
WHDReportPlugInDir
<path>
a/..
/ReportPlugIns
WHDDiscoveryPlugInDir
WHDDashboardPlugInDir
<path>
<path>
/Helpdesk.wo
a/..
/DiscoveryPlugI
ns
WHDReportPlugInDir.)
/Helpdesk.wo
a/..
/DashboardPlu
gIns
for WHDReportPlugInDir.)
380
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Identifies whether the development-mode Apple Push
Notifications certificate should be used. When WHD
WHDApnDevMode
true |
false
false
WHDEnableSQLTool
true |
false
accessed at
http://localhost:8081/helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk
.woa/wa/DBActions/sqlTool
If true, then when initializing the database, the
application stops after creating the schema, before
WHDInitSchemaOnly
true |
false
false
WHDDisableImapPartialFetch
true |
false
false
WHDLdapPasswordCacheHours
WHDSkipForeignKeyCheck
WHDSkipPrimaryKeyCheck
<hour
s>
true |
false
true |
false
false
false
381
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Determines whether the application should attempt to
detect whether a ticket edit session has been
abandoned by leaving the page. When enabled, the
ticket editor sends "pulse" requests to
Helpdesk.woa/wa/processHeartbeat according to the
interval specified by WHDSecondsBetweenHeartbeat.
Each heartbeat request includes the ticket ID, the
ticket editing session ID (a PK into the ACTIVE_SESSION
table, not to be confused with the application session
ID itself), and a count that is incremented for each
heartbeat, starting over at 0 whenever the editing page
is refreshed. When the heartbeat request is processed,
an ACTIVE_SESSION record indexed by the ticket ID
WHDDisableSessionHeartbeat
true |
false
false
time.
When the amount of time specified by
WHDHeartbeatTimeoutSeconds has passed without
receiving a heartbeat, the ticket editing session is
considered to have been abandoned, and editing locks
for the ticket are cleared.
When the heartbeat count reaches
WHDHeartbeatWarningCount, a warning message is
logged. If the heartbeat count reaches
WHDMaxHeartbeatCount, the ticket editor stops
sending heartbeats, and the application stops
updating the ACTIVE_SESSION table when the tickets
are processed.
Defines the interval at which the ticket editor sends
WHDSecondsBetweenHeartbeat
<secon
ds>
heartbeat requests to
55
Helpdesk.woa/wa/processHeartbeat. (See
WHDDisableSessionHeartbeat.)
WHDHeartbeatTimeoutSeconds
WHDHeartbeatWarningCount
WHDMaxHeartbeatCount
<secon
ds>
<intege
r>
<intege
r>
30
10000
382
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Deprecated. Whether the session ID should be stored
WHDSessionCookies
true |
false
true
WHDDatabaseUpdatePassword
<passw
ord>
Helpdesk.woa/wa/DBActions/performDatabaseUpdat
<none>
WHDExchangeKeystorePath
<path>
WHDDashboardEnabled
WHDMaxDashboardWidgets
true |
false
<intege
r>
-1
WHDReportingAppName
<application
name>
WHDBcryptRounds
<intege
r>
383
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Identifies estimated number of custom fields of any
entity type that are likely to be active. ("Active" custom
fields are those that are not empty are not marked as
WHDEstimatedActiveCustomFiel <intege
ds
r>
2000
WHDUpdateSqlLog
<path>
WHDAllowAbsoluteManageSQLi
true |
teDatabase
false
false
WHDWebObjectsMonitorDeplo
true |
yment
false
WHDFrontbaseOptimisticLockin
true |
false
WHDDisableSnapshotRefCounti
true |
ng
false
384
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Determines whether history should be maintained for
email that is sent. Outgoing e-mail history can be
WHDEnableOutgoingMailHistor
true |
false
viewed at Setup > E-Mail > Outgoing Mail Accounts > Etrue
WHDEnableAppleConnect
true |
false
WHDEnableScripts
true |
false
WHDDisableScriptCache
true |
false
"TRAC
E" |
"DEBU
G" |
"INFO"
WHDScriptLogLevel
"ERROR"
should be logged.
"WAR
N" |
"ERRO
R"
WHDScriptFolder
<path>
<whd_home>
/conf/scripts
<whd_
WHDScriptLogFolder
<path>
home>/log
/
Helpdesk.woa/..
385
files.
ARGUMENT
WHDDisableExternalAuth
VALUE
true |
false
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
If true, SSO is disabled regardless of selection at Setup
false
WHDUseAppNameForLoginUrl
true |
false
WHDWebUrl
<url>
/whd-web
WHDPrivateBaseUrl
<url>
WHDDisableGSW
true |
false
WHDhostedDbHost
instead.
Deprecated. No longer used. Use whd.db.name
WHDhostedDbName
instead.
Deprecated. No longer used. Use whd.db.username
WHDhostedDbUserName
instead.
Deprecated. No longer used. Use whd.db.password
WHDhostedDbPassword
instead.
386
ARGUMENT
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Any of the database-connection properties recorded in
<whd_home>/conf/.whd.properties can be specified
conf /.whd.properties>)
WHDEnterpriseObjectCreationTr true |
acing
false
IllegalStateException occurs in
false
WHDEditingContextDebugging
true |
false
false
WHDHideTickets
WHDRequireHttpApiKey
WHDShowLinkLabels
true |
false
true |
false
true |
false
false
false
WHDUseOriginalCookieParser
true |
false
WHDEmailCheckInterval
WHDCleanupInterval
<secon
60
Deprecated. Use
ds>
(min 15)
"WHDDaemonInterval.EmailDaemon" instead.
<secon
3600
Deprecated. Use
ds>
(min 3600)
"WHDDaemonInterval.CleanupDaemon" instead.
387
ARGUMENT
WHDMessageCloserInterval
VALUE
DEFAULT
<secon
300
ds>
(min 300)
DESCRIPTION
Deprecated. Use
"WHDDaemonInterval.MessageCloserDaemon"
instead.
Specifies the way in which daemon processes will be
run in this instance. A given daemon should never be
started in more than one instance. See WHDDaemons
WHDDaemonMode
backgr
ound |
instance.
dedicat
none
ed |
processes.
none
WHDDaemons
[-]<list>
All daemons
enabled
WHDDaemonInterval
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.EmailDae
<secon
60
mon
ds>
(min 15)
WHDDaemonInterval.LdapSync
<secon
300 / 600
Daemon
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.AlertDae
<secon
300 / 600
mon
ds>
(min 60)
388
ARGUMENT
WHDDaemonInterval.TicketClos
er
Daemon
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
Identifies the interval (in seconds) between checks for
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.ClientRem
inder
Daemon
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.ServiceEx
piration
Daemon
WHDDaemonInterval.ReportSc
hedule
Daemon
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.AssetRese
rvation
Daemon
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.DelayedA
ction
Daemon
<secon
20
ds>
(min 15)
WHDDaemonInterval.ServletPul
se
Daemon
900
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.ApplePus
<secon
14400
ds>
(min 60)
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.BackupD
<secon
300 / 600
aemon
ds>
(min 60)
hNotifications
Daemon
WHDDaemonInterval.AssetDisc
overy
Daemon
389
ARGUMENT
WHDDaemonInterval.GarbageC
ollection
Daemon
VALUE
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
<secon
300 / 600
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.CleanupD
<secon
3600
aemon
ds>
(min 3600)
WHDDaemonInterval.FeedDae
<secon
600
mon
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.MessageC
<secon
300
loserDaemon
ds>
(min 300)
WHDDaemonInterval.AssetAlert
<secon
3600
Daemon
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.Approval
<secon
300
ReminderDaemon
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.SurveyRe
<secon
minderDaemon
ds>
WHDDaemonInterval.Inventory
<secon
300
Daemon
ds>
(min 60)
WHDDaemonInterval.SupportE
<secon
86400
xpirationDaemon
ds>
(min 60)
<#
WHDPageCacheSize
pages
10
cache
(min 2)
consumption.
d>
390
ARGUMENT
WHDLogMaxSize
WHDLogFileCount
VALUE
Size in
MB
<# of
files>
DEFAULT
DESCRIPTION
15
log4j.
391
webhelpdesk.com
5. Set the SSL option to:
On
6. Return to Settings and add the Tech Username and Password to connect with and set up
Notifications.
7. Click Done to authenticate the iPhone configured in the Web Help Desk server.
392
393