SolarWinds Web Help Desk Admin Guide - Unipress Softwaredownloads.unipresssoftware.com/WebDL/WHDAdminGuide.pdf · TableofContents Introduction 22 Keyfeatures 22 Ticketchecklists 22

ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE

Web Help DeskVersion 12.7.1

Last Updated: Thursday, October 17, 2019

© 2019 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

This document may not be reproduced by any means nor modified, decompiled, disassembled, publishedor distributed, in whole or in part, or translated to any electronic medium or other means without the priorwritten consent of SolarWinds. All right, title, and interest in and to the software, services, anddocumentation are and shall remain the exclusive property of SolarWinds, its affiliates, and/or itsrespective licensors.

SOLARWINDS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, OR OTHER TERMS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, ON THE DOCUMENTATION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATIONNONINFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINEDHEREIN. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOLARWINDS, ITS SUPPLIERS, NOR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANYDAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF SOLARWINDSHAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The SolarWinds, SolarWinds & Design, Orion, and THWACK trademarks are the exclusive property ofSolarWinds Worldwide, LLC or its affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, andmay be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, servicemarks, and logos may be common law marks or are registered or pending registration. All othertrademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and are trademarks of (and maybe registered trademarks) of their respective companies.

ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE: WEB HELP DESK

page 2

Table of ContentsIntroduction 22

Key features 22

Ticket checklists 22

Request type archive 23

Parent/child service relationships 23

Automated ticketing processing 23

IT asset management and inventory 23

IT change management 23

SolarWinds product integration 24

FIPS 140-2 compliant cryptography 24

Architecture 24

Ticket processing 27

Evaluate the application 28

Set up the application 29

Setup overview 29

Setup menu options 30

Web Help Desk terms 31

Configure the general settings 32

Activate your license 32

Purchase a license 33

Create a standard access account 33

Retrieve your activation key 34

Apply the activation key 34

Migrate your installation to a different server 37

Configure the general options 38

Configure the server options 39

Enable a listening port 39

Redirect HTTP requests to an HTTPS port 40

page 3

Enable a URL port for generated URL links 41

Create a new keystore 41

Configure the authentication settings 42

Configure the authentication method and settings 42

Encrypt passwords using the Password Security Migration Tool 45

Set up the certificates 45

SSL certificates 45

Apple Push Notification Services certificates 47

Set the time and place 50

Add a new location and set the business hours 50

Add calendar events 50

Configure your look and feel 51

Add your company logo 51

Install and apply a new style sheet template 52

Customize the database connection 55

Set the log settings 57

View the system information 57

Prepare the Web Help Desk database 58

Prepare the MySQL time zone tables 58

Configure Microsoft SQL Server 59

Enable TCP/IP on SQL Server 59

Create and configure your SQL Server database 59

Configure MySQL 60

Integrate Apache Tomcat in Web Help Desk 60

Disable IIS 61

Disable IIS on Windows Server systems 61

Bind IIS to a Windows interface 62

Set up your email accounts 62

Simplify email management – options 62

Configure an outgoing email account 63


page 4

Configure an incoming email account 64

Apply your email templates 66

Built-in email templates 66

Outgoing email templates 66

Incoming email templates 68

Template layout 69

Edit built-in email templates 70

Create new email templates 72

Apply your tags in email templates 75

Set up your tickets 76

Configure ticket options 77

Define request types 78

Archive a request type 81

Remove a request type from an archive 81

Define status types 82

Set the status type options for the CAB feature 82

Create a priority type 83

Create custom ticket fields 84

Verify the custom field 89

Edit the custom field 89

Create tasks 89

Access the task screen 90

Create a new task 90

Add new task elements 92

Create new tickets from task elements 93

Define your techs 94

Create tech accounts 94

Edit the admin account 97

Request types, tech groups, and ticket assignment 99

Request types 99

page 5

Tech groups 99

Ticket assignment logic 99

Define tech groups 101

Create a tech group 101

Define tech group levels for Orion platform alerts 102

Configure tech group levels 102

Assign supported request types 103

Define tech permissions 104

Create a new tech permission set 104

Assign techs to a permission set 105

Define the tech group email notifications 105

Define the default settings for ticket email recipients 106

Request type is not assigned to a tech group 106

Request type is assigned to a tech group 106

Define the ticket routing processes 107

Approvers 107

Approval processes 107

Approver roles 107

Create action rules for ticket processing 107

Action Rule Info tab 108

Criteria tab 108

Action tab 108

Add an Action Rule 109

Load balance action rules for ticket processing 110

Define the approval processes 112

Approvers 112

Approver Process Rules 113

Approval patterns 114

Plan your approval process 115

Approval process scenario and prerequisites 115


page 6

Scenario 115

Prerequisites 115

Create approver roles 117

Create approver roles for locations 117

Assign clients to location approval roles 118

Assign clients to department approval roles 118

Create a CAB 118

Assign a department and client to an approver role 121

Prerequisite 121

Assign a department and client 121

Create new status types 122

Prerequisites 122

Create a status type 122

Determine when a status type is applied to a ticket 123

Configure an approval process 124

Prerequisites 124

Configure an approval process 124

Test the approval process 126

Prerequisites 126

Test the process 126

Apply approvals 130

Ticket approvals 130

Approver action 130

Email approvals 130

Client web approvals 132

Tech web approvals 132

Enter locations 132

Define Location custom fields 133

Define Department custom fields 134

Define clients 135

page 7

Manually create a client account 136

Define client options 136

Set up client admin roles 137

Add additional client admin permissions 137

Define client custom fields 138

Import Active Directory/LDAP directory connections 141

About LDAP 141

Validate LDAP certificates 141

Synchronize Web Help Desk user information 142

Import clients 143

Define assets 144

Configure asset import and permission options 145

Define asset type, status, warranty, and lease information 145

Asset Classes tab 145

Asset Status Types tab 145

Warranty Types tab 146

Lease Types tab 146

Define asset custom fields 146

Define an asset custom field 148

Add manufacturers 148

Add a manufacturer 149

Add vendors 149

Add a vendor 150

Define PO custom fields 150

Define the PO custom fields 152

Import asset data 152

Define parts and billing 153

Apply parts and billing options 153

Perform invoicing 154

Specify a company contact for invoices 154


page 8

Generate a PDF invoice or quote from a ticket 155

Define rates and terms 155

Define part custom fields 156

Configure inventory alerts 158

Override default inventory alert recipients 159

Set up the Dashboard 159

Ticket Chart widget 159

Create a ticket chart widget 159

Ticket Chart types 160

Ticket Chart Options 161

View tickets by category and status 162

View a selected ticket 163

Ticket chart performance limitations 164

Ticket Activity widget 165

Ticket Activity options 166

Ticket Activity message icons 166

Create a Ticket Activity widget 167

What's New widget 167

Create a What's New widget 167

Export the widget data 167

Start and Stop Web Help Desk Services 168

Microsoft Windows Server 168

Apple OS X 168

Linux 169

Enable FIPS 140-2 compliant cryptography 170

Network Security Services 170

CA and self-signed certificates 170

Before you begin 171

Requirements 171

Enable FIPS in a new deployment 173

page 9

Deployment checklist 173

Review the requirements 173

Download Web Help Desk 12.4.0 or later 174

Install Web Help Desk in your deployment 174

Install Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013 174

Update the Environment Variables Path setting in your Windows Server operating system 174

Enable FIPS mode on your Apache Tomcat server 175

Stop Web Help Desk 175

Install the preconfigured Web Help Desk files for FIPS deployment 175

Edit the etc\hosts file 176

Edit the whd.conf file 176

(Optional) Edit the tomcat_server_template.xml file 177

(Optional) Edit the java.security file 177

(Optional) Edit the pkcs11_nss.cfg file 178

Create a Web Help Desk server certificate 178


Obtain a signed certificate by a trusted CA 179

Create and use a self-signed certificate 180

Complete the installation 183

Set up SolarWinds Integration and email 183

Enable FIPS in an existing deployment 184


Deployment checklist 184

Review the requirements 185

Ensure you are running Web Help Desk 12.4.0 or later 185

Ensure that the Web Help Desk hostname is correct 185

Install Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013 186

Update the Environment Variables Path setting in your Windows Server operating system 186

Enable FIPS mode on your Apache Tomcat server 187

Stop Web Help Desk 187


page 10

Install the preconfigured Web Help Desk files for FIPS deployment 187

Edit the wrapper_template.conf file 188

Edit the etc\hosts file 188

Edit the whd.conf file 189

(Optional) Edit the tomcat_server_template.xml file 190

(Optional) Edit the java.security file 190

(Optional) Edit the pkcs11_nss.cfg file 191

Create a signed Web Help Desk certificate for your NSS database 192


Obtain a signed certificate by a trusted CA 192

Create and use a self-signed certificate 194

Complete the installation 197

Set up your SolarWinds Integration and email 197

Prepare for the database migration 198

Migrate user passwords to FIPS 140-2 cryptography 200

Prepare for the password migration 200

Execute the password migration 200

Notify all users that the migration is completed 201

Configure and manage user authentication 202

Deploy SSO with SAML using AD FS 205


Configure Web Help Desk for AD FS 205

Configure SAML 2.0 on the AD FS server 206

Deploy SSO with CAS 2.0 206

Deploy CAS Server on Apache Tomcat 206

Download the Jasiq CAS Server web application file 207

Update the file 207

Download and apply the dependencies 208

Deploy CAS server on Apache Tomcat 209

Complete your CAS server deployment 209

page 11

Enable SSL on Web Help Desk 209

Deploy CAS 2.0 on the Web Help Desk server 210

Configure a GPO to push Internet Explorer settings 210

Enable HTTPS 211

Configure the HTTPS listening port 212

Configure a URL port 212

Enable listening for HTTPS requests 212

Enter the SSL connection port 212

Restart Web Help Desk 213

Manage keys and certificates in Web Help Desk 213

Trust certificates signed by CAs 213

Store keys and certificates 213

Generate a keypair and CSR 213

Import a certificate and private key to the keystore 214

Use a default keypair alias and password 214

Add certificate chains 214

Replace a self-signed certificate with a CA certificate 215

Generate a new certificate using Porteclé 215

Create a new keypair 216

Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) 217

Import the CA root and chain certificates 218

Import a CA reply certificate 219

Add a CA to the embedded Java CA cert keystore 220

Import certificates on Windows or macOS 220

Import an existing certificate 221

Import a PKCS#12 file into the keystore 221

Create a PKCS#12 keystore from a private key and certificate 222

Export a PKCS#12 keystore from the Microsoft Management Console 222

Certificate troubleshooting tips 223

Select the CA certs keystore 223


page 12

Import certificates in order 223

Use identical keypair and keystore passwords 223

Save your keystore 223

Enable your changes 224

Prevent certificate warnings 224

Enable HTTP requests 224

Troubleshoot and resolve issues 224

Manage clients 226

Create a client 226

Set up a client-initiated account 227

Assign an existing asset to a client 228

Manage tickets 230

Ticket flow 231

Create a ticket 233

Create a ticket through the web interface 234

Create a ticket through email 234

Create a quick ticket 234

Configure ticket status types 235

Modify a preconfigured status type 236

Creating a new status type 236

Configure ticket details 237

Select a request type 237

Improve ticket resolution with ticket types 238

Change ticket relationships 239

Link and unlink incident and problem tickets 239

Add details to tickets with tech notes 240

Add an FAQ to a tech note 241

Create a new tech permission 241

Send email to ticket recipients 241

Manage ticket tasks 242

page 13

Escalate and de-escalate tickets 242

Create a ticket checklist 243

Create a ticket checklist template 244

Assign a ticket checklist template to a request type 247

Add a unique checklist from within a ticket 249

View and customize the ticket queue 251

Display a list of tickets 251

About the ticket queue 251

Sort the ticket queue 252

Customize your view of the ticket queue 252

Search for a Web Help Desk ticket 252

Perform a basic search 253

Perform an advanced search 253

Advanced search examples 253

Perform actions on multiple tickets 254

Create a new bulk action 254

Edit a bulk action 255

Apply a bulk action to a group of tickets 255

Update and resolve tickets 256

Ticket information 256

Edit a ticket from the Web Console 256

Update tickets using email 257

Perform actions on multiple tickets 258

Create a new bulk action 258

Apply a bulk action to a group of tickets 258

Resolve a ticket 259

Merge tickets 259

Create parent/child service relationships 259

Service request tickets 260

Incident and problem tickets 261


page 14

Link child tickets to a parent ticket 261

Link incident tickets to a problem ticket 262

Link service request tickets to one service request 264

Link sub-child tickets to child tickets 266

Add notes to parent and child tickets 267

Automate parent/child ticket creation 269

Configure a task with elements 269

Link a child ticket to the parent 270

Configure an action rule 272

Create parent/child tickets 272

Automate ticket workflows 273

How ticket automation works 273

Priority types 273

Action rules 273

Tasks 274

Create an action rule to change ticket priority 274

Configure a task to automate ticket creation 276

Create an action rule to run a task 278


Create an action rule to run a task 279

Manage assets 281

Discover assets 281

Configure the asset discovery tools 281

Configure the Absolute Manage (LANrev) settings 282

Configure the Apple Remote Desktop 3.2 settings 283

Configure the Apple Remote Desktop 3.3 and later settings 284

Configure Casper 8 and earlier settings 284

Configure the Casper 9 settings 285

Configure the Database Table or View settings 286

Configure the Lansweeper settings 286

page 15

Configure the Microsoft SMS/SCCM settings 287

Configure the NCM, NPM, and SAM settings 288

Configure the Discovery Engine (WMI) settings 289

Install the MySQL JDBC Driver 291

Install the Driver on a Windows system 292

Install the Driver on a Mac system 292

Install the driver on a Linux system 292

Install the OpenBase JDBC driver 292

Install the driver on a Microsoft Windows system 292

Install the driver on an Apple OS X system 293

Install the driver on a Linux system 293

Sync and discover assets 293

Manually add assets 294

Search assets 295

Refine your search results 296

Save a query 296

Run a query 296

Remove assets 296

Edit asset properties 297

Create parent and child associations 299

Add assets as children of a parent asset 299

Remove assets as children of a parent asset 299

Add purchase orders 300

Add a vendor 300

Add a purchase order 300

Add purchase order line items 301

Import purchase orders 301

Reserve assets 301

Set up asset reservations as a tech 302

Set up asset reservations as a client 302


page 16

Reserve an asset as a client 302

Check assets in and out 302

Import and export data 304

Use templates to import data 305

TSV templates 305

Data import types 305

Import data using TSV, CSV, or Excel templates 306

Export data 306

Export tickets 307

Export clients 307

Export assets 307

Export parts 308

Export FAQs 308

Create and edit reports 309

Sample reports 310

Bar and pie chart configuration options 310

Category 311

Bar Stack Category 311

Chart Metric 312

Putting it together 312

Bar and pie chart configuration options 313

Category 313

Bar Stack Category 314

Chart Metric 314

Putting it together 314

Reports versus advanced search 315

Quick comparison 315

Reports 316

Advanced search 316

Conditions 316

page 17

Saved searches 317

Create report groups 317

Create Asset reports 318

Create an asset report 318

Create a bar chart asset report 319

Create a pie chart asset report 320

Create a table only asset report 322

Create ticket reports 323

Create a bar chart ticket report 324

Create a pie chart ticket report 325

Create a table only ticket report 326

Create ticket billing reports 328

Create a custom report 329

Open tickets by tech 330

Tickets closed by request type with work time 332

Modify an existing report 333

View, print, or download reports 335

Schedule reports 335

Set up parts and billing 337

Add parts to a location 337

Add parts to a ticket 337

Manually add parts 338

Enable predefined service time blocks 339

Customize billing statements 339

Manage client feedback 341

Create a survey 341

Set the survey options 342

Create an automatic survey 342

Create a manual survey 342

Create messages 343


page 18

View ticket and survey results 343

Send email ticket surveys 344

SolarWinds Orion alert integration 346

Prepare request types for alert-based tickets 346

Alert-based ticket example 347

Configure Orion-to-Web Help Desk ticketing 348

Enable the SolarWinds Orion Platform to share alerts with Web Help Desk 348

Configure Orion alert sharing for Orion Platform 2015.1.0 and later 348

Configure Orion alert sharing prior to Orion Platform 2015.1.0 349

Test Orion server access to the integration email account 353

Enter a SolarWinds Orion Platform alert source 354

Configure the alert filtering rules 355

Filters 356

Examples: Configure an alert filtering rule 358

Test the alert filtering rules 360

Integrate with DameWare MRC 362

Install DameWare MRC 362

Configure integration 362

Configure tech access 364

Launch and close 364

Launch from a client ticket 364

Launch from an asset 365

Close the session 365

Knowledge-centered support 368

Using Web Help Desk to build your knowledge store 368

Accessing FAQs in Web Help Desk 368

Create a new FAQ 369

Set tech permissions for FAQs 370

Access FAQs in the tech user interface 370

Manually create an FAQ 372

page 19

Create an FAQ based on a ticket note 372

Search FAQs 374

View or edit an FAQ 375

Link an FAQ to a support ticket 375

Customize your deployment 376

Deployment considerations 376

Memory sizing and JVM options 376

Clear JVM heap memory 376

High availability deployments 378

Monitor deployments on macOS 378

Configure multiple instance Tomcat deployments 378

Configure multiple instance Tomcat daemons 381

Customize tickets, notes, instructions, and emails with BBCode 384

Apply basic formatting 385

Create your own tags 387

Add clickable links 387

Customize your server settings 389

Port requirements for Web Help Desk 389

Web Help Desk interfaces 391

Databases 391

Email 391

LDAP and Active Directory 392

Asset Discovery 392

Configure firewalls for data traffic 393

Unsecured and secured ports for login 393

No redirect to HTTPS 393

URL ports (optional) 393

Tomcat server port 394

Mail notification port 394

Java home location 394


page 20

IP address 394

Privileged networks 394

Keystore settings (for SSL connections) 395

Memory allocation 395

Database connections 395

Java command line options 395

JVM arguments 397

Connect an iPhone to a standard or hosted installation 412

Connect to a standard installation 412

Connect to a hosted installation 412

Program the REST API 413

page 21

IntroductionWeb Help Desk® by SolarWinds® is a web-based automated ticketing solution that helps you manage yourIT support requests for both internal and external clients. Use Web Help Desk to create and manage ticketsthrough the web console. It also supports email ticket creation, automatic ticket assignment and escalation,asset management, and incident and problem management.

All help desk processes are managed through the web console. After you set up the application, you canconfigure Web Help Desk to perform specific tasks. These tasks include routing tickets to a specific helpdesk technician or work group and creating new tickets from email requests or alert messages from asupported monitoring application.

You can run Web Help Desk on the following operating systems and platforms:

l Microsoft® Windows Server®

l Apple® OS X

l Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®

l Fedora™l CentOS

Web Help Desk includes an extensive library of FAQs, integrated tool tips, and online help you can accessfrom the Web console. See the Web Help Desk documentation website for additional information.

Key featuresWeb Help Desk provides the following features for managing your enterprise or managed service provider(MSP) help desk operations:

l Ticket checklistsl Request type archivel Parent/Child service relationshipsl Automated ticket processingl IT asset management and inventoryl IT change managementl SolarWinds product integrationl Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 compliant cryptography

Ticket checklistsYou can create a ticket checklist to ensure that all ticket tasks are completed before a ticket is closed.Techs can create an ad-hoc checklist from within a ticket or an administrator can create checkliststemplates to automate your ticketing process.

page 22

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)/WHD_Documentation

Checklist templates can help you automate your ticketing process by ensuring that all steps are completedbefore the ticket is closed. To automate your ticketing process, an administrator can create a checklisttemplate and assign the template to new request types. This process ensures that all techs have aconsistent list of checklist items to complete for each request type, as well as reduce the overhead of childtickets that provide the same functionality.

Request type archiveYou can archive a request type in the Web Help Desk Administrator Console. This process archives therequest type and all associated tickets so they are hidden from clients and techs.

When an administrator generates a report, the request type and associated ticket information are includedin the report. The archived request type is appended with [A] in the reports and dashboard widgets. Youcan remove a request type from the archive by clearing the corresponding checkbox. The archived ticketdata does not display in the dashboard widgets.

Parent/child service relationshipsYou can link multiple service requests to one parent ticket to address a repeated issue or task (such as on-boarding a new employee or tracking your IT projects). You can also pass notes, attachments, and customfields between parent and child tickets to share data to relevant tasks.

Automated ticketing processingYou can generate help desk tickets manually in the user interface or automatically by emails from anythird-party monitoring tool. You can also create tasks to link a ticket automatically to an existing ticket thattriggers an action rule.

If you are running DameWare® Mini Remote Control (included with SolarWinds Help Desk Essentials), youcan establish a remote connection and troubleshoot a client system directly from a ticket or asset and saveremote session details into a new or existing ticket.

IT asset management and inventoryUsing Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or supported third-party discovery tools, you cansearch a specific IP address range in your corporate network and create a list of client assets (such ascomputer systems, installed software, and attached peripherals). When asset discovery is completed, youcan use DameWare MRC to connect remotely to a client system, troubleshoot the issue, and appendremote session information to a new or existing ticket.

IT change managementYou can manage change control in your organization using automated approval processes. These includecreating approver roles, assigning departments and clients to approver roles, and configuring approvalprocesses.


page 23

http://www.dameware.com/products/help-desk-essentials.aspx

SolarWinds product integrationYou can automatically create new tickets from alerts received from the following SolarWinds monitoringproducts:

l SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)l SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor (SAM)l SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)

If the ticket is not resolved within a preconfigured span of time, Web Help Desk can escalate the ticket andsend an SMS alert to the assigned help desk technician. Additionally, when you create new tickets, you cansend notes to the end user to provide status or request additional information.

FIPS 140-2 compliant cryptographyYou can configure your deployment for FIPS 140-2 compliance cryptography. This configuration isrequired for computer systems installed in U.S. Federal government agencies and companies in aregulated industry (such as healthcare and financial institutions) that share and distribute sensitive butunclassified (SBU) information.

ArchitectureThe following illustration provides a high-level view of Web Help Desk in a stand-alone installation. In thisexample, Web Help Desk is installed on a dedicated server with your choice of an embeddedPostgreSQL database or an external database such as MySQL™ or Microsoft® SQL Server®.

Beginning in 12.5.1, the Web Help Desk Admin Console uses secure port 8443 by default to connectto the Web Help Desk server.

page 24

http://www.solarwinds.com/network-performance-monitor.aspxhttp://www.solarwinds.com/server-application-monitor.aspxhttp://www.solarwinds.com/network-configuration-manager.aspxhttps://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)/WHD_Documentation/WHD_Admin_Guide/050_Enable_FIPS

The following illustration provides a high-level view of a Web Help Desk stand-alone installation integratedwith the Orion Platform. This configuration links Web Help Desk to SolarWinds Network PerformanceMonitor (NPM), Server and Application Monitor (SAM), and Network Configuration Manager (NCM) systemsto automatically create new tickets from Orion platform alerts and dispatch the appropriate techs toaddress the issue.


page 25

Ticket processingWeb Help Desk initiates and manages your help desk processes through the Web Console, email, SMS, andbuilt-in procedures. After you configure Web Help Desk, it automatically routes tickets to the propertechnician and updates your customer.

Web Help Desk accepts email ticket requests and opens a ticket based on the information in the email. Youcan also update and close tickets using email. If a repair requires spare parts, Web Help Desk orders therequired parts.

Each customer can access a Web console dedicated to their help desk needs. Customers can access all oftheir help desk features through a Web portal, but they cannot access information from other help deskcustomers.

The following illustration provides an overview of Web Help Desk processes at a high level.


page 27

Evaluate the applicationFor 14 days after you install your evaluation version of Web Help Desk, you have unlimited tech seats. Ifyou do not purchase a license after 14 days, Web Help Desk automatically switches to a one-tech license.All tech accounts other than the initial admin account become inactive, and the Assets and Processes tabsin Setup are disabled.

Purchasing and entering a license reactivates the deactivated accounts. After you purchase a license in theCustomer Portal and receive an activation key code, enter the code in the Setup > General > License >License Settings window.

Converting your unlicensed Web Help Desk version to a licensed version retains all of your existingWeb Help Desk settings or files. No additional configuration or installation is required.

page 28

Set up the applicationSetup overview provides the steps need for setting up Web Help Desk for your help desk operations.

Setup overviewThe following steps provide a basic overview of how to set up Web Help Desk in a typical help deskdeployment.

See the System Requirements for the latest hardware and software requirements.

Some procedures may require you to start and stop Web Help Desk Services.

1. Configure the General settings, such as logging in and activating your Web Help Desk license,configuring general user interface options, setting up your authentication method, customizing yourdatabase connection, setting up the time zone and local work hours for your employees, andconfiguring the look and feel of the Web Help Desk console.

Activate your license before your 30-day evaluation period ends. When your evaluationlicense expires, your single admin or tech account remains active, but all advanced featuresare disabled.

2. Prepare the Web Help Desk database, such as Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and Apache Tomcat.

3. Set up your email accounts, such as setting up your inbound and outbound email accounts, applyingemail templates, and applying tags in email templates.

4. Set up your tickets, such as defining request types, status types, priority types and alert triggers,custom ticket fields and tasks.

5. Define your techs in your help desk deployment, such as adding each tech, defining your techgroups, and setting up the tech's permissions.

6. Define the ticket routing processes for all requests, such as setting up action rules for ticketprocessing, adding approver roles, defining your approval processes, and apply approvals to tickets.

7. Define the approval processes, such as approver roles and status types, and how to test and applyyour approvals.

8. Enter your locations, such as the room locations, location groups and assigned locations,departments, and department groups.

9. Define your clients, such as setting up client administration roles, defining client custom fields,importing Active Directory or LDAP directory connections, and importing clients.

10. Define your assets, including your asset import and permission options, asset types, asset customfields, manufacturer and model information, purchase order custom fields, and import asset data.

11. Define your parts and billing processes for applying parts and billing options, creating invoicingoptions, defining rates and terms, and defining custom fields for your parts.

page 29

12. Set up the Dashboard with pie chart, bar graph, and text widgets that display ticket statistical data.

13. (Optional) Enable FIPS 140-2 cryptography for computer systems installed in U.S. FederalGovernment agencies.

14. Start and stop Web Help Desk services when you install or update certain features in your Web HelpDesk deployment.

Setup menu optionsWhen you click Setup in the toolbar, the Setup screen displays with a left column menu. Below aredescriptions of each menu option.

MENU OPTION DESCRIPTION

General Defines licensing information,authentication methods, interfaceappearance, time and location, logging, andinformation about the Web Help Desksoftware.

Email Defines email options, incoming andoutgoing email accounts, and emailtemplates.

Companies & Locations Defines companies, locations and roomslocation groups and assigned locations,techs, and group managers, location customfields, departments and department groups,and department custom fields.

Tickets Defines the Web Help Desk user interfaceand the fields and information they contain,request types (such as facilities andhardware), status types (such as Open andPending), priority types and alerts (such asUrgent, High, and Low), custom ticket fields,and task names.

Clients Defines the client options (such as ticketapproval methods, display name template,and default client view), clientadministration roles, client custom fields,and Active Directory / LDAP connections.

Techs Defines your account information (MyAccount), all techs configured to use WebHelp Desk and their assigned tech groups,and tech permissions.


page 30

MENU OPTION DESCRIPTION

Assets Defines asset types, manufacturers andmodels, vendors, asset and purchase ordercustom fields. From the Assets settings, youcan run and preschedule asset discoveriesto scan connected networks for the assets inyour corporate network.

SolarWinds Integration Links Web Help Desk to SolarWinds NPM,SAM, and NCM systems to automaticallycreate new tickets from Orion platformalerts and dispatch the appropriate techs toaddress the issue.

You must be connected to asupported Orion Platform version.

Processes Defines how Web Help Desk defines, stores,and applies action rules. Action rules applycustom actions triggered by events youdefine, such as ticket routing.

Surveys Defines your survey options and associatedtext to set up surveys and gather feedbackfrom your client users.

Parts and billing Defines your parts and billing options;custom fields; inventory alerts; invoicingoptions; and billing rates, terms, and taxrates.

Data Import Defines how Web Help Desk imports data forlocations, clients, assets, purchase orders,tickets, and more.

Web Help Desk termsThe following terms define the roles and objects managed by Web Help Desk.

l 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 fromanother application.

l Clients: End users or customers who can open tickets in Web Help Desk.

Clients can enter tickets through email or through the Web console.

page 31

l 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 ticketon the client's behalf. In addition, techs can open tickets that are not associated with a client, such astickets to schedule routine maintenance or system upgrades.

l Admins: Techs with privileges to configure Web Help Desk.l Tech Groups: A group of techs with similar skills and expertise.l Request Types: A classification that identifies the type of support request.

Request types are used to automatically assign tickets to the appropriate tech group.

Configure the general settingsThe General settings allow you to set up, configure, and personalize your Web Help Desk deployment.

These settings allow you to:

l Activate your license online or offline when your evaluation license expires. You can purchase alicense in the Customer Portal.

l Configure the general options that define how Web Help Desk presents information to clients andtechs.

l Configure the server options to manage the HTTP and HTTPS ports running on Web Help Desk andcreate a new Java keystore (JKS) or a Public-Key Cryptography Standards #12 (PKCS12) Keystore.

l Configure the authentication settings used to access Web Help Desk and migrate all client and techpasswords to FIPS 140-2 cryptography.

l Set up the certificates. This process includes uploading an SSL certificate to the keystore anddownloading the latest Apple Push Notification Services (APNS) certificate.

l Configure the time zone and local work hours for the locations managed by your help desk.l Configure your Web Help Desk screen with style sheets and logos.l Customize the database connection settings and backup schedule.l Set a critical level for logging.l View your system environment settings, such as the Java version and JVM memory allocation.

Activate your licenseWhen your evaluation license expires, your single admin or tech account remains active, but all advancedfeatures are disabled. When you purchase and activate a commercial license, you can access all advancedfeatures and additional tech seats based on your purchase.

If you are evaluating Web Help Desk, you do not need to purchase and apply an activation key. For the next30 days, you will have unlimited tech accounts. If you have not purchased and applied a license after 30days, the tech accounts are deactivated. To continue using the application, purchase a Web Help Desklicense. After you activate your license, the tech accounts and product functionality are restored.

To activate your license:


page 32

1. Purchase a Web Help Desk license.

2. Create a standard access account.

3. Retrieve your license or activation key.

4. Activate your license online or offline.

5. If you plan to migrate your installation to another server, deactivate your license on the originalserver before you activate your license on the new server

Select online or manual license activation, based on whether your Web Help Desk system can reach theSolarWinds website.

Purchase a licenseYou can purchase a Web Help Desk license by:

l Using the Online Storel Contacting Customer Salesl Submitting a purchase order to [email protected] (within the United States) or

[email protected] (outside the United States).

You will receive an email with your SolarWinds customer ID (SWID) and password along with your invoice (ifpurchased directly). The license includes a one-year maintenance contract. After you apply a commerciallicense key to your Web Help Desk software, you cannot change the license back to a trial or free single-seat license.

You can upgrade the product license to a larger license tier as you increase the number of techs.Contact Customer Sales for details.

Web Help Desk does not require a monthly cost. After you purchase Web Help Desk, you own theproduct with the option to renew the maintenance contract each year after the initial purchase.

Create a standard access accountAfter you purchase a license, create a standard access account on the SolarWinds Customer Portal toretrieve your activation key.

1. Locate the SolarWinds SWID in your purchase confirmation email.

2. Go to customerportal.solarwinds.com.

3. Under the Register tab, enter your SWID (customer ID) and password.

4. Click Register.

5. Review the information and click Continue.

6. Complete the fields in the page to create your individual user account (IUA).

7. Click Create Individual Profile.

8. Access your email account and follow the directions in the email to verify your account.

9. Click Continue to Customer Portal.

page 33

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://customerportal.solarwinds.com/

10. Log out of the SolarWinds Customer Portal.

11. In the Login and Password fields, enter the email address and password you entered in yourindividual profile.You can now access the SolarWinds Customer Portal using your email address.

Retrieve your activation keyAfter you purchase a license and create a standard access account, log in to the SolarWinds CustomerPortal and retrieve your activation key.

1. In the SolarWinds Customer Portal, click License > Manage Licenses.

2. Above the product list, click the View drop-down menu and select Web Help Desk.

3. In the Your Selections menu, locate your product version.

4. Under License Activation Information, locate the activation key.

5. Copy the activation key.

Apply the activation keyAfter you obtain your license key from the SolarWinds Customer Portal, apply the license key to Web HelpDesk.

If you plan to migrate your installation to another server, deactivate your license on the originalserver before you activate your license on the new server.

Activate the license online

If the Web Help Desk server has Internet access, use online activation for the fastest, easiest licenseactivation. This process requires you to enter the Activation Key obtained from the SolarWinds CustomerPortal.

1. Log in to Web Help Desk as an administrator.

2. Click Setup.

3. On the General panel, click License.

4. Click the padlock to edit the license settings.


page 34

https://customerportal.solarwinds.com/https://customerportal.solarwinds.com/

5. Enter the Activation Key, and click Activate.

The Web Help Desk license is activated. The activation automatically synchronizes your customercontact details with your account on the SolarWinds Customer Portal.

Active the license offline

If the Web Help Desk Server does not have Internet access or is behind a proxy or firewall restrictingaccess to the SolarWinds website, use offline activation. This process requires you to download anactivation file using another system with Internet access.

1. Click Setup.

2. On the General panel, click License.

3. Click the padlock to edit the license settings.

4. Copy the unique Machine ID code in the Machine ID field.

page 35

5. Transfer the file to another computer with Internet access.

6. Using the computer with Internet access, log in to the SolarWinds Customer Portal.

7. Click Licenses > Manage Licenses.

8. Above the product table, click the View drop-down menu and select Web Help Desk.

9. In the License Activation Information column, locate your Web Help Desk license and click Activatelicense manually.

10. In the Activate license screen, generate a license file.

a. Enter your name, email address, phone number, and the computer name.

b. Paste the unique machine ID code from your computer into the Unique Machine ID box.


page 36

https://customerportal.solarwinds.com/

The Customer Portal validates the code. If the code is valid, a validation message displays.

11. Click Generate License File.

12. Follow the prompts on your screen to download the license file.

13. Return to License Settings in Web Help Desk.

14. Click Choose File and select the license file.

15. Click Activate.

The Web Help Desk license is activated.

Migrate your installation to a different serverIf you plan to migrate your installation to another server, deactivate your license on the original server.Otherwise, you cannot activate the license on the new server. Your Web Help Desk license can only beactive on one server. You can deactivate your license online or offline.

If you are running Web Help Desk in a clustered deployment, activate your license only when the primarynode is migrated to a new node.

Deactivate your license online


2. In the user interface, click Setup > General > License.

3. Click the Lock icon.

4. Click Deactivate.Your license is deactivated.

Deactivate your license offline

To deactivate your license offline, contact SolarWinds Support through the SolarWinds Customer Portal. Ifyour server is not connected to the Internet, a support technician can manually deactivate your license.

If you lost your previous license, contact SolarWinds Support for assistance.

page 37

Reinstall a license on the same server

Servers running Microsoft Windows Server or Apple OS X will usually preserve your Web Help Desk licensewhen the software is uninstalled and reinstalled on the same server. However, when you uninstall thesoftware on a system running Linux, your license is deleted.

The safest method to uninstall and reinstall Web Help Desk is to deactivate your license before youuninstall the software. When completed, reactivate your license after you install the software on the newserver.

Change the Java bit version on Microsoft Windows servers

If you are running Web Help Desk 32-bit and you update your software to Web Help Desk 64-bit, thesoftware may appear to run with a Demo license. To update your Java software to the corresponding bitversion, deactivate your license, install the new Web Help Desk software, and then reactive your license.

If you lose your previous Web Help Desk license, contact Customer Support through theSolarWinds Customer Portal to deactivate your license offline.

Activate your license in a clustered deployment

In a clustered deployment, your license is bound to the primary node (physical or virtual) in the cluster.Ensure that the primary node is always available to activate or deactivate your license.

For new installations, install the primary node and activate your license before you configure your loadbalancer or deploy your secondary nodes.

For an existing deployment, take all secondary nodes offline and upgrade the primary node. Be aware thatif the primary node is down for longer than a week, the secondary nodes are deactivated.

If you cannot activate or deactivate your license, you may have an issue with your network connectionbetween the primary and secondary nodes—for example, network communications are blocked or theprimary node port(s) are configured incorrectly. Try to connect directly to your primary node through yourWeb browser (bypassing the load balancer) and manipulate the license in this location. For furtherassistance, contact SolarWinds Customer Support.

Configure the general optionsThe General Options screen allows you to define how Web Help Desk presents information to clients andtechs. You can define how much information a client or tech can view, but you cannot filter dashboarddata for administrators.

A basic Web Help Desk deployment does not require any changes to the default settings. However, you cancustomize the general options for your environment. For example, you can force your deployment to use asecure HTTPS port or include direct contact information in your client emails.

Limiting the amount of data displayed in search results or the dashboard can increase systemperformance.


page 38

1. In the toolbar, click Setup > General > Options.

2. Complete the fields and selections as required, and then click Save.Click the tooltips for specific information about each option.

3. Click Save.

Configure the server optionsBeginning in Web Help Desk 12.5.1, you can enable HTTPS by configuring the server options located atSetup > General. These options allow you to:

l Configure the HTTP and HTTPS ports running on Web Help Deskl Create a new keystore to store your SSL certificatesl Restart Web Help Desk

After you configure the ports, Web Help Desk copies the settings to the whd.conf file in the Web HelpDesk home directory. If you decide to update the whd.conf file on your own, the new settings arereflected in the user interface.

Using Keystore Options, you can create a custom Java Keystore (JKS) to share certificates for otherapplications. You can create a new JKS or a Public Key Cryptography Standards #12 (PKCS12) Keystore.

Enable a listening portEnable the listening port to listen for HTTP or HTTPS requests, and then configure the port number used tomonitor the requests.

After you configure the port, include the port number in URLs that refer to Web Help Desk. For example, ifyou select port 8081, enter https://localhost:8081 in the web browser.

page 39


2. Click Setup > General > Server Options.

3. Click HTTP Enabled to enable the HTTP port.

4. Enter an HTTP Port number between 0 and 6553 to monitor the HTTP request. For example, enter8081 to process non-secure traffic from the Web Help Desk Console.

5. Click HTTPS Enabled to enable the HTTPS port (if required).

6. Enter an HTTPS Port number between 0 and 65535 to monitor the HTTPS request. For example, enter8443 to process secure traffic from the Web Help Desk Console.

7. Click Save.

8. Click Restart Web Help Desk.

Redirect HTTP requests to an HTTPS portTo ensure all incoming requests use a secure connection, enable Redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS. Whenenabled, all incoming requests redirect to a secure HTTPS port.



3. Click the Redirect HTTP Requests to HTTPS.

4. Click Save.



page 40

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Port_requirements_for_all_SolarWinds_products#Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Port_requirements_for_all_SolarWinds_products#Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)

Enable a URL port for generated URL linksWeb Help Desk generates internal URLs to link customer tickets to specific resources, such as an FAQ. Foradditional security, configure the generated URL links to access a secure port on the Web Help Desk server.

For example, you can configure a web server to route requests for default port 80 to the default Web HelpDesk port 8081. As a result, all generated URL links use port 8081 to access the Web Help Desk server.



3. If HTTP is enabled, click Custom HTTP Port for Generated URL Links.

4. Enter an HTTP port number between 0 and 65535 for the generated URL link.

The default selection is port 8081.

5. If HTTPS is enabled, click Custom HTTPS Port for Generated URL Links.

6. Enter an HTTPS port number between 0 and 65535 for the generated URL link.

The default selection is port 443.

7. Click Save.


Create a new keystoreBy default, Web Help Desk creates a Java KeyStore (JKS) at /conf/keystore.jks whenyou install the software. Using Keystore Options, you can create a custom JKS to share certificates for otherapplications.

page 41

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Port_requirements_for_all_SolarWinds_products#Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Port_requirements_for_all_SolarWinds_products#Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)

1. In the Path field, enter a path to the keystore file on the server.

Include the file name in the path, such as keystore.jks (for JKS certificates) or keystore.p12(for PKCS12 certificates).

2. Click the Type drop-down menu and selected a keystore file format.

3. Enter a new password for the keystore file.

The current password for the keystore.jks file is changeit. To use the existing password, leavethe field empty.

4. Click Save.


Configure the authentication settingsThe Authentication settings allow you to configure the authentication methods used to access Web HelpDesk.

If you plan to install FIPS 140-2 compliant cryptography in your deployment, use the Password SecurityMigration Tool to encrypt all client and tech account passwords to FIPS 140-2 cryptography prior toactivation. The migration tool invalidates all stored client and tech passwords that use a weakercryptography standard.

All techs who did not log in to Web Help Desk before their planned migration date will not be able to log in.To enable techs to recover their password, select Web Help Desk as the Authentication Method and selectthe Show Forgot Password Button checkbox.

Configure the authentication method and settings1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select General > Authentication.

2. Complete the fields and selections in the top portion of the screen as required, then click Save.

See Customize tickets, notes, instructions, and emails with BBCode for details aboutcustomizing your Login Message field text.


page 42

The following table describes the authentication methods you can select in the screen.

page 43

AUTHENTICATION METHOD DESCRIPTION

Web Help Desk Authenticates the user with the user name and password. Usernames and passwords are pulled from the Web Help Deskdatabase or imported from Active Directory or LDAP connections.

SAML 2.0(Security Assertion MarkupLanguage)

An XML protocol that provides authentication from an IdentityProvider (IdP) to a Service Provider (SP).

See Deploy SSO with SAML Using AD FS for information aboutconfiguring SAML with AD FS for Web Help Desk.

AD FS must be configured separately to integrate with WebHelp Desk. See the AD FS 2.0 step-by-step and how-toguides at the Microsoft TechNet website for moreinformation.

CAS 2.0(Central Authentication Service)

Uses a single sign on (SSO) service URL to authenticate the userprovided by Web Help Desk. The CAS server sends the user backto Web Help Desk and attaches a "ticket" to the Web Help DeskURL. Web Help Desk submits the ticket to the CAS validate URL toobtain the user name of the authenticated user.

See Deploy SSO with CAS 2.0 for information on how to set up CAS2.0 on your Web Help Desk Tomcat server.

Servlet Authentication(for Apache Tomcat installations)

Provides the authenticated user name to Web applications usingthe HttpServletRequest.getRemoteUser() method.

You can use Windows Authentication Framework LightEdition (WAFFLE) at your own risk for Web Help Desk servletauthentication. SolarWinds does not support this method ofSSO.

For information about configuring WAFFLE, see Servlet Single SignOn Security Filter at the GitHub website. For additionalinformation, see the SolarWinds Thwack website and theSolarWinds KB article titled WAFFLE Servlet AuthenticationConfiguration Steps.

HTTP Header Uses Web servers (such as the Apache HTTP Server) to forwardexternally authenticated user information using HTTP headers.

HTTP Form Value Forwards the authenticated user name through an HTTPname/value pair instead of an HTTP header.


page 44

https://github.com/dblock/waffle/blob/master/Docs/ServletSingleSignOnSecurityFilter.mdhttps://github.com/dblock/waffle/blob/master/Docs/ServletSingleSignOnSecurityFilter.mdhttps://github.com/http://thwack.solarwinds.com/http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/5569/WAFFLE+servlet+authentication+configuration+stepshttp://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/5569/WAFFLE+servlet+authentication+configuration+steps

Encrypt passwords using the Password Security Migration Tool

If you install FIPS 140-2 cryptography in an existing deployment, you can use the Password SecurityMigration Tool to ensure that all client and tech account passwords are migrated to FIPS 140-2cryptography.

See the tooltip for more information.

Set up the certificatesUse Certificates to manage SSL and Apple Push Notification Services (APNS) certificates.

When a web browser submits an HTTPS request to Web Help Desk, the SSL protocol requires theapplication to respond with a certificate to verify the authenticity of the server. The certificate contains apublic key used for encryption and a digital signature from a Certification Authority (CA). The digitalsignature indicates which CA verified the authenticity of the server.

Web Help Desk stores the certificates in the Java keystore located at/conf/keystore.jks. You can also store the certificates in a separate Public-KeyCryptography Standards #12 (PKCS12) KeyStore, or Java KeyStore (JKS) that you create in Server Options.

APNS certificates enable Web Help Desk to send notifications to an Apple device running Web Help DeskMobile and a supported Apple iOS. When enabled, the device receives Short Message Service (SMS) textmessages each time a customer ticket is created or updated.

SSL certificatesSSL certificates create a secure connection between Web Help Desk and an external resource. Web HelpDesk supports the following SSL certificates:

l Self-signed SSL certificatel Certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA)l Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS) #12 certificate

page 45

The Certificates page displays all certificates that are currently in the keystore and defined in the .conffile. In this example, the Apache Tomcat SSL certificate is installed in the keystore.

The following table lists some third-party applications used with Web Help Desk that require an SSLcertificate.

PRODUCT SSL CERTIFICATE FUNCTION

Apache Tomcat Creates a secure connection to the Apache Tomcat web andapplication server.

Microsoft® Exchange Server® Creates a secure connection to the Exchange server used toretrieve incoming Web Help Desk ticket emails sent fromclients.

PostgreSQL Creates a secure connection to an externalPostgreSQL database.

Upload an SSL certificate

Download the SSL certificate file in CER format from the certificate provider. After you unzip the file,upload the P12 or PFX certificate into Web Help Desk.

1. Download the SSL certificate from the third-party software website.

2. Unzip the file.


4. Click Setup > General > Certificates.

5. Under Certificates in the keystore, click Upload, and then click Browse.

6. Navigate to the unzipped file directory.

7. Complete the on-screen prompts to install the SSL certificate.

8. Click Restart to restart the Web Help Desk server.

The SSL certificate is installed on the Web Help Desk server.


page 46

Delete a certificate

1. Select a certificate in the keystore.

2. Click Delete.

3. Follow prompts on your screen to delete the certificate.

Edit an alias

Some resources require the keypair to have a specific alias. For example, the Apache Tomcat web serverrequires its keypair to have a tomcat alias to enable HTTPS. To change the certificate alias, upload thecertificate into the keystore. When you are finished, select the certificate and edit the alias.

If the alias name is empty or incorrect, the resource will not use the correct certificate and create itsown certificate.

1. Locate the alias name required for the certificate.

2. Select a certificate in the keystore.

3. Click Edit Alias.

4. Enter a new name for the certificate, and click Save.

The new certificate name displays in the keystore list.

Apple Push Notification Services certificatesAPNS requires an APNS Certificate that establishes the communications link between APNS and the Appledevice. This certificate is included with Web Help Desk.

The APNS panel displays the current APNS Certificate expiration date and allows you to upload a newAPNS Certificate file when the existing file expires.

To enable APNS on an Apple device:

page 47

1. Set up and register the device with the Web Help Desk server.

2. Enable SMS on the Apple device.

3. Send a test notification message to the Apple device to verify that APNS is enabled.

Set up and register a device

Install the Web Help Desk Mobile software and register the Apple device with the Web Help Desk server.

1. Locate the following Web Help Desk server information:

l Host name or IP addressl Port number (secure TCP 8443 or non-secure TCP 8081)

2. Download Web Help Desk Mobile from the Apple iTunes site.

3. Install the software on the Apple device.

4. Complete the online registration form.

5. Log in to Web Help Desk.

6. Click Setup > Techs > Techs.

7. Click your name in the Tech Name column.

8. In the Account Info tab, scroll down to Mobile Devices Setup and verify that your Apple devicedisplays as a registered device.

Enable the Short Message Service (SMS)

Enable Web Help Desk to send SMS text messages to the Apple device.

1. In the Account Info tab, click to enter Edit mode.

2. Scroll down to E-Mail Setup and select the SMS E-Mail Enabled checkbox.

Additional options display under the setting.

3. Enter the email address associated with the Apple device.

For example, if the device uses Verizon email, enter [email protected].


page 48

Contact your mobile carrier for the proper email format.

4. Select the minimum ticket priority that triggers an SMS e-mail to the Apple device.

5. Select the minimum ticket alert level that triggers an SMS e-mail to the Apple device.

6. (Optional) Select the Repeating check box to continue sending SMS e-mails until the ticket conditionis updated.

7. Click Save.

Send a test notification message

Verify that the Apple device receives APNS notifications from the Web Help Desk server.

1. Click Setup > General > Certificates in the Web Help Desk Console.

2. Under Apple Push Notification Services, click Send Test Notification.

3. Verify that you received a notification on your Apple device.

APNS is configured for the Apple device.

Upload and install a new APNS certificate

When the APNS certificate expires, download a new APNS Certificate from the SolarWinds Customer Portaland install the certificate using the Web Help Desk Console.

1. Download an updated APNS certificate.

a. Log in to the SolarWinds Customer Portal.

b. Click the License Management drop-down menu and select My Downloads.

c. Click the Products drop-down menu and select Web Help Desk.

d. Under Additional Downloads, locate the Apple Push Notification (APN) Certificate.

e. Click Download.

The file is downloaded to the server.

2. Unzip the file contents to a network share.

3. Click Setup > General > Certificates in the Web Help Desk Console.

4. Under Upload a new APNS Certificate file, click Browse.

5. Navigate to the unzipped file.

6. Complete the on-screen prompts to complete the upload.

7. Click Restart to restart the Web Help Desk server.

The new APNS certificate is installed and the new APNS certificate expiration date displays in theCertificates page.

page 49


Set the time and placeThe Time & Place settings configures the time zone and local work hours for the locations managed byyour help desk. You can also configure calendar events that appear in your Web Help Desk calendars.

Add a new location and set the business hours1. In the toolbar, click Setup > General > Time and Place.

2. Click New.

3. Complete the fields and selections as required, and then click Save.

Click the tooltips for more information.

Add calendar events1. Click the Calendars tab.

2. Complete the fields and selections as required, and then click Save.


page 50


Configure your look and feelThe Look and Feel screen allows you to configure your Web Help Desk screen with style sheets and logos.By applying a style sheet to your deployment, you can render your Log In screen and the client interfacewith your corporate branding.

Add your company logo1. Locate a PNG or GIF image file for your logo.

For the classic style sheet (CSS), the image should be 259 x 61 pixels. Otherwise, the imageheight should be 70 pixels or less.

2. Log in to the Web Help Desk Admin Console as an administrator.

3. Click Setup > General > Look and Feel.

The Look and Feel page displays.

4. Click Clear to remove the default logo.

The Add File button displays in the Logo field.

5. Click Add File and select the logo image file.

6. Click Save.

Your company logo displays in the Logo field.

page 51

Install and apply a new style sheet template1. Download your style sheet template.

You can also click Style Sheet Gallery > CSS Gallery and select a new cascading style sheet(CSS) in the SolarWinds Thwack Community Web page.

2. Copy the content of the zipped CSS file into the clipboard.

3. In the Client Style Sheet row, select Custom and click Edit CSS to open the CSS editor.

4. Remove any existing content in the editor (if available).


page 52

https://thwack.solarwinds.com/community/tools_tht/web-help-desk/content?filterID=contentstatus%5Bpublished%5D~category%5Bcss-gallery%5D

5. Paste the template from the clipboard.

6. Select Replace Default CSS and Compress.

7. Click Update to refresh the panel with parameters from the new template.

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 tosuit your needs.

page 53

10. Click Save to activate the new style sheet.


page 54

Customize the database connectionThe Database Connection screen allows you to customize your database connection settings and backupschedule.

When you install and run Web Help Desk for the first time, the application automatically selects theembedded PostgreSQL database and will not prompt you for a database connection or license key. If youdecide to use an external database, update your database connection settings in this screen. When youare finished, click Save and restart Web Help Desk to enable your new settings.

1. In the toolbar, click Setup and select General > Database.

2. Click the Vendor drop-down menu and select the appropriate database for your Web Help Deskinstallation.

If you select PostgreSQL as your primary database, select the Use Embedded Database check box touse the embedded PostgreSQL database included with Web Help Desk.

When you deselect Use Embedded Database, the Database field displays.

page 55

3. In the Host field, enter the IP address or DNS name of the server hosting the Web Help Deskdatabase.

4. In the Port field, enter the port number for the database connection.

The default ports include:l 3306 (MySQL)l 1433 (Microsoft SQL Server)l 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 Deskdatabase connection.

7. In the Backup Schedule row, select the days of the week and time of day when Web Help Desk willautomatically 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 storeyour database backup files.

9. In the Number of backups drop-down menu (if available), select the total number of backups to storein your database backup file.

Web Help Desk uses first-in, first-out database storage logic. For example, if you choose to save fivebackup files and in time save a sixth backup file, the first backup in the series will be deleted.

10. Click Backup Now to back up your new Web Help Desk database file to your backup folder.

11. Click Save.

12. Click Restart Web Help Desk to enable your new database connection settings.


page 56

Set the log settingsUse the Logs page to set a critical level for logging. This is not required for your initial configuration and istypically used for troubleshooting.

1. Click Setup > General Logs.

2. Adjust the log settings as required.

3. Click Save to save your changes.

View the system informationThe System Environment screen located at Setup > General > System Information contains informationabout troubleshooting and understanding your server’s configuration.

The following table describes the fields listed in the screen.

FIELD / BUTTON DESCRIPTION

Web Help DeskVersion

Displays the version of your SolarWinds Web Help Desk software version.

See the SolarWinds Customer Portal website for updates.

Java Version The current version of your Java Virtual Machine (JVM) running the SolarWindsWeb Help Desk software.

Java Home The location of the Java Library.

Classpath The Java classpath parameter setting used by the SolarWinds Web Help Desksoftware.

The default installation only includes WOBoostrap.jar, which provides a classloader for other files needed by the software. The default setting can be extendedby defining the CLASSPATH environment variable.

Extension Dirs The extension directories included with the SolarWinds Web Help Desk software.

Temp Dir The directory provided to the JVM for storing temporary files.

Operating System The operating system and user account for your SolarWinds Web Help Desksoftware.

page 57


FIELD / BUTTON DESCRIPTION

GraphicsEnvironment

The graphics environment used by Web Help Desk to generate charts. This settingmay be useful when troubleshooting reporting issues.

JVM Memory The amount of memory currently used by the SolarWinds Web Help Desk softwareand the total amount of available memory reported by the JVM.

Preferred BrowserLocale(s)

The current preferred locale codes provided by your Web browser, in order ofpreference.

Daemon Mode The mode that the daemon services are running from within this instance ofSolarWinds Web Help Desk.

Restart Web HelpDesk

Restarts the Web Help Desk server.

Prepare the Web Help Desk databaseSolarWinds Web Help Desk supports the following databases:

l Embedded PostgreSQL l MySQL™l Microsoft® SQL Server Standard or Enterprise Edition

If your Web Help Desk deployment requires database management features such as failoverclusters, do not use the embedded PostgreSQL database included with Web Help Desk. Failoverclusters are not available with the embedded PostgreSQL database.

If you choose embedded PostgreSQL as your primary database, Web Help Desk installs the database on theWeb Help Desk server during the installation. No additional configuration is required.

If you choose non-embedded, non-default Microsoft SQL Server or MySQL as your primary database, installthe database engine and management tools on a separate server prior to installing Web Help Desk. Seethe Microsoft TechNet or MySQL website for installation instructions.

Install SQL Server or MySQL on a dedicated drive with at least 20 GB of space to accommodate thedatabase engine, management tools, help desk tickets, and ticket file attachments. You can also configureWeb Help Desk to use a new SQL Server database instance on an existing server running SQL Server.

After you install the MySQL software, prepare the MySQL time zone tables.

After you install the SQL Server software, enable TCP/IP on the SQL server and create and configure yourSQL Server database.

Prepare the MySQL time zone tablesIf you choose non-embedded, non-default MySQL as your primary database, install the database andmanually populate your time zone system tables.


page 58

https://technet.microsoft.com/https://www.mysql.com/

You can search for tickets using two new qualifiers: Due Date and First Call Resolution. These qualifiersrely on data located in four MySQL system tables:

Configure Microsoft SQL ServerTo configure SQL Server for your Web Help Desk deployment, use the SQL Server Configuration Manager toenable TCP/IP on SQL Server. When completed, use SQL Server Management Studio for SQL Server tocreate and configure SQL Server to the Web Help Desk database instance.

Enable TCP/IP on SQL ServerConfigure the following settings in the SQL Server Configuration Manager.

SETTING VALUE

TCP/IP Protocol Enabled in SQL Server Network Configuration > Protocols for SQL 20xx

IP Address 127.0.0.1 (if installed on the Web Help Desk server)

Server IP address (if installed on a separate server)

TCP Port 1433

IPAll

TCP Dynamic Ports Blank

TCP Port 1433

Create and configure your SQL Server databaseConfigure the following settings in the SQL Server Management Studio for SQL Server to create andconfigure SQL Server to the Web Help Desk database instance.

SETTING VALUE

SQL Server and WindowsAuthentication Mode

Enabled

Login Name whd

SQL Server Authentication:Password

Enabled and configured

SQL Server Authentication: Enforce password policy

Disabled

SQL Server Authentication: Enforce password expiration

Disabled

page 59

SETTING VALUE

SQL Server Authentication: User must change passwordat next login

Disabled

Database name whd

Database owner whd

Configure MySQL1. Start MySQL Workbench and connect to the MySQL database server.

2. Create a new schema with the following settings:

l Name: whdl Collation type: utf8 - utf8_general_ci

3. Open the Configuration > Options File.

4. Configure the following settings:

l Networking - Port: 3306l General - default-storage-engine: InnoDBl Misc - init_connect: SET NAMES utf8

5. Stop and then restart the server.

6. Configure the Users and Privileges settings with the following:

l Login Name: whdl Password: l Limit Connectivity to Hosts Matching: localhost

7. Configure your Schema Privileges.

a. Select the whd user.

b. Add a new entry with your host in the Host box.

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.

Integrate Apache Tomcat in Web Help DeskBy default, Web Help Desk runs on port 8081. If Apache Tomcat is not required and you prefer to run theapplication on port 80, perform the following steps:

1. Stop Apache.

2. Set the DEFAULT_PORT variable in webhelpdesk/conf/whd.conf to 80.


page 60

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 moreinformation.

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 IISWeb Help Desk does not integrate with IIS. Web Help Desk runs on port 8081 by default. To run Web HelpDesk on port 80, disable IIS on your Windows Server system.

Additionally, if your system is connected to multiple IP addresses and one IP address uses IIS, bind IIS andWeb Help Desk to separate the IP addresses.

Disable IIS on Windows Server systemsYou can disable IIS on Windows Server 2008 systems.

Disable IIS on Windows Server 2008 systems

To run Web Help Desk on port 80 and disable IIS on Windows Server 2008:

1. Stop Web Help Desk.

2. Go to Startup > Administrative Services > Server Manager.

3. Click Roles.

4. Select IIS, and then click WHD.

5. Click Confirm.

6. Open the following file:

\Program Files\Web Help Desk\conf\whd.conf

7. Set the DEFAULT_PORT setting to the following:

page 61

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_proxy.htmlhttps://www.apache.org/

DEFAULT_PORT= 80

8. Save the following file:

\Program Files\Web Help Desk\conf\whd.conf

9. Start Web Help Desk.

Bind IIS to a Windows interfaceTo specify or Web Help Desk, edit the \Program Files\WebHelpDesk\conf\whd.conf file and set theIP_ADDRESS option to the desired IP address.

Bind IIS to an interface on Windows Server 2008

1. Log on with the local Administrator account.

2. Open a command prompt window.

3. Execute the following command:

netsh http add iplisten ipaddress= xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

4. To check your settings, enter:

netsh show iplisten

5. Restart IIS.

Set up your email accountsYou can set up your email options, templates, and incoming and outgoing mail accounts at Setup > E-Mail.Web Help Desk supports multiple accounts for receiving and sending email.

Each incoming mail account is associated with a specific request type and an optional tech group.Incoming mail accounts are checked each minute for new messages. Web Help Desk processes eachmessage, turns the messages into tickets, and then deletes the messages from the incoming mail server.Each incoming mail account is associated with an outgoing mail account (SMTP server) used to deliveroutgoing mail.

You can define custom greetings in templates associated with a specific status type and an optionalrequest type. You can personalize these templates using tags that provide placeholders for parameters,such as last name, first name, and ticket number.

Simplify email management – optionsYou can simplify incoming mail processing by configuring the E-Mail Options screen located at Setup > E-Mail > Options.

In the screen, you can configure Web Help Desk to accept email from unknown senders in your clientdomains or define and maintain lists of each email recipient for each client. The screen also includesoptions for restricting email formats, senders, and contents.

1. Click Setup and select E-Mail > Options.

2. Locate the Incoming Mail section.


page 62

3. In the Create Accounts for Unrecognized Senders row, select Only if e-mail matches an AcceptedDomain.

4. In the Accepted Domains field, enter the domain names for your clients, separating each domainname by a comma and then a space.

5. Click Save.

The Incoming Mail section provides additional options to filter e-mail.

Using the Ignored Senders fields, you can deny email from senders who may be sending SPAM or otherunwanted email. The Regular Expression Filters fields allow you to filter out email, based on specificcriteria for the subject, body, content, or attachments.

Click the tooltips next to each option for more information about using these filters.

Review the remaining options settings and make any changes required for your email environment.


Configure an outgoing email accountYou can define your SMTP server(s) and help desk email address in the Outgoing Mail Options section ofthe E-Mail Options screen.

Be sure to delete the sample outgoing server that was installed by default. The sample server mayinterfere with your SMTP server.

1. Click Setup and select E-Mail Outgoing Mail Accounts.

2. Click New.

3. In the SMTP Server field, enter the IP address of your SMTP server. Use port 25 unless your serveruses something other than the default port.

A green indicator indicates a connection exists to your SMTP server.

A red indicator indicates a failure to connect to the SMTP server.

page 63

4. Click Make Default to configure this account for sending all non-ticket email messages and any ticketmessages for incoming mail accounts linked to the default.

Otherwise, leave this field as is.

5. Enter a friendly name that displays in the From address for email sent by this SMTP server.

6. Enter a list of domains used by this account for all outgoing emails.

7. Enter any additional properties sent to the email provider for mail server with special needs.

Click the tooltips for a list of supported parameters.

8. Click Save.

Configure an incoming email accountYou can define the requirements for accepting email and initiating some of the automated emailprocesses in the Incoming E-mail Accounts screen.

1. Click Setup and select E-Mail > Options.

2. Click New.

3. Select Enable E-Mail Tickets to enable Web Help Desk to create tickets.


page 64

4. In the E-Mail Address field, enter the email address used by Web Help Desk to create new tickets.

5. In the Account Type field, select the email protocol used to access the email account.

If you select Exchange or Office 365, verify that Exchange Web Services is enabled on theMicrosoft Exchange server. If the Exchange server does not support this service, enable theIMAP or POP3 protocol on the server.

6. Select the Compatibility Mode check box if you want to enable Web Help Desk to download the fullemail from the email server rather than specific parts of the email.

SolarWinds recommends leaving this check box blank.

7. In the Incoming Mail Server field, enter the email account used to send email to clients.

8. Click the Tech Group drop-down menu and select the tech group that filters the incoming email.

9. Click the Request Type drop-down menu and select the request type that is assigned to ticketscreated from all incoming email.

Ensure that the request type is supported by the selected tech group.

10. Leave the Allow Auto-submitted E-Mail check box and Advanced E-Mail Properties field blank.

If your email server fails incoming email tests, you can use these options for troubleshooting.


11. Click Save.

page 65

If you receive an error when you save your Exchange incoming mail email account, accessyour Exchange server and verify that Server Manager > Tools > Exchange Server IIS Manager> EWS > Basic Authentication is set to Enabled. When you are finished, save the incoming mailemail account again.

Apply your email templatesEmail templates create reusable text for outgoing and incoming email from data in Web Help Desk tickets.These templates implement tags (such as first name, last name, and ticket number) to pull informationfrom tickets into emails.

See Apply tags in email templates for a complete list of tags.

You can apply email templates and tags that automate your email processes, such as:

l Ticket update emailsl Ticket approval and disapproval emailsl Action rule emailsl Other general emails that require information from tickets

You can use the built-in templates included with Web Help Desk or you can create your own customtemplates.

Built-in email templatesWeb Help Desk includes ready-to-use, built-in email templates for ticket-related outgoing and incomingemails. You can use these templates or customize them to fulfill your needs.

For information about using built-in templates, see Edit built-in email templates.

Outgoing email templatesThe following table lists the outgoing email templates included with W

Documents

SolarWinds Web Help Desk Admin Guide - Unipress Softwaredownloads.unipresssoftware.com/WebDL/WHDAdminGuide.pdf · TableofContents Introduction 22 Keyfeatures 22 Ticketchecklists 22