Copyright 2014 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document may be reproduced by any means nor modified,

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2 Copyright 2014 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document may be reproduced by any means nor modified, decompiled, disassembled, published or distributed, in whole or in part, or translated to any electronic medium or other means without the written consent of SolarWinds. All right, title, and interest in and to the software and documentation are and shall remain the exclusive property of SolarWinds and its respective licensors. SOLARWINDS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR OTHER TERMS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, ON SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION FURNISHED HEREUNDER INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF DESIGN, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOLARWINDS, ITS SUPPLIERS, NOR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY EVEN IF SOLARWINDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. The SOLARWINDS, the SOLARWINDS & Design, DAMEWARE, ORION, and other SolarWinds marks, identified on the SolarWinds website, as updated from SolarWinds from time to time and incorporated herein, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks may be common law marks or registered or pending registration in the United States or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks contained and/or mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Microsoft, Windows, and SQL Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. 12/1/2014

3 Contents Contents 2 Introduction 4 Key Features 4 Do-It-Yourself Installation and Setup 4 Tool Tips and Help 4 Multiple Client Management 4 Seamless Integration with SolarWinds Products 4 Automated Asset Discovery 5 Automated Notifications 5 Ticket Origination and Updating 5 Automated Help Desk Procedures 5 Change Control Processes 5 DameWare Integration 5 Application Programming Interface (API) 5 How the Help Desk Works 6 For Evaluation Users 8 Before You Begin 9 Server Requirements 9 Requirements for SolarWinds Integration 11 Database Requirements 11 Embedded Database Migration Requirements 11 MySQL Requirements 12 2

4 Web Help Desk SQL Server Requirements 12 Installing the Application 14 Installing on Windows 14 Uninstalling on Windows 20 Installing on a Mac 21 Uninstalling Web Help Desk on a Mac 26 Installing Web Help Desk on Linux 28 Uninstalling Web Help Desk on Linux 30 Upgrading to v12.2.x 30 Getting Started 32 Setting Up the Database 32 Creating an Integration Account 32 Creating the Default Admin Account 35 After Creating the Default Admin Account 36 Adding and Editing Custom Request Types 36 3

5 Introduction SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD) creates a structured, consistent system for help desk processes and communications. WHD v12.2.x offers Enterprise and Managed Service Provider help desks a number of useful features, which are described below. Key Features Do-It-Yourself Installation and Setup Deploy WHD in less than an hour, using the easy-to-follow WHD Getting Started Wizard. No consultants or special equipment is required. Tool Tips and Help WHD has an extensive library of pop-up tool tips and context-sensitive and general help. To activate a tool tip, click the information icon to the right of the field in question. To activate context-sensitive help, click the help icon in the upper right corner of the active page. For general help, click the help icon at the upper right corner of the window. Multiple Client Management WHD manages help desk and ticketing processes for multiple Clients, allowing you to separate customer inventories, tickets, and processes. You can assign technicians, managers, and processes to one or more customers. Seamless Integration with SolarWinds Products You can now easily integrate SolarWinds Web Help Desk with Network Performance Manager (NPM), Server and Application Monitor (SAM), and Network Configuration Manager (NCM) into WHD. This capability enables WHD to open tickets based on SolarWinds alerts. 4

6 Introduction Automated Asset Discovery Save countless hours of manual input. WHD discovers and synchronizes client asset information when triggered, or automatically, when scheduled. Plus, the ability to integrate SolarWinds NPM, SAM, and NCM products into WHD enables you to easily discover and import data on assets attached to those systems. Automated Notifications WHD sends trouble ticket s when a ticket is opened, escalated, updated, or closed. You control who gets ticket notifications and the text of the message to each party. Ticket Origination and Updating You, your technicians, and your customers can open and update tickets by sending an to the WHD system. WHD then takes predefined actions based on the content. Automated Help Desk Procedures You can set the procedures for each step of the ticket process from origination, dispatch, parts ordering, billing, and escalation through to closure, ensuring consistent service. Change Control Processes WHD contains per-customer change approval process change control capabilities, including roles for submitters and multiple levels of approvers. DameWare Integration In just one click, initiate a DameWare Mini Remote Control (MRC) connection directly from a Ticket or Asset. This functionality also allows you to save remote session details into existing Ticket or create a new Ticket. Plus, WHD's ability to integrate with DameWare also enables you to save DameWare screen shots and chat histories into WHD tickets for later use. Application Programming Interface (API) The WHD API facilitates automatic Tech or Client Ticket creation. Also use the API to upload attachments to your tickets and to integrate WHD with other tools and infrastructure. 5

7 How the Help Desk Works How the Help Desk Works WHD initiates and manages your help desk processes through the WHD web console, , SMS, and built-in procedures. Once you have configured WHD, it automatically routes tickets to the proper technician and updates your customer. If a repair requires spare parts, WHD orders them and automatically bills the customer for parts and labor costs. WHD accepts ticket requests and opens a ticket based on the information in the . You can also update and close tickets using . Each customer has a web console dedicated to their help desk needs. Customers have access to all of their help desk features through a web portal, and they cannot see any information about other customers help desks. The following shows WHD processes at a very high level. 6

8 Introduction 7

9 For Evaluation Users For Evaluation Users For 30 days after you install your free version of WHD, you have unlimited Tech seats. If you have not entered a license after 30 days, WHD automatically switches to a 1-Tech license, allowing updates up to 1 year. All Tech accounts other than the initial admin account become inactive. Purchasing and entering a license reactivates the deactivated accounts. Once you have purchased a license, enter it into WHD at Setup > General > License. Note: Converting your unlicensed version of WHD to a licensed version keeps all your existing WHD settings or files, so there is no need for reinstallation or reconfiguration. 8

10 Before You Begin SolarWinds recommends reviewing the following requirements before performing an installation, upgrade, or migration: Server Hardware and Software Requirements Server Sizing Supported Web Browsers SolarWinds Integration Virtual Appliance Requirements Database Requirements Server Requirements The following tables list minimum WHD server software and hardware requirements: Software Operating System Requirements Windows Server bit, Windows Server and 64-bit, Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit, Windows Server bit, Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit Recommended for installations with more than 20 technicians, Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, and bit For trial purposes only, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 through 8.1 (32- and 64-bit) ios 5, 6, 7, and 8 9

11 Before You Begin OS X 10.8 through CentOS 6.5, 32- and 64-bit Red Hat Linux (RHEL) 6.5, 32- and 64- bit Fedora 20, 32- and 64-bit Mobile ios 5 through 8 Web Console Browser Chrome latest version Firefox 30 through 32 Internet Explorer (IE) 8th rough 11 Safari 5 through 7 Note: Chrome v32 and Firefox v32 are the latest versions of those browsers tested with WHD v Because Google and Mozilla release new versions of their browsers so often, testing WHD on the very latest browser is not always possible. It is likely, however, that WHDv will work with Chrome and Firefox releases newer than those it has been tested on. Hardware CPU Speed Hard Drive Space Mac Architecture Memory Application Ports Requirements Dual Core, 2.0 GHz or faster 20 GB 64-bit Intel 3 GB, adding 1 GB for every 10 additional technicians) 8081 (or alternate browser port), 1433 (SQL) 10

12 Requirements for SolarWinds Integration Requirements for SolarWinds Integration WHD can integrate the following SolarWinds products. Supported Product SolarWinds Orion Core Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Server and Application Monitor (SAM) Network Configuration Monitor (NCM) Version and above 10.4 and above 5.5 and above and above SAM and NCM must be running with NPM to integrate with WHD. Database Requirements WHD v uses an embedded PostgreSQL database as its standard database. See Embedded Database Requirements for specific requirements information. You can use an external PostgreSQL 9.2 or 9.3 database with WHD v as well. WHD also supports MySQL version 5.5 and Microsoft SQL Server versions 2008 and 2012 as external databases. See MySQL Requirements and SQL Server Requirements for more information on their software and hardware requirements. Note: For optimal performance, run the WHD application and the external database on separate servers. If you want to run a database WHD v does not support, you cannot run WHD v Embedded Database Migration Requirements WHD v12.2.x does not support the pre- WHD v FrontBase database. To automatically upgrade an embedded FrontBase database to an embedded PostgreSQL database, you must upgrade to WHD and then upgrade to the latest version of WHD. Note: External FrontBase databases must be manually migrated to the embedded PostgreSQL database. 11

13 Before You Begin The following conditions must exist for the WHD database upgrade process to start automatically after the WHD upgrade: Both FrontBase and PostgreSQL are running. The embedded FrontBase uses the schema whd and user whd. The new server has enough free space to support the database migration. WHD notifies the user about the space required before migration starts. Migration creates a folder called $WEB_HELPDESK_HOME/temp with files inside it, so the user conducting the installation must have write privileges on both the FrontBase and PostgreSQL databases. After you have upgraded to WHD v12.0.0, you can upgrade to v The upgrade to v has already converted your embedded FrontBase database to an embedded PostgreSQL database, so no further database conversions should be needed to upgrade to WHD v MySQL Requirements The following table lists the minimum software and hardware requirements for the MySQL WHD database server. Software and Hardware MySQL Database CPU Speed Hard Drive Space Memory Requirement MySQL 5.5 or newer, Community, Cluster, or Enterprise MySQL Workbench Tools Dual core 2.0 GHz or better 20 GB 2 GB (+1GB for every 10 techs) SQL Server Requirements The following table lists the minimum software and hardware requirements for the SQL database server. 12

14 SQL Server Requirements Software and Hardware Microsoft SQL Server Database Requirement Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard, or Enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express, Standard, or Enterprise SQL authentication must be supported. SQL Server Management Studio Component. TCP/IP must be enabled. SQL Server Database Engine SQL Server Management Tools CPU Speed Hard Drive Space Memory Dual core 2.0 GHz or better 20 GB 2 GB (+1GB for every 10 Techs) 13

15 Installing the Application The WHD application installation instructions for Windows, Mac, and Linux guide you through the processes for both installing and uninstalling the WHD application. Ensure that the computer on which you install WHD meets or exceeds the stated requirements. For more information about the kinds of hardware and software needed for installation, see Software and Hardware Requirements. Installing on Windows To install WHD on Windows: 1. Using an account with local administrative privileges, log on to the server where you want to install the application. Notes: To avoid permissions issues, this account should not be a domain account, and it should not be subject to any local or group policy restrictions. If you are installing on a Windows 2008 server, you must use the Run as administrator option when launching the installer. Quit all other programs before running the installer. 2. If you downloaded the product for installation, navigate to your downloaded.zip file, extract the evaluation package to an appropriate location, and then launch the executable. For a Windows 2008 server, right-click the installer, and then choose Run as administrator. 3. If you received physical media, browse to the executable and then launch it. 14

16 Installing the Application 4. Review the Introduction text, and then click Next. 15

17 Installing on Windows 5. Accept the terms of the license agreement, and then click Next. 6. Accept the default installation location or click Choose to provide a new installation location. 16

18 Installing the Application If you have created a new folder for installation but decide to install in the default location instead, click Restore Default Folder to return to the default installation location for WHD. 7. Click Next to install WHD in the default or selected location. Note: The installer creates icons only in the location you select. If you select a location other than in a new Program Group, the icons will not be available in Start > All Programs. 8. Choose where to place product shortcut icons. 17

19 18 Installing on Windows

20 Installing the Application 9. Review the Pre-Installation Summary information and then click Install. The installation runs for approximately 5 to 10 minutes. 19

21 Uninstalling on Windows 10. Click Done to complete the installation. Uninstalling on Windows Quit all other programs before running the WHD installer. To uninstall the application on Windows: 1. Using an account with local administrative privileges, log on to the server from which you want to uninstall the application. 2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\WebHelpDesk and double click UNINSTALL.bat. 20

22 Installing the Application 3. Enter y to delete WHD and its data. When application and data removal are completed, the uninstaller let you know the uninstall process is completed. Installing on a Mac Quit all other programs before running the WHD installer. To install WHD on a Mac: 1. Using an account with local administrative privileges, log on to the server where you want to install SolarWinds WHD. 2. If you downloaded the product from thesolarwinds or the Web Help Desk website, navigate to your downloaded.dmg file, and double click to mount this file. 3. If you received physical media, browse to the.dmg executable, and then double click to mount it. 4. Double click WebHelpDesk.pkg in the initial splash screen. 21

23 Installing on a Mac 5. Review the Introduction text, and then click Continue. 22

24 Installing the Application 6. Review the terms of the license agreement, and then click Continue. 23

25 Installing on a Mac 7. Click Agree to accept the license terms. 8. Review the installation information, and then click Install. 24

26 Installing the Application 25

27 Uninstalling Web Help Desk on a Mac 9. When the installation completes, click Close. Uninstalling Web Help Desk on a Mac Quit all other programs before running the WHD installer. To uninstall WHD on a Mac: 1. Using an account with local administrative privileges, log on to the server from which you want to uninstall SolarWindsWHD. 2. Navigate to Applications/WebHelpDesk and click UninstallWeb Help Desk. 26

28 Installing the Application 3. Enter Y or Yes to delete WHD and its data. When application and data removal are completed, the uninstaller let you know the uninstallation process is completed. 27

29 Installing Web Help Desk on Linux The LinuxWHD installation does not require appliance deployment. To install WHD on Linux: 1. Quit all other programs before running the Linux WHD installer. 2. Using an account with local administrative privileges, log on to the server where you want to installwhd. 3. Navigate to your downloaded executable or to the physical media containing the executable, and run gunzip webhelpdesk- webhelpdesk XXX-1.i386.rpm or gunzip webhelpdesk- webhelpdesk X.XXX-1.x86_64.rpm. 4. Run the installer using the command rpm -ivhwebhelpdesk-12.2.x.xxx- 1.i386.rpm or sudo rpm - webhelpdesk-12.2.x.xxx-1.x86_64.rpm The installation looks like this on your screen: [root@localhost ~]# rpm -ivh webhelpdesk-12.2.x.xxx-1.x86_64.rpm Preparing... ########################################### [100%] 1:webhelpdesk ########################################### [100%]Setting up the Web Help Desk to start automatically at boot...done.to start the Web Help Desk, use '/usr/local/webhelpdesk/whd start' Note: To upgrade an existing WHD Linux installation, apply the command -Uvh, rather than -ivh. 5. Enter /usr/local/webhelpdesk/whd start to start the application. Application startup looks like this on your screen: [root@localhost ~]# /usr/local/webhelpdesk/whd start Web Help Desk 12.2.X.XXX Copyright (c) SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC Installing Web Help Desk on Linux Using XX:MaxPermSize=256Starting postgresql-9.2 service: [ OK ]Starting the Web Help Desk on port Using CATALINA_BASE: /usr/local/webhelpdesk/bin/tomcatusing CATALINA_HOME: /usr/local/webhelpdesk/bin/tomcatusing 28

30 Installing the Application CATALINA_TMPDIR: /usr/local/webhelpdesk/bin/tomcat/tempusing JRE_HOME: /usr/local/webhelpdesk/bin/jreusing CLASSPATH: /usr/local/webhelpdesk /bin/tomcat/bin/bootstrap.jar:/usr/local/webhelpdesk/bin/tomcat/bin/to mcat-juli.jarusing CATALINA_PID: ~]# Note: You can halt the application in a similar way, by entering: /usr/local/webhelpdesk/whd stop Stopping WHD looks like this: [root@localhost ~]# /usr/local/webhelpdesk stop Web Help Desk12.2.X.XXX Copyright (c) SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC Using XX:MaxPermSize=256Stopping the Web Help Desk... Stopping postgresql-9.2 service: ~]# 6. Launch your browser and navigate to : Review the Introduction text, and then click Next. [ OK ][root@localhost 8. Review the terms of the license agreement, and then click Agree. 9. Review the installation information, and then click Next. 10. When the installation completes, click Close. 11. If you will be using the embedded PostgreSQL database, click Continue. 12. If you will be using MySQL as your WHDdatabase, click Cancel and follow these steps to connect WHD to SQL. a. Clear the Use Embedded Database check box. b. Click the down arrow on the right of the Vendor list, and then select Microsoft SQL Server c. Enter the IP Address of the SQL server in the left Host field and 1433 in the Port field. d. Enter WHD in the Database and Username fields. e. Enter the SQL whd user s password, and click Save. f. Close the WHD web console. 29

31 Uninstalling Web Help Desk on Linux g. In the Applications folder, double click Stop Web Help Desk. h. In the Applications folder, double click Web Help Desk. i. Click Continue to initialize the SQL database and start WHD. 13. In the WHD web console, enter admin for the user address and admin for the password, and then click Log In. Uninstalling Web Help Desk on Linux To uninstall WHD on Linux: 1. Quit all other programs before running the Linux WHD uninstaller. 2. Using an account with local administrative privileges, log on to the server where you want to uninstall WHD. 3. Run the uninstaller using the command # rpm -e webhelpdesk X.XXX-1.i386.rpm or yum remove webhelpdesk-12.2.x.xxx- 1.x86_64.rpm Upgrading to v12.2.x WHD 12.2.X supports upgrades from WHD The WHD installation program automatically detects your current WHD installation and walks you through the upgrade process. Notes: For Windows 2008 server and above, right-click Start, select WebHelpDesk, and then select Run as administrator. For Mac OSX, make sure you are logged in as an administrator. For Linux, ensure you are logged in using an account with local administrative privileges. To upgrade to the latest version of WHD: 1. Back up the WHD server and any database server involved with WHD. Note: Upgrading does not harm the database and the data still exist in its tables. 2. From within WHD, double click Stop Web Help Desk. 30

32 Installing the Application 3. Launch the new WHD installer. 4. Accept the terms of the upgrade. The WHD installer upgrades the current installation to WHD v12.2.x. 5. When the upgrade completes, close all browsers and double click Start Web Help Desk. 31

33 Getting Started The first time you use WHD, the WHD application walks you through the setup process using a Getting Started Wizard. The WHD Getting Started Wizard walks you through the following processes: Setting up your database Creating an admin account Adding and editing custom requests Setting Up the Database Carefully consider whether to use an embedded or external database before installing WHD. WHD comes standard with an embedded PostgreSQL database. The embedded database is easy to set up, works well for small to medium installations, and is set up as part of the WHD application setup in the WHD Getting Started Wizard. One click sets up the database, as described in Using an Embedded PostgreSQL Database. You may want to use an external database with WHD if you already have one set up. Enterprise or multiple customer installations must use an external database. SolarWinds highly recommends using SQL Server. Install and configure SQL Server before installing WHD. SQL Server can reside on the same server as WHD or on a separate server. WHD can also use a new SQL database instance on an existing SQL Server. For information on setting up your external database to work with WHD, see Creating a Custom SQL Database. Creating an Integration Account An alert source is a system or device that generates alerts. The source sends directly to WHD or to the WHD integration account. You can configure WHD to receive and process alerts from any alert source that can send . The alert source sends to the WHD integration account you create. The figure below explains how WHD processes alerts. 32

34 Getting Started This account provides other systems an integration point with WHD. This is not just a FROM ; it is the account where mail is sent TO WHD. By default, WHD polls this account for from users and alert-generating systems every 1 minute. WHD processes those s, making them into WHD tickets and deletes all other s from the account. For information on configuring WHD to recognize and process s from the Integration account, see Setting Up Incoming Accounts. Note: To ensure the best possible system performance and results, set up the integration account used only for WHD. WHD needs its own empty account for the integration account. Do not use a personal or existing account. Using an existing account wastes time and system resources polling and deleting non-whd s. After you set up this account on a mail server, set up the account in WHD. To set up the account in WHD: 1. Enter the integration account address. 2. Select the type of account. 3. Enter the incoming server IP address or domain. 4. Enter the account login. 5. Enter the account password. 6. Enter the outgoing server name, if different from the incoming server name. 7. Click Advanced. 8. Enter the port number for incoming mail. 9. If needed, select Require a Secure Connection. 10. Enter the port number for outgoing mail. 11. Enter test addresses. These are addresses WHD sends to test connectivity. 12. Click Test. 33

35 34 Creating an Integration Account

36 Getting Started 13. If WHD contacts the account and is able to send the test , click Next. If WHD cannot contact the account and send the test , check your settings and rerun the test. Note: The Incoming Mail Account requires a Request Type be assigned by default. The first Request Type configured is the one that will be used. Do not forget to change this in Setup > > Incoming Mail Accounts after you finish your initial WHD setup in the Getting Started Wizard. Creating the Default Admin Account WHD has a Default Admin account that you create when setting up WHD in the WHD Getting Started Wizard. The Default Admin account is a WHD super user account, with configuration access to all WHD settings and accounts. There is a single Default Admin account, set up locally in WHD. This is the account used to log in to WHD for the first time and to configure WHD. The Default Admin account creates all other accounts, including other Admin Accounts. This account has Tech account privileges and can work on tickets like a Tech too. Techs can have either Tech or Tech Admin account privileges. For information about adding Tech accounts, see Defining Techs. The Default Admin account can also create Client accounts and Clients that can create their own accounts. For information on creating client accounts, see Adding Clients. To create the Default Admin account: 1. Enter your first name. 2. Enter your last name. 3. Enter a username for the account. 4. Enter a password for the account. 5. Confirm the password. 6. Enter your address. 7. Click Next. 35

37 After Creating the Default Admin Account After Creating the Default Admin Account After the Getting Started Wizard has completed and you have created your Admin account, the Getting Started Wizard is no longer accessible. To access the WHD application, you must log in through the WHD login page. If you try to access the Getting Started Wizard, you receive an error message with a link to the login page. If you need to change any of your WHD settings after initialization, do so through the WHD Setup area. The Default Admin account is the only WHD account that can see and use the Switch to Demo Client account toolbar button. This is because when you create the Default Admin account, the Getting Started Wizard automatically links the Demo Client account. Other Admin and Tech accounts must be specifically configured to link to a Client account. See Adding and Editing Custom Request Types When a client creates a ticket, they can specify the kind of help they need by selecting a request type. Effectively configuring request types can automatically route to specific Techs. WHD offers standard request types, such as Hardware, Network, and /Outlook, but often, organizations need to handle special types of requests. 36

38 Getting Started The WHD administrator can add and define custom request types and edit properties of existing request types. The following example shows how to set up a Security custom request type. To add a custom request type: 1. Click Add Request Type. 2. Enter Security in the Request Type Name field. 3. Select Urgent as the Priority. 4. Click Advanced. 5. Click Add New Group. 6. Enter the name of the group handling security. In this example, the group is called Web Security. 7. Click Add. 8. Select the following options to enable clients to provide as much detail as possible: Require clients to add details Allow clients to add attachments Allow clients to review these requests after they are created 37

39 Adding and Editing Custom Request Types 9. Click Save. To edit a request type: 1. Select a request type and click Edit. 2. Edit the request type as needed. For example, if you were editing the request type just added above, you might want to change the Request Name from Security to Web Security. 3. Click Save to save your edits. 38

40 Getting Started 4. Click Finish to complete WHD setup. Using the database, account, admin account, and request types entered, the WHD Getting Started Wizard sets up the embedded PostgreSQL database and the WHD installation. 5. Click Login as Admin to continue setup. 6. Review and accept the End User License Agreement (EULA) and then click Continue. WHD opens to the My Tickets window. 39