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INSTALLATION GUIDEWeb Help DeskVersion 12.5.1Last Updated: June 13, 2017Retrieve the latest version from: https://support.solarwinds.com/Success Center/Web Help Desk (WHD)/WHD Documentation

2017 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 and documentation areand 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 INCLUDINGWITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF DESIGN, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULARPURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOLARWINDS, ITS SUPPLIERS, NOR ITS LICENSORSBE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY EVENIF SOLARWINDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.The SolarWinds and other SolarWinds marks, identified on the SolarWinds website, as updated fromSolarWinds from time to time and incorporated herein, are registered with the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarksmay 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 foridentification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respectivecompanies.June 13, 2017page 2

INSTALLATION GUIDE: WEB HELP DESKTable of ContentsIntroduction5Stand-alone installation5Integrated with the Orion Platform6Evaluation installation8Terminology8Product Licensing8Purchase a licensePlan for a production deployment910Pre-flight checklist10Installation requirements13Server sizing requirements13Server requirements13Operating system requirements14Web server requirements15Database requirements15SQL Server and MySQL server requirements15Oracle Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver requirements16Web browser requirements16SolarWinds product integration requirements16Discovery connector requirements17LDAP requirements17Mail server requirements19Web Help Desk Mobile requirements19Port requirementsWeb Help Desk interfacespage 31919

External and embedded databases20Email traffic20LDAP and Active Directory21Asset Discovery21Prepare the Web Help Desk database23Prepare the MySQL time zone tables23Enable TCP/IP on SQL Server24Create and configure your SQL Server database24Prepare the Web Help Desk serverInstall Web Help DeskInstall Web Help Desk in a stand-alone deployment262828Prepare for the install28Install Web Help Desk29Install Web Help Desk on a server running Microsoft Windows Server29Install Web Help Desk on a server running Mac OS X or macOS29Install Web Help Desk on a server running Red Hat Linux 64-bit30Complete the InstallationActivate the license3139Apply the activation key online39Apply the activation key offline40Integrate Web Help Desk into an Orion deployment43Install an Evaluation48Uninstall Web Help Desk50Access the Customer Portal51Create your user profile51Explore the Customer Portal52Get Helppage 453

INSTALLATION GUIDE: WEB HELP DESKIntroductionSupported Version: SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD) 12.5.1SolarWinds Web Help Desk is a web-based automated ticketing solution that helps you manage your ITsupport requests for both internal and external clients. Use Web Help Desk to create and manage ticketsin your help desk operations.Check out this video (1:23) for information about training and documentation resources available tohelp you implement Web Help Desk.This guide supports the following installation scenarios:lStand-alone installationlIntegrated with the Orion PlatformlEvaluation installationStand-alone installationFor a stand-alone installation of Web Help Desk, install the product on a dedicated server with your choiceof an embedded PostgreSQL database or an external database such as MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server . After configuration, you can use Web Help Desk as your ticketing system.By default, the Web Help Desk Admin Console uses secure port 8443 to connect to the Web HelpDesk server.You can integrate a stand-alone installation at any time to an Orion Platform environment.page 5

Integrated with the Orion PlatformWeb Help Desk supports an integrated installation into an existing Orion Platform. For this configuration,install the product on a dedicated server, select and implement an embedded or external database, andcreate a SolarWinds integrated connection in the Web Help Desk Admin Console to the Orion Platform.When you are finished, create or modify alerts in the Orion Platform to integrate with other SolarWindsProducts and subscribers.This configuration links Web Help Desk to SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM), Server andApplication Monitor (SAM), and Network Configuration Manager (NCM) systems to automatically create newtickets from Orion platform alerts and dispatch the appropriate techs to address the issue.This installation assumes that the Orion Platform and monitored products meet the SolarWinds productintegration requirements. If your environment uses SolarWinds High Availability, see the High Availabilityrequirements in the SolarWinds NCM Administrator Guide or the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guideas part of the installation.By default, the Web Help Desk Admin Console uses secure port 8443 to connect to the Web HelpDesk server.page 6

INSTALLATION GUIDE: WEB HELP DESKpage 7

Evaluation installationWeb Help Desk includes a 30-day evaluation license. During the evaluation period, you can create anunrestricted number of techs and access all product features. After the evaluation period, all techaccounts are deactivated. To continue using the product, you must purchase a full product license fromSolarWinds Sales.TerminologyThe following terms provide context for SolarWinds product architecture, roles, and components.llllAdmins: techs with privileges to configure Web Help Desk, set up tech accounts, and configure techgroups.Clients: end users or customers who can open tickets in Web Help Desk. Clients can enter ticketsthrough email or through the Web Help Desk Admin Console.Request Types: A classification that identifies the type of support request. Request types are usedto automatically assign tickets to the appropriate tech group.Techs: Web Help Desk technicians who troubleshoot and resolve customer tickets. Techs can bemembers of a tech group who address specific request types.Techs can also enter tickets. For example, when a client calls the IT Help Desk, the tech opens a ticketon the client's behalf. Additionally, techs can open tickets that are not associated with a client, suchas tickets to schedule routine maintenance or system upgrades.llTech Groups: a group of techs with similar skills and expertise who address specific ticket requesttypes, such as IT or Facilities. A tech group can include multiple levels so complex or difficult ticketscan be escalated to more experienced techs.Tickets: support requests opened through and managed within Web Help Desk. Tickets can beinitiated through email, created in the Web Help Desk Admin Console, or imported from anotherapplication.Product LicensingSolarWinds licenses Web Help Desk on a tiered structure based on the number of seats (or technicians),and not end users.The available license tiers include:l1 to 5l6 to 10l11 to 20l21 to 30page 8

INSTALLATION GUIDE: WEB HELP DESKl31 to 40l41 to 50l51 to 75l76 to 100l100 PURCHASE A LICENSEYou can request a quote or purchase a license from the Online Store. After your order is processed, youwill 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.Additionally, you can upgrade the product license to a larger license tier as you increase the number oftechs. 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.page 9

Plan for a production deploymentThis section provides the following information:lPre-flight checklistlInstallation requirementslPort requirementslPrepare the Web Help Desk databaselPrepare the Web Help Desk serverPre-flight checklistBefore installing, complete the pre-installation checklist below. This checklist helps you:llVerify that system requirements are met, all required software is installed, and required roles andfeatures are enabled.Gather the information required to complete the installation.Review the releasenotesReview the Web Help Desk release notes and available documentation in theSuccess Center.Create a standardaccess account(if required)If you are new to SolarWinds, create a standard access account on theCustomer Portal.1. Locate the SolarWinds Customer ID (SWID) you received in yourpurchase confirmation email.2. Open a Web browser and log in to the Customer Portal.3. In the Log In box, enter your SWID (customer ID) and password.4. Click Log in.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 toverify your account.9. Click Continue to Customer Portal.10. Log out of the Customer Portal.page 10

INSTALLATION GUIDE: WEB HELP DESK11. In the Login and Password fields, enter the email address and passwordyou entered in your individual profile.The Email Confirmation Screen displays, and an email is sent to theaddress you provided.If you are the administrator for your account, you can access thecompany profile settings screen and view users who have accessto the Customer Portal for your company. You can add users,assign roles and contact types and review other informationrelated to your account.Review the systemrequirementsMake sure your environment has the required hardware, software, anddatabase requirements for the installation.(Optional) Reviewthe systemrequirements andprocedures for aFIPS installationIf you plan to enable Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS 140-1)cryptography in your deployment, see Enable FIPS in the Web Help DeskAdministrator Guide for additional requirements and procedures.Gather Web HelpDesk credentialsMake sure you have all account credentials, SQL database credentials, yourSolarWinds account, and local admin server credentials.Use the Local Administrator Account for installation.The Local Administrator account is not the same as a domain accountwith local admin rights. A domain account is subject to your domaingroup policies.To download SolarWinds products and licenses, you need a SolarWindsCustomer Portal account.Gather OrionPlatformcredentials(Orion integrationdeployment only)Schedule theinstallationpage 11Obtain sysadmin rights to the Orion server and any additional servers,including High Availability (HA) server pairs, Additional Polling Engines, andAdditional Web Server.Required: Check the footer in the Orion Web Console and verify thatthe Orion Platform is running version 2016.1 or 2017.1. Web Help Deskrequires either version to integrate SolarWinds alerts into troubletickets.Set up the maintenance window, preferably during off-peak hours. Dependingon the number of products, size of databases, and size of environment, youmay need hours to complete your installation.