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12.5.1

damien.solodow

So I noticed that WHD popped up as new in Customer Portal today.

On the initial page it shows as 12.5.0-

However the download link shows 12.5.1.

The Release Notes link goes to release notes for 12.5.1 but it's a blank page.

There is also no longer a download for the appliance.

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typhoon87

Can't wait to see the release notes. If this just a release of 12.5 with patch 1 rolled in or if there are legit improvements.

Update release notes are live:

My 2 cents on notable changes first off no truly new features specifically the to 10 most upvoted items on Thwack nor further reporting improvements promised way back after 12.2 release:

They have moved some of the more popular port config options into the web interface it appears instead of only being in the tomcat/java config files, also SSL certs management config moved into web interface

They did update the email connector with Exchange 2016 and O365 support this has been brought on Thwack more than a few times recently.

List of general bug fixes as always.

Overall not totally terrible but also not as impressive as we really need/most were hoping to see.

chinmaychavan

Just went through the release notes.

Few good features and fixes.

I was expecting the Asset Dashboard feature as we had a very fruitful discussion with mbussey

Also few more important features like

Configs and certificates management through web UI is a good feature.

But, overall a weak and below expectation update.

FormerMember

Where is the virtual appliance for the latest version?

damien.solodow

I agree that it would be nice to see more rapid releases, but given this was from 12.5.0 to 12.5.1, I wasn't expecting anything huge.

I'm just glad it no longer looks like an old Mac app.

damien.solodow

That's a good question; I haven't seen it yet either.

pabely

None at the moment.

You can use the Linux .rpm but that will only do the WHD, nothing in CentOS

jeremymayfield

It was not there for me either. So updated my windows install, but noticed the reports had little to no work done to them.

kjstech

Any screenshots of the "New and improved user interface" ?

ktillman

Had to go through the Admin Guide for screenshots. Helluva step up... hopefully

jeremymayfield

Here you go.

Screen Shot 06-15-17 at 01.17 PM.PNG

Not really improved to the nth degree, but better. Reporting had no changes that i can tell. Some new admin options. and the fact Office 365 i supported now. Huge help.

milan.hulik

you can play with the new UI here: Web Help Desk

milan.hulik

Damien,

we had to take the VAs down as our default root password was compromised. Everyone with WHD license should see a customer portal notification as soon as you log into the customer portal. We encourage everyone to change the root password:

From the virtual server host, open the console of the WHD Virtual Appliance, select “Login” and then “Enter”
When prompted, enter the username “admin”, and the account password (the default account password is admin unless you have changed it)
When logged in as admin, type the command: “sudo passwd”
When prompted, enter a new root password
To confirm the change, type: “su –“. This will prompt you for the root password (it may take a few seconds to login)
Enter your new password, and confirm you can log in as root
After confirming the password has been updated, logout

We're working on ways to harden the VAs security, so we can provide upgrade.iso. In the meantime you can use the .RPM installer to update WHD.

Release notes are now live. Also guides are live in form of PDF.

mark.dangelo

Not a bad update. It's a step in the right direction.

Still would like the ability to add sections in the tech bar itself (such as "unassigned tickets," "[insert name]'s tickets," "New hire requests") and not having to run a query every time. I think that would be very useful. Vote for the feature request here:

FormerMember

Any ETA on the VA release?

milan.hulik

Not at the moment. There is a way to update VA - using Linux RPM package.

mguizzetti

Wish the AD Attribute lists were fixed, drop downs still do not display all attributes.

FormerMember

Yeah sure if you have the time.

tony.johnson

Also added export to TSV for tabular report results

rberger

So what is the "Solarwinds Supported" method to update using the RPM?

damien.solodow

I'm not sure on that (as I'm not a SW employee), but I can tell you what worked for us:

Download the RPM, and copy it to the appliance/Linux box

extract it via gzip

sudo service webhelpdesk stop

yum localinstall webhelpdesk.rpm

sudo service webhelpdesk start

Make sure the console doesn't report any errors after the start; we had a few headaches around our keystore, but we'd installed a custom cert on it

After a minute or two, hit the web UI and wait for it to prompt for a database upgrade

milan.hulik

We'd like to encourage you to move from VA to your own OS: Migrate the WHD virtual appliance VA to Linux or Windows - SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. Help and Support

damien.solodow

Looks like there is an official document up now: Upgrade WHD on a Linux virtual appliance - SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. Help and Support

FormerMember

Does this means that SolarWinds will no longer be releasing WHD as a virtual appliance?

FormerMember

I'm going to go with this for now. Thanks.

milan.hulik

We definitely want to provide fixed upgrade.iso to current customer base. However, it is taking time to fix it and as the current VA is vulnerable, we'd like you to move to a safe solution.

kwallace1

Hey,

Has anyone actually installed this yet? I am going to do mine this week but wanting to pre-empt any issues that you all might have had. We are running it on a 2012 R2 box with the embedded database.

I do like that there are more widgets on the Dashboard, they will defo be handy for the managers

Love the Demo of the new one as well Very Useful

pabely

If you use an exchange server you might have to update the cacerts file to include your local certificate, other than that it looks stable.

kwallace1

Hi,

Sorry - but how is this done, I don't remember having to do this when I set it up...I might have just forgotten, that's likely lol!

Have you used the PostGreSQL database as well? Will these settings remain or will they have to be input again?

Thanks for the speedy reply!!

pabely

All PostgreSQL settings remain the same, just make sure it continues with backups if you are using that option in Setup > General > Database

For exchange cert issues, see https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Web_Help_Desk_(WHD)/Web_Help_Desk_stops_collecting_email_after_an_SSL_Certificate_update

kwallace1

Brilliant thanks - Going to save this thread incase I come across some issues and need help

Thanks

pabely

Good luck, the golden rule is backup for any upgrade project!

dive7

I upgraded. Quick and painless, no issues. Just don't forget to backup.

kwallace1

Hi All,

Well post upgrade and all is working ok....What was I worrying about!!

I do have a question though - When I played around with the Demo client I noticed there were more Widgets for the Dashboard than I have currently in my install - Is there something I have to do to get these? Please be aware that we work on a network that sits away from the Internet, just incase these additional features are a factor in this. My widgets I have are in my screenshot below

Thanks All

pabely

Click on "Open Widgets Drawer"

kwallace1

I did that, but the screenshot I added above are the only options I get

The Service Desk is on a 2012 box

kellytice

OK, so if the problem is that the online demo is showing widgets that you don't have in your environment: you can build your own widgets.

The first step would be to go make your own search query under Tickets -> Search Tickets -> Advanced Search.

For example, you could create a query there to show all tickets for the "IT General" Tech Group that also have a Status of Open. There is an option to save your query so you could give it a name like "IT Gen Open" when you save it.

query in dashboard 1.png

Once you have your query built/saved, you'll go back to that widget drawer and click and hold the mouse on the "ticket chart widget" option and drag it down to the area below. That will create a basic widget.

You can then click the bit in the upper right of the widget (with the 3 lines) to edit the options for that widget.

You'll want to choose your query from the drop-down box at the top right.

You'll have an option to choose a "Category". That will determine what the pie slices in the graph are showing. In my case, my original query was already looking for only Open tickets (when it comes to Status), so i change the Category from Status to Priority instead.

query in dashboard 2.png

Once you save it, then you'll have a widget like this:

query in dashboard 3.png

pabely

This is no different from previous versions, only the use of the Widget Drawer is