• Replies 7 replies
  • Subscribers 25 subscribers
  • Views 1076 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related

DRE Support and Deployment Practices are abysmal.

RobNeff

We have been using DRE for over a year. It's not the best looking or working app but it gets the job done for the price.

Lately we have had issues with DRE from the standpoint of installation and updating using Microsoft Intune.

I download and package one version, from MSI, with detection set to the of the MSI APP ID. And this works for the most part, until you realize that any updates pushed by DRE never clean the registry of the previous versions so they always show as installed.

This creates a problem when packaging and deploying any updates as the previous versions always show as installed, and uninstalls fail because the APP ID still exists in the registry.

Now we see that DRE pushes app updates far in advance of what is available to download from their support site. 

We just noticed today that 7.50.18 is being pushed out and you can still only get 7.50.13 from their site.

I have tried emailing support for over a month now, asking for the latest version to either be sent to me or made available on their site, but all I get is the run around. 

They only ever respond, if at all, once a day and it's a different person every single time and each time its a one-line response that basically punts the ticket to the next day.

Most of the time it was a link to download the old version, or direction to re-download from their site which was still outdated 

Eventually someone suggested that we just get the latest update from the ProgramData\GetSupportService_Dameware\Updates folder.

I was able to fix all our client PC's by finding the 7.50.17 update and packaging it in Intune with detection set to look for a token file I drop via PS into a specific folder to indicate successful deployment.

Going forward, when I package a new version, I will do it based on a token and not try and use their crappy registry hygene.

However, this does not fix the problem of DRE pushing updates that you cannot get from their portal. If they are putting 7.50.18 on our machines, it damn well better be available as a package from their portal.

I need to be able to keep my packages in Intune as up to date as possible so when we deploy new machines, or reset existing machines, they get the latest versions. 

I am about done with DRE and I am about done with SW altogether. 

  • Quick question - if you are using Intune why don't you use it's remote assistance tool?

  • in reply to mark.gover

    Mark, Thanks for the reply. The company had DRE before I started with them. We are looking at replacements, but I did not look at remote support. Remote Help is an add-on for Intune for $3.50 per user, there doesn't seem to be any of the extra features for support that you get with utilities like DRE or Proxy, etc. When we switch, we will likely be moving our ticketing system as well. I am open to suggestions, so I appreciate your response. 

  • in reply to RobNeff

    Fair enough, the remote support seems limited with Intune. It definitely doesn't have those extra tools(cmd, registry, access to the file system) like Dameware.

    I worked with a product that is pretty much exactly like Dameware but has more features like patch management, automation etc etc. It's called N-central which is agent based, who was a Solarwinds product but then split off after their security incident as N-Able N-Central. Their support is pretty good, you can start a chat in your N-central console and if no support agents are available it will log a support ticket, responses are definitely more than once a day from my experience. Alternatives are NinjaOne, Kaseya, ConnectWise, Atera, which I haven't had the pleasure of working with any of these unfortunately.

    The only real issue i had with N-Central was the agents breaking on the client machines, which requires a re-install, but overall experience was good.

  • Hi  , sounds like you're having quite the challenge with support there.

    Have you tried calling support directly, rather than just using email? It's a little old school, I agree, but when I have a particularly thorny problem, and I'm suffering from the occasional email ping-pong which pops up from time to time with any follow-the-sun support team (handovers to different regions etc etc), calling the support number closest to your region direct during your working hours can help you get 'locked in' with a specific support agent through to resolution. The support numbers are:

    Phone (Americas): +1-866-530-8040, option 3 or +1-512-682-9300
    Phone (EMEA): +353 21 5002900
    Phone (DACH): +49 30 390 634 50
    Phone (APAC): +65 6593 7600

    From what you've described, there's clearly lessons learned for the SolarWinds CDN team to take on board. Not having the correct version available in all the relevant formats on the portal is important feedback for them resolve going forward, so thanks for bringing this to the THWACK community's attention!

  • We have the client set to automatically update and it seems to work pretty well.   I haven't touched the intune version in about 6 months but it's installing the latest version on new machines.

  • in reply to TDTHWACK

    We have it set to auto update; however, the issue was when moving from .13 to .17 of the agents we lost all connections to the clients and could not get a download to correct it.  If everything works it's not an issue, it's when it doesn't when it becomes the spotlight problem.

  • in reply to jeremymayfield

    I believe we also had that problem.  I created a second package with the same settings and made it available via Company Portal so that I could direct people to uninstall the existing DRE and then install the one via Company Portal.  Stupid workaround, but it worked ok.

SolarWinds solutions are rooted in our deep connection to our user base in the THWACK® online community. More than 200,000 members are here to solve problems, share technology and best practices, and directly contribute to our product development process.

SolarWinds Customer Success Center Certification SolarWinds Lab Link Customer Portal
About THWACK SolarWinds Blog Federal & Government Edit Settings Free Tools & Trials
Legal Documents Terms of Use Privacy California Privacy Rights Security Information
©2021 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All Rights Reserved.