iTivity™ User Guide

5. Installing the iTivity Agents on Windows

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5.1 System Requirements
5.2 Installing the Support Module
5.3 Editing the Agent HTML Files
5.4 Installing the Admin Agent From the Distribution EXE
5.5 Installing an Agent via One-Click Install

 iTivity Agents are software components that allow secure connections to an iServer and remote viewing and control of the computer on which the agent is installed.

Agents are typically installed on a Windows computer from a web page or e-mail link, through a simple, one-click install process. They can also be installed from CD ROM or a downloaded installation EXE file.

This chapter explains:

·         How to install the Support Module, which contains all of the agent components.

·         How administrators can set up web pages to allow one-click install of the agents, including how to configure installation settings in the HTML files.

·         How end-users perform the one-click install.

·         How to install the Admin Agent or Live Support Agent from CD ROM or distribution EXE file.

Note: For information on installing and running the Admin Agent on Linux/UNIX systems, see Chapter 8.

5.1  System Requirements

The Live Support Agent and Admin Agent both can run on the following Windows platforms:

·          Windows 2000

·          Windows XP Pro

·          Windows 2003 Server

·          Windows ME

·          Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3

·          Windows 98

Disk space required to install the Admin Agent or Live Support Agent is approximately 8.6 megabytes.

5.2  Installing the Support Module

The Support Module is an iTivity component you can install from the iTivity product CD ROM or Tridia web site. This component contains all the files an administrator needs to create web pages and e-mail links to allow one-click install of the iTivity agents.

Administrators can install the Support Module by downloading the iTivity distribution EXE from the Tridia web site or by using the iTivity Product CD ROM. This procedure is similar to installation of the other iTivity modules.

Note:  You can also automate installation on Windows. See the Appendix in this guide.

Note: The Support Module files are also installed by default when you install the iServer. See Chapter 1, Installing the iServer.

1.       Download the iTivity.exe distribution from our web site (http://www.tridia.com). After saving this file to disk, open the file.

OR

Insert the Tridia Product CD into your CD-ROM drive. The Autorun feature starts the installation program.

The following Welcome dialog is displayed:

2.       Click Next.

The License Agreement page is displayed.

3.       Press the Page Down key to view the entire agreement. Then click Yes to indicate your acceptance.

The following dialog is displayed.

4.       Click the Browse button to change the Destination Folder if desired. Otherwise, click Next to continue.

The Setup Type dialog is displayed.

Note: Choose Custom if you plan to use the Live Support Agent without the Chat feature. During the installation process, you will be given the option to include or not include the Chat files. Chat support is included by default, but it increases the file size and download time for one-click install of the Live Support Agent.

5.       Highlight the iTivity Support Module and click Next.

The Select Program Folder dialog is displayed.

6.       Change the Folder if desired. Click Next.

The following dialog is displayed.

7.       Click Next to begin copying files.

After copying files, the program displays the following dialog:

8.       Click Yes.

The following dialog is displayed, for you to specify the folder location on your web server.

9.       Specify the path to the correct folder on your web server and click OK.

The files are copied to the web server location. The following dialog is displayed when the process is complete.

5.3  Editing the Agent HTML Files

Installing the Support Module creates a set of files that are typically copied to a web server. These files create web pages that allow users to perform a one-click install of the agents.

Administrators need to edit these files to set configuration parameters. These parameters define important information controlling the setup and operation of the Live Support Agent and Admin Agent on end-user's computers.

HTML File List

The following HTML files are installed.

File

Description

supportagent.htm

Main web page for installing the Live Support Agent.

adminagent.htm

Main web page for installing the Admin Agent.

bothAgents.htm

Page that installs both Agents.

index.htm

Default page for the directory. A copy of supportagent.htm.

 

HTML File Contents

You can open the files in any text editor or HTML editing program. A number of configuration parameters are presented, with code comments to explain their purpose.

These parameters include:

·         iTivity Global Agent Settings

·         iTivity Live Support Agent Settings

·         iTivity Admin Agent Settings

Administrators can edit any of these parameters as needed. The rest of this section describes all of the parameters.

5.3.1  Global Agent Settings

These settings apply to all agents. The parameters in bold are ones you will most likely need to review and edit.

Parameter

Description

varFeatureSelect

Determines which agent or agents are installed by the one-click install process.  Values are:

iTivity Support Agent
iTivity Admin Agent
Both

variTivityConnectPort

Sets the iServer connection port. Normally 23800.

variTivityServerName

The DNS name of the iServer.

Important: Change this to the name of your iServer.

varRootCertURL

The URL of the iServer public encryption key. The iServer public key is created automatically the first time your iTivity iServer starts.

The default key name is root.pem and the default location is the iServer default URL documents folder. If you are using name or location, enter it here. This allows the Agent installation programs to copy the iServer key to the appropriate location on the agent computer.

Example: http://iserver.tridia.com/root.pem

varInstallDir

The direct where the agent will be installed.

Example: C:\\Program Files\\iTivity\\

Set this value to "" if you want to install the agent on a per-user basis.  The installation will reside under the logged in users home directory.

varCustomIcon

The URL of a custom icon file to replace the default iTivity and HelpDesk icons. Used to provide the applications with custom branding. The file must be in ico format.

Example:  http://iserver.acme.com/custom.ico

varVNCHostName

Used to set the name of the agent computer as it will be displayed by iTivity iManager. By default is the Windows computer name is used, but you can enter a value for this variable to override the default.

Caution: The VNC host name set here will be used for all computers that install the agent using this html file. 

varPromptForHostName

Set this variable to TRUE if you want to prompt the user for a unique computer name during the installation.  This computer name will be displayed in iTivity iManager when this agent computer is connected

Default is FALSE

varAutoMinimizeiServer
ConnectionDialog

Set this variable to TRUE if you want the iServer Connection Status dialog to automatically minimize on startup.

Default is FALSE

varAdminImport
RegistryFile

For advanced installation on an Intranet, this variable can be used to specify the path and filename of a custom Registry file to be imported as part of the installation.

This Registry file should contain settings for agent users who have Administrative rights to the computer. Updates to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE are usually permitted for Admin or Power users. 

This setting is ignored when a Non-Admin user installs the agent.

varNonAdminImport
RegistryFile

For advanced installation on an Intranet, this variable can be used to specify the path and filename of a custom Registry file to be imported as part of the installation.

This Registry file should contain settings for agent users who do not have Administrative rights to the computer. Updates to HKEY_CURRENT_USER are usually permitted for non-Admin or non-power users. 

This setting is ignored when an Admin user installs the agent.

varAutoAcceptAllCerts

Determines whether the iTivity iManager will be prompted to validate the certificate the first time it views this agent.  Values are:

0 - Prompt to validate the certificate
1 - Accept all certificates automatically.

LDAP Configuration Options

The following options are needed only if LDAP is used as the authentication method.

varEncryptBool

Use LDAP authentication encryption. Boolean. Values are TRUE and FALSE.

varLDAPHost

Identifies the LDAP Host Server. String data type.

varLDAPPort

The LDAP authentication port. Numeric data type.

varLDAPSSLPath

LDAP SSL certificate path.

Example: C:\TEMP\RootCert.der

varLDAPUserTree

The LDAP User Tree. String data type. Required.

Format: <DistinquishedName>?<attirbutes>?<scope>

Example:  ou=context,o=tree_name

varLDAPGroupObj

The LDAP Group Object. String data type. Required.

Examples:

cn=GroupName,ou=context,o=tree_name
cd=tridia,dc=com

 

5.3.2  Live Support Agent Settings

The following settings apply specifically to the Live Support Agent. The parameters in bold are ones you will most likely need to review and edit.

Parameter

Description

varSupportInstallAllUsers

Set this value to TRUE to make the Live Support Agent available to all users.

varSupportAuthScheme

Determines the authentication method to be used when the iTivity iManager attempts to view a computer running this agent. 

Values are:

ntlm - (Microsoft Authentication): the agent authenticates the username and password against a Microsoft Domain or local database. Recommended for Windows computers.

ldap - The agent authenticates against a server running the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). If ldap is used, you must set additional Global Agent Settings specific to this method.

simple - The agent authenticates against a simple password. You enter the password using the varSupportSimplePwd variable.

none - No authentication is required.

varSupportPermissionGroup

Required when using ntlm authentication. The name of a local NTLM user group that the installation will create.

varSupportWin9XAuthServer

Used only for NTLM installations on Windows 9X computers. Sets the Win9X/ME Authentication forwarding server.

varLiveSupportDomain

Sets the iServer support domain(s) for this live support agent.

If you are not using iServer support domains leave this value blank. To declare more than one support domain, separate the values with a comma.

Example:
    ether.SetProperty( "varLiveSupportDomain", "GA.US,TX.US");

For more information on support domains, see Section 1.2.5, Advanced Authentication Using Permission Groups and Support Domains.

 

varSupportSimplePwd

Used only if "Simple" authentication is selected. Sets the simple password. Numeric data type, in octal encoded format. Place a colon between each byte.

Example: da:41:48:17:c7:f7:b4:97

varSupportiTivityConnectNow

Determines whether the agent will attempt to connect to the iServer immediately after installation. Values are TRUE and FALSE.

varSupportViewAcceptDialog

Determines whether the agent user is prompted whether to accept or reject an attempted viewing session by iTivity iManager. 

Values are:

TRUE - display the prompt

FALSE - do not display the prompt

varSupportShowConnectPrompt

Determines whether the iTivity Connection Status dialog is displayed whenever the Support Agent sends a help request. 

Values are:

TRUE - display the dialog

FALSE - do not display

varSupportDisplayHelpRequest

Determines whether the Live Support Agent displays the Help Request window each time a user issues a Help Request. (See Section 4.3 for information on this window.) Values are:

TRUE - display the window

FALSE - do not display the window

varSupportHelpAll

This setting can be used to remove the All option from the Recipients list in the Help Request window.  Values are:

1 - 'All' is displayed.

0 - 'All' is not displayed

varSupportShortcutDescription

This setting determines the shortcut description and title in the Help Window title bar. Default is "iTivity Help."


5.3.3  Admin Agent Settings

The following settings apply specifically to the Admin Agent. The parameters in bold are ones you will most likely need to review and edit.

Parameter

Description

varAdminAuthScheme

Determines the authentication method to be used when the iTivity iManager attempts to view a computer running this agent. 

Values are:

ntlm - (Microsoft Authentication): the agent authenticates the username and password against a Microsoft Domain or local database. Recommended for Windows computers.

ldap - The agent authenticates against a server running the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). If ldap is used, you must set additional Global Agent Settings specific to this method.

simple - The agent authenticates against a simple password. You enter the password using the varAdminSimplePwd variable.

none - No authentication is required.

varAdminPermissionGroup

Required when using ntlm authentication. The name of a local NTLM user group that the installation will create.

varAdminWin9XAuthServer

Used only for NTLM installations on Windows 9X computers. Sets the Win9X/ME Authentication forwarding server.

varAdminSupportDomain

Sets the iServer support domain for this admin agent.

If you are not using iServer support domains leave this value blank. To declare more than one support domain, separate the values with a comma.

Example:
    ether.SetProperty( "varAdminSupportDomain", "GA.US,TX.US");

For more information on support domains, see Section 1.2.5, Advanced Authentication Using Permission Groups and Support Domains.

varAdminSimplePwd

Used only if "Simple" authentication is selected. Sets the simple password. Numeric data type, in octal encoded format. Place a colon between each byte.

Example: da:41:48:17:c7:f7:b4:97

varAdminiTivityConnectNow

Determines whether the agent will attempt to connect to the iServer immediately after installation. Values are TRUE and FALSE.

varAdminViewAcceptDialog

Determines whether the agent user is prompted whether to accept or reject an attempted viewing session by iTivity iManager. 

Values are:

TRUE - display the prompt

FALSE - do not display the prompt

varAdminShowConnectPrompt

Determines whether the iTivity Connection Status dialog is displayed whenever the Admin agent sends a help request. 

Values are:

TRUE - display the dialog

FALSE - do not display

varAdminDisplayHelpRequest

Determines whether the Admin agent displays the Help Request window each time a user issues a Help Request. (See Section 4.3 for information on this window.) Values are:

TRUE - display the window

FALSE - do not display the window

 

5.4  Installing an Agent via One-Click Install

After the agent files are installed on a web server and the configuration parameters are set , users can install the Live Support Agent or Admin Agent on their computers using one-click install.

1.       Click on the supplied web page link in Internet Explorer or your e-mail client.

Example: The following image shows the default HTML page delivered with iTivity.

2.       The browser displays a dialog like the following allowing the user to confirm or cancel the download and installation process.

3.       Click Yes.

The agent is downloaded and installed. When the process is finished, the following dialog is displayed.

4.       Click OK to close the dialog. Then close Internet Explorer.

Results:

·         If you installed the Admin Agent, the computer automatically connects to the iServer and is ready to be remotely viewed.

·         If you installed Live Support Agent, you can connect to the iServer to request support at any time by choosing Start > Programs > iTivity > iTivity Help or by clicking the icon on the desktop:

5.5  Installing the Admin Agent or Live Support Agent From the Distribution EXE

The Admin and Live Support Agents can be installed via the one-click install method described in Section 5.4. For Windows computers, administrators can also choose to install the agents directly from a distribution EXE file, available on the Tridia FTP site or on the iTivity Product CD ROM. This method allows you to choose the installation settings during the install, rather than using the settings defined in the HTML file.

Automated Install

You can also automate the installation process on Windows. See the Appendix in this guide.

Installing via Terminal Services

If the computer you want to install the agent on is running Microsoft Terminal Services, you can install and start the agent software remotely. Simply open a Terminal Services session, copy the distribution EXE to the computer and the follow the Instructions below.

Instructions

1.       Download the distribution EXE file for the module you are installing from the Tridia FTP site. After saving this file to disk, open the file.

Or, insert the Tridia Product CD into your CD-ROM drive. The Autorun feature starts the installation program.

The following Welcome dialog is displayed:

2.       Click Next.

The License Agreement page is displayed.

3.       Press the Page Down key to view the entire agreement. Then click Yes to indicate your acceptance.

The following dialog is displayed.

4.       Click the Browse button to change the Destination Folder if desired. Otherwise, click Next to continue.

The Setup Type dialog is displayed. The available setup types depend on whether you are installing from CD ROM or download file.

5.       If installing from CD ROM, highlight the iTivity Admin Agent for Windows or the iTivity Live Support Agent and click Next.

If installing from a download EXE, choose Complete or Custom. (If you choose Custom, you are presented with another dialog to specify the components to install.)

The Select Program Folder dialog is displayed.

6.       Change the Folder if desired. Click Next.

The following prompt appears, allowing you to choose whether to install the agent for all users on the computer or only the current user account.

7.       Click Yes to install for all users or No to install only for your own account.

The following dialog is displayed.

iTivity is released with standard desktop icons from Tridia Corporation. If you want to customize the interface with your own icons, use this dialog to enter the URL location of your custom ico file.

Note: Depending on which agent you are installing, this dialog may appear before or after the next step.

8.       Click Next.

The following dialog appears, indicating that the Setup program is ready to copy files.

9.       Click Next to begin copying files.

When the copying is complete, the Unique System Name dialog is displayed.

10.   Change the Name and/or add a Description if desired. Click Next.

The iServer Connection dialog is displayed.

11.   In the iServer field, enter the URL for the iServer that the agent system will connect to. Change the default Port value if a different port number is used on the iServer.

If your organization uses support domains on the iServer, enter the domain for this agent in the Domain in the field. To enter more than one support domain, separate each entry with a comma. For more information on support domains, see Section 1.2.5, Advanced Authentication Using Permission Groups and Support Domains.

12.   Click Next.

The following prompt is displayed.

13.   Click Yes if you want to require users of the agent system to verify any changes to the encryption certificate on the iServer. This is the most secure option, but will prevent automatic connection to the iServer if there is a change. Click No to disable this security check.

The default URL for the certificate on the iServer is http://<iserver dns name>/root.pem. For more information on certificates, see Section 2.6.2, Show Certificate Fingerprint.

The Authentication Method dialog is displayed.

14.   These choices define how a user of iTivity iManager must authenticate before being allowed to view and remotely control this computer.

s         NTLM (Microsoft Authentication): iTivity iManager authenticates the username and password against a Microsoft Domain or local database, eliminating the need for a separate local password on every system. NTLM authentication can be used both in an NT domain environment as well as on a standalone Windows NT, 2000 or XP system.

Note: If you choose the NTLM option, the installation creates an empty Windows User Group called iTivity Users. After the installation is complete, an administrator must add users to this group to enable them to view the computer through iTivity Manger.

s         LDAP/NDS: iTivity iManager authenticates against a server running either the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or Novell Directory Services (NDS).   

s         Simple Password: Each system running the Admin Agent has its own password that must be entered by the remote user trying to view. Use this option if you want iTivity iManager authentication to use separate passwords from Microsoft (NTLM) authentication.

s         No Authentication Required: No login is required. This option is strongly discouraged.

Choose the authentication method and click Next to continue.

15.    This step depends on which method you chose in Step 14.

A. If you chose the NTLM option in Step 14, you are asked if the computer is running Microsoft Terminal Server. 

Click Yes or No to continue.

The Installation program then asks if you want to use Bi-level Authentication Security, which is recommended.

Click Yes to choose Bi-level Authentication or No to use Standard Authentication.

B. If you chose LDAP/NDS in Step 14 you are asked to enter configuration information for the LDAP/NDS server to be used for authentication.

See the topic titled Security in Section 4.1.4.4, Options for a description of the LDAP configuration data.

Enter the information and click Next to continue.

C. If you choose the Simple Password option in Step 14, the following dialog appears.

This dialog allows you to specify whether you want to use a central password for the computer (recommended) or allow per-user passwords. Per-user passwords are supported for computers that have multiple users. If per-user passwords are selected, each user can set his or her own iTivity password in addition to the computer's default iTivity password.

Choose an option and click Next.

You are asked to enter the password. (If you choose Central Host Password, this will be the one password for the computer. If you choose Support for Per User Passwords, this will be the default password for the computer.)

Note: If you are installing an update to iTivity and an iTivity simple password already exists on the computer, you are not prompted to enter one now.

You can change the password after installation by choosing Start > iTivity > Administrative Tools > Set Live Support Agent Simple Password or Set Admin Agent Simple Password.

Enter and confirm the password, then click OK.

D. If you chose No Authentication Required in Step 13, no action is required. Go to Step 16.

16.   This step depends on which agent you are installing.

A. If you are installing the Live Support Agent, the following dialog appears, allowing you to configure the agent.

Choose the options as described in the following table. Refer to Section 6.1, Requesting Support, for more information on how these options affect the operation of the Live Support Agent.

Option

Result

Display the iTivity iServer Connection Dialog?

The iTivity Live Support Agent Connection Status dialog is displayed when the Live Support Agent runs.

Display the iTivity Live Support Agent Help Request dialog?

The Help Request window is displayed each time a user issues a Help Request.

Send the Live Support Help Request to "All" Help Desk Recipients?

Any help request sent from this agent is sent to all available recipients. (This is the default setting.)