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i-net HelpDesk

The i-net HelpDesk is a service management solution for medium-sized businesses, suitable for internal support, as an ITIL service desk or as a ticket system for external customer service. The i-net HelpDesk relies on established technologies and architectures, e.g. the license-free OpenJava Platform.

The installation of the i-net HelpDesk server only requires an additional database connection 1) - with this, you already receive a completely executable service desk, including the web-based ticket applications for supporters as well as end users.

The additional Desktop Application for Supporters also allows the processing of orders (tickets) in a Java-based client, which can be installed on the computer of the respective user.

The list of supporter applications is completed by the mobile applications for iOS and Android available in the corresponding app stores.

What happens after the i-net HelpDesk setup?

To begin with, a brief explanation of the terms:

  • Users are all those with a user record in the i-net HelpDesk database. These are both the end users/customers, but also employees who have extended permissions in the program, e.g. as dispatcher and/or for resource employees as a member of a resource. A user can be a natural user account like "jane.doe" or an organizational account like "Station 7".
  • Dispatcher: An permission in the i-net HelpDesk user administration which refers to humans. Dispatchers are "hotliners" or supporters who take requests and give them to a resource for processing or solve them themselves right away.
  • Resources: A resource is a freely selectable structure name according to your organization, which can be named according to work content (e.g. "First Level Support") or according to people (e.g. "Supporter Daniels"). Users of i-net HelpDesk can be included in resources, most of them are the supporters. By being a member of the resource, the i-net HelpDesk users get the permissions to process orders from this resource.

A detailed explanation of the user roles can be found in the User and Group Help.

Desktop or web application?

The web-based tickets application only requires a current browser to display. Both end users and supporters can launch this application from the server's overview page. Depending on a user's permissions in i-net HelpDesk, the tickets application displays different content.

Note: The i-net HelpDesk for Supporters is also available as a mobile application for iPhone, iPad and Android. You can find the app in the respective app store for iOS / iPad OS and Android.

Tickets Web Application

The web-based tickets application is a solution supported by modern web-based technologies.

  • End users/customers see only the list of their own requests. They can also create new requests.
  • Supporters are provided with standard ticket processing functions by the web client. Missing functions as well as the modules Inventory and Reports will be transferred to the web client in subsequent versions. If extended functions or the aforementioned modules are required, the Desktop Application for Supporters must continue to be used.

Desktop application

The desktop application provides the full functionality in i-net HelpDesk if the permissions have been granted. It is deployed in the following two ways:

  1. Standalone Application (the download link is provided in the web interface) for local installation or
  2. local installation of Java with Java Web-Start available. The desktop application is launched with the HelpDesk.jnlp file.

The desktop application provides the basic support functions, inventory and reporting functions. It is currently required for a few administrative tasks. End users should only use the Tickets web application.

Launching the program

The call depends on whether you have installed i-net HelpDesk as a standalone application for supporters or use the i-net HelpDesk start page in the browser (for both supporters and end users/customers).

Any web application can be installed locally using Progressive Web App (PWA) technology if supported by the browser, e.g. Edge or Brave. An SSL connection to the i-net HelpDesk server is required as requisite.

Call in the browser

Typically, after setup you will see the i-net HelpDesk start page with the two applications Tickets and Desktop Application.

In the URL, you specify the computer on which the i-net HelpDesk server has been installed as the web server. The URL differs slightly depending on whether the computer was already running a web server before setup or if the built-in Jetty web server was installed.

Note: We recommend the integrated Jetty web server. You should not install MS IIS or Apache separately to run it. The integrated Jetty web server is automatically configured by the setup.

  • Integrated Jetty web server (recommended): http://servername
  • MS IIS or Apache: http://servername/helpdesk
    • The address usually contains an additional context (the helpdesk abbreviation). This should be noted below and is not mentioned further.

Note: The ticket list for end users/customers opens directly in the browser if you append the addition /ticketlist in the call URL.

Desktop Application for Supporters

The application can be obtained from the website of i-net software. After installation, the i-net HelpDesk command is available in the menu. The program searches the network for an existing instance of the i-net HelpDesk server and connects to it automatically.

If multiple instances are found, then a dialog for selecting the desired instance appears.

If no instance is found, a dialog for manually entering the i-net HelpDesk server URL appears.

Logging in users

i-net HelpDesk supports several Login types for user logins. After setup, only the login type of the respective operating system is active by default, i.e. Windows authentication for a Microsoft operating system and PAM for Linux and macOS. Additional login types are: i-net HelpDesk login, OAuth (MS ADFS, GitHub, Facebook, Twitter), master password (fallback if an error in the configuration prevents access) and guest account. Additional login types can be obtained from the Plugin Store.

  • Windows authentication: any account in Windows user management can be used for login.
    • Due to the integrated Windows authentication (Single Sign-on, SSO) in the local intranet, the authentication can be done automatically in the background.
    • Important: SSO is only possible with the integrated Jetty web server. MS IIS and Apache always show a login dialog to access the i-net HelpDesk.
  • Linux Apache or macOS: User authentication using PAM. An existing account must be used. User root is not allowed.

How are permissions assigned in i-net HelpDesk?

The first user after the setup of i-net HelpDesk automatically becomes member of the Administrators group (Home > Users and Groups) and thus receives all permissions.

If other employees are to test, then you must grant their user accounts additional permissions. To do this, open the Users and Groups web application and add these accounts to the Administrators group or grant them the appropriate permissions.

Import Users

So that you can test with real names - and later also work with these users - we recommend as a first step to import your user accounts, which are usually managed in a central data source, e.g. the Windows Active Directory or a SQL data source.

To do this, open the web configuration with your installation account and create an LDAP connection:

  • Configuration > General > LDAP Connections.

Alternatively, you can set up a database connection via SQL or ODBC to an external data source with your user/customer data in the same dialog. You access the connection created here in Home > Data Import > Import Users.

Creating tickets

New tickets can be created in i-net HelpDesk in different ways. By default, tickets are created automatically from emails or by a supporter.

Manual creation of tickets by a supporter is necessary, for example, if you take requests by phone or in direct conversation in your company.

End users/customers can also create their own new tickets, if desired. They use the Tickets web application to do this.

For more details on how to automatically create tickets vie email, see Email communication

Processing tickets

Tickets are created by a Dispatcher - an i-net HelpDesk user with this permission - in the Tickets application via the New Ticket button and assigning to a Ressource employee by setting a Resource. This person will now continue to process the ticket in one or more processing steps until it is completely resolved. This task is accomplished in the Tickets web application as well.

Alternatively, the assignment of tickets is done in the Desktop Application for Supporters > Requests module. The ticket is processed by a Resource in the Desktop Application for Supporter > Requests module.

Furthermore, new tickets can be created by receiving emails and - if configured accordingly - automatic assignment to a Ressource.

Setting up email communication

Sending emails, manually or automatically, e.g. when a ticket is closed, is available directly from i-net HelpDesk.

Likewise, the i-net HelpDesk server can read emails from one or more mailboxes and automatically create new tickets from them. The setup is done in the Configuration > Communication > Outgoing mail server or Incoming mail server.

Advanced configuration

The configuration of the i-net HelpDesk completely takes place in the web application. Here you will find a subdivision into Server, Tickets and Templates. Administrators make all basic settings in the Server grouping.

The Ticket grouping contains the settings for, e.g. locations, priorities, classifications, actions, via which company-specific designations and structures are made with regard to ticket processing.

The grouping Templates as well as the creation of Auto Texts is visible for all supporters. Users with extended permissions can define quick tickets here and, if necessary, publish Auto Texts for other users.

Note: Workflows and processes must currently be created in the Supporter Desktop Application.

Backups

It is recommended to create a backup job in the Maintenance application. Data backups can be performed automatically using the integrated Task Scheduling.

Using a variety of actions, a backup can subsequently be transferred directly via file backup or, e.g. SFTP to a NAS or another server.

Note: The backup of the database is not part of the backup task in the Maintenance application and must be done separately.

File performance and anti-virus scans

Anti-virus scans, such as those performed by Windows Defender, are generally recommended. However, live scans can have a negative impact on i-net HelpDesk's performance. The application generates a lot of index and cache files that need to be created and read very quickly.

If performance degrades, especially during server startup, some technical folders should be considered as excluded from scans. The main index is located in the persistence subdirectory index and can be excluded. Due to its binary nature, it is possible that it will otherwise generate false-positive matches. The persistence location can be looked up in the application Diagnostics > Server Information.

If there are any questions or difficulties, just contact us

We offer free telephone support starting with the test phase. From our experience we can say, that there are usually only minor issues, solved best in direct communication.

We are also happy to present our software to you in a live demo or to support you with the basic configuration of your test installation.

In any case we help quickly, promptly and competently.

1)
for Windows, an MS-SQL installation localized in German is included in the software package
 
i-net HelpDesk
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