KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.0 Common Documents - KACE Service Desk Administrator Guide

Log in to the appliance Administrator Console, https://appliance_hostname/admin. Or, if the Show organization menu in admin header option is enabled in the appliance General Settings, select an organization in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page next to the login information.

On the left navigation bar, click Service Desk, then click Configuration.

On the Configuration panel, click Create and manage queues in Queue section.

To display the Queue Detail page, do one of the following:

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Click the name of a queue.

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Select Choose Action > New.

Specify the following settings in the General tab:

Field

Description

Name

The name of the Service Desk queue. This name appears in the From field when users receive email messages from the Service Desk.

Email Address

A fully qualified email address for the server. Users typically do not reply to this address.

If you want to allow users to reply to appliance email, specify an email address in the Alternate Email Address field.

Ticket Number Prefix

Specify a custom ticket prefix for this queue. You can use a different prefix for each queue to organize your Service Desk workflow, and to associate them with applicable categories, such as HD for Helpdesk or REQ for hardware and software requisitions.

Alternate Email Address

Support@mydomain.com

The primary email address your users send email to. The appliance also uses this address to send email from the Service Desk. Confirm that the domain name is correct for your email service.

NOTE: As a valid email address, this address is subject to the same spam and security vulnerabilities as any other email address.

Optional: Configure the SMTP/ POP3 server settings. Click Configure queue email settings and specify the SMTP/POP3 options in the Inbound tab on the Service Desk Queue Email Settings page, as required. See Configure queue-specific email settings.

Click Save to create the queue and configure additional settings.

Specify User Preferences in the Restriction tab:

Field

Description

Allow all users as submitters

Allow anyone who is a user on the appliance to submit tickets through this Service Desk queue.

Restrict Submitters by Label

Select submitters by label only. Available only when Allow all users as submitters is not selected.

Allow all users as approvers

Allow users on the appliance to approve tickets through this Service Desk queue.

Restrict Approvers by Label

Select approvers by label only. Available only when Allow all users as approvers is not selected.

Owner Label

If you want to enable all users to have the ability to approve tickets, select Allow all users as approvers.

Identify the users who are allowed to own and manage tickets — typically, your IT staff. You must have a Ticket Owner who is responsible for managing the ticket through its life cycle.

To do that, click Manage Associated Labels. In the Select Labels dialog box that appears, select one or more labels associated with the users that you want to select as Ticket Owners. Close the dialog box.

All users can edit/delete their own comments (including attachments)

Allow all users to edit or remove their own comments, including file attachments.

User Label

To allow specific users to edit or delete their own comments and attachments using labels, click Manage Associated Labels. In the Select Labels dialog box that appears, select one or more labels associated with the users that you want to select. Close the dialog box.

All technicians can edit/delete comments entered by others (including attachments)

Allow all technicians to edit or remove comments added by others, including file attachments.

Technician Label

To allow specific technicians to edit or delete comments and attachments added by others using labels, click Manage Associated Labels. In the Select Labels dialog box that appears, select one or more labels associated with the technicians that you want to select. Close the dialog box.

Accept email from unknown users

Allow unrecognized users to create tickets.

If this option is enabled in the queue configuration, any email sent to the Service Desk queue is allowed to set the Submitter field of a ticket. The sender is added to the appliance as a user with the User Console Only role. By default, this role has permission to create, view, and modify Service Desk tickets, and to interact with the appliance exclusively through the User Console. You can adjust the level of permissions associated with this and other roles, as applicable. For more information, see Setting up roles for user accounts.

If disabled, the preceding process works only when the email address of the sender is already associated with a Service Desk user account.

Allow ticket deletion

Allow ticket owners and administrators to delete tickets. This setting is useful if you do not want staff to delete tickets. You can periodically select this check box to clean out old tickets, then clear it again to prevent ticket deletion.

Allow parent ticket to close child tickets

Enable the system to automatically close child tickets when parent tickets are closed.

Allow last child ticket to close parent ticket

Enable the system to automatically close parent tickets when the last child ticket is closed.

Allow users with an Administrator role to read and edit tickets in this queue (Administrator Console only)

Grant read and write permissions to all users who are assigned to the Administrator role.

Default ticket owner comments to Owners Only visibility

Automatically select the Owners Only check box when comments are added to tickets.

Enable ticket conflict warning for ticket owners

Display a dialog, to administrators and ticket owners, that summarizes conflicts between the changes they are submitting and the changes submitted concurrently by other users. When administrators and ticket owners click Save or Apply Changes on the Ticket Detail page, the dialog appears if other users have edited and saved the ticket while it was open for editing. This enables administrators and ticket owners to choose whether to discard their changes, or overwrite the changes made by other users if there are conflicts.

NOTE: By default, this warning is enabled on new queues and disabled on queues that were created in appliance version 6.3 or earlier.

The dialog is displayed only if other users have modified the ticket, and it is displayed to administrators and ticket owners only. The dialog is not displayed to other users.

NOTE: The dialog summarizes all changes made by other users. However, the current user's changes are summarized only if they conflict with changes made by other users.

Allow managers to view and comment on their employee's tickets

Enable manager accounts to view and edit comments in the tickets submitted by their employees. For more information, see View ticket comments.

Allow Ticket CC list to view and comment on the ticket

Allow the users on the ticket CC list to add comments to the ticket.

Add any user to Ticket CC list when they comment on a ticket

Add any users that comment on a ticket to a CC list for that ticket, allowing them to be notified by email about further changes to the ticket.

Enable aggressive HTML sanitization

Remove all malicious code on all fields that accept HTML.

Allow Knowledge Base article suggestions

Display KB article suggestions while typing the ticket title.

NOTE: If this option is disabled and a password manager is linked to the browser, this prevents the browser from auto-completing the related Service Desk ticket fields.

Ticket attachment restrictions

Indicate how you want to handle file attachment restrictions, as applicable.

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None: Allow users to add any types of files as attachments.

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Allow images only: Allow only image files to be added as attachments.

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Custom: Specify file extensions that you want to allow as attachments. You can also allow all files without extensions.

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Prevent all attachments: Disable users from adding any file attachments.

In the Archive Preferences tab, select settings for ticket archival. Click the Settings link to enable ticket archival.

NOTE: If Ticket Archival is turned off, see Enable ticket archival.

Option	Description
Archive closed tickets older than	The age of tickets to be archived. For example, if you select 3 months, tickets are archived when three months have passed since the tickets were closed. To prevent tickets in the queue from being archived, select Never. Archived tickets can be restored to the queue if necessary. See Restore archived tickets.
Delete archived tickets older than	The age of tickets to be permanently removed from the archive. For example, if you select 6 months, archived tickets are deleted from the archive when six months have passed since the tickets were opened. To prevent tickets in the queue from being deleted from the archive, select Never. Deleted tickets cannot be restored to the queue.

In the Ticket Defaults tab, select the default values for new tickets. For example:

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Category: Software

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Status: New

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Impact: 1 person cannot work

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Priority: Medium

In the Email on Events section, select the categories of users who will receive email when the specified events occur. Each column represents a type of Service Desk user (role) and each row represents a ticket event. See Configure email triggers.

Optional: Configure Service Level Agreement Settings. Here you can enable Service Level Agreement (SLA) settings based on the ticket priority. When enabled, the due date of the ticket automatically takes into account the resolution time, business hours, and holidays. See Configuring Service Level Agreements.

10.

In the Ticket Rules section, enable the rules to apply to tickets in the queue. You can use any of the pre-defined rules or customize your own. See Using Ticket Rules for more information about how to use and customize ticket rules.

11.

Click Save.

Configure queue-specific email settings

You can set up email settings for each ticket queue separately.

By default, the Service Desk is configured to use an internal SMTP server for sending ticket-related emails. You have an option to use an external SMTP server, however, you must configure it in the appliance network settings. For more information, see Change appliance network settings.

Go to the queue-specific Service Desk Queue Email Settings page:

On the left navigation bar, click Service Desk, then click Configuration.

On the Configuration panel, in the Email Configuration section, click Configure Queue Email Settings.

On the Service Desk Queue Email Settings page that appears, select a queue from the drop down.

Or:

On the left navigation bar, click Service Desk, then click Configuration.

On the Configuration panel, click Create and manage queues in Queue section.

Click the edit icon below the queue email address, click Configure Queue Email Settings.

The Service Desk Queue Email Settings page appears.

In the General tab, specify the following options:

Field

Description

Email Address

A fully qualified email address for the server. Users typically do not reply to this address.

If you want to allow users to reply to appliance email, specify an email address in the Alternate Email Address field.

Alternate Email Address

Support@mydomain.com

The primary email address your users send email to. The appliance also uses this address to send email from the Service Desk. Confirm that the domain name is correct for your email service.

NOTE: As a valid email address, this address is subject to the same spam and security vulnerabilities as any other email address.

Accept email from unknown users

Allow unrecognized users to create tickets.

If disabled, the preceding process works only when the email address of the sender is already associated with a Service Desk user account.

Select and configure the method of receiving inbound email using the options in the Inbound Email Settings tab.

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Use SMTP Server for inbound emails: Select this option if you want to use an internal SMTP server for incoming email. You can specify the required credentials in the Outbound Email Setting tab below. See 5.

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Use POP3 Server for inbound emails: Select this option if you want to use a POP3 server for incoming email. Specify the following options:

Option	Description
POP3 Server	Enter the name of the POP3 server you want to use for the queue. For example, pop.example.com.
Use SSL	Select this option if you want the POP3 server to use a secure connection.
POP3 Username (email address) POP3 Password	Enter the username and password of an account that has access to the POP3 server.

Click Test Connection to test your POP3 configuration. The Connection Test POP3 dialog box appears, showing several log messages, indicating the test result. If the test is successful, these messages, for example, indicate if the user account is authenticated, the number of unread messages, and the subject line of the most recent email. If the test fails, verify your configuration, and try again.

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Use IMAP Server for inbound emails: Select this option if you want to use an IMAP server for incoming email. Specify the following options:

Option	Description
IMAP Server	Enter the name of the IMAP server you want to use for the queue. For example, imap.example.com.
Use SSL	Select this option if you want the IMAP server to use a secure connection.
IMAP Server Username (email address) IMAP Server Password	Enter the username and password of an account that has access to the IMAP server.

Click Test Connection to test your IMAP configuration. The Connection Test IMAP dialog box appears, showing several log messages, indicating the test result. If the test is successful, these messages, for example, indicate if the user account is authenticated, the number of unread messages, and the subject line of the most recent email. If the test fails, verify your configuration, and try again.

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Use Gmail for inbound emails: Select this option if you want to use Google Gmail for incoming email. Click Select Credential.

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To use an existing Google OAuth credential, select in the list.

NOTE: You must create a dedicated Google OAuth credential for retrieving email. You cannot, for example use the same account for accessing Chrome devices and downloading email.

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To create a new Google OAuth credential, click Add Credential. The Add Credential dialog box appears. Specify the required options, as applicable. For more details, see Add and edit Google Workspace credentials.

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Use Office365 for inbound emails: Select this option if you want to use Office 365 for incoming email. Specify the following options:

Option

Description

Select Credential

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To use an existing Office 365 OAuth credential, select in the list.

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To create a new Office 365 OAuth credential, click Add Credential. The Add Credential dialog box appears. Specify the required options, as applicable. For more details, see Add and edit Microsoft Office 365 OAuth credentials.

Microsoft 365 API Service

Select the applicable Microsoft 365 API Service for your environment:

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For an Azure AD app located in the US, select one of the following options, as applicable:

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Microsoft 365 GCC: You can continue to use the worldwide endpoints in Azure: https://graph.microsoft.com and https://portal.azure.com to register.

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Microsoft 365 GCC High: Use https://portal.azure.us and https://graph.microsoft.us to register.

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Microsoft 365 DoD: Use https://portal.azure.us and https://dod-graph.microsoft.us to register.

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For an Azure AD app located in Germany, select Microsoft 365 Germany.

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For an Azure AD app located in China, select Microsoft 365 China.

If you want to use an external SMTP server for emails associated with this queue, use the settings in the Outbound Email Setting tab.

Select the Specify Queue specific SMTP Settings check box.

Specify the following options:

Option	Description
SMTP Server	Specify the hostname or IP address of an external SMTP server, such as smtp.gmail.com. External SMTP servers must allow anonymous (non-authenticated) outbound email transport. Ensure that your network policies allow the appliance to contact the SMTP server directly. In addition, the mail server must be configured to allow the relaying of email from the appliance without authentication.
SMTP Port	Enter the port number to use for the external SMTP server. For standard SMTP, use port 25. For secure SMTP, use port 587.
SMTP Username	Enter the username of an account that has access to the external SMTP server, such as your_account_name@gmail.com.
SMTP Password	Enter the password of the specified server account.

Specify how you want to handle file attachments when emailing ticket details in the Outgoing Email Attachment Setting tab.

Option	Description
Allow embedded images	Select this option if you want to include any graphic files to ticket-related email. When this option is selected, the graphics appear as embedded images.
Combined image size limit per email (MB)	Specify the maximum file size of all images associated with a ticket that can be embedded in ticket-related email.
Allow file attachments on outgoing email	Select this option if you want to send files attached to the ticket instead of providing file links.
Combined file size limit per email (MB)	Specify the maximum file size of all file attachments that can be sent by email.

On the Service Desk Queue Email Settings page, in the Email on Events tab, select the options for sending email when the specified events occur. Each column represents a type of Service Desk user (role) and each row represents a ticket event.

Service Desk user (role)	Description
Owner	The person who is expected to resolve the ticket.
Submitter	The person whose issue is being resolved.
Approver	The person who can approve or reject the ticket for processing.
Ticket CC	One or more email addresses that are stored in the CC field of the ticket.
Category CC	One or more email addresses that are stored in the CC List of the Category Value of the ticket. See Configure CC lists for ticket categories.
Queue Owners	One or more owners of the ticket queue, as specified by the Owner label. This only applies to the New Ticket Via Email and New Ticket via Portal events.

When a ticket event occurs, email is sent to the selected roles or users. For example, if you select the Any Change box in the Owner column, email is sent to the ticket owner whenever the ticket is changed. For the Comment and Ticket Closed triggers, email is sent immediately. For other ticket changes, however, email is sent every few minutes to prevent email overload.

NOTE: If users have the KACE GO mobile app installed on their smart phone or tablet, the system sends push notifications for the selected Service Desk ticket events.

Option	Description
Any Change	Any information on the ticket is changed.
Owner Change	The ticket's Owner field is changed.
Status Change	The ticket's Status field is changed.
Comment	Information, attachments, or screen shots are added to the ticket's Comments section. The system sends email notifications for comments when users add comments and click Submit on the ticket form. When users add comments and click Save on the ticket form, however, only the Any Change notification is sent.
Approval Change	The ticket's approval status has changed.
Resolution Change	The ticket's resolution has changed.
Response SLA Escalation	The ticket has not been updated to a stalled or closed status within the escalation time defined by the ticket priority.
Resolution SLA Violation	The ticket has not been resolved by its due date.
Ticket Closed	The ticket's Status field is changed to Closed. This event is used to present a Satisfaction Survey to submitters. See Using the Satisfaction Survey.
New Ticket Via Email	A user sends an email message to the Service Desk and a ticket is created.
New Ticket Via Portal	A ticket is created through the User Console.

Click Save.

The appliance is configured to forward email to the designated SMTP server. If you have multiple queues, repeat the preceding steps for each queue.

Rename Service Desk titles and labels

You can rename the Service Desk titles and labels used in the Administrator Console and User Console as needed.

Go to the Service Desk Settings page:

On the left navigation bar, click Service Desk, then click Configuration.

On the Configuration panel, click Customize Service Desk terminology in Setting section.

Specify the following settings in the Screen Labels tab:

Setting	Description
Main Tab	The text that appears on the component-level tab in the Administrator Console and on the tab in the User Console. The default is Service Desk. However, if you upgraded from an earlier version of the appliance, you might see Help Desk as the default.
Queue Queues	The text that you want to display instead of Queue and Queues on the Service Desk Configuration page and on the Queue list in the Administrator Console. This text also appears as an option in the Choose Action menu and as a heading on the Ticket page in the User Console.
Ticket Tickets	The text that you want to display instead of Ticket and Tickets on the Ticket tab and Ticket page in the Administrator Console. This text also appears on the Ticket page in the User Console.
Process Processes	The text that you want to display instead of Process and Processes on the Service Desk Configuration page and on the Process list in the Administrator Console.