System requirements

Desktop Authority System Requirements

Supported operating systems

The Desktop Authority Web Console (Manager) can be installed on any of the following servers:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard/Enterprise (including 64-bit)

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard/Enterprise

• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard/Enterprise
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019

The Desktop Authority client side components can be installed on any of the following clients:

• Microsoft Windows 7 (including 64-bit)
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 (including 64-bit)
• Microsoft Windows 10 (including 64-bit)

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard/Enterprise (including 64-bit)

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard/Enterprise

• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard/Enterprise
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019

Recommended deployment configurations

Desktop Authority server components can be installed on a domain controller; however the best practice recommendation is to install Desktop Authority on a member server.

Desktop Authority 9.0 and later requires IIS for its Web based console. In order to mitigate any potential side effects with other Web based applications and possible system performance issues it is recommended that Desktop Authority be installed on a dedicated server.

The dedicated server hosting Desktop Authority should have a minimum of a 2.0 GHz, quad core processor and a minimum of 16 GB of memory.

Supported domains

• Microsoft Windows 2008 domain functional level

• Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 domain functional level
• Microsoft Windows 2012 domain functional level
• Microsoft Windows 2012 R2 domain functional level
• Microsoft Windows 2016

Required software applications

Web console (Manager)

The following applications are required and will be installed as part of the Desktop Authority installation. Installation of these applications may require a system reboot.

• Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.6

  NOTE: On older server operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows Server 2008, a reboot may be necessary to complete any required .NET upgrade to a supported version.

• Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package
• Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express – Installed if an existing SQL Server instance is not selected. Desktop Authority will prompt to start the Computer Browser Service (if disabled)
• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7, 7.5, 8 or 10 based on the Operating System of the server

  • IIS 7.0 will be used on 2008 servers

    IIS 7.5 will be used on 2008R2 servers

  • IIS 8.0 will be used on 2012 servers
  • IIS 8.5 will be used on 2012 R2 servers
  • IIS 10 will be used on 2016 and 2019 servers
• Once installed, the Desktop Authority web console (Manager) has the following Web browser requirements:
  • Minimum Browser Versions
    Internet Explorer 11
    Firefox 3.8
    Chrome 44
    Microsoft Edge 25
    
  • Recommended Browser Versions
    Internet Explorer 11
    Firefox latest version
    Chrome latest version
    Microsoft Edge latest version
    

The minimum screen resolution for the Desktop Authority web console is 1024 x 768.

Desktop Authority supports Microsoft SQL Server version 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

The web browser will connect with the Web Console using HTTPS along with the use of security certificate.

Client side applications

• Microsoft Windows Installer 3.1

• Microsoft .NET 4.6

User Account permission requirements

For use with Desktop Authority services:

• One admin level account is required by the Desktop Authority services. This account is required to have read/write access to all NETLOGON share(s) and to be a member of the local Administrators group on all applicable workstations (if installed on a domain controller, user account must be a domain admin)
• One domain user level account

Carefully consider all requirements, specifically the additional server software prerequisites, when deciding where to install Desktop Authority. If you choose to install on a domain controller, make sure these prerequisites are acceptable before starting the installation.

ExpertAssist System Requirements

Supported operating systems

ExpertAssist can be installed on any of the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) Service Pack 1 or later

• Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32-bit or 64-bit)

• Microsoft Windows 10 (including 64-bit)

Web browser system requirements

• Windows Internet Explorer 11
• Mozilla Firefox latest version
• Google Chrome latest version
• Microsoft Edge latest version

Additional software requirements

• Latest Java Runtime Environment (Oracle JDK and OpenJDK supported)
  

  IMPORTANT: OpenJDK is automatically deployed by ExpertAssist if no supported version of Java is found. However, in some cases previously installed versions of Java (Oracle or OpenJDK) may not have been cleanly uninstalled. This situation can prevent the ability to properly detect when the OpenJDK version needs to be automatically deployed. Please see Desktop Authority KB 266071 for more information on detecting and resolving this issue.

Desktop Authority versions

Desktop Authority is supported in three versions, Desktop Authority Professional, Desktop Authority Standard and Desktop Authority Essentials. Desktop Authority Essentials is a scaled down version of Desktop Authority Professional. It does not include the following standard features included by default in the full version -- Software Management, USB/Port Security, Hardware and Software Inventory and Custom Reporting and the Desktop Authority Remote Management tool.

Feature	Professional/Standard	Essentials
Desktop Configuration
Power Management
Group Policy Template Import
Wake On LAN
Role Based Administration
Remote Management and Control
Reporting of user logons and activity
Reporting of administrator activity
Software Deployment
Hardware and software inventory

Desktop Authority is licensed based on the total number of unique seats which are managed in whole or part by Desktop Authority. A “Seat” is a desktop, laptop, or workstation computer, or thin-client session or any other user computing device.

For answers to any Desktop Authority Licensing questions refer to our licensing Knowledge Base article (186762).

Backup

Installation backup

It is strongly recommended to perform all of the following backup steps in order to assure a successful recovery should your upgrade fail for any reason. Without these backups, we will be unable to support you should you need to recover your Desktop Authority data.

• The Installer will prompt to backup existing databases during the install process.
• In addition to performing a backup of the databases, it is also good practice to backup existing Profiles before upgrading. Right-click on each profile name and select “Export Profile…”. Select a location to save the profile and click OK. Repeat for each profile.

Frequently asked installation questions

Why does the installation require Administrative rights?

The user performing the installation of Desktop Authority is required to have Administrative privileges on the member server it is being installed to. Desktop Authority is not alone in this requirement. Most software installations require this privilege level as well.

With Administrative privileges, Desktop Authority will be able to install any of the required prerequisites, extract the installation files, install and configure IIS as well as install the Ops Master service and write to the HKLM registry on the server.

Where should Desktop Authority be installed to?

It is recommended that Desktop Authority to be installed on a Member Server within the network rather than a Domain Controller. This recommendation is made based on the notion that most companies do not like to install programs to their Domain Controllers because disk space is used, the registry may be modified and there exists the possibility that the server may need to be rebooted. To avoid all of this and protect a Domain Controller from unwanted changes, opt to install Desktop Authority to a Member Server on the network.