Similar products, such as Citrix Systems’ GoToMyPC and WebEx Communications’ Support Center, or terminal services, such as VNC servers, are used to train, support, upgrade and provide remote work access. The SupportDesk 9.1 appliance is positioned very s
How we tested appliance
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Installed on a LAN, the SupportDesk 9.1 appliance is accessible via an Internet connection. Users open a browser session to a Web server running on the appliance. The informative pages on this Web server are customized easily to provide agent names, session numbers or agent groupings by specialty.
The server software running on SupportDesk analyzes a user’s operating system and offers the appropriate Windows- or Mac-based client software. After invoking the software download, users can let another technical support or help-desk entity obtain a session on their machine. An agent can obtain various levels of control: full control over the screen, keyboard and mouse; view-only, in which the agent can see only the screen and chat with the user; or no control, if the customer refuses the connection. All sessions are encrypted with the Advanced Encryption Standard 256-bit key within the appliance.
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A big benefit of SupportDesk is its ability to allow more than one observer of a session. Multiple users could observe, with only one at a time having control of the session. Another benefit is its ability to recover from a remote (assisted user) session reboot. Also, more than one supportive session can be run concurrently by a technical support/help-desk agent. An agent can therefore serve multiple users at once. In reverse, this capability lets two agents work on the same user’s machine.
It’s also possible to populate the SupportDesk 9.1 appliance with Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) information. Usernames and passwords can be imported to the appliance, so that support agents can work on machines more autonomously without user intervention. In an LDAP-based network session, the agent (using a network administrative password) or the user (using an administrative password to a local machine) can elevate privilege to do such things as install software on Windows machines. Macintosh support tasks that require elevated permissions usually spawn a simple dialog box requesting credentials.
When LDAP isn’t present, authentication is a little more difficult. When elevating from a nonprivilege to a privilege level while an agent is connected to its customer session, a user loses sight of the session, as the agent does. After logging on to the administrative account, the user and agent can see the session.
The session screen-resolution settings on a user machine have a direct impact on the agent’s ability to view the customer’s screen without latency problems. High-resolution screens take longer to build and move more slowly than lower-resolution screens — something that’s typical of screen-scrape or screen-viewing products. A higher screen resolution also must be translated down to the resolution of the agent’s machine, making it more difficult to view the user’s screen.
When we tested NSSDCUST.EXE (the Windows customer executable file) on a twin dual-core Intel Xeon workstation client (the fastest in our test), we recorded 11% CPU use when no screen movements were taking place. When we made rapid screen changes, the CPU use jumped from 20% to 30% at 1152-by-864-pixel resolution. When we switched to 1024-by-768-pixel, quiescent use dropped to a minuscule 5.9%, though high screen movement spiked CPU use to 33%.
How we did it
We used the NetworkStreaming SupportDesk 9.1 appliance first in a non-LDAP environment, then with Microsoft’s Active Directory on a switched Gigabit Ethernet network.
We used several customer client machines, including eight, HP DL-140 with dual dual-core Xeons, an HP ZV-5000, a Mac PowerBook G4 and several Windows desktop machines with a variety of processors and capacities.
We tested variable screen resolutions to check for the bearing that had on CPU utilization. Resolution had a decided bearing on CPU use; less (resolution) is more (performing). We tested file uploads of about a megabyte in size in several environments, emulating local networks, as well as using cable/broadband modem connectivity and DSL/broadband connectivity to the lab.
We also used broadband connectivity with feeds ranging from 349k to 3238kbps to test the appliance for customer and agent usability and found that where low screen movement delta was present, customer/agent screen updates were quite acceptable. Modems (for example, 56k baud) could be used, but this would test the patience of all concerned.
Oddly, cursor flashing isn’t synchronized, and the cursor blinks very rapidly on the client screen while being manipulated by the agent, and it disappears from time to time. An older, slower client machine may have performance issue that will test the patience of both user and agent, but this is true for other products we’ve seen in this space.
We also found it odd that sending files from the client machine uses an older Windows 95-style file-browsing window that lacks support for long file names.The support agent can request access to the file system, and it’s an all-or-nothing proposition permitted by the customer. Fortunately, the agent can’t erase user files while in the file-transfer screen. Files can be erased only when screen sharing is in place, so the user sees this happening. The user sees which files are being copied (to or from the computer), as they show up in the file-transfer dialog box.
The SupportDesk appliance can store data files as large as 1GB that can be used for support purposes: tools, help files, diagnostics, updates or whatever an administrator of the appliance chooses.
We found it useful that an entire session can be saved as an SWF (Adobe/Macromedia Flash) file. This file contains everything that happened in the session, so that it can be used for training, auditing or liability purposes. A chat transcript can be similarly saved. The Flash recorder seemed to get everything that occurred in the session, whether on PC or Mac. In long sessions with many changes, this file can be huge, and the NetworkStreaming appliance can hold many hundreds of hours of them.
It’s possible to pass a session from one agent to another, which can speed computer problem resolution. When this desired session sharing is enabled by the customer, the session is put into the second (or third) agent’s queue. Then the user has to hand over full control, allow the view-only mode or decline access to that additional agent(s). We also tested what happens when that agent’s computer dies. The customer is able to see that the agent is disconnected, but after the agent’s machine has restarted the agent can reconnect immediately to the user’s machine.
The appliance can be customized in several ways, including what message is displayed to users on the starting Web page, the icon for the customer agent, prompts for an exit survey required for issue resolution, and the overall look and feel of the appliance’s Web site. The appliance and all of its customizable settings can be easily backed up for later restoration into an encrypted file for safekeeping.
There also are canned messages that can be pasted by an agent into a chat window using a simple drop-down menu. The messages can be built for all agents or just a group of agents.
Overall, the needs of customers and of those supporting them are taken into consideration with NetworkStreaming SupportDesk 9.1. We found its ability to record sessions and logs to be especially helpful. We wished it supported Linux, but its support for Windows XP and MacOS 10.4 goes a long way toward providing comprehensive screen-sharing, and the opportunity for support, upgrades and user education needed by larger organizations.
Henderson is principal of, and Szenes is a researcher for, ExtremeLabs in Indianapolis. They can be reached at thenderson@extremelabs.com and lszenes@extremelabs.com, respectively.
Henderson and Szenes are also members of the Network World Lab Alliance, a cooperative of the premier reviewers in the network industry, each bringing to bear years of practical experience on every review. For more Lab Alliance information, including what it takes to become a member, go to www.networkworld.com/alliance.
