When it comes to managing and troubleshooting remote end-users that are connected via thin client desktops, the more information that help desk technicians and admins have at their disposal, the better. Praim ThinMan Server, ThinOX and Agile allow organizations to have a wealth of tools for managing and troubleshooting remote sessions.
Among the robust ThinMan Server features for remote end-user management is the new collection and visualizzation of Active Session and connected Users Information. It provides information on which VDI session is connected, eventually from which user and to which thin client and provides updates in real-time. This feature can provide essential information for managing and troubleshooting remote sessions. Let’s take a closer look at this new view found in the ThinMan console and how you enable it.
The right tools need to support remote workers
Since the outset of this year, IT staff and specifically the helpdesk team have been stretched thin, supporting employees working remotely. Many organizations have shifted the majority of their workforce to work from home. Technical support for employees at home can present unique challenges that increase troubleshooting when issues arise. Having the right tools to quickly and easily identify information, status, connectivity, and other aspects can help significantly shortcut the process.
Remote support greatly benefits from visibility. Help desk staff and IT admins that have visibility to the environment, end-user clients, and the ability to quickly query for needed information can troubleshoot and manage remote workers much more effectively.
Keeping in mind that remote workers are not located in the office or easily accessible, having the right tools to connect and manage remote endpoints is necessary.
Imagine a scenario where you are managing hundreds or even more remote users. What if you needed to know which thin client a particular remote user is connected to? Which VDI user are they using? To which VDI server are they connected? New Praim ThinMan Server, ThinOX and Agile editions allow this information to be readily presented to IT staff as they manage and troubleshoot issues as they arise.
The new information on active sessions and connected users available in the general view options of the ThinMan console provides this information in an intuitive and searchable way. What’s more, this is not an addon or an additional component requiring installation. Instead, it is part of the new functionality included in new releases of the Praim software ecosystem. To benefit from such new view, you need to be running the following:
- ThinMan Server, version 8.2.0 or higher
Information will be available in ThinMan when interacting with clients updated with:
- ThinOX/ThinOX4PC, version 11.4.3 or higher
- Agile4PC or Agile4Pi, from version 2.9.0 or higher
Let’s see how easy it is to turn on this new functionality for viewing the connected session users.
Configuring ThinMan Server to show Active Sessions and Users
The new Active Session and User functionality is a display option that can be easily enabled from the ThinMan Server Local Console. To enable the new view from the ThinMan console, navigate to Tools>General Options.
Open the general options in the ThinMan Server Local Console
The General Options Settings contains many areas of configuration. Under the Devices Details tab, you can select the information displayed in context with the device listed in the ThinMan console. Scroll down and find the Active Session Users. Place a “check” next to this option. Click OK.
Select the new Connected Session Users option in the Devices Details
Once the new session display detail is enabled, you will see the new Active Session Users column in the Devices view. The information updates in real-time. As a user connects or disconnects from a VDI environment, this information is displayed or removed in the Devices view.
Additionally to the User, if also Active Session Data is checked as well, in the Details box, you will see the following data:
- Active Session Name – The name of the connection configured in the thin client coming from ThinOX or Agile.
- Type – What type of connection is it? Which technology does it use? VMware, Citrix, etc.
- Host – Which host is the user connected to?
- User – Which user signed on to the VDI session?
- Start – When did the VDI session start?
As shown in the figure all the information, session data and connected user are also shown on the side bar (on the right), together with the other device information.
New Active Session Users column and details box displayed
The information captured by ThinMan Server with the new Active Session User/Data quickly becomes valuable. You can use this information to search for a connected user across your entire remote thin client estate and to find the thin client from which the user is connected quickly, in order to provide a timely assistance. You can also directly understand the technology and VDI server the user is connected to for rapidly understand issues’ causes and to provide consequently a prompt support.
To launch the Search feature, click the search button in the toolbar as shown below.
Launching the Search function in the ThinMan Server Console
The ThinMan Server Search function allows finding various objects in the Praim-managed infrastructure. The newly added active session user is one of the search details that can be used to query the environment. Once the ThinMan Find dialog box opens, change the Search Detail to Active Session Users. Once changed, the dialog box will automatically display the connected users in the Praim infrastructure. When you highlight a specific user then click OK, ThinMan will automatically place focus on the Device where the user is connected, making it extremely easy and fast to find users, manage endpoints, and troubleshoot issues.
Using ThinMan Find to locate a specific user
Wrapping Up
Having the right tools to support remote end-users helps helpdesk technicians troubleshoot and quickly find issues. For organizations supporting many remote users and various endpoints, it helps determine which sessions are active and which users are connected to which endpoints quickly. It provides the necessary information needed to narrow in on issues.
The new informative functionality on active sessions and users available in the latest versions of ThinMan Server collects and provides this information in real-time from the new ThinOX and Agile devices. It is easily viewable, searchable and can provide all the details needed.
