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Welcome to iTivity
Thank you for choosing ITivityÔ, a powerful Internet-based solution for system administration and remote support. At Tridia, our mission is to always exceed our customers’ expectations by providing the absolute best software products backed by outstanding technical support and customer service. We take this mission very seriously and invite you to send your comments, compliments, or complaints to service@tridia.com. What is iTivity?iTivity is a software product that allows system administrators to deploy remote administration tools either within an intranet or safely across firewalls over the Internet. Deployment is simple, with one-click installation from an e-mail or web page. The iTivity solution is extremely economical because of its flexible licensing mechanism. The agent software that allows computers to be controlled remotely is distributed free of charge. Agents can be downloaded and installed to an unlimited number of computers. You pay only for the number of connections that you need at a given time. Note: A license is required to run the Admin Agent on Linux/UNIX. Refer to Chapter 8 for information. iTivity Features
iTivity provides administrators and support engineers with tools to: · View and remotely control Windows and Linux/UNIX computers · Transfer files between remote computers · Manage help desk requests · Chat directly with users. · Control remote systems through TELNET All connections are encrypted and make use of configurable authentication schemes including NTLM, LDAP or simple local password. iTivity components
Figure 1 illustrates the major components of iTivity in a simple configuration.
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1: iTivity Components 1. The iServer is the main engine of iTivity. The iServer creates and coordinates secure connections using 1028-bit encryption. The iServer software is available in Widows and Linux versions. 2. The iTivity Manager provides the interface for administrators and support personnel to view and manage remote computers and servers. The iTivity Manager can be installed on the same computer as the iServer software or on another computer, either within or outside a firewall. 3. The Live Support Agent allows users of Windows computers to connect to an iServer and request support. The support request is then displayed in the iTivity Manager. The Live Support Agent also allows users to chat with an administrator who responds to their help request. 4. The Admin Agent provides for remote viewing and administration of Windows or Linux/UNIX systems. This agent provides a persistent, "always-on" connection. If the connection is lost, the Agent automatically attempts to reconnect. Using iTivity
Securely Over the Internet
iTivity makes it possible to safely view and control remote computers behind firewalls. Since the iServer only accepts secure (encrypted) connections through a user-configurable port, it can be placed safely in front of a firewall, in the network area often called a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). Alternately, the iServer can be placed behind a firewall. In this case, the administrator would need to open a single "pinhole" to allow iServer connections. Or, the administrator can configure the iServer to use port 443 (HTTP), which in most firewalls allows traffic by default. In this case, the firewall does not need to be reconfigured. The iServer can accept connections from any agent computer behind the firewall, as long as the firewall allows outgoing TCP/IP connections. Users running iTivity Manager, located inside or outside your network, can connect to the iServer, which in turns allows them to view its connected agents. Figure 2 illustrates a typical usage scenario. An administrator with iTivity Manager installed on a laptop or home PC (1) uses the iServer to remotely view and control any number of Windows computers inside the firewall (2).
Figure 2: iTivity
Remote Support Example Connection Types
iTivity supports two distinct types of connections over the Internet. It is important to understand the two connection types in terms of licensing and using iTivity. Interactive
Connections
Interactive connections are created on-demand. When a user running the Live Support Agent initiates a help request, this opens an interactive connection to the iServer. iTivity is licensed to support a specific number of interactive connections. When this number has been reached and a Live Support Agent attempts to open a new connection, an error message is displayed in the iTivity Manager. The administrator must then close an existing interactive connection to allow the new connection to be made. Alternately, the administrator can increase the number of connections allowed by the license. See Section 2.4, Licensing the iServer. Always-On Connections
Always-on connections remain connected to the iServer at all times. If the connection is lost, the agent automatically attempts to reconnect. These connections are intended for servers or other computers that you want to monitor on a continuous basis. Again, iTivity is licensed to support a specific number of always-on connections. An Admin Agent is not able to connect to the iServer if this number is exceeded. Deploying the iTivity
Agents
Administrators can easily deploy the Live Support Agent and Admin Agent to as many computers as needed. Customization is easy. The administrator can place the agent distribution files on a web server, then send an e-mail containing a link for downloading the agent. The user receives the e-mail, clicks the link, and the agent is downloaded and installed, safely and securely. The administrator can configure how the agent will run once installed by setting configuration parameters in the HTML page that is used for downloading. This strategy allows for a uniform distribution policy. Exceptions can be made simply by copying and renaming the HTML file, then changing the configuration settings it contains. A new customized agent can then be deployed by advertising the URL to the desired users. The agents can also be installed from CD-ROM. Note: For instructions on installing the Admin Agent on Linux/UNIX, see Chapter 8. Benefits of iTivity
Licensing
The iTivity licensing model offers important benefits to Tridia customers. · You can install any number of iTivity Managers for free. · You can install any number of Live Support Agents for free. · You can install any number of Admin Agents for free. Only the iServer is licensed, so all licensing takes place in one place. You only pay for the number of active connections between the iTivity Manager and the agents. You only pay for what you use. For example, you could have 10,000 Windows computers installed with both agents and iTivity Manager. All the software is free. If you only have to administer two users at any given time, then you only have to buy a two-user license. Also, if you only need to use the functionality of one of the agents, then you can buy licenses for only that agent. It's that simple. The Release Notes
The “Readme” file containing the Release Notes for this version is located under C:\Program Files\iTivity\README.txt. These Release Notes are very important, since they contain specific information concerning the current release of this software. The information contained in the Release Notes is typically not found in the User Guide. In many cases, the Release Notes information supersedes the information in the User Guide. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you read the Release Notes completely before installing or using iTivity. Using This Guide
The User Guide has been organized by product module and function for easy use. · Chapter 1, System Administration with iTivity, provides technical information to help administrators understand, plan, and deploy the iTivity software. · Chapter 2, Installing and Running the iServer, provides complete information on the iServer component. · Chapter 3, Installing and Running the iTivity Manager , contains setup and quick start information on the Manager component. · Chapter 4, Using the iTivity Manager, provides complete instructions on all program menus and options. · Chapter 5, Installing the iTivity Agents, explains how to install the Support Module and how to use it to make the agent software available for one-click installation. · Chapter 6,Using the Live Support Agent, explains the agent features available to end-users for getting help. · Chapter 7, Using the Admin Module, explains the menu options available on the computer where the Admin Agent is installed · Chapter 8, Installing and Running the Admin Agent on Linux/Unix, explains how to deploy, license and run the Admin Agent on Linux and UNIX systems A Glossary is also included. iTivity Product SupportIf you have a question or problem with the ITivity product, we encourage you to first review the User Guide, online help, and the www.tridia.com Web site for your solution. If you still cannot find an answer, please contact Tridia directly for product support. s Web site: www.tridia.com s Telephone: +1-770-428-5000
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