What's New in SimpleHelp 5.1

See what was new in the previous release SimpleHelp 5.0.
SimpleHelp 5.1 builds on the changes introduced in 5.0 and the encryption and security enhancements introduced in 5.0.15. SimpleHelp 5.1 introduces major enhancements to allow you to more easily administer your SimpleHelp server, connect from mobile devices and build more comprehensive integrations.

Simpler Server Administration

A number of major 5.1 features are designed to allow you to more easily administer your SimpleHelp server. Below are a few of the more important changes.
Administrator Technicians
Allow technicians to administer the server, or administer other technician groups.
Simple Machine Filters
Simpler group filtering allows administrators to easily pick which machines are visible.
Machine Specific Group Permissions
Assign permissions, such as control and view, to machines based on their Machine Group.

Improvements Almost Everywhere

Almost every part of SimpleHelp has been changed and improved. Here are some additional changes that make existing SimpleHelp functionality even better to use.
Queue Machine Actions
Queue actions that will be performed when an offline machine next register with the SimpleHelp server.
Machine Session History
View a list of historical sessions to a particular machine from within the Access tab.
Alert Reasons
When an alert triggers see machine-specific information that details why the trigger was actioned.

User Interface Improvements

The SimpleHelp user interface have been improved to provide a better user experience. Here are some of the highlights:
Dark Mode
Optionally choose to use SimpleHelp in a dark mode theme.
Operating System Details
System details appear in the Access tab allowing you to easily see what operating system a remote machine is running.
Diagnostics Mode Improvements
The diagnostics mode layout has been improved and additional information, like machine hardware details, are now presented.

VNC Based Mobile Client

Connect any mobile VNC app that supports SSH tunnelling direct to your SimpleHelp server to get mobile access to support sessions and remote machines.  
​Use any VNC app
​Enable via your Admin tab Network section.  Set your VNC app's SSH settings to your SH server with your tech details as the SSH login.
Normal Support and Access List
​Once connected you will see a list of machines and support sessions as usual.
Overlaid Session Controls
In session you can view and control as usual but have extra session controls overlaid.

Create Meaningful Integrations

SimpleHelp now includes a comprehensive HTTP web API. Easily connect to your SimpleHelp server and query it to perform the following tasks:
  • See existing technician account details, create new accounts or remove existing accounts.
  • Assign technicians to group, specify filters and perform general account management tasks.
  • View the list of machines registering with the server.
  • Collect hardware and monitoring information from a remote machine.
  • View the list of historical sessions and collect details about each session.
See the HTTP web API documentation for more information.

Other Notable Changes

  • A new Action Session table in the Access tab - Easily see who is connected to a remote machine.
  • Forward to HTTPS - SSL HTTP forwarding is now an option in the Administration tab to forward all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
  • Multiple Alert Actions - Perform any number of actions when an alert triggers or resets.
  • Restart from the Access tab - Options to force a service restart or reboot a remote machine from the Access tab.
  • Peer-to-peer TCP -  Direct peer-to-peer TCP connections, for faster sessions and less server bandwidth consumption.
  • Peer-to-peer File Transfers - Direct peer-to-peer Access tab file transfers speed up file transfers from the Access tab.
  • Memory Management - New Administration tab controls allow you to easily manage the server's memory usage.
  • Reporting - Improved Technician and History reports, including the ability to produce PDF reports.
  • Support Session Reconnecting - Remote support sessions now support reconnecting to an installed remote access service (if there is one).
  • Toolbox Import and Export - Export and import tool configurations and resources.
  • History Metrics - New history metrics and session summary details in the History tab let you see a summary of history sessions and events.
  • File Transfer Improvements - Improved File Transfer UI in a session to more easily manage local and remote files.
  • Large Deployment Improvements - Improved performance for systems handling >10000 services.
  • Link Tools to Machines - Tool run results now can link back to the machine.
  • Offline Delay - Configurable delay on Remote Access Offline events to specify how long a machine should be offline before actions are performed.
  • Email Relaying - Added option to not send emails from technician email addresses, and to use the single server address instead.
  • LDAPS Improvement - Added support for LDAP to use SimpleHelp SSL trust manager to make LDAPS certificate management easier.
  • History Tab Information - Added the machine group in the History tab.
  • Tool Icons - Specify tool icons for your toolboxes.
  • Branding Options - Exposed the website header and Remote Support header colours in the Branding section of the Administration tab. 
  • Uptime and Last Response - Show machine uptime in Access tab, and persist the last response time across server restarts.
  • Linux Memory Statistics - Memory statistics reported on Linux are more accurate.
  • Duplicate ID Resolution - The server is now more capable of resolving service ID conflicts in a timely fashion.