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EditOverview
EditGeneral configurations
EditImporting your users and computers contained in Active Directory
The program ESI.Octopus.ADSIReaderApp.exe allows the importing of users, computers (workstations and servers), and printers contained in Active Directory.
At the user import level, we import, among other things, the first name, last name, Windows username, title, department, office telephone number (with extension), etc.
At the computer level, we only import the name. The program ESI.Octopus.WMIUpdaterApp.exe is used to obtain the technical configuration of the computer(operating system, memory, processor type, installed software, etc.).
If you have information about your users or your computers in another data source, use the program ESI.Octopus.DataImporterApp.exe to import this data into Octopus.
Please consult the following document for more information :
DataImporter : SpecificationsHere are the instructions on how to import your users and computers into Octopus:
Edit1. Create an Octopus system account
The Octopus system account will be used by the different programs like ESI.Octopus.ADSIReaderApp.exe.
Essentially, we recommend using a system account to validate, for example, that a user was created following the AD synchronization.
Creation of the Octopus system account :
- Open the "Users" module
- Click on the action "Add user" and enter the following information:
- First name : Octopus
- Last name : System
- Click OK
- In the user profile, in the "User" tab, enter "system" as the Octopus username
- Click on "Assign password" and enter a password.
- In the "Permissions" tab, enable the following permissions :
- User can administer Octopus
- All CI related permissions
- User can create an incident
- Save
Edit2. Validate the user information to be imported
The correspondence of the AD-Octopus fields is contained in the XML file "ADSIReaderLDAPMappings.xml".
Here is the default content of the file :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<mappings>
<mapping Name="Employee">
<attribute LDAPAttribute="sAMAccountName" OctopusAttribute="Name"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="GivenName" OctopusAttribute="FirstName"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="sn" OctopusAttribute="LastName"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Mail" OctopusAttribute="EMailAddress"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Title" OctopusAttribute="Title"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumber" Index="0" Separator="x"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumberExtension" Index="1" Separator="x"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Mobile" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneMobile"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="distinguishedName" OctopusAttribute="ActiveDirectoryKey"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Department" OctopusAttribute="Department"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="EmployeeNumber" OctopusAttribute="EmployeeNumber"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Pager" OctopusAttribute="Pager"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="physicalDeliveryOfficeName" OctopusAttribute="Local"/>
</mapping>
<mapping Name="Computer">
<attribute LDAPAttribute="distinguishedName" OctopusAttribute="ActiveDirectoryKey"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Name" OctopusAttribute="Name"/>
</mapping>
<mapping Name="Printer">
<attribute LDAPAttribute="distinguishedName" OctopusAttribute="ActiveDirectoryKey"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Name" OctopusAttribute="Name"/>
</mapping>
</mappings>
It isn't necessary to modify this file for the synchronization to work.
Here are several cases which require the mapping file to be modified :
i. Certain fields in AD contain invalid values
Delete the fields that you don't want synchronized.
For example, to not import the title of the user, delete the line :
<attribute LDAPAttribute="Title" OctopusAttribute="Title"/>
ii. The letter "p" is used to indicate the telephone extension
Replace the "x", as a separator, by a "p" in the following 2 lines :
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumber" Index="0" Separator="x"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumberExtension" Index="1" Separator="x"/>
iii. The telephone number contains only the extension
Replace the following 2 lines :
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumber" Index="0" Separator="x"/>
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumberExtension" Index="1" Separator="x"/>
by :
<attribute LDAPAttribute="TelephoneNumber" OctopusAttribute="TelephoneNumberExtension"/>
iv. Importing of the department AND sub-department
Please note that if the department doesn't exist in Octopus, it will automatically be created.
Edit3. Automatically attributing a site (a location) to users/computers contained in an organizational unit (OU)
Edit4. Creating a scheduled task to automate the AD-Octopus synchronization
Here are the configuration steps:
- Identify a computer which will be responsible for launching the AD synchronization every day. It is recommended to use a server or at least a PC that you know is always running.
- Create a scheduled task which will execute the synchronization program every day.
- Go to the Control Panel, then the scheduled tasks
- Create a new task named "Octopus ADSI"
- Indicate that the task executes itself daily at 9:00 (or another time depending on your preference).
- Indicate the program "c:\program files\octopus\esi.octopus.adsireaderapp.exe"
- Indicate the parameters /login:OctopusSystem /password:OctopusPassword /protocol:LDAP /domain:MyDomain
- Replace OctopusPassword by the password for the octopus account
- Replace MyDomain by the name of your domain
- Specify an account to execute the task.
- Test the scheduled task by launching it immediately. The program generates the following log file, in which you'll find the results of the execution "c:\program files\octopus\adsireader.log". You can also see if the task worked by checking the list of users in Octopus.
Note that after launching the synchro task with AD, you will not only have synchronized the list of users but also the lists of users and printer queues. This synchro is necessary for the next step (next section of this procedure).
Edit5. Deactivate the user profiles which don't actually represent users (generic accounts for example)
The program ESI.Octopus.ADI imports all the users defined in AD.
To restrict the import of users to one organizational unit (OU), consult the following document:
All of the users that have first and last names specififed have been imported in Octopus.
Certain imported users don't represent a user (generic account, resources, etc.).
To remove these users from the list of active users:
- Open the "Users" module.
- Click on the list of all users.
- Select a user to deactivate
- Open the user profile
- In the upper right-hand corner, uncheck the "Active" box.
The user is no longer active.
To check the inactive users, select the list "Inactive users" found in the drop-down list for additional user lists.
Edit6. Identify the workstations which are portables and servers
EditCreate the Octopus user accounts
EditConfigure the network directory containing the files attached to incidents, SRs, CIs and others
EditConfigure the remote access program to be used to take control of the workstation
EditIncident management
EditActivate e-mails to your users
EditReview the categories and sub-categories
Essentially, the categories and sub-categories are used for statistical purposes.
We suggest that you use the categorization of an incident to represent the
cause of the incident.
For example, use of the category/sub-category should allow you to answer the following questions :
- How many incidents are due to a computer breakdown ?
- How many incidents are due to a printer jam ?
- How many incidents are due to a problem with the usage of software ? With Excel ?
Since it is likely that the cause of an incident will not be identified during the entry of the incident, it is important for the technician to revise the category/sub-category before marking the incident as resolved.
By default, the categories in Octopus are :
- Access and security
- Printing
- Software
- Hardware
- Telephony
Some details and recommendations:
- Each category has a sub-category "Other". It is preferable to select "Other" when there is no other viable sub-category, rather than selecting "the closest" sub-category (or a random choice).
On a regular basis, you should be checking the percentage of incidents contained in "Other". When the percentage is higher than 15%, analyze the incidents contained in "Other" and add the missing sub-categories. As much as possible, limit the number of sub-categories to 10 or less.
- The sub-category "Usage" indicates a problem with using the hardware or the software properly. The users calls and says that it doesn't work, but in reality it works fine and the user just didn't know what to do.
Keep in mind, if the user calls for help (with Word, for example), it is not an incident but in fact it is a "Software support" service request.
- Use the Statistics graph "Problems - Most problematic CI types" to obtain the number of breakages by CI type (workstation, portable, printer, etc.).
Open the graph and apply a filter on the category "Hardware" and the sub-category "Breakage".
EditRevise the other reference data : priorities, sources, reasons for hold, reasons for suspension, etc
EditDetermine if the priority is derived from the impact and the urgency
By default in Octopus, the priority is derived from the impact and the urgency.
The table indicating which combination of impact and urgency gives which priority is located in Options, in the "Priority derivation" section.
Gathering the impact and urgency to determine the priority of the incident is a good ITIL practice.
Un des objectfis visé est de standardiser l'assignation de la priorité.
Definition of the terms Impact and Urgency
- Impact : Impact of the incident on the organization (ie. the capacity of the organization to complete its mission).
- Urgency : Urgency to work on the incident for the organization
For example, is it outside service hours, are we in a critical period of the year; student admissions for example.
To ensure that assigning the urgency remains simple, we propose the following 2 levels: 1 - Urgent and 2 - Normal.
Trick to simplify assigning the impact
When you select the potential CI in cause, the system automatically assigns the impact based on the criticality of the selected CI.
Proposition : For a service interruption, we keep the value assigned by the system.
For a service degradation, we reduce the impact by 1.
To deactivate the usage of impact and urgency, do the following in the Options:
- Deactivate the option "Priority derivation";
- Uncheck the box "Visible" for the fields Urgency and Impact in the section "Required Field Management".
EditCreate templates to accelerate incident entry
EditOrganize your team in work groups
EditNon-visible additional options in the options form
Marking an incident resolved for another person
Option available in version 2.7.
By default in Octopus, when you mark an incident resolved, the field "Resolved by" contains your name (no matter who the incident is assigned to).
Normally, if you mark an incident as resolved, it is logical to think that you're the person who resolved the incident even if the incident is assigned to another person.
Please note that to resolve an incident which is assigned to a group you don't belong to, you must have the permission « The user can modify the status of an incident assigned to another group ».
If you would like to mark an incident as resolved for another person (so that the field "Resolved by" is attributed to the technician assigned to the incident and not to the person who marks it as resolved), send us an e-mail so that this option is activated.
EditService request management
EditIdentify the types of requests that you receive regularly
Types of service requests are standard services offered by the service center. They can be visible by the self-service Web portal and contain instructions to the users.
Here are some examples of types of service requests:
- Access - rights modification
- Access - folder/file
- Acquisition and installation of a peripheral
- Acquisition and installation of a workstation
- Acquisition and installation of a printer
- Acquisition and installation of a phone
- Account creation (network/email/application)
- Training request
- Information request
- Moving of IT equipment
- Employee leave
- Software installation
- etc.
Vous devez dresser votre liste des types de demande de services offerts par votre service. La liste devrait contenir entre 5 et 25 types de demandes.
Lorsqu'un technicien enregistre une demande de service dans Octopus, il doit indiquer le type de demande de service. De la même manière, si vous activez le portail Web pour les utilisateurs, ils devront choisir un "type" lorsqu'ils soumettront une demande.
Pour ajouter, modifier ou supprimer les types de demande de service:
- Allez dans le menu "Outils > Gestion des données de référence..."
- Ouvrez le noeud Demande de service
- Ouvrez la section Types
- Pour créer un nouveau type, cliquez droit sur Type pour obtenir l'option Ajouter...
- Pour modifier un type, sélectionnez le type de demande de service à modifier et modifiez le détail à droite de la fenêtre.
- Pour supprimer un type, cliquez droit sur le type de demande de service pour obtenir l'option Supprimer...
Pour chaque type, vous devez minimalement indiquer la description en français et en anglais. Par la suite, vous pouvez compléter les options suivantes :
- Ajuster l'entente sur les niveaux de service (Délai maximum)
- Éditer la description par défaut
- Rendre visible ce type dans l'application Web libre-service
- Demander d'entrer le CI en cause (vous pouvez rendre cette entrée obligatoire ou optionnelle).
- Ajouter des instructions à l'utilisateur (ces instructions seront visibles uniquement pour les utilisateurs du Web).
- Joindre un fichier (un formulaire par exemple, ou des instructions plus complexes).
Note : Il n'est pas permis de supprimer un type de SR qui aurait été utilisé pour la création d'une demande de service. Si vous voulez absolument effacer un type de SR, vous devez alors le fusionner avec un autre. La fusion va enlever le lien entre les demandes de service créées à partir de ce type à effacer et l'associer au type que vous aurez sélectionné. Par la suite, le type de SR sera effacé.
L'utilisation de type de demande vous permettra de:
- Établir des cibles de traitement pour chaque type.
- Fournir des instructions et procédures pour chaque type.
- Avoir des statistiques pour connaitre les types que vous traitez le plus souvent.
EditManagement of configurations
EditIdentify the types of CI to manage
EditObtain the configuration of workstations and servers
EditIdentify the software to manage
EditManage the IT services offered to the organization
EditSelf-service Web Application
EditDetermine the authentication mode
EditIdentify the incident templates and the SR types visible on the Web
EditSecure access to the Web application in an IP address range
EditAdditional options not visible in the options form
Deactivation of the Profile page
If a synchronization with AD is done, we recommend that you deactivate the page.
If the user changes their telephone number, during the next AD synchronization, the information entered by the user will be lost.