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Revision as of 11:34, 21 October 2011
<This page is under construction for CommitCRM 5.7 BETA>
Introduction
CommitCRM-GFI MAX Link module provides an integration with the remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution designed for
managed services providers (MSP) offered by GFI.
The Commit-GFI MAX Link automatically opens Tickets in CommitCRM for failed checks from GFI MAX. Any updates to the ticket
(i.e. check failed again or check succeeded) are automatically logged as Notes in the Ticket History in CommitCRM. When a
failed check is resolved in GFI MAX (i.e. it does not fail anymore), it automatically updates the Ticket with a relevant
note, and the Ticket in CommitCRM can be closed.
Each Ticket update that is a result of a check status change in GFI MAX pushes the Ticket into the Tickets Inbox, so
technicians can easily see the updates. This integration helps you make sure you do not miss any events and always provide
your customers with the best service.
The CommitCRM integration with GFI MAX includes:
- Ticket creation from GFI MAX failed checks.
- Link Accounts to Sites in GFI MAX or create Account from Site.
- Link Assets to Products in GFI MAX or create Asset from Product.
Technical Note
The integration is based on a new Service running on your CommitCRM server (called CommitRMMServer Service), which accepts
all checks from GFI and creates the Ticket in CommitCRM.
GFI MAX Settings
This section describes the Setup steps required in the GFI Portal in order to start working with CommitCRM as your PSA system
in GFI.
To allow CommitRMM service to connect with GFI and sync with it, a GFI MAX API Key is required.
To setup GFI API key:
- Login to the GFI Portal with Admin account and go to Settings-> General Settings-> API Key tab.
- Click Generate Key and copy the API key to be pasted in CommitCRM properties file.
CommitCRM Setup
Please make sure to enable the integration with CommitCRM on the GFI side (see GFI MAX
Settings) before you proceed with the CommitCRM side setup below.
To set up CommitCRM to work with GFI MAX, the following steps are required:
- Initialize GFI MAX API Key.
- Initialize GFI MAX Server URL
- Install CommitRMMServer.
- Validate CommitRMMServer downloads GFI MAX Sites and Devices to the CommitCRM server.
- Link Accounts and Assets in CommitCRM(*) to Sites in and Devices GFI MAX.
- Enable GFI MAX Integration.
* Note:
The full integration with GFI MAX on the CommitCRM side will be disabled by default until you activate it explicitly,
and Tickets will not be transferred to CommitCRM until then. This is to make sure users first link GFI MAX Sites to CommitCRM
Accounts to avoid many duplicate Accounts which may be created if Tickets are created before the links take place. Once all
Accounts are linked, users should enable the integration, see Enabling GFI MAX
Initialize GFI MAX API Key
After you finish setting up the API Key at the GFI MAX Portal (see GFI MAX Settings), you can move on to the next step and enter the API Key into CommitCRM settings.
To initialize the API Key in CommitCRM:
- Open <Installation_DIR>\RMM\CMTGFIMAXLink.ini
- Copy the API Key value from GFI MAX Settings window as described above in GFI MAX
Settings, and paste your GFI MAX API Key as the value for token GFIMAX_API_KEY:
GFIMAX_API_KEY=<Your-GFI-MAX-API-Key>
- Save your changes.
Initialize GFI MAX Server URL
To initialize the GFI MAX server URL (*) in CommitCRM:
- Open <Installation_DIR>\RMM\CMTGFIMAXLink.ini
- Paste the GFI MAX server URL as the value for token GFIMAX_SERVER_URL:
GFIMAX_SERVER_URL=<Your-GFI-MAX-Server_URL>
- Save your changes.
(*) Note: Only the main domain URL should be used.
For exmaple, if you see:
- https://wwweurope1.systemmonitor.eu.com/dashboard/
Only paste the following (i.e. without the trailing folder/path/parameters):
- https://wwweurope1.systemmonitor.eu.com
Install CommitRMMServer Service
After you finish setting up all of the required settings (see Initialize GFI MAX
API KEy), you can move on to the next step and install the CommitRMMServer service.
The CommitRMMServer runs as a Windows Service on your server.
Before you install the CommitRMMServer
- Make sure to complete the Setup steps prior to installing the Windows Service.
- Make sure to allow the CommitRMMServer Service in your DEP settings.
This part of the installation should be performed on the server itself. When logged in to the server with a Window's Administrator account, open a command prompt window and enter the following
command:
<Installation_DIR>\RMM\CommitRMMServer.exe -install
Note: The <Insallation_Dir> must refer to a LOCAL server path (e.g. c:\ or D:\Software, etc.) and NOT to a shared network
name/path.
A Window's service called CommitRMMServer is now displayed in the system services management window (Control Panel >
Administration Tools > Services). If the service is not displayed, make sure you are running the command prompt "As
Administrator".
Start Service:
Using the Window's Services Management window start the service (right-click > Start). Make sure that it is set to start
automatically (Startup type > Automatic) each time the server is restarted.
Download Sites and Devices Files
In order for the failed checks arriving from GFI MAX to be able to create Tickets for the correct Account and Asset, all GFI
MAX Sites should first be linked to the parallel CommitCRM Accounts, and Devices must be linked to Assets.
Managing the links requires downloading the list of Sites and Devices from GFI MAX . This is done automatically by
CommitRMMServer once it is activated(*). Note that the GFI MAX Integration must NOT be enabled at the CommitCRM side yet at
this point; only the service should be activated in order for it to download the Sites and Devices details.
Once the settings have been applied at GFI MAX Portal, and the CommitRMMServer is activated, it tries to connect to GFI MAX
and download the following files:
- <server>\Commit\Dbsys\GFIMAXSites_RMAGFIMAXINFOTECHID1.cmt
- <server>\Commit\Dbsys\GFIMAXDevices_RMAGFIMAXINFOTECHID1.cmt
Both files are used by the GFI MAX Links manager in CommitCRM client to link GFI MAX Sites and Devices to equivalent
CommitCRM Accounts and Assets.
Make sure both files exist before moving on to the next step which is Linking Accounts and Assets.
Handling Errors
In case CommitRMMServer fails to download Sites and Devices details, the system will alert the user with a message when
attempting to use the GFI MAX Links Manager (e.g. from Accounts > Tools > Open GFI MAX Links Manager). In such case, refer to
the Troubleshooting section.
Link Accounts and Assets
When a Ticket arrives from GFI MAX it is created in CommitCRM and automatically linked to the Account which is associated
with the Site specified for the Ticket. In case the Site is not associated to any CommitCRM Account, a temporary Account is
created and the Ticket is linked to it.
To avoid redundant temporary Accounts from being created, all GFI MAX Sites should first be linked to the equivalent
CommitCRM Accounts. Only when all Accounts are associated to Sites, a System Administrator should enable the integration. See
Link Accounts to Sites
Before starting to work with the GFI MAX Integration, an Administrator must first link all Accounts to the equivalent Sites
in GFI MAX . This step is required in order for failed checks arriving from GFI MAX to open Tickets under the correct
Account.
To Link Accounts to Sites in GFI MAX see Link Account to Site.
Link Assets to Devices
Before starting to work with the GFI MAX Integration, an Administrator must first link all and Assets to the equivalent
Devices in GFI MAX. This step is required in order for failed checks arriving from GFI MAX to open Tickets under the correct
Asset.
To Link Assets to Devices in GFI MAX see Link Asset to Device.
Enable GFI MAX Integration
Enabling GFI MAX Integration on the CommitCRM server (assuming the GFI MAX setup was already performed) will immediately
start sending failed checks GFI MAX to CommitCRM. Make sure to link your GFI MAX
Sites with CommitCRM Accounts prior to enabling the integration on CommitCRM's side, to avoid duplicate Account creation.
See more details in Link Accounts and Assets.
To enable GFI MAX Integration on CommitCRM's side and start failed checks to arrive at CommitCRM:
- Open <Installation_DIR>\RMM\CMTGFIMAXLink.ini
- Change the value for ProcessGFIMAXUpdatesQueue to Y (by default it's set to N in order to allow user first to perform
links between GFI MAX sites/devices to CommitCRM).
- Restart CommitRMMServer Service.
Ticket Creation from GFI MAX Failed Checks
Only after installing the CommitRMMServer, linking between Accounts and Sites and enabling the Integration, will the Ticket
creation come into action.
Once enabled, failed checks arriving from GFI MAX automatically create a Ticket in CommitCRM.
A standard(*) automatic Ticket creation process includes:
- Failed check arrives at CommitCRM.
- Ticket is created in CommitCRM.
- Ticket is linked to Asset.
- Ticket appears in CommitCRM Tickets Inbox.
Once the Ticket is created in CommitCRM it is managed only in CommitCRM:
New Ticket
New Tickets are automatically created by Commit RMM server from failed checks arriving from GFI MAX.
The new Ticket in CommitCRM includes:
- Ticket description taken from the GFI MAX description.
- Ticket is assigned to the Account manager for this Account (if defined). Otherwise the Ticket Manager is taken from
Default Ticket Manager defined in Tools > Options > Tickets (Admin) > Default Manager.
- History Note is automatically added to the Ticket with the creation date and time from GFI MAX.
- Ticket is linked to the relevant Asset. If the system cannot determine the Asset, the GFI MAX Device details are added as a
note to the Ticket. See more details in Device Not Linked to Asset.
After the Ticket is created it is automatically added to the Tickets Inbox.
Ticket Updates
When working with the Commit-GFI MAX Link, Tickets are managed only in CommitCRM.
Check status changes in GFI MAX result in a Note under the Ticket History tab in CommitCRM.
Check status changes include:
- Check failed again.
- Check succeeded.
Each Ticket update that is a result of a check status change in GFI MAX pushes the Ticket into the Tickets Inbox, so
technicians can easily see the updates. This integration helps you make sure you do not miss any events and always provide
your customers with the best service.
Closing Tickets
Closing or canceling a ticket in CommitCRM will close the Ticket in CommitCRM only. There is no affect on GFI MAX upon Ticket
closure in CommitCRM.
Managing GFI MAX Links
In order for failed checks arriving from GFI MAX to open a Ticket under the correct Account and Asset, you must create an
association between Sites and Devices in GFI MAX to Accounts and Assets in CommitCRM.
Creating the links is done using the GFI MAX Links Manager Window via CommitCRM.
Note: CommitRMMServer service must first be installed in order for the GFI MAX Sites and Devices to be downloaded to the
CommitCRM server. See more details in Download Sites and Devices Files.
Link Account to Site
In order for failed checks arriving from GFI MAX to open a Ticket under the correct Account, you must create an association
between sites in GFI MAX to Accounts in CommitCRM, or create an Account in CommitCRM for this Site.
Note that multiple Sites in GFI MAX can be linked to the same Account in CommitCRM, since the Sites may represent several
physical sites for the same client, thus represented in the same CommitCRM Account.
Use the GFI MAX Links Manager Window to create the association:
- In the Accounts Window, go to Accounts > Tools > GFI MAX Links Manager.
- In the Wizard which opens you can find a list of available un-linked sites from GFI MAX . This list gets updated every
hour. In case you receive a message about a missing file, this means the initial setup hasn't been completed yet. For more
details refer to Download Sites and Devices Files.
- Select the Site you want to link, and click Next. The following screen appears:
File:GFI MAX link account wizard step 2.png
- In above screen you should choose the CommitCRM Account to be linked to the external record:
- Find the parallel Account(**) using the search options:
- Search for Account by keyword/s.
- See Account list recommended by the system based on the Site name.
- Once you have chosen the Account, click Link to Account.
- OR create a new Account based on the selected Site details(*).
(*) Note: When creating a new Account in CommitCRM
- Find the parallel Account(**) using the search options:
based on the Site from GFI MAX only the Site name is copied to CommitCRM. No other details are transferred.
(**) Note:
that multiple Sites in GFI MAX can be linked to the same Account in CommitCRM, since the Sites may represent several physical
sites for the same client, thus represented in the same CommitCRM Account.
At this point the Account and Site are linked.
To cancel this link between the Account and Site, hit the Linked Accounts tab to find the Account and remove the link. See
Unlink Account From Site
Accounts in CommitCRM must be linked to Sites in GFI MAX in order for Tickets to be created under the correct Account. If you
want to cancel a link between an Account and a Site, you can use two methods:
Use the GFI MAX Account Link Manager (recommended, this way you can see the linked Site details before removing the link):
- In the Accounts Window, go to Accounts > Tools > GFI MAX Links Manager.
- In the Window which opens hit the Linked Records tab to find Accounts which are already linked.
- This tab displays a list of Accounts linked to Sited and displays the linked Site details in the bottom pane (if the
details are available). This list gets updated every hour.
- Select the Account you want to unlink, and click Remove Link.
- Note: Some Accounts may be listed more than once in the Linked Accounts tab, if they are linked to multiple GFI MAX sites.
Each link can be removed separately.
OR use the quick option:
- In the Accounts window, find the Account you want to unlink.
- Go to Accounts > Tools > Remove Link between CommitCRM Record and GFI MAX.
- If the Account is linked to more than one site, ALL links will be removed.
Note: Removing the link between the Account and the Site in GFI MAX will also result in removing the links between the
Account's tickets and assets to the ones in GFI MAX.
Link Asset to Device
In order for Tickets arriving from GFI MAX to be linked to the correct Asset, you must create an association between Devices
in GFI MAX to Assets in CommitCRM, or create an Asset in CommitCRM for this Device.
Use the GFI MAX Links Manager Window to create the association:
- In the Assets Window, go to Assets > Tools > GFI MAX Links Manager.
- In the Wizard which opens you can find a list of available un-linked Devices from GFI MAX. This list gets updated every
hour.
- Select the Device you want to link, and click Next. The following screen appears:
File:GFI MAX link asset wizard step 2.gif
- Find Asset:
- Find the equivalent Asset using the search options:
- Search by name.
- See Assets recommended by the system based on the Device name.
- Once you have chosen the Asset, click Link to Asset.
- OR create a new Asset based on the Device details(*).
- Find the equivalent Asset using the search options:
(*) Note: When creating a new Asset in CommitCRM based on the Device from GFI MAX, the following fields are copied: Device
Name, Serial Number and Manufacturer. Other technical device details are copied to the Asset Note field.
At this point the Asset and Device are linked.
To cancel the link between the Asset and Device, hit the Linked External Records tab to find the Asset and remove the
link. See Unlink Asset From Device.
Unlink Asset From Device
Assets in CommitCRM must be linked to Sites in GFI MAX in order for Tickets to be linked to the correct Asset. If you want to
cancel a link between an Asset and a Device, you can use two methods:
Use the GFI MAX Links Manager (recommended! this way you can see the linked Site details before removing the link):
- In the Asset Window, go to Assets > Tools > GFI MAX Links Manager.
- In the Window which opens hit the Linked External Records tab to find Assets which are already linked.
- This tab displays a list of linked Assets in CommitCRM and displays the linked Device details in the bottom pane. This list
gets updated every hour.
- Select the Asset you want to unlink, and click Remove Link.
OR use the quick option:
- In the Assets window, find the Asset you want to unlink.
- Go to Assets > Tools > Remove Link between CommitCRM record and GFI MAX.
Ticket Creation – Special Cases
In case the Site or Device is not linked to the equivalent Account and Asset in CommitCRM, the Ticket will still be created,
and the missing entity will be handled by the system in the following manner:
Ticket from Unknown Site
In case a check arrives from GFI MAX for an anonymous Site which is not linked to any Account in CommitCRM, a new Account is
automatically created with the name:
[GFI MAX AUTO CREATED] + Site name in GFI MAX.
For example, a Ticket which is created in GFI MAX for a site called "ACME company", the Account which is automatically
created for this site will be called:
[GFI MAX AUTO CREATED] + ACME company
If such an Account already exists in CommitCRM (from previous tickets), the new Account will still be created, so multiple
Accounts with the same name may exist in the system.
The Ticket is then created and linked to this automatically created Account. New GFI MAX Tickets will also be linked to this
Account as long as a permanent Account is not created for this Site.
When technicians find this Ticket, they should:
- If a "real" Account already exists for this site, merge both Accounts to the master CommitCRM account for this site.
- If this site is new and does not exist in CommitCRM, make this the master Account for this site, and rename it to its real
name.
- After the merge, all links to GFI MAX Sites will be merged into the Master Account so there is no need to re-link the
Account to the Site.
Device Not Linked to Asset
In case a check arrives from GFI MAX and is linked to a Device which is not linked to any Asset in CommitCRM:
- The Ticket is created and linked to Account.
- Device details are filled in the Ticket Description.
Troubleshooting
In case CommitRMMServer fails to download Sites and Devices details, the system will show the user a message when opening the
GFI MAX Links Manager (e.g. from Accounts > Tools > Open GFI MAX Links Manager).
First, make sure all setup and installation steps were performed properly:
- Initialize GFI MAX API Key and verify GFI Max server URL.
- Install CommitRMMServer.
- Validate CommitRMMServer downloads GFI MAX Sites and Devices to the CommitCRM server.
See full details in CommitCRM Setup.
If all steps were completed, it is possible the CommitRMMServer has failed to pull the files due to an error. To check this
please log into CommitCRM client and from the menu select Tools > System Tools > Advanced > Check for Server Side Error
Reports.
If no error file exists at this location, please contact CommitCRM Support for further assistance.
After the initial setup, to start working with the GFI MAX Link, you should complete the following steps:
- Link Accounts and Assets in CommitCRM to Sites in and Devices GFI MAX .
- Enable GFI MAX Integration.
See full details in CommitCRM Setup.
CommitCRM Privileges
In order for a user to manage GFI MAX Links (with Sites and Devices) the user should have GFI MAX Integration Privileges.
User without privilege for GFI MAX will not be able to link and unlink GFI MAX Sites and Devices. The user will be able to
view the GFI MAX Links Management Window in order to see the unlinked and linked Sites and Devices, however, the window will
open for read-only purpose.
To give a user the ability to update links, they need to have the GFI MAX Integration Privilege:
- Find the user's Privileges Group from the Employee's window > Employee Tab.
- Then check that the Privileges Group includes the GFI MAX Privilege:
- Go to File > Users & Privileges > Privileges.
- Choose the relevant group from the drop down menu and make sure that the RMM-Zenith, GFI MAX Integration privilege is
selected.