Documentation forSolarWinds Service Desk

Setup: Labs

Introduction

This document explains how the SolarWinds Service Desk (SWSD) Labs module works and how administrators can use it to their advantage. With Labs you can allow your IT teams to test new features prior to a general release.

Using Labs, you can get feedback from your user community about the benefits and challenges of each Labs feature.  If a feature does not behave as expected, you can toggle it off until the matter is resolved or removed. 

Navigation

ITSM customers ESM customers
Setup > Global Settings > Labs

Organization > Global Settings > Labs

How to use Labs

Features in Labs are temporary. You do not need to test each feature. If you feel your organization would benefit from a new feature and/or enhancement, go to Setup > Labs. In the list of available features, toggle the feature to On.

Some features in Labs are interconnected. You may decide to activate more than one feature simultaneously to maximize the benefit of new Labs offerings.

As new features prove successful, they will be permanently integrated into the platform. Likewise, they will be deleted if they are not found to benefit end users.

Features currently in Labs

Automatic mapping of SolarWinds Platform (previously Orion nodes)

SWSD offers many capabilities to help streamline processes. Automatic mapping of SolarWinds Platform nodes combines two features that offer insight.

  • Discovery of SolarWinds Platform assets and bringing them to SolarWinds Service Desk Change Management Database (CMDB).

  • SolarWinds Platform alerts (that meet certain predefined conditions) are automatically converted into Incidents in SWSD.

SWSD supports the automatic mapping of the relevant Configuration Item (CI) to an Incident record created from a SolarWinds Platform alert. For example, if Node 348 goes down, and Node 348 is listed in SWSD as a CI, SolarWinds Platform will generate an alert and automatically attach the Node 348 CI to the Incident during its creation.

For more information, see SolarWinds Platform Integration: Automatic Mapping of SolarWinds Platform nodes.

Data masking

Premier and Advanced plans only. Advanced plans are limited to system fields (title, description, and comments). Premier plans have no limitations.

You can enable data masking for plain text fields and attachments in SWSD cross-platform, including MS Teams, Slack, the Virtual Agent, and the mobile app.

About Data Masking

Data masking uses a classification model to hide/redact sensitive data to comply with regulatory and privacy guidelines for PII (personally identifiable information) and PCI (payment card industry). By masking PII and PCI data, SolarWinds Service Desk (SWSD) protects sensitive information from unauthorized access and maintains data privacy.

All user text input that is PII/PCI is masked. Only authorized users can unmask the data.

Enable Data Masking in Labs

  1. Navigate to Setup > Labs > Data Masking and switch the toggle to On.

    ESM customers: Navigate to Organization > Setup > Labs > Data Masking and switch the toggle to On.

  2. Navigate to Setup > Global Settings > Service Desk Settings to activate data masking.

    ESM customers: Navigate to Service Provider > Setup > Global Settings > Service Desk Settings to activate data masking.

  3. Place a check mark next to Mask sensitive information (PII/PCI) . . . .

After Data masking is enabled, an administrator should grant unmasking permission to roles your company wants to let unmask data. Any role with Manage > All permission can see PII data in attachments and fields. Add the restriction to Manage > Data Masking under Service Desk Settings to mask PII data.

What data is masked

Personally identifiable information (PII) refers to any information that can be used to identify an individual, either on its own or when combined with other information. PII can include, but is not limited to:

  • Full name
  • Social Security Number (SSN)
  • Driver's license number
  • Email address
  • Home address
  • Telephone number
  • Date of birth
  • Biometric records
  • Any other information that is linked or linkable to an individual

Payment card information (PCI) refers to any information related to payment cards (such as credit or debit cards) that can be used to process transactions. PCI typically includes, but is not limited to:

  • Primary Account Number (PAN): The full credit or debit card number.
  • Cardholder Name: The name printed on the card.
  • Expiration Date: The date when the card expires.
  • Service Code: A 3- or 4-digit code used to specify restrictions or special conditions on the card.
  • Card Verification Value (CVV/CVC): A security feature for credit or debit card transactions, typically a 3- or 4-digit number printed on the card.

Where data masking applies

Data masking is applied across communication channels and to multiple types of fields and file formats.

PII/PCI data that does not match the standard pattern may remain unmasked.
Communication channels
  • MS Teams
  • Slack
  • Virtual Agent
  • Mobile app
Attachment file types
Data masking does not apply to file names. As needed, rename files before attaching to prevent the sharing of sensitive data in file names.
  • Plain text file types, including but not limited to:
    • Text (.txt)
    • CSV (.csv)
    • JSON (.json)
    • XML (.xml)
    • Log files (.log)

  • Other file types, including but not limited to:

    • Portable Document Format (PDF)
    • Word (.docx)
Outgoing email

Only masked field and files are sent. To unmask data, email recipients should go to SWSD.

User input text

All PII/PCI text input by a user is masked. Only authorized users can unmask data.