Configure the Apple Remote Desktop 3.2 settings

To use Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) 3.2, enable and configure the ARD PostgreSQL database to allow network connections. Web Help Desk provides a setup script to create the configurations for you.

When completed, scan all assets that must be included in Web Help Desk, and then run a System Overview report in ARD. The System Overview Report option exports the asset data to the ARD PostgreSQL database.

1. Download WHDRemoteDesktopBridge.dmg from the SolarWinds Downloads site.

2. Run the bridge installer on the Web Help Desk server.

3. Install Apple Remote Desktop on the discovery database server.

4. Start Apple Remote Desktop and ensure it is scanning for computer systems.

5. Configure ARD for TCP/IP access.

   Ensure that:

   • The Remote Desktop is started before you configure the database for TCP/IP access.
   • You record the Apple script connection settings. The Apple script configures the ARD database to enable TCP/IP access, and then displays your database connection information. Record these connection settings, as you must add them to Web Help Desk.

6. Open Remote Desktop and select the systems to import.

7. Navigate to Report > System Overview and click Run to run a System Overview Report.

   ARD does not remove systems from the database when they are no longer included in a System Overview report. Remove any retired assets from ARD before synchronizing with Web Help Desk.

8. Log in to the Web Help Desk Administrator Console.

9. Click Setup > Assets > Discovery Connections.

10. Click New.

11. In the Connection Name field, enter a name for this connection.

12. From the Discovery Tool drop-down menu, select Apple Remote Desktop.

13. In the Remote Desktop Version row, select 3.2 or earlier.

14. In the Remote Desktop PostgreSQL Database Host, enter the database host name or IP address and the port number.

15. Enter the database name, username, and password of the database containing the asset data table or view.

16. In the Auto-Sync Schedule area, select a synchronization schedule that determines how often Web Help Desk collects properties from the discovered endpoints. To disable automatic synchronization, select Every but do not select a day of the week.

17. If you want to ignore blank values encountered, select the Ignore Blank Discovered Values checkbox.

18. If you wan to synchronize assets found in the discovery connection with the existing assets in Web Help Desk, select the Sync with Existing Assets Only checkbox.

19. In the When Assets Are Removed section, select an action to take if an asset currently in the Web Help Desk database is not found by the discovery tool.

    • Select Delete Asset to delete the asset from the database.

    • Select No Action to leave the asset in the database.

    • Select Set Status To if you want to leave the asset in the database but set its status to another value.

20. Complete the remaining fields as required. See the tooltips for more information.

21. Click the Attribute Mapping tab.

22. Click Edit.

23. Map the desired custom asset fields. The Asset attributes are different for each discovery tool, mapping directly to the values in the discovery tool’s database.

24. Click Save.

25. Click Assets > Search Assets to view your imported assets.