Here's what's new in WHD 12.7.4. You can find the applicable system requirements here.

To view release notes, system requirements, and product guide PDFs for supported versions of WHD, see WHD previous versions. To view release notes for multiple versions and multiple SolarWinds Platform products on a single page, see the release notes aggregator.

 

New features and improvements in WHD

New digital code-signing certificate

WHD 12.7.4 is signed with a new digital code-signing certificate.

OAuth 2.0 integration with Google Gmail

You can now create an incoming mail account in WHD and link the account with your Gmail account using Google Console as a credential provider. After you complete and test the configuration, WHD can access the Gmail account using Open Authentication (OAuth) 2.0, retrieve the incoming email, and generate a new ticket using the data in the email.

Password-protected tech and administrator accounts

All tech and administrator accounts now require a password to edit and save the account information. If you enter an incorrect password after five attempts, WHD times out for 30 seconds before you can re-enter your password. This feature prevents unauthorized access to these accounts.

HSTS support

HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is a web policy that forces a secure HTTPS connection with Transport Layer Security (TLS) between a supported web browser and the WHD server. After you enable the web policy by importing a signed certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA), unauthorized users cannot access data shared between the server and your clients, techs, and administrators.

HSTS is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards track protocol and is specified in RFC 6797.

Enhanced Client user interface

When you click History in the Client user interface and then click a ticket, the Ticket Details section displays a new interface for improved usability. This section includes three drop-down menus: Ticket Notes, Request Details, and Custom Fields.

Fixed customer issues

Case number	Description
00464814	Web Help Desk connected to a Microsoft SQL Server database no longer generates an error when a tech with administrator privileges is connected to more than 2,100 locations.
00357302 00394421 00419060 00527272 00545110	HSTS is now enabled when you log in to the Web Help Desk server. This feature forces an HTTPS connection to the server, providing secure access between your web browser and the server.
00582483	You can now connect Web Help Desk to an SQL database server configured with case sensitive collation running a database with case insensitive collation.
00500413 00524988	The Client and Tech user interfaces now display the correct ticket due dates.
00486229 00545529	Ticket with Arabic characters exported to a PDF now require a supporting font and additional configuration. See Tickets with Arabic characters display hashtags in an exported PDF for instructions.
00511562 00541463	Clicking THWACK in the toolbar now navigates you to the correct Web Help Desk CSS Gallery site on THWACK. Here, you can download and apply CSS templates to the application.
00546832	The ticket due date no longer displays in the Client interface when this option is disabled in Setup > Tickets > Options.
00570058	LDAP clients imported with a company name but no location can now edit the Location field in their profile.
00614150 00617532 00622454 00624765 00629807	Random characters no longer display in request types after an upgrade.
00616651 00618039 00627364 00627433	An unexpected error no longer displays after you upgrade Web Help Desk using SSO with SAML to the next version.
00627670	An unexpected error no longer displays after you define request types for a custom ticket field.
00634011	When you create an FAQ and select a rating, the Vote drop-down menu no longer displays random characters.
00630876	An error no longer displays after you edit the Client Admins permissions.
00565433	When a tech is a member of a tech group configured with 10,000 request types, Web Help Desk no longer hangs when the tech logs in to the application.
00637355 00640481 00641638 00642992	An error message no longer displays when you edit the asset location in a ticket.
00640532	An incorrect text issue that displays in a client bulk action is resolved.
00614199 00632022 00644614	An error no longer displays when you configure an alert level or condition in a ticket chart widget.
00543716	When you create a new request type at Setup > Tickets > Request Types, the Use as FAQ Category option is now labeled FAQ / SolarWinds Integration.
00628668 00622267 00642588 00648073 00654747	WMI connections can now scan computers running Windows 10 version 2004 and 2012.
00638716 00647312 00652077	Logging in to the Web Help Desk Mobile app after you upgrade to Web Help Desk 12.7.3 Hotfix 1 no longer generates an error.

Installation or upgrade

For information about installing Web Help Desk, see the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide.

WHD no longer includes the Network Security Services (NSS) libraries and additional configuration files required to enable Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) mode in the application. These libraries are located at:

• <WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64
• <WebHelpDesk>\conf\additional\fips-140-2

To install WHD 12.7.4 with FIPS mode disabled, install version 12.7.4 on the host server. After you complete the installation, you cannot enable FIPS in a future release.

To install WHD 12.7.4 with FIPS mode enabled, install version 12.7.2 first. After you complete the installation, upgrade to version 12.7.4 with the FIPS configuration files saved from the 12.7.2 release. When the upgrade is completed, enable FIPS mode.

SQL Server database collation requirements

If you plan to use a Microsoft SQL Server database for your deployment, verify that the server collation in your database is set to case insensitive before you run the installer. If it is set to case sensitive, create a new case insensitive database using SQL Server Management Studio.

See Prepare your WHD database in the WHD Administrator Guide for details.

How to upgrade

If you are upgrading from a previous version, see the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide. This guide provides steps and procedures for installing and upgrading WHD in an evaluation, stand-alone, or integrated Orion deployment.

If FIPS is not enabled in your WHD deployment, no additional configuration is required during the upgrade procedure. However, you cannot enable FIPS in a future release.

If FIPS is enabled in your WHD deployment, copy the following files to another location before you upgrade:

• <WebHelpDesk>\bin\nss-x64
• <WebHelpDesk>\conf\additional\fips-140-2

When you upgrade WHD, copy the directories back to their original locations during the upgrade procedure.

To upgrade with FIPS mode disabled, see the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide.

To upgrade with FIPS mode enabled, see the WHD Administrator Guide.

Install the MySQL JDBC driver

Beginning with WHD 12.7.1, Oracle Java is replaced with the Open Java Development Kit (OpenJDK). This update modifies the directory structure where the MySQL JDBC driver is installed. To prevent errors after the upgrade, install the driver on your host server in the new location to prevent errors in the application after the upgrade.

See Install the MySQL JDBC Driver in the WHD Administrator Guide for installation instructions.

Upgrade your Apache Tomcat software

The software installer includes Apache Tomcat 9.0.37, which provides enhanced security and is required for this release.

When you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, the upgrade procedure replaces the (WebHelpDesk)\conf\tomcat_web_template.xml file with an updated file that includes the Tomcat settings.

Before you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, back up your current tomcat_web_template.xml file to an external directory. When the upgrade is completed, add your personal settings to the updated file from your backup file.

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