Here's what's new in WHD 12.7.7. 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

Improved location search

Starting with this release, you can search for a location using a wildcard (*) symbol. This format allows you to search for a location that end, begins, or contains the location name.

New asset management bulk delete

Bulk actions allow you to apply a set of changes to multiple assets. Beginning in this release, you can select and delete multiple asset types and manufacturers in the WHD Administrator Console.

Create and view companies using API calls

Starting with this release, you can create, update, delete, and search for companies using API calls.

Updated tech permissions for accessing SolarWinds Integration

Starting with this release, techs without administrator privileges cannot access or set up a SolarWinds Orion alert integration with the Orion Platform. The new permission requirement ensures that only authorized personnel can manage this connection.

New security improvements in WHD

WHD 12.7.7 offers the following new security improvements compared to previous WHD releases:

• Improvements to help prevent Denial of Service Attacks (DoS)

• Improvements to prevent URL parameter abuse

Fixed customer issues

Case number	Description
00023230 00520597 00772544	Web Help Desk no longer allows techs without permission to change ticket priority or status using bulk action.
00036982 00060943 00617340 00887442	Action rules now run correctly when uploading attachments.
00589140	Techs without administrative privileges can no longer access SolarWinds Integration in the web console.
00229961 00239678	When you create a ticket, any text entered in the Detailed Instructions field now displays correctly in the ticket and corresponding emails.
00833258 00858309	FAQs no longer display HTML formatting tags.
00840285	You can now download attachments that include Hebrew characters in the file name.
00810240	Request types now display in alphabetical order.
00876194	When a client updates a ticket, a yellow indicator now displays next to the assigned tech in the ticket lists.
00870249	When a tech edits an FAQ, the tech can now click View Source and append the FAQ with a new line of text.
00860787	Clients can now download an attachment with a .pcap file extension.
00868771	When you create a ticket with an action rule based on a location, the corresponding action rule will now trigger based on the selected location.
00882870	When you upgrade from version 12.7.6 and earlier to 12.7.7, the embedded PostgreSQL database now upgrades correctly.
00883161 00883692	Emails are no longer delayed when a process is triggered in the Web Help Desk Administrator Console.
00864393	Clients with missing required fields in their profile can now log in to Web Help Desk using an SSO connection.
00821151	Clients can now access all tickets with long URLs in the Client interface.
00873854	Updating a location no longer changes the default priority.
00893792	Request types now display in descending order.
00901435	You can now search for a location using a wildcard (*) in the following formats: *example - Displays all locations that end with "example" example* - Displays all locations that begin with "example" *example* - Displays all locations that contain "example"
00801739	The application no longer generates an error when navigating in the web console.
00899190	Request types now display in descending order after appending a ticket custom field.
00899712	Tickets that include request details and notes with BBCode now display correctly when exported to a PDF.
00899711	Ticket notes with tables now display correctly in the client email.
00902371	FAQs now display correctly for all techs without administrator privileges.
00862456	Pages with scrollable content now render correctly in the client interface.
00910350	The FAQ index now displays FAQs correctly in the web console.
00912162	An action rule now changes a request type when triggered.
00838063 00854458	An error no longer displays when you generate a PDF of any ticket that contains an invalid link.
00916788	Web links are no longer broken in the tickets review page and ticket emails sent to clients.
00926016	An error no longer displays when you open an attachment in the Client console during a ticket approval.

Installation or upgrade

See the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide for details about installing WHD. After you complete the installation, see the WHD Getting Started Guide. This guide picks up right after the installation process and walks you through the initial steps you need to start using the application.

WHD no longer includes the additional configuration files required to enable Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) mode in the application. To install WHD and enable FIPS, see Enable FIPS in a new deployment located in the WHD Administrator Guide.

To install WHD with FIPS mode disabled, install WHD on the host server. When the installation 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.

Upgrade your FIPS deployment

If FIPS is enabled in your WHD 12.7.2 through 12.7.4 deployment, copy the following files to another location before you upgrade:

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

When you are finished, upgrade to 12.7.5, and then upgrade to 12.7.7.

See the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide for details.

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 9.0.48, 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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