Documentation forWeb Help Desk
Important security updates are available for WHD. SolarWinds recommends you upgrade to version 12.8.3 Hotfix 3.

WHD 12.8 release notes

Release date: October 18, 2023
Updated: January 17, 2024

These release notes were last updated on August 16, 2024.

Important security updates are available for WHD. SolarWinds recommends all customers upgrade to version WHD 12.8.3 Hotfix 3.

Here's what's new in Web Help Desk 12.8.

Learn more

New features and improvements in WHD

Enhanced CAB process

WHD 12.8, SolarWinds introduced the Enhanced CAB process to address customer feature requests. Because of improvements in ITIL, customers asked for the ability Reject/Decline change requests in the CAB (Change Advisory Board) module. This feature is also essential from audit perspective.

The original CAB process

Using the original CAB process, you could set a minimum number of approvers. For example, you could require only three approvers. If a change request were then sent to five approvers, the request was considered approved if three of the five approvers clicked Yes to approve the request.

The Enhanced CAB process

For organizations that choose to use the enhanced CAB process:

  • To get a CAB request approved, all CAB members must approve it. No minimum approvers are required to approve a CAB request.

  • To get a CAB request rejected, a single CAB member must decline it, no matter who declines first or what other CAB members have voted.

Enable the enhanced CAB process

A toggle button was added under the What’s New Widget on the Ticket Dashboard. If the What’s New Widget has not been added on the Ticket Dashboard, you need to add it.

From the Whats New widget on the Ticket Dashboard, make a selection:

  • Existing CAB Process: Minimum Approver number can be set.

  • New CAB Process: All Approvers page will have Approve/Decline Button and even if one CAB member Rejects, the change request moves to the Decline state.

Selecting a CAB process is a one-time action; it cannot be reverted. However until a user makes a selection, WHD will consider the existing CAB Process as the default CAB Process.

Before choosing CAB Process using the toggle button please review the following:

What's different in the UI

Changes in the UI are explained below.

The approval UI if the Old CAB Process (existing process) is selected

The approval UI if the New CAB Process is selected

My Vote button for Existing CAB Process in email alert

My Vote button for New CAB Process in email alert

You can also see instructions on how to enable the enhanced CAB process after you complete an upgrade and then perform the steps required to enable the enhanced CAB process.

Purchase order column sets

  1. Login with a Tech/Admin account.

  2. Navigate to the horizontal menu. Go to Asset > Purchase Order.

  3. Click + in the purchase order toolbar to create a new column set.

  4. Enter a name to identify the column set.

  5. Choose which columns to include by dragging column labels into or out of the Selected Columns list.

  6. Specify the order of the columns by dragging column labels up or down in the list to arrange them.

  7. Click Save.

You can also see instructions in Add new columns to Purchase Order

Improved password policy

The new password policy requires all users to enter passwords that are more secure and harder to guess. All WHD passwords must meet the policy requirements.

This feature determines whether passwords must meet a series of strong-password guidelines.

A password dialog-box/error message displays when a user enters weak password or one that doesn't match the policy requirements.

All users must create passwords that meet the following requirements:

  • At least 12 characters
  • At least one uppercase character
  • At least one lowercase character
  • At least one number
  • At least one special character

If any password requirement is not met, a message displays on the screen.

The password policy rules apply when you create a new technician or client user account and when users change their password. This rule also applies when you create the first technician or administrator user during the installation procedure and when a user creates a password using the Forgot Password link.

See Password policy.

Updated cryptographic protocol support

This release supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 for improved data protection between two endpoints over a network.

TLS 1.3 supports the Advanced Encryption Standard - Galois/Counter Mode (AES-GCM) cryptographic method that was updated in the WHD 12.7.12 release.

Restrict uploads by file type

You can now restrict specific file types from being uploaded into WHD. See Restrict specific file types from being uploaded for more information.

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Fixes

Case number Description

01202962

The Asset Type and Model fields in the Asset Info tab of a Web Help Ticket now function properly.

01316924

01336161

01336194

The password complexity requirements policy setting was updated. This setting ensures that passwords meet a series of strong-password guidelines to prevent unauthorized access to the application.

01424944

01439159

When you enter text in the ticket Tech Note field that includes an apostrophe, an error message no longer displays after you save the note.

01404458

Editing an existing ticket no longer reassigns the ticket to another technician.

01404458

Saving an Out of Office message no longer requires an extended amount of time to complete.

01436721

01451836

01465987

An error message no longer displays when you open an existing ticket.

Before you upgrade!

If you are upgrading from a previous version, determine the upgrade path for your WHD deployment.

Upgrade your embedded PostgreSQL database

If you are running version 12.7.8 with the embedded PostgreSQL 13.3 database, follow the instructions in the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide to upgrade your deployment to version 12.8.

If you are located outside the continental United States, contact Technical Support for assistance with upgrading to WHD 12.8 with the embedded PostgreSQL 13.9 database.

If you are running version 12.7.6 or earlier with the embedded PostgreSQL 9.x.x database, upgrade to 12.7.7 with PostgreSQL 13.9 first. See How to upgrade Web Help Desk to version 12.7.7 using PostgreSQL as the database for details. When you are finished, follow the instructions in the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide to upgrade your deployment to version 12.8.

Install the MySQL JDBC driver

Beginning with WHD 12.7.1, Oracle Java was replaced with the OpenJDK. This update modifies the directory structure where the MySQL Java Database Connectivity (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 9.0.69, which provides enhanced security and is required for this release.

When you upgrade your WHD software, the upgrade procedure replaces the <WebHelpDesk>\conf\tomcat_web_template.xml file with an updated file including the Tomcat 9.0.69 settings.

Before you upgrade, 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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Installation or upgrade

For new installations, you can download the installer from the SolarWinds website or from the Customer Portal. For more information, see the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide.

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 take to start using the application.

WHD supports Windows Server 2019 and 2022 for production environments and Windows 11 for trial evaluations. These operating system require additional setup to install. See the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide for instructions.

To install WHD and enable FIPS, see Enable FIPS in a new deployment in the WHD Administrator Guide.

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 in the WHD Administrator Guide.

If you are installing WHD 12.7.12 with FIPS mode disabled, make sure version 12.7.9 is running on the host server before you install. When the installation is completed, enable FIPS mode.

For upgrades, use the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide to plan and execute your upgrade. When you are ready, download the upgrade package from the SolarWinds Customer Portal.

You must be running WHD 12.7.7 or later to upgrade to WHD 12.8. If you are running WHD 12.7.6 or earlier, first upgrade to 12.7.7 and then upgrade to 12.8. See Determine the upgrade path to the latest WHD version based on the version you are currently using.

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