1. How to enable secure login (HTTPS) ?

1. Select Admin --> Server Settings.
2. Select the "Enable Secure Login (Https)" option and Save

Questions

2. How to move Desktop Central Server installation from one machine to another without losing any data?

To move the Desktop Central installation from one machine to another, follow the steps below:

Case 1: If all the computers managed using Desktop Central is in the same LAN

1. Stop Desktop Central Server using Start --> Programs --> ManageEngine Desktop Central 6 --> Stop Desktop Central
2. Upgrade the Desktop Central Server in the existing installation to build number 60229 or above. Refer to here to download and install the latest hotfix.
3. Copy the <Install_Dir>/DesktopCentral_Server directory from the old installation to the computer where you wish to move the installation.
4. From the new installation, execute the Migrate-DCServer.bat located in the <Install_Dir>/DesktopCentral_Server/bin directory.
5. If you have the database running in a different computer, follow these additional steps in the computer where MySQL database is running:
   1. Open the file DesktopCentral_Server\bin\mysql-privilege.bat and set the SERVER_HOST_NAME with the computer name or ip-address of the machine where the Desktop Central server is being moved.
   2. From the computer where MySQL database is running, execute the mysql-privilege.bat located in the <Install_Dir>/DesktopCentral_Server/bin directory. The mysql service should be running when you execute this command.
6. Start the Desktop Central Server in the new installation and connect to the Web client.
7. Update the IP Address, Port, and DNS Name of the computer where Desktop Central Server is installed in all the agents residing in the client computers. If the IP Address and DNS Name is same as the previous, you can skip the step.
   
   To update the IP Address, DNS name and the Server Port, select all the managed Computers from Scope of Management (SoM) page and click Install Agent. If the agent installation fails, check whether the computer is up and then try again.

Case 2: If you have added computers from both LAN and Branch Offices (WAN)

1. Stop Desktop Central Server using Start --> Programs --> ManageEngine Desktop Central 6 --> Stop Desktop Central
2. Upgrade the Desktop Central Server in the existing installation to build number 60229 or above. Refer to here to download and install the latest hotfix.
3. Update the IP Address and DNS Name of the Desktop Central Server in all the agents residing in the client computers. If the same IP Address and DNS Name (of the old computer)is configured in the new computer to which you are moving the installation, you can skip the steps below.
   
   Define a Registry Settings Configuration for computers in the old installation as below:
   1. Select Configurations --> Templates. This will list all the Templates available in Desktop Central.
   2. Click the Create Configuration link from the Action column for "Move DCServer to another computer" template.
   3. Modify the Registry Settings and specify the Data/Expression for the values as below:
      1. DCServerName: The name of the machine to which the installation is being moved.
      2. DCServer Port: Specify the port number of the Desktop Central Server. The default port is 8020. If you have changed the port, specify the port number here.
      3. DCServerIPAddress: The IP Address of the machine to which the installation is being moved.
   4. Select the target computers that includes all the computers that are defined in the Scope of Management (SoM).
   5. Deploy the Configuration.
4. Make sure that the Desktop Central Server in the old installation is up and running till the Registry Configuration is applied in all the computers that are defined in the SoM. When you get the status as Executed for the Registry Configuration that you have deployed, you can stop the Desktop Central Server in the old installation.
5. Copy the <Install_Dir>/DesktopCentral_Server directory from the old installation to the computer where you wish to move the installation.
6. From the new installation, execute the Migrate-DCServer.bat located in the <Install_Dir>/DesktopCentral_Server/bin directory.
7. If you have the database running in a different computer, follow these additional steps in the computer where MySQL database is running:
   1. Open the file DesktopCentral_Server\bin\mysql-privilege.bat and set the SERVER_HOST_NAME with the computer name or ip-address of the machine where the Desktop Central server is being moved.
   2. Start the MySQL service using the command: net start DesktopCentral-MySQL
   3. Execute the mysql-privilege.bat located in the <Install_Dir>/DesktopCentral_Server/bin directory.
8. Start the Desktop Central Server in the new installation and check whether all the configurations and other data is intact.
9. You can now uninstall Desktop Central from the old installation. Ignore the message asking to uninstall the agents from the client machines.

3. How can I configure Desktop Central server and MySQL database to run in different computers?

Follow the steps below to have the database used by Desktop Central in a different computer:

Steps to be performed in the computer where Desktop Central server is installed

1. Open the file DesktopCentral_Server\conf\Persistence\persistence-configurations.xml and change the below value as specified.
   
   StartDBServer=false (default is true applicable for local DB)
   
   
2. Open the file DesktopCentral_Server\conf\database_params.conf and replace the 'localhost' in the below specified with the machine name or ip-address of remote computer where the DB is running (or going to run).
   url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:23306/desktopcentral
   
   [Note: In case of changing the port, change 23306 to desired free port. Also change DB_PORT value in DesktopCentral_Server\bin\setCommonEnv.bat]
   
   
3. Copy the below files(with same directory structure) in the remote computer where the DB needs to be installed. Ensure that MySQL Service is not running when you copy these files.
   DesktopCentral_Server\bin\setCommonEnv.bat
   DesktopCentral_Server\bin\mysql-service.bat
   DesktopCentral_Server\bin\mysql-privilege.bat
   DesktopCentral_Server\mysql\** (complete folder)
   

Steps to be followed in the Remote Computer where the Database has to be installed

1. Open the file DesktopCentral_Server\bin\mysql-privilege.bat and set the SERVER_HOST_NAME with the computer name or ip-address of the machine where the Desktop Central server is running.
2. Open a command prompt, and goto DesktopCentral_Server\bin
3. Execute the below commands in the same order:
   mysql-service.bat  install     (this command will register mysql as service with the name as DesktopCentral-MySQL)
   
   net start DesktopCentral-MySQL   (this command will start the mysql service, alternatively you can use Services snap-in from Control Panel to start/stop the service)
   
   mysql-privilege.bat(execute this command only after the mysql service has successfully started)

4. How to change the Web Server port used by Desktop Central?

Desktop Central, by default uses port 8020 for agent-server communication and to access the Web client. This port can be chosen during the installation of Desktop Central. If you wish to change the port after installation, follow the steps below:

1. Stop the Desktop Central Server.
2. Edit the server.xml located under <Install_Dir>\DesktopCentral_Server\conf directory.
3. Search for the phrase: name="WebServer". You will find the port number specified beside this (default: port=8020). This port will be used for normal communication(HTTP) between the Desktop Central Server and Agents. Change the port to a desired value.
4. Search for the phrase: name="SSL". You will find the port number specified beside this (default: port=8383). This port will be used for secured communication(HTTPS) between the Desktop Central Server and the Agents. Change this port number to a desired number.
5. Save the server.xml after making the necessary changes.
6. Start the Desktop Central Server and connect to the Web client using the port number you have specified.

The next step is to update the Desktop Central agents with the new port number. The Desktop Central agents will contact the Desktop Central Server to pull the instructions that are available to them. Follow the steps below to update the port number in the agent that reside in the client computers:

1. For computers in the local LAN (same as that of the Desktop Central Server), select the Computers from the Scope of Management page and click Install Agent. This will automatically update the agents with the new port number.
2. For computers in the branch offices (WAN), download the configureDCAgentServerCommunication.txt and rename it to configureDCAgentServerCommunication.vbs (applicable only for Desktop Central 6 and below).
   
   If you are running Desktop Central 7 and above, use this script instead: configureDCAgentServerCommunication_7.txt
   
   Run this script from each of your branch office computers as below:
   
   cscript configureDCAgentServerCommunication.vbs <ServerName> <ServerIP> <HTTP Port> <HTTPS Port> <Protocol>
   
   where,
   
   <ServerName> refers to the DNS name of the computer where Desktop Central Server is installed
   <ServerIP> refers to the IP Address of the computer where Desktop Central Server is installed
   <HTTP Port> refers to the normal port that the agents use to contact the Desktop Central Server
   <HTTPS Port> refers to the secured port that the agents use to contact the Desktop Central Server (default is 8383).
   <Protocol> refers to the communication protocol between the atent and the server i.e. HTTP or HTTPS
   
   To execute the script on multiple computers, run the script from each of your branch offices as below:
   
   
   1. Create a network share (eg. \\MyServer\MyShare).
   2. Download the script configureDCAgentServerCommunication.txt.
   3. Rename it to configureDCAgentServerCommunication.vbs. Save the vb script in the network share created in step 1
   4. Download the PsExec utility from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx and save it in, for example, C:
   5. Run the script using the following command from the dos prompt
      
      C:\for /f %f in (c:\computernames.txt) do psexec \\%f -u <domain>\administrator -p <password> CSCRIPT \\MyServer\MyShare\configureDCAgentServerCommunication.vbs <ServerName> <ServerIP> <HTTP Port> <HTTPS Port> <Protocol>
      
      where,
      
      computernames.txt contains a list of computers where you need to install the agent, which has to be specified with its complete path
      <domain> refers to the domain or the workgroup name
      <password> refers to the domain or the workgroup administrator password
      <ServerName> refers to the DNS name of the computer where Desktop Central Server is installed
      <ServerIP> refers to the IP Address of the computer where Desktop Central Server is installed
      <HTTP Port> refers to the normal port that the agents use to contact the Desktop Central Server
      <HTTPS Port> refers to the secured port that the agents use to contact the Desktop Central Server
      <Protocol> refers to the communication protocol between the atent and the server i.e. HTTP or HTTPS