Integrating with ServiceDesk Plus (SDP) MSP

• Overview
  • About the integration
  • Logging trouble tickets
• Version Compatibility
• Configuring ServiceDesk Plus in Applications Manager
  • Prerequisites
  • Steps to configure
• Ticket Settings
  • Reopen Settings
  • Update Settings
  • Accessing from Applications Manager

Overview

About the integration

ServiceDesk Plus - MSP help-desk software is specifically built for managed service providers. ServiceDesk Plus - MSP helps service providers. With the integrated Applications Manager and ServiceDesk Plus management solution, service providers like can get end-to-end visibility of your client's IT infrastructure.

Logging trouble tickets

Applications Manager has the ability to automatically log trouble tickets for a specific alarms and to notify the concerned technician when a particular process exceeds the set threshold point. Along with the provision to e-mail, SMS, and other notifications, alarms can also be tracked by automatically logging trouble tickets to ServiceDesk Plus. Applications Manager takes care of the two way synching of Alerts & Tickets status from SDP. For example, you can automatically log a ticket when an alarm is raised, reopen the ticket whenever an alarm reoccurs or close the ticket if the alarm is cleared. In addition to this, the alerts under the Alarms tab include a Ticket Icon which loads the ticket raised when clicked on.

Version Compatibility

Below is the version compatibility of Applications Manager with ServiceDesk Plus MSP (SDP MSP):

Configuring ServiceDesk Plus in Applications Manager

This section describes the method in which ServiceDesk Plus Settings are to be configured in Applications Manager:

Prerequisites

• ServiceDesk Plus must be reachable from Applications Manager
• The technician used to integrate ServiceDesk Plus MSP with Applications Manager must have SDAdmin privilege. This is to allow access to the form data from ServiceDesk Plus MSP so that it can be loaded in the Create a new ticket action page in Applications Manager.
• It is mandatory to have the Sample Account and Sample Site for successful integration. In case these are deleted, a sample ticket cannot be executed during Test and Save configuration in Applications Manager

Steps to configure

1. Under Settings tab, click on Add-On Settings under Product Settings.
2. Click on the Add icon shown under the ServiceDesk Plus MSP section. This will take you to the ServiceDesk Plus MSP Server Details page.
3. Configuring ServiceDesk Plus Settings in Applications Manager can be done in two ways: Using REST APIs or Using Credentials.
   1. Using REST APIs:This feature supports Applications Manager with ServiceDesk Plus integration using SDP REST API Keys and automatic closing of tickets. Follow the steps below to configure ServiceDesk Plus Settings in Applications Manager:
      • Under the Use Rest API tab, enter the ServiceDesk Plus Server Details, specify the product that you wish to add - ServiceDesk Plus or ServiceDesk Plus - MSP.
      • Name of the server and port number where ServiceDesk Plus is running
      • Enter the REST API key. (While a ticket action is created, and a technician is assigned from the Log a Ticket form, the technician must have an SDAdmin privilege in SDP. Make sure that the technician whose key you are using has SDAdmin privilege in SDP.)
      • Select one of the given protocols: http or https(SSL).
      • Check the Enable Mail Notification for Connectivity Failurecheckbox if you wish to trigger mail notifications in case of connectivity failures. After enabling this option, enter the following details:
        • Configure the email to which the notification has to be sent. You can configure either by choosing Admin email (Mail address configured for the admin user or the mail address in SMTP configuration) or by selecting email actions to be triggered for the selected email from the dropdown.
        • Enable the Append Custom Message checkbox if you want to append customized text messages along with the mail notifcation.
        • Enable the Repeat mails until successful connection checkbox to repeat mail notifications until connection is established successfully. After enabling, specify the Repeat Interval (in minutes) after which mail notification has to be repeated.
      • By checking the Advanced Settings checkbox, you have the option to enable ticketing where you configure the necessary Ticket Settings.
      • Test if the connection is working and save the settings.
   2. Using Credentials (deprecated if using SDP version above 9101):
      • Under Admin tab, click on ServiceDesk Settings
      • Enter the ServiceDesk Plus Server Details
        • Enter the Name of the server where ServiceDesk Plus is running.
        • Enter the Port Number of that server.
      • Enter the Authentication Details of the ServiceDesk Plus Server - Login and Password.
      • Enter the Email Address configured in ServiceDesk Plus. All the trouble tickets generated would be sent to that Email ID.
      • Enter the Email Address from which the trouble tickets should be sent.
      • Test if the connection is working and save the settings.

Ticket Settings

• Reopen Settings
• Update Settings
• Accessing from Applications Manager

Reopen Settings

1. Set Applications Manager to perform one of the following actions when an alarm is raised again for a closed ticket:
   • To reopen the ticket whenever an alarm is reoccured.
   • To reopen the ticket within a certain number of days from the closed time. If the ticket is not reopened, a new ticket is automatically created. (To reopen the ticket whenever an alarm is reoccured within a certain number of days else open a new ticket.)
   • To create a new ticket or to open a new ticket whenever an alarm has re-occured.
2. Set Applications Manager to perform one of the following actions when an alarm is raised again for a resolved ticket:
   • To reopen the ticket whenever an alarm is re-occured.
   • To reopen the ticket within a certain number of days from the closed time. If the ticket is not reopened, a new ticket is automatically created. (To reopen the ticket whenever an alarm is reoccured within a certain number of days, else open a new ticket.)
   • To create a new ticket or to open a new ticket whenever an alarm has re-occured.
3. Set Applications Manager to perform one of the following actions when an alarm is raised for an entity that was previously clear and if the existing ticket in HelpDesk is not closed/resolved:
   • To update the existing ticket whenever an alarm is re-occured.
   • To update the existing ticket within a certain number of days from the clear alert. If the ticket is not updated, a new ticket is automatically created. (To update the existing ticket whenever an alarm is reoccured within a certain number of days, else open a new ticket.)
   • To update the notes associated with that ticket.
   • To create a new ticket or to open a new ticket whenever an alarm has re-occured.
4. Enable on-demand ticket generation using :
   • Raise a ticket action, so that you can raise a ticket on demand using a ticket action from alarms page. The new on-demand tickets are mapped to the respective configuration items.
   • Request Form, so that you can raise a ticket on demand using the request form from alarms page. The new on-demand tickets are mapped to the respective configuration items.

Update Settings

1. Set Applications Manager to perform one of the following actions when the severity of an alarm is changed / RCA of the alarm is updated for an already created ticket:
   • To update the ticket.
   • To update the notes associated with that ticket.
2. Set Applications Manager to perform one of the following actions when an alarm is cleared for a ticket:
   • To close the ticket.
   • To update the notes associated with that ticket.
3. Set Applications Manager to perform one of the following actions when a monitor or a ticket action or a metric is deleted for a ticket:
   • To close the ticket.
   • To update the notes associated with that ticket.
4. Update the ticket only if there is a status change in the alarm.
   • If enabled, action is triggered only when there is a status change in alarm.
5. Add notes for the ticket whenever an annotation is made for the alarm.

Accessing from Applications Manager

1. Access ticket details from Application Manager. User can access the ticket details from the ticket details link in the alert details page.
2. Launch Read-only ticket. When selected, the ticket details launched from Applications Manager would be read only.
3. Over-write the request template with the fields selected in the action profile.
   • This option is disabled by default. In Log a ticket action, on selecting the Incident template, the other fields will be hidden. The default values of the Incident template chosen would be used to log the trouble ticket in ServiceDesk Plus.
   • If enabled, the other fields will become visible, thereby, allowing the user to modify the default fields of the Incident template.