Supportworks Client Installation Requirements

Pre-installation Requirements

Before you install the Supportworks client, check that the computer on which it is to be installed has the requisite minimum specifications, as defined in Client Hardware Requirements in Appendix A of the Supportworks ESP Server Installation Guide.

There are also a number of aspects of your network and computer environment to consider before installation can proceed. These are as follows:

• Make sure that the Supportworks server software has been installed somewhere on your network, and that your computer has access to it. You should make a note of the server's (DNS- or WINS-resolvable) name or IP address, as you will need it during the installation.

• If it is necessary to restrict Supportworks usage to one analyst on the workstation where you will be installing the client, be aware that the Windows user account under which the client will be run must be the same as the one in which it will have been installed, and that this account must be a member of either the Local Administrators group or the local Power Users group. If the person installing the client is a Local Administrator, they will have the option of making the client available to all analysts at the workstation concerned.

• Assuming that you intend to install the client on a computer running Windows 7 or later, and that the person expected to run the client once installed will not be you, then (even though the Windows firewall may apparently be disabled) you must first configure the firewall on that computer for required exceptions by entering the following two commands in the Windows Run dialogue:

netsh firewall set allowedprogram "C:\Program Files\Hornbill\Supportworks Client\SwLauncher.exe" "Supportworks Client Launcher"
netsh firewall set allowedprogram "(%APPDATA)\Supportworks Clients\Supportworks Clients x.x.x\swcli8.exe" "Supportworks Client"
netsh firewall set allowedprogram "(%APPDATA)\Supportworks Clients\Supportworks Clients x.x.x\SwMessenger.exe" "Supportworks Messenger"

(where the file paths shown assume a default client installation, and should be suitably adjusted if necessary, with "x.x.x" being the Supportworks version you will be installing)

These commands will force Windows to keep open all ports required by the main client and the Supportworks Messenger to communicate with the Supportworks server, irrespective of the user account.