Remote Assistance

Q.  What is Remote Assistance?

A.  Remote assistance (also referred to as remote support) is a tool developed for use by SLT support teams which aims to enable them to quickly and efficiently diagnose and solve problems with administration computers and MIS software (SIMS etc).

Q.  How can I find out if I have it installed?

A.  If the software is installed on your machine, there will be two remote assistance icons on the desktop of your computer - a green button which says "Start Staffs ICT Remote Assistance" and a red "Stop Staffs ICT Remote Assistance" icon.

Q.  How does it work?

A.  When you call SLT with a problem, you may be asked to start remote support by double-clicking on the green start icon. This opens a secure "tunnel" between your machine and the support machine, allowing the support team to log in and view your computer.

Q.  Who has control of the keyboard and mouse?

A.  Both you and the Support Officer can control the computer. Generally, when they are connected, you should assume that the Support Officer is in control of your computer. However, they may ask you to demonstrate the problems you have been having so that they can get a better idea of what has been happening.

Q.  Can you access and take control of my computer without me knowing?

A.  Unless you have clicked on the green icon to start a session, we cannot get onto your computer via remote assistance. When we have finished working on your machine, we will usually double-click the red icon to end the session, meaning that we no longer have control over your machine. If you are unsure as to whether we have closed the session or not, you can double-click the red icon yourself - it will close the session if it remains open, and return an error message if we have closed it already.

Q.  What happens to sessions that aren't closed? Do they stay open forever?

A.  No. Any open sessions will be closed automatically any time your machine is shut down. Any sessions which remain open overnight are automatically closed at midnight by a scheduled task.

Q.  Is remote assistance available to everyone?

A.  As it runs across the broadband network, remote assistance is only available to schools which have broadband provided by the County. The machines must also be connected to the school's administration network.

Q.  I know that other admin machines within the school have remote assistance installed, but I don't seem to have the icons. Can I install it myself?

A.  Yes. The install process is quite simple so if you call Service Desk and log a call, we should be able to talk you through it.

Q.  I keep getting emails to tell me about remote assistance sessions. When are these sent, and what do they mean?

A.  These emails are automatically generated and sent every time a remote assistance session is closed. They report the details of the session as well as the connections made to it by support officers. It is possible for more than one connection to be made to a session, as often happens if the call is passed between support teams.

Q.  Do you have any way of reporting the details of remote assistance sessions?

A.  All sessions are recorded in a database, from which we can generate reports about how many sessions and connections have been made to a specific school within a given time period.

Q.  How do I change the contact details in the remote assistance software?

The contact details for each school are stored in a database at Hixon. These include the contact name to be used for any calls relating to the administration network, and the email address to which remote assistance notification emails are sent. As we realise that from time to time these details may need to be altered, for example when the member of staff concerned changes, we have provided tools for each school to update the relevant details.

On the server/clone machine, open up the start menu and go to All Programs. "Staffs ICT Remote Support Admin Tools" should be listed and expand out to "Edit School Details". Select this and it will display the details currently recorded at Hixon. By clicking the "Edit" button, changing any necessary information and clicking "Update", it is quick and easy for a school to make any alterations.

Last Modified: 07/11/2008 14:46:09

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