Dell SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide

Brand: Dell

Model: SupportAssist for Business PCs

Type: Administrator Guide

SupportAssist for Business PCs with

Windows OS

Administrator Guide

May 2021

Rev. A05

Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid

the problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................. 5

Version................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Audience................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Document purpose.............................................................................................................................................................. 5

New features and enhancements in this release......................................................................................................... 5

TechDirect overview...........................................................................................................................................................6

SupportAssist capabilities available in TechDirect and Dell service plans............................................................. 6

SupportAssist capabilities and roles in TechDirect......................................................................................................6

Supported systems..............................................................................................................................................................7

Dispatchable parts............................................................................................................................................................... 7

Minimum system requirements........................................................................................................................................ 8

Chapter 2: Configuring and deploying SupportAssist................................................................... 10

Configure SupportAssist.................................................................................................................................................. 10

Managing SupportAssist preferences......................................................................................................................11

Download SupportAssist from TechDirect...................................................................................................................12

Create SupportAssist deployment package.................................................................................................................12

Deploy SupportAssist for business PCs........................................................................................................................13

Updating SupportAssist for business PCs................................................................................................................... 14

Run SupportAssist self-diagnosis test.......................................................................................................................... 14

Chapter 3: Modifying deployed SupportAssist configuration........................................................15

Modify and redeploy SupportAssist...............................................................................................................................15

Chapter 4: PC insights................................................................................................................. 17

Insights dashboard............................................................................................................................................................. 17

Metrics for specific system............................................................................................................................................. 18

Chapter 5: Managing your assets................................................................................................ 20

Manage Assets...................................................................................................................................................................20

My Assets............................................................................................................................................................................20

Create service request................................................................................................................................................21

Create dispatch request............................................................................................................................................ 22

Check dispatch status................................................................................................................................................22

Review warranty..........................................................................................................................................................22

Download asset inventory data................................................................................................................................23

Organizing assets and groups........................................................................................................................................ 23

Sites and asset groups............................................................................................................................................... 23

Create asset group......................................................................................................................................................24

Move assets between existing groups................................................................................................................... 24

Update site or group name........................................................................................................................................24

Delete asset group...................................................................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 6: Managing single PC....................................................................................................26

Contents

Contents 3

Asset Details.......................................................................................................................................................................26

Actionable PC recommendations for a single PC......................................................................................................26

Chapter 7: Recommendations for your PCs................................................................................. 28

Chapter 8: Managing SupportAssist alerts in TechDirect.............................................................30

Configure alert rules in TechDirect...............................................................................................................................30

View SupportAssist alerts in TechDirect......................................................................................................................31

SupportAssist alerts.......................................................................................................................................................... 31

SupportAssist alert actions....................................................................................................................................... 32

Integrating SupportAssist alerts with ServiceNow................................................................................................... 32

Enable ServiceNow integration................................................................................................................................32

Disable ServiceNow integration............................................................................................................................... 33

Chapter 9: Retrieve SupportAssist data using WMI..................................................................... 34

Chapter 10: Resources.................................................................................................................37

4 Contents

Introduction

SupportAssist is a proactive and predictive technology that provides automated technical support for your Dell systems.

When deployed, SupportAssist monitors each system and proactively detects both hardware and software issues. Depending on

your service plan, when an issue is detected, SupportAssist automatically opens a support case with technical support and sends

you an email notification.

SupportAssist collects and sends the required system information securely to Dell technical support. The collected information

enables Dell to provide you an enhanced, efficient, and accelerated support experience.

SupportAssist enables you to optimize your system by removing unwanted files, optimizing network settings, tuning-up system

performance, and removing virus and malware. It also identifies driver updates available for your system.

Topics:

• Version

• Audience

• Document purpose

• New features and enhancements in this release

• TechDirect overview

• SupportAssist capabilities available in TechDirect and Dell service plans

• SupportAssist capabilities and roles in TechDirect

• Supported systems

• Dispatchable parts

• Minimum system requirements

Version

2.4.1

Audience

The information in this deployment guide is intended primarily for administrators who manage SupportAssist on PCs running the

Windows operating system.

Document purpose

This document provides information about configuring and deploying SupportAssist on business PCs running the Windows

operating system. Additionally, you can find information about managing your assets and SupportAssist alerts through

TechDirect.

New features and enhancements in this release

● Early access to next generation user experience for SupportAssist in TechDirect.

● Ability to view a record of the group management and remote actions related changes and activities performed in last 30

days on the Audit trail page.

● View updates to Dell applications installed on your PC, along with BIOS, firmware, and driver updates.

● Improved the criteria based on which the Recommended and Optional driver updates applicable for your PC are displayed.

Introduction 5

TechDirect overview

TechDirect is an online portal that enables you to configure SupportAssist, download a customized SupportAssist package, and

manage SupportAssist alerts that are generated by your PCs.

SupportAssist capabilities available in TechDirect and

Dell service plans

The following table summarizes the SupportAssist capabilities available in TechDirect for different service plans.

Table 1. SupportAssist capabilities available in TechDirect for Dell service plans

Capability Description Basic ProSupport ProSupport Plus

and ProSupport

Flex for Client

Schedule hardware

and software scans

Schedule hardware and software

scans depending on your

preference.

Manage assets and

asset groups

View asset inventory and group

monitored assets.

Manage

SupportAssist alerts

Manage alerts for monitored

assets.

View PC

recommendations

for a single PC

View PC recommendations for a

single PC.

Actionable PC

recommendations

for a single PC

Perform remote optimizations

instantly on a PC or initiate remote

optimization tasks to run later.

View PC

recommendations

for your Dell PCs

fleet

View PC recommendations for your

PCs.

Actionable PC

recommendations

for your Dell PCs

fleet

Review recommendations for your

PCs and remotely optimize them.

View PC insights SupportAssist monitors system

utilization data. View these details

for all the systems that are

monitored by SupportAssist or

systems in a specific asset group.

NOTE: If autoforward is turned off in TechDirect for technical support or parts dispatch, you can review and determine if

the alert should be forwarded to Dell.

SupportAssist capabilities and roles in TechDirect

TechDirect enables companies to designate an administrator and have technician users added under that administrator account.

This enables the company to track all the TechDirect activity in one account.

To add an administrator, go to Utilities > Administrator Control Panel, and click ADD COMPANY ADMINISTRATOR.

To add a technician, go to Utilities > Administrator Control Panel, and click ADD TECHNICIAN.

The following table summarizes the SupportAssist capabilities available for different roles in TechDirect:

Introduction

Table 2. SupportAssist capabilities and roles in TechDirect

Capability Description Device Management

Administrator

Device Management

Technician

Configure your PCs fleet Configure and download SupportAssist to

centrally manage and monitor your Dell

PCs.

Configure alert rules Configure rules to determine how

SupportAssist alerts are handled in

TechDirect.

View recommendations

for PCs

View PC recommendations for a single PC

or for your Dell PCs fleet.

Actionable PC

recommendations

Review recommendations for a single PC

or for your Dell PCs fleet and remotely

optimize them.

View PC insights SupportAssist monitors system utilization

data. View these details for all the systems

that are monitored by SupportAssist or

systems in a specific asset group.

Manage SupportAssist

alerts

Manage alerts for monitored assets.

View asset inventory View details about your assets such as

service plans, expiration date, and so on.

Organize asset groups Create or delete a group and move assets

across groups.

Integrate SupportAssist

alerts with ServiceNow

Enable automatic creation of an incident in

ServiceNow for your SupportAssist alerts.

Supported systems

SupportAssist is supported on the following Dell devices:

● Laptops and desktops

○ Inspiron

○ XPS

○ Alienware

○ Vostro

○ Latitude

○ Precision

○ OptiPlex

● Gateways and Embedded PCs

○ Edge Gateways

○ Embedded Box PCs

● Docking Stations

NOTE: SupportAssist is not supported on virtual machines.

Dispatchable parts

When SupportAssist detects an issue on your PC, a replacement part may be automatically dispatched to you depending on your

PC service plan.

The following parts may be dispatched automatically:

● Hard drive

Introduction

● Memory module

● Optical drive

● Keyboard

● Mouse

● Battery

● Video card

Minimum system requirements

The following are the minimum requirements for the systems on which you deploy SupportAssist:

Table 3. Minimum requirements

Particulars Requirements

Operating system

NOTE: SupportAssist is

supported only on 64-bit

operating systems.

Laptops and desktops:

● Microsoft Windows 8

● Microsoft Windows 8.1

● Microsoft Windows 10

Dell Edge Gateways:

● Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2015 LTSB (only 64-bit)

Dell Embedded Box PCs:

● Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (only 64-bit)

● Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2015 LTSB (only 64-bit)

Software

● Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1

● PowerShell script execution must be enabled on the systems

Installed memory 4 GB (recommended)

Ports

● 5700—to open the SupportAssist user interface.

● 9012—to communicate with Dell SupportAssist service. If this port is not available,

SupportAssist uses another available port.

● 8884—to communicate with Dell support website.

Network

● Internet connectivity.

● Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2 must be enabled.

● Elevation of the SupportAssistUI.exe launch command must be enabled on

the systems.

● The systems must be able to connect to the following destinations:

○ https://apidp.dell.com

○ https://fuslite.dell.com/FUSLite/api/2.0

○ https://techdirect.dell.com

○ http://downloads.dell.com

○ http://dl.dell.com

○ https://www.dell.com

○ https://agent-api.sa.insights.dell.com

○ https://dellupdater.dell.com

○ https://sa.apis.dell.com

○ https://apigtwb2c.us.dell.com

○ https://content.dellsupportcenter.com

○ https://cs-is.dell.com

○ https://hb.apis.dell.com

To verify if the above destinations are connecting from the systems, at the

command prompt, type tracert <destination address> and press Enter.

For example, tracert apidp.dell.com

○ If the systems can connect to the destination, appropriate results are displayed.

○ If the systems are unable to connect to the destination, an error message is

displayed.

Introduction

Table 3. Minimum requirements (continued)

Particulars Requirements

NOTE: To allow communication, verify the firewall settings on the systems.

Web browser Latest versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, or Mozilla Firefox.

Introduction 9

Configuring and deploying SupportAssist

TechDirect enables you to configure and download a customized SupportAssist executable file that is associated with your

TechDirect account. Before you download and deploy SupportAssist for business PCs, it is recommended that you configure

SupportAssist in TechDirect. These configurations are automatically applied on the systems within 24 hours after they connect

to the Internet.

After you have configured and downloaded SupportAssist, run the executable file to extract the deployment package which can

be deployed on the system to install SupportAssist.

CAUTION: Do not deploy the executable file directly on your systems. You must run the executable file

to extract the SupportAssist deployment package. It is recommended that you configure SupportAssist in

TechDirect before you deploy the extracted package.

Topics:

• Configure SupportAssist

• Download SupportAssist from TechDirect

• Create SupportAssist deployment package

• Deploy SupportAssist for business PCs

• Updating SupportAssist for business PCs

• Run SupportAssist self-diagnosis test

Configure SupportAssist

TechDirect enables you to configure the automated and user interaction tasks in SupportAssist. You can configure these

settings for all the systems that are managed in TechDirect.

Prerequisites

● Sign in to TechDirect with Device Management Administrator rights.

● Ensure that you allow pop-ups from TechDirect.

Steps

1. Go to Services > Device Management > Configure My Fleet.

2. Click NEXT.

The SupportAssist Terms And Conditions page is displayed.

3. Read and accept the terms and conditions.

4. If you are configuring SupportAssist for the first time, to verify your TechDirect account automatically, click NEXT.

5. If you have already verified your TechDirect account, click CONFIGURE.

The Configure SupportAssist for Business PCs page is displayed.

6. In the Contact and Shipping Address section, perform one of the following steps:

● To create a new contact, from the Select the primary contact and Select the secondary contact lists, select

Create New Contact, and enter the contact details on the Add Contact page.

● To reuse a contact that was previously created, from the Select the primary contact and Select the secondary

contact lists, select the desired contact name.

7. Perform one of the following steps:

● To add a new shipping address, from the Select the shipping address list, select Create new Address, and enter the

shipping address on the Add Address page.

● To reuse a shipping address that was previously created, from the Select the shipping address list, select the desired

address.

8. Enable or disable the settings in the Application Preferences (For Windows) section. For more information, see

Preferences.

10 Configuring and deploying SupportAssist

9. Perform one of the following:

● To save the configuration and deploy SupportAssist later, click SAVE.

● To save the configuration and deploy SupportAssist immediately, click SAVE & PROCEED TO DEPLOY.

NOTE: The configuration is applied on the systems within 24 hours after they connect to the Internet.

NOTE: If you update or modify the configuration settings, you do not have to redeploy SupportAssist. The configuration

settings are automatically updated to the systems every 24 hours.

Managing SupportAssist preferences

SupportAssist enables you to perform automated and manual tasks on the systems on which SupportAssist is deployed. System

users can perform manual tasks on the system only if the SupportAssist user interface is enabled. However, automated

tasks are performed on the systems even if the SupportAssist user interface is not enabled. For information about using

the SupportAssist user interface, see the SupportAssist for Business PCs with Windows OS User's Guide available at https://

www.dell.com/serviceabilitytools.

Automated Tasks

You can configure the following options in the Automated Tasks section:

● Auto-Update SupportAssist—allows SupportAssist to automatically update to a later version.

● Include Software Information in Collected Data—allows Dell to collect information about installed applications, drivers,

and operating system updates from your PCs.

NOTE: SupportAssist does not collect any information about the usage of your applications.

● Include Identification Information—allows Dell to collect system identification information.

● Perform schedule scans and optimizations—allows SupportAssist to automatically scan systems to detect driver

updates, hardware issues, and the required system optimizations. The following options can be configured only when you

enable the Perform schedule scans and optimizations option.

○ Run scans in background—allows SupportAssist initiated schedule scans to run in the background without the need for

user interaction.

○ Automatic system optimizations—allows SupportAssist to automatically optimize the system after the scan.

NOTE:

Auto-optimizations are applicable only for systems with an active ProSupport Plus or ProSupport Flex for

Client service plan.

○ Frequency (option available only for systems running SupportAssist for business PCs version 2.2.2 and earlier)—select

the frequency for SupportAssist to perform scheduled scans, for example, monthly.

○ Drivers & Downloads (option available only for systems running SupportAssist for business PCs version 2.3)—select

the frequency for SupportAssist to perform the drivers and downloads updates.

○ System optimizations (option available only for systems running SupportAssist for business PCs version 2.3)—select

the frequency for SupportAssist to perform the system optimizations.

○ Hardware scans (option available only for systems running SupportAssist for business PCs version 2.3)—select the

frequency for SupportAssist to perform the hardware scans.

User Interaction

You can configure the following options in the User Interaction section:

● Allow users to open and run SupportAssist on their PCs—enables users to view and use the SupportAssist user

interface.

NOTE:

The following options can be configured only when you enable the Allow users to open and run

SupportAssist on their PCs option.

● Admins only—enables SupportAssist user interface only for users with administrator rights on the system.

● All users—enables SupportAssist user interface for all types of users.

● Display notifications—allows SupportAssist to display notifications about software optimizations and driver updates.

● Driver updates—allows users with administrator rights on the system to manually check and install driver updates.

NOTE: The term driver refers to drivers, firmware, and BIOS updates.

Configuring and deploying SupportAssist 11

● Run all remote scans and updates without end user interaction—allows administrators to remotely optimize your

managed PCs without the need for user interaction.

○ Suppress end user notification in case reboot is needed after installation—allows SupportAssist to hide reboot

notifications to users. If this option is enabled, the PCs are not rebooted automatically. The drivers, firmware, and BIOS

updates are applied only when the user reboots the system manually.

Software Optimization

You can configure the following options in the Software Optimization section:

● Clean Files—clears temporary, redundant, and other unwanted files from the systems.

● Tune Performance—adjusts power settings, registry, and memory allocation to maximize the processing speed of the

systems.

● Optimize Network—optimizes the network to ensure network connectivity and updates the system settings to maintain an

efficient and reliable network.

● Remove Viruses and Malware—isolates and deletes files that are infected by viruses and malware on the systems.

NOTE: The virus and malware removal capability is available only for systems with an active ProSupport Plus or

ProSupport Flex for Client service plan.

NOTE: The virus and malware removal capability is not available in certain regions, for example, China.

Download SupportAssist from TechDirect

Prerequisites

● Sign in to TechDirect with Device Management Administrator rights.

● Ensure that you allow pop-ups from TechDirect.

● Ensure that you have configured SupportAssist. See Configure SupportAssist.

Steps

1. Go to Services > Device Management > Configure My Fleet.

2. Click DOWNLOAD.

3. Select one of the SupportAssist deployment package formats:

● Windows 64-bit Executable (.exe)

● Windows 64-bit Installer (.msi)

4. Click DOWNLOAD.

The SupportAssist executable file is downloaded.

CAUTION:

Do not deploy the executable file directly on your systems. You must run the executable file to

extract the SupportAssist deployment package.

Create SupportAssist deployment package

Prerequisites

Download the SupportAssist executable file from TechDirect. See Download SupportAssist from TechDirect.

Steps

1. Go to the location where you have downloaded the SupportAssist executable file from TechDirect.

2. Double-click SupportAssistExtractor.

The Deployment Package Manager wizard is displayed.

3. In the Preferences page, select Create a new deployment.

4. If the systems on which you deployed SupportAssist connect to the Internet through a proxy server, perform the following

steps:

a. Select Connect to the internet through proxy.

b. Enter the address and port number.

Configuring and deploying SupportAssist

c. If the proxy server requires authentication, select This proxy requires authentication, and enter the username and

password.

NOTE: For the proxy server authentication, it is recommended that you provide the username and password of a

service account that does not expire.

5. To organize your assets under specific groups in TechDirect, select Organize your assets in a group, and enter the asset

group name.

NOTE: The group configuration is applied to the assets within 24 hours after they connect to the Internet.

6. Click Next.

The Deployment Key page is displayed.

7. To generate an encrypted deployment package, enter a key for encryption and click Next.

The deployment key is similar to a password that you must create for encrypting the deployment package. You must use the

same deployment key while deploying SupportAssist on your systems.

NOTE: Ensure that you enter a key between four and ten characters that contain alphabets, numbers, and one of these

special characters # & $.

The File Location page is displayed.

8. Click Browse, select the folder where you want to extract the deployment package, and then click Next.

The Deployment Instructions page is displayed, and the following files are created in the same folder where you extracted

the deployment package.

● SupportAssistConfig.mst—contains details of MyAccount token, proxy settings, and group name.

● SupportAssistx64.exe—Windows executable file that is used for installing SupportAssist. This file is created if you

have downloaded SupportAssist from TechDirect in EXE format.

● SupportAssistx64.msi—Windows installer file that is used for installing SupportAssist. This file is created if you

have downloaded SupportAssist from TechDirect in MSI format.

● SupportAssistUninstall_Cleanup.ps1—clears the registry entries, services, and folders related to

SupportAssist, from your PC. This script also checks and uninstalls Dell SupportAssist for Home PCs or SupportAssist for

ProManage if it is installed on the PC.

9. Note the deployment instructions and close the wizard.

Deploy SupportAssist for business PCs

Prerequisites

The systems must meet the minimum system requirements for SupportAssist. See Minimum system requirements.

About this task

Dell has validated deployment of SupportAssist for business PCs on systems using Microsoft System Center Configuration

Manager (SCCM), Microsoft Intune, and VMware Workspace One.

Steps

1. If you extracted the deployment package in EXE format, deploy the executable file on the systems using a deployment tool.

NOTE:

If you have SupportAssist for Home PCs already installed on your system and want to uninstall it silently, run

SupportAssistx64.exe in the System Context mode.

2. If you extracted the deployment package in MSI format, perform the following steps:

a. Ensure that SupportAssist for Home PCs and SupportAssist for ProManage are not installed on the systems on which

you want to deploy SupportAssist for business PCs. To uninstall SupportAssist for Home PCs and SupportAssist for

ProManage, deploy and run the SupportAssistUninstall_Cleanup.ps1 script on the systems.

NOTE:

If you have SupportAssist for Home PCs already installed on your system and want to uninstall it silently, run

the SupportAssistUninstall_Cleanup.ps1 script in the System Context mode.

b. Use one of the following commands to deploy SupportAssist:

Configuring and deploying SupportAssist

● For 64-bit EXE deployment package format: <downloaded path>\SupportAssistx64.exe

TRANSFORMS=<downloaded path>\SupportAssistConfig.mst DEPLOYMENTKEY="<deployment

key>"

● For 64-bit MSI deployment package format: msiexec /i <downloaded path>\SupportAssistx64.msi

TRANSFORMS=<downloaded path>\SupportAssistConfig.mst DEPLOYMENTKEY="<deployment

key>" /qn

Here, <downloaded path> is the path of the folder where you extracted the SupportAssist executable file.

Updating SupportAssist for business PCs

Updating SupportAssist ensures that the latest SupportAssist features are available on your PC. If you have opted to

automatically update SupportAssist for business PCs, SupportAssist automatically updates to the latest available version.

To manually update SupportAssist for business PCs, download the SupportAssist executable file from TechDirect and use

any deployment tool to deploy SupportAssist. For more information about how to download SupportAssist, see Download

SupportAssist from TechDirect.

After you have downloaded SupportAssist, run the executable file to extract the deployment package which can be deployed on

the system to install SupportAssist. See Create SupportAssist deployment package and Deploy SupportAssist for business PCs.

NOTE: SupportAssist updates are not available for PCs running Windows 7 operating system. To experience full benefits of

SupportAssist, it is recommended that you install SupportAssist on systems running Windows 10 operating system.

Run SupportAssist self-diagnosis test

Prerequisites

● The system must have Internet connectivity.

● You must have administrator rights on the PC.

About this task

To monitor your systems and provide automated technical support, SupportAssist must be connected to Dell. Run the self-

diagnosis test on any of the systems after deployment to determine if SupportAssist is successfully connected to Dell and is

working as expected.

Steps

1. Access the system on which you want to perform the self-diagnosis test.

2. Click Start to open the Programs menu.

3. Right-click Command Prompt and click Run as administrator.

The Command Prompt window is displayed.

4. Browse to \Program Files 64\Dell\SupportAssistBusinessClient\bin.

5. Type SelfDiagnosis.exe and press Enter.

Depending on the test result, one of the following messages is displayed for every test:

● Available or Reachable—SupportAssist is successfully connected to Dell and is working as expected.

● Unavailable—SupportAssist is not connected to Dell or is not working as expected. Perform one of the following steps:

○ Reboot the system and retry performing the self-diagnosis test again.

○ Check the proxy, firewall, and network configurations in your environment, and retry performing the self-diagnosis

test again.

After performing the above tests, if SupportAssist is not connected to Dell or is not working as expected, contact Dell

Technologies technical support for assistance.

Configuring and deploying SupportAssist

Modifying deployed SupportAssist

configuration

After deploying SupportAssist, you can modify the SupportAssist configuration applied on all systems or systems in a specific

asset group. The settings are automatically picked up by the systems when they connect to the Internet and check for

configuration updates every 24 hours. See Configure SupportAssist.

However, to modify the Internet connection details for the systems, you must manually update and deploy the deployment

package again.

Topics:

• Modify and redeploy SupportAssist

Modify and redeploy SupportAssist

Prerequisites

Download the SupportAssist executable file from TechDirect. See Download SupportAssist from TechDirect.

Steps

1. Go to the location where you have downloaded the SupportAssist executable file from TechDirect.

2. Double-click SupportAssistExtractor.

The Deployment Package Manager wizard is displayed.

3. In the Preferences page, select Redeploy with updated proxy details.

4. If the systems on which you deployed SupportAssist connect to the Internet through a proxy server, perform the following

steps:

a. Select Connect to the internet through proxy.

b. Enter the address and port number.

c. If the proxy server requires authentication, select This proxy requires authentication, and enter the username and

password.

NOTE:

For the proxy server authentication, it is recommended that you provide the username and password of a

service account that does not expire.

5. Click Next.

The Deployment Key page is displayed.

6. To generate an encrypted deployment package, enter a key for encryption and click Next.

The deployment key is similar to a password that you must create for encrypting the deployment package. You must use the

same deployment key while deploying SupportAssist on your systems.

NOTE:

Ensure that you enter a key between four and ten characters that contain alphabets, numbers, and one of these

special characters # & $.

The File Location page is displayed.

7. Click Browse, select the folder where you want to extract the deployment package, and then click Next.

The Deployment Instructions page is displayed, and the following files are created in the same folder where you extracted

the deployment package.

● SupportAssistConfig.mst—contains details of MyAccount token, proxy settings, and group name.

● SupportAssistx64.exe—Windows executable file that is used for installing SupportAssist. This file is created if you

have downloaded SupportAssist from TechDirect in EXE format.

Modifying deployed SupportAssist configuration 15

● SupportAssistx64.msi—Windows installer file that is used for installing SupportAssist. This file is created if you

have downloaded SupportAssist from TechDirect in MSI format.

● SupportAssistUninstall_Cleanup.ps1—clears the registry entries, services, and folders related to

SupportAssist, from your PC. This script also checks and uninstalls Dell SupportAssist for Home PCs or SupportAssist for

ProManage if it is installed on the PC.

8. Note the deployment instructions and close the wizard.

16 Modifying deployed SupportAssist configuration

PC insights

Along with monitoring systems for hardware and software issues, SupportAssist also collects system utilization and performance

data when the system is unlocked and is in use. You can use the information that is collected to make business decisions, for

example, hardware upgrades.

To access PC insights, go to Services > Device Management > Get Insights.

NOTE: To view PC insights, ensure that the system is running SupportAssist for business PCs version 2.1.0 or later.

NOTE: PC insights are available only for systems:

● With a ProSupport, ProSupport Plus, or ProSupport Flex for Client service plan.

● Running the Windows 10 operating system. For systems running Windows 8, the functionality may not work as expected.

NOTE: PC insights data is collected only when the user has logged in and is actively using the PC.

Topics:

• Insights dashboard

• Metrics for specific system

Insights dashboard

The insights dashboard displays a consolidated overview of the status information for the systems. The dashboard also displays

information about system age, stability, and its components.

NOTE: By default, the information that is displayed on the page is based on the data collected during the last seven days.

Click the settings icon on the gadget to define the threshold for a parameter.

The following table describes the information that is displayed on the Dashboard page:

Table 4. Dashboard

Gadget Description

PC Stability and Age

Frequent Operating System

Crashes

Number of systems on which the operating system failures are equal to or higher than the

threshold.

Near End of Life Number of systems that are equal to or higher than the PC Age threshold.

Components

High Memory Use Number of systems on which the memory usage is equal to or higher than the threshold.

High CPU Use Number of systems on which the processor usage is equal to or higher than the threshold.

Low Memory Installed Number of systems on which the installed memory is equal to or lower than the threshold.

Poor Battery Runtime Number of systems that ran on battery power for lesser time than the threshold.

Low Available Storage Number of systems on which the available storage space is equal to or lower than the

threshold.

To view the list of systems that are impacted, click VIEW LIST. The PCs page is displayed.

PC insights 17

Metrics for specific system

The PCs page displays the metrics and recommendations for a specific system.

NOTE: By default, the information that is displayed on the page is based on the data that are collected during the last

seven days.

You can set advanced filters by switching each filter on or off and setting the values of each filter. To filter systems in a

specific asset group, select the group from the SITE/GROUP list. To filter systems by warranty, select the service plan from

the WARRANTY list.

After the desired filters are set, click UPDATE to view the results in a tabular format.

The following table describes the metrics that are displayed on the PCs page:

Table 5. Metrics for specific system

Column Description

Utilization Score The extent to which a hardware component of the system is

used. Higher scores indicate that the system resources are

overused and may affect the user experience.

Service Tag Unique identifier of the system. The Service Tag is an alpha-

numeric sequence.

Host Name The hostname of the system.

Asset Tag Asset Tag of the system.

Model The system model, for example, Latitude E7440.

Warranty Service plan of the system.

CPU Average CPU utilization categorization of the processor

installed in the system. The utilization is categorized as follows

based on the criteria defined by Dell:

● Normal—average CPU utilization is within the normal level

● Medium—average CPU utilization is sometimes high and

normal at other times

● High—average CPU utilization is at the highest level

Storage Remaining Average storage space available in the primary drive of the

system.

Memory Utilization Average utilization of memory installed on the system.

Installed Memory Size of RAM installed on the system.

Battery Health Average percentage of charge that the battery holds against

its designed capacity, when it is fully charged.

Battery Runtime Average number of hours the system could run when it was

not connected to an electrical outlet.

OS Failures Number of operating system failures that occurred on the

system.

PC Age Number of months since Dell shipped the system.

To view additional metrics, click displayed in the bottom-left corner of the table and select the columns that you want to

view.

To view the results as a heatmap, select View as heatmap. The darker shades of blue indicate overuse of a component and the

lighter shades indicate acceptable use of the component.

To view metrics for a specific system, click a Service Tag or search for a specific Service Tag. The results provide a detailed

view of the system performance. The system-specific metrics displayed in the search results are:

● System Info—provides detailed information of the system such as the Asset Tag, age of the system, model, BIOS version,

and so on.

PC insights

● System Utilization—provides a detailed summary of metrics such as the number of system crashes, number of app crashes,

GPU memory, utilization score, GPU utilization, storage remaining on the system, and so on.

● Alerts—provides details of errors and crashes on the system.

● Most Used Apps—provides information about the most used applications on the system.

PC insights 19

Managing your assets

After you deploy SupportAssist, the system details are automatically collected and displayed in the Manage Assets page in

TechDirect. Use the Manage Assets page to organize your assets into groups and to integrate your SupportAssist alerts with

ServiceNow.

NOTE: You require Device Management Administrator rights to manage your assets in TechDirect.

Topics:

• Manage Assets

• My Assets

• Organizing assets and groups

Manage Assets

The Manage Assets page enables you to perform various actions on the assets that are managed using SupportAssist.

However, the actions that you can perform depend on the account type that is used to log in to TechDirect, for example, Device

Management Administrator or Device Management Technician.

To manage your assets, go to Services > Device Management > Manage Assets.

Use the following links that are displayed on the Manage Assets page to perform various actions:

● My Assets—view details about your assets such as service plans, expiration date, and so on. You can also click the Service

Tag of each PC to perform remote optimizations on that system. See My Assets and Managing single PC.

● Organize Assets and Groups—create or delete a group and move assets across groups. See Organizing assets and

groups.

● Integrate with ServiceNow—enable or disable integration of SupportAssist alerts with your ServiceNow solution. See

Integrating SupportAssist alerts with ServiceNow.

My Assets

The My Assets page displays a graphical representation of the number of PCs with:

● Current service plans

● SupportAssist versions

The My Assets page also displays information about your managed assets. By default, the Site, Group, Service Tag, Region,

Product Type, Model, and Warranty Plan columns are displayed. Click

in the bottom-left corner of the table to select the

columns you want to view.

To view the My Assets page, go to Services > Device Management > Manage Assets.

The following table describes the information that is displayed on the My Assets page:

Table 6. My Assets

Column Description

Site Name of the site to which the asset is assigned.

Group Group to which the asset is assigned.

Service Tag The unique identifier of the system. The Service Tag is an

alpha-numeric sequence.

20 Managing your assets

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Dell SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide

Dell SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide

Dell SupportAssist for Business PCs Administrator Guide

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