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--About the Database--
Use External Backups
Export the LabStats Snapshots (CSV)
Export the UserTracker Logins/Logouts (CSV)
Transfer/Merge Computer Data |
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--About the Public Stats Page--
Current Usage
Usage History
Login History
LabMaps |
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--About UserTracker Data--
Search Login History
View All Known Users
Query Lab Login Statistics
View the Login Graphs
Choose How To Display Unique Users
Jump to User or Computer Reports from Clients Lists |
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--About LabMaps--
Quick Setup - Create a Map
Set Map Options
Use a Map
Edit a Map
Manage the Maps
Display a Map on Another Page |
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--About Trouble Tickets--
Configure Trouble Ticket Settings
Enter a Trouble Ticket
View Trouble Tickets
Edit or Close Trouble Tickets
Export Trouble Ticket Data |
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--About AppUse--
Configuration Settings
Application Setup
Application Usage Report
Application Usage Graphs
Application Usage Data Export |
Basic Architecture
LabStats is simple. Lab workstations run a Client Agent that sends simple usage data to a single Server Agent. The Server Agent stores the data in a database, then generates and stores snapshot records showing lab usage. Each login and logout is also recorded in the database. Using a browser, you can view real-time graphs showing lab status, usage history, and login statistics for every machine and user. |
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Quick Setup
One of the overwhelming advantages to LabStats is the ease of setup and configuration. This is on purpose, since one of our biggest competitors is you. While it may take you weeks or months to code your own system, or port another school's code to yours, you can be up and running in just a couple of hours with LabStats. Here are the basic setup steps:
| 1. Install the server. |
Download and run the LabStats server installer on the Windows 2000 or XP machine you have chosen to be your server. |
| 2. Enter your license keys. |
Log into Web Admin and enter your license keys. For a free, fully-functional, 10 client license, go here. |
| 3. Download the Client Agent installers |
In Web Admin Home, go to Client Installers, and download clients for the operating systems you will be using. The installers come with a settings file that points the clients to the server. |
| 4. Install the Client Agents |
Install the Client Agents to your lab workstations using your preferred method of installation. The clients will automatically register with the server, but will be inactive if your license is not entered. Any clients that exceed the number of licenses will be inactive.
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| 5. Define your labs |
Log into Web Admin and create your lab definitions, to tell LabStats which computers belong to which labs. |
| 6. Start viewing the stats! |
As soon your labs are defined, the usage data is already being stored! Connect to the public pages and check out your graphs anytime. |
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Log in to Web Admin
After the LabStats server is installed, connect to Web Admin using the default URL http://<server_name_or_IP>:8080/admin. The default username is labstats, and the password is labstats. This website is where you will perform all administrative functions on LabStats and is the only user interface. |
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Configuration Settings
Within Web Admin, there is one page of configuration settings that affect the way LabStats functions. Go to this page with the Config link on the top menu, or the Configuration link on the Home page. Here is a description of each setting.
System Settings |
| Snapshot Interval |
Default is 10 minutes. LabStats gathers usage history data based on snapshots taken at a specific interval. At any given moment, the LabStats server knows the current status of each machine in each lab. The three possible states are In Use, Available, and Offline. When a snapshot is taken, the number of each is recorded and can then be used to create graphs and reports later on. 10 minutes is usually good enough to give granular daily statistics, but space-saving enough to give weekly and longer statistics for years. |
| Administrator Email |
Certain events in LabStats will trigger an email to be sent to this email address, if specified. We recommend you fill in this email information so LabStats can keep you informed. |
| SMTP Server |
SMTP server to use for the administrator email. |
| SMTP User |
Username to authenticate and send the administrator email. |
| SMTP Password |
Password to authenticate and send the administrator email. |
Client Settings |
| Check-in Misses Until Inactive |
Default is 3. This is the number of scheduled check-ins a client can miss before the server marks it as Offline. This setting should be kept low, between 2 - 4, unless your network has frequent communication problems. |
| Client Check-in Interval |
Default is 1 minute. Whenever a login or logout occurs, the client will update the server, but it will also check in at this interval to say "I'm still here, and this is my status". This setting works in conjunction with the above setting to help the server decide when a client has cut off communication. For example, if a client froze up on a user, and missed three, one minute checkins (3 minutes), the server would know that the client is Offline.
This setting should normally be kept at 1, since the communication between client and server is very small and will rarely generate noticeable network traffic. However, with large numbers of clients, the server can become quite busy processing all the checkins. You should think about changing the setting to 2 or 3 if you have over 500 clients. |
Security Settings |
| Require SSL for Web Admin |
Default is Disabled. Turn this on to use https (SSL) instead of http when connecting to the LabStats Web Admin. After enabling this feature, you will have to redirect your browser to https://server:8443/admin. |
| Clients Should Use Encryption |
Default is Disabled. Enable this feature to force the clients to encrypt communications with the server. Works only with clients version 4.0 and higher. Note that this adds a small amount of overhead to the network traffic generated by LabStats. |
AppUse Settings |
| Application Tracking |
Default is Disabled. While disabled, AppUse will continue to build the list of known applications, but will not record any usage data. Enable this to begin tracking usage data. |
| Aggregation period length |
In order to optimize the LabStats database, application usage data is aggregated to the interval specified here. For example, with Daily selected, AppUse will record in a single record for each computer how many times the app was launched, total run time, etc. during the day. A new record will be created each day. |
| Application Usage Auto Delete |
AppUse can accumulate large amounts of data over time. We recommend you enable this feature to keep the LabStats server running smoothly for years to come. |
| Delete Application Data older than |
Valid only when Auto Delete is enabled. Specifies the number of days to keep AppUse data. |
UserTracker Settings |
| Remote users show computer as in use |
Default is Disabled. When a remote user logs into a computer (telnet, ssh, terminal services, remote desktop, etc.), the username will always show in UserTracker, but you can choose if the computer should be listed as In Use or Available. Enable this feature to make the computer show as In Use, or Disable it to make the computer show as Available. |
| Login History |
Default is Enabled. This setting allows you to turn the UserTracker functionality on or off. You should turn it off to improve performance if you do not plan to use the UserTracker data. Note that while it is off, no data is being collected. |
| Login History Auto Delete |
Default is Disabled. This setting allows you to automatically delete UserTracker data when it becomes older than a specified number of days. UserTracker generally accumulates less data than AppUse, but it could make the database grow quite large, depending on your environment. To keep the LabStats server running smoothly for years to come, we recommend you enable this feature. |
| Delete Login History Older Than... |
Default is 0. This is the number of days that UserTracker data will be kept if the above setting is Enabled. For example, if you want to keep login and logout history for only the past month, you would enter 30, and when records became over 30 days old, they would be removed permanently from the database. |
| Anonymous Login Tracking |
Default is Disabled. For environments where policies prohibit the recording of usernames with login details, enable this feature and LabStats will replace the actual usernames with generic usernames. Reports and statistics will still be accurate for login counts, but histories will not show actual usernames.
Note: This prevents LabStats from storing real usernames. This information cannot be recovered. |
| User Exclusions |
In some cases you may have background services or other programs running on your lab machines, which show up as logged-in users to LabStats.
You can use an Exclusion List to prevent LabStats from logging the activities of these accounts, and to display the correct status of a computer when no regular users are logged in.
To use this feature, simply click the User Exclusions link, and enter the necessary usernames that LabStats should ignore. |
Licenses |
| System License |
Information about the number of base client licenses you own for LabStats. Also shown here is the number of clients that have registered with LabStats, and the number of active and inactive clients. Inactive clients can be activated from the Clients, View Inactive Clients page. |
| LabMaps Licenses |
Shows the total number of LabMaps licenses purchased and the number currently in use. |
| AppUse Licenses |
Shows the total number of AppUse licenses purchased and the number currently in use. |
| New License Key |
Use this box to enter your purchased or demo licenses. Simply select the license type, paste the key into the box, and click Save New License. Each license must be entered separately. |
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| Reset Snapshooter |
**CAUTION** This function deletes all existing LabStats data from the database, and should only be used if you want to clear the database and "start over". For example, you may have multiple tests lab set up for the trial and want to clear them all and start fresh. |
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About Lab Definitions
LabStats was designed with school computer labs and classrooms in mind, so the statistics are generated based on groups of computers, or labs, that you can define. When a new computer registers with the server, it checks to see if an existing lab definition includes the new client, and automatically assigns it to the lab if it finds a match. If not, it will be left in ‘unassigned’ status, until a lab is created that includes that computer. You can view computers that are not assigned to labs in the Clients section of Web Admin.
You will need to define your labs, or groups of computers, before snapshot data can be collected for them. Also, snapshot data cannot be collected retroactively, which means you need to keep your lab definitions current. To manage lab definitions, log into Web Admin and select Labs from the menu. |
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Define a New Lab
As soon as a new lab is defined, all unassigned computers will be scanned to determine whether they should belong to the new lab, and appropriate changes will be made automatically. Snapshot data will immediately start being collected for all computers belonging to the new lab. Once a computer is assigned to a lab, it will stay in that lab until it is manually reassigned or until it is deleted from LabStats. Below are the options when defining labs.
| IP Address |
For static IP environments (even if you use DHCP, your IP addresses may be static), you can use IP addresses or IP subnets to define labs. For a single IP address, use a netmask of 32. For a range, enter a lower number in the mask. (Note: this requires some knowledge of IP subnets. A great free resource is Wildpackets IP Subnet Calculator.)
If your computers are in a dynamic IP environment (if they sometimes change IP address), we recommend you not use this option to define labs. |
| Hostname |
Enter an exact hostname or the beginning of a hostname. A default wildcard at the end is assumed. For example, if your library lab computers are all named lib01, lib02, etc., you can simply use lib and include the entire lab. |
| Manual Assignment (MAC Address) |
From the Clients page, you can select one or more computers and manually assign them to a lab. When an assignment is made, LabStats creates a new definition for the lab based on the MAC address of each computer assigned. This way, if the computer ever re-registers, it will be re-assigned to the correct lab.
To manually assign multiple computers simultaneously, check the box next to each one and click (re)assign at the top or bottom of the page. |
| Inclusion vs. Exclusion |
When creating a lab definition, or assigning and reassigning computers, you can create Inclusion rules or Exclusion rules. For the most part, you will create Inclusion rules, but may occasionaly need to Exclude a computer from a lab. For example, you might be able to specify an entire subnet as a lab, but need to exclude only a few computers, that happen to be in that subnet. |
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Modify a Lab
From the labs page, click on a lab to see all the computers in that lab. From there, you can remove computers or click Edit to see all the definitions for that lab. You can delete definitions or add new ones.
**NEW IN VERSION 4**
Edit a lab to enter open hours for the lab. You can generate most reports based on open hours only, if desired. Future releases will include display of lab availability, based on open hours. |
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Retire a Lab
If a lab is disbanded, or discontinued, you can Retire it instead of deleting it completely. A retired lab shows on the Public Stats page followed by (retired). It no longer gathers stats or has assigned computers, but the usage history is kept for continued querying. In Web Admin, a retired lab shows in the Retired Labs table on the Labs page.
A retired lab can be revived or deleted. When you retire a lab, you can choose to Unassign, Deactivate, or Delete all computers that belong to that lab. |
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Delete a Lab
When you delete a lab, all usage history for that lab is deleted from the database, and cannot be recovered. You should retire the lab if you want to keep the data. Any computers that belong to that lab can be Unassigned, Deactivated, or Deleted. |
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About Client Computers
When a client checks in with the server for the first time after the Client Agent is installed, it receives a new ID from the server, which it stores in its local labstats.conf file. If a computer record is removed from LabStats, and the client re-registers, it will get its original ID back from the server, if it has one, as long as the MAC address of the computer is the same, even if the IP address changes. |
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Prepare Clients for Imaging
If you use an imaging program to deploy exact images to multiple machines in your labs, you will need to make a small change to the LabStats Client Agent before saving your image.
When you install LabStats and start the service (or reboot), it will register with the server and receive a new ID, as explained above. Before saving your image, you should stop the labstats service on the client, change the labstats.conf file to say ID=-1, and then save your image before restarting the service (or before booting up again into the OS), to preserve the ID as -1. The labstats.conf file is stored in the default system directory for the OS you are using.
You should also follow this procedure when using DeepFreeze, to freeze the labstats.conf with ID=-1, or create a thaw space for the labstats.conf file. |
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View Active Computers
In Web Admin, select Clients from the menu. You are here presented with a list of all registered and active computers. All Active computers that belong to a lab are used to generate statistics, even if they are Offline. You can sort this list on any of the column headings (IP Address, OS, etc.). Each computer record also shows the current logged-in user, if any. |
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Assign/Unassign Computers to Labs
On the Clients page, click unassign to remove a computer from a lab. If that computer belongs to the lab by a current definition, you will be prompted to create an exclusion rule to keep the computer out of the lab.
Click (Re)assign next to any computer and you will be presented with a list of existing labs to choose which lab the computer should be assigned to. After making your selection, LabStats will add a definition (MAC Address-based) to that lab. |
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Activate/Deactivate a Computer
Inactive computers can be seen through a link at the bottom of the Clients page. There, you can activate one computer at a time, or use the button at the bottom of the page to activate all computers. Any computers that would exceed your licensed number are automatically deactivated.
To deactivate a computer, click deactive next to it on the Clients page. If a computer has been physically removed from a lab, you should delete it instead of deactivating it. You would deactivate a computer only when it is actively running the LabStats client agent, and you don't want it to participate in statistics-gathering. |
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Delete a Computer
On the Clients page, click delete next to the computer you wish to delete. You can also check the box next to multiple computers, and delete many at once. If you delete a computer that is running the LabStats client, it will re-register at the next scheduled check-in.
WARNING: when a computer is deleted, its login history and trouble ticket history are also deleted. If a computer is being replaced, you should use the Transfer/Merge Feature to keep the data. |
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About the Database
LabStats was specifically designed to require no database management skills. Virtually all of the database installation and maintenance are handled by the LabStats server, but you can make and restore from external backups, and export data in CSV format. |
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Use External Backups
Using Web Admin, you can Create, Download, Upload, Restore, and Delete database backup files. Note that the Configuration settings are not included in these backups, but everything else is, including lab definitions, computers, and even background images for LabMaps.
Backups showing on the Backups page are deleted when the LabStats server is uninstalled, and must be downloaded and saved externally before uninstalling. When a backup is restored, it clears the database before restoring, so any data between the time of the backup and the time you restore it will be lost.
Set an interval in the Automatic Backups box to make LabStats create backups for you. We recommend you make a backup at least every 4-5 days, to minimize data loss in case of a failure. |
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Export the LabStats Snapshots (CSV)
You can export the snapshot data from LabStats into a CSV file, in order to use in other ways. From the Home page of Web Admin, click Export Data, select your filter options, then click Ok on the following page. You will be prompted to choose a location to save the file. |
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Export the UserTracker Logins/Logouts (CSV)
You can also export the login and logout data from UserTracker into a CSV file. To do this, go to the UserTracker page in Web Admin and click Export to *.csv (Excel), and select your filter options. You will be prompted for a location to save the file. |
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Transfer/Merge Computer Data
In some cases you may need to merge the history data from two computers into one. One example of this is when a computer is being replaced in a lab, and you want the new computer to keep the same history as the old computer in that seat. Since the new computer has a different MAC address, LabStats will treat it as a totally separate computer. In this case you can merge the old computer's history data into the new computer's history, and remove the old computer record, since it is no longer needed.
To do this, click Transfer/Merge Data on the LabStats Web Admin Home page. There you will be presented with two drop down list boxes that both contain every computer in the LabStats database. You need to select the source computer, or old computer, and the target, or new computer. Shown in each box are the hostname, IP Address, and Last Checkin time and date for each computer.
Ideally, you should wait until your old computer is removed from the network, and the new computer is online and checking in. That way, the new computer will have a more recent Last Checkin time. Since both computers most likely have the same hostname and possibly the same IP Address, it will be helpful to see which one was most recently active.
After you select the source and target computers, you will be presented with a summary of information about each one. Verify that you have chosen the correct computers and click Confirm to make the changes permanent. All Login History, Trouble Tickets, and LabMaps affiliations will be transferred from the source to the target, and the source computer record will then be deleted from the database.
***Note that these changes cannot be undone, and you should proceed carefully. |
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About the Public Stats Page
The Public Stats page can always be found at http://(server name or IP):8080/public. This page is not password protected and is used to view most of the reports and statistics from the information in LabStats and UserTracker. You can link to this page from your website, or show any of the graphs within your own web pages. Note that all the user-specific information is kept within the password-protected Web Admin. Go to screenshots and more details of the Public Stats page.
See the FAQ page for details on showing the LabStats graphs on your own school web pages. |
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Current Stats
The initial Public Stats page is a table of all labs showing current usage. Click on a lab to see a pie chart showing the status of the computers in the lab. The curent usage data is always real-time, even when you link to the graphs on your own page. |
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Usage History
Here you can see usage history graphs (timelines) for one or more labs, or for all labs combined. You can click on a preconfigured timeframe, or select a custom timeframe for one or more labs. Note that even the custom graphs you make can be called and displayed real-time from your own school web pages, with the most recent data, if applicable. |
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Login History
The Login History page has options to view pre-set or custom timeframe bar graphs showing Login counts, both total logins and unique logins. For more detailed information about logins, go to the UserTracker page inside the password-protected Web Admin. |
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LabMaps
The LabMaps page gives a list of all published LabMaps available for public viewing. Each map opens in a new window, runs in Flash, and self-udpates from the server every 15 seconds. |
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About UserTracker Data
UserTracker records all logins and logouts from client computers, regardless of Network OS, and uses the network username, where applicable. For example, the eDirectory username, not the local Windows account, would be used on a Novell network. If a machine freezes up, UserTracker will record that as a logout, to create a full login session.
All of this data can be viewed and queried from with Web Admin, on the UserTracker page. |
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Search Login History
From the UserTracker page, go to Search Login History. Here you can build a query, focusing on a user, a computer, a lab, or any combination. You can also choose a preset timeframe, such as Last Week, or enter a range of dates.
The results of this query show each login session as one line in a table, with a login and logout times, and a calculated login duration. It also shows total logins and average duration for all logins. |
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View All Known Users
As users log in and UserTracker records them, it builds a list of all usernames used on the system. There is no need to enter the usernames or link to your user directory. From the UserTracker page, you can access a list of all known users to the LabStats system, or in other words, all users that have logged in.
Sort this list on columns like total logins, last login, and link from there to a full login history for a specific user. |
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Query Lab Login Statistics
The statistics link from the UserTracker page allows you to view total logins, unique logins, average login duration, and total time used for any time period using one or more labs. The query can also limit the results to the lab's open hours.
The results of this query also allow you to enter the number of hours the lab was open during the time period used for the query. After entering this value in the text box next to a lab, the page will calculate a Usage Percentage for the lab during that time period. LabStats calculates this number by using the number of open hours multiplied by the number of computers that belong to that lab to find a total lab capacity. The total time used is then divided by total lab capacity to show you the percentage of the capacity that was used. |
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View the Login Graphs
From the UserTracker page, you can view bar graphs showing total and unique logins for one or more labs, using preset or custom timeframes. These bar graphs are stacked with uniqe logins on top of total logins, both in different colors. You can choose the timeframe for the graph, as well as the timeframe covered by each bar. For example, to see an entire week's graph, with bars for each hour, choose Hour as the Interval, and Week as the Time Period. The graph data can also be limited to the lab's open hours.
Note that some combinations may require extra time to produce the graph, since each graph is generated on the fly. For example, a year's graph with Hour bars may take extra time to produce. |
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Choose How To Display Unique Users
When viewing the login graphs, you can choose one of two ways to view unique logins. To do this, simply select the appropriate radio button next to the graph you are building.
First you should understand what is meant by unique users. UserTracker keeps track of all login activity, and displays the login data in two ways, total logins and total (or unique) users. Total logins refers to all logins that occurred, regardless of the user. Total users refers to the actual number of different, or unique users that logged in. For example, if 10 people used a computer during a time period, but 5 of them logged in twice, the total users will be 10, but the total logins will be 15.
| Per Entire Graph |
You can choose to calculate unique logins based on all the logins shown on the entire graph. For example, if you view a graph showing logins for a full year, and choose to calculate unique logins per the entire graph, the total number of logins will be much higher than the unique logins, since many users will have logged in multiple times during the year. This method takes much longer to calculate. |
| Per Bar |
You can also choose to calculate uniqe logins based on the logins that occurred during each vertical bar, or period that the bar represents (hour, day, week, etc.). For example, if you choose to view a graph for a full week, with each bar representing one hour, unique logins will be calculated only for each hour. In other words, if the same user logged in during two different hours, each login will be considered unique for its own hour, or within its own bar.
This method should be used when you want to view, for example, a full week of logins, but see the number of unique logins each day, rather than the number of unique logins for the entire week. |
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Jump to User or Computer Reports from Clients Lists
For convenience, the Clients page and Labs page show each hostname and username as a link. By clicking one of these links, you can go directly to an entire history for a specific computer or user. |
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About LabMaps
LabMaps is an optional add-on to LabStats and UserTracker, and allows you to quickly create maps of your labs that represent the actual computer layout. Each computer is represented by an icon which shows information about the computer, like OS, login status, current user, and others. The power of LabMaps, besides the graphical represenation of your data, is that you can create a map so quickly and easily just using our software in your web browser. |
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Quick Setup - Create a Map
After you have defined a lab in LabStats, and installed the client on your workstations, you are ready to create a map. Here are the main steps to create a map.
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Log into LabStats Web Admin, navigate to the LabMaps page, and click Create New LabMap.. |
| 2. |
You will be presented with a list of your configured labs. Select a lab for which you want to create a map. |
| 3. |
To proceed from here, you must have the free Flash Player by Macromedia installed on your computer. The map editor will open and display all computers in your lab in the left pane. |
| 4. |
To add a computer to the map, simply drag and drop it where you want it. See the next few sections for more details on map options and editing. |
| 5. |
As you add each computer, it is instantly linked to the LabStats data, and should start showing its status within seconds. |
| 6. |
The map is saved in real time, as you create it. When you're finished placing your computers, the map is done and you can freely navigate away to another page. |
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Set Map Options
LabMaps has many options, which can be found in the Options pane to the left of the map editor (shown at right).
Map Name - Change the name for a map. You can actually create multiple maps per lab, so this is helpful to distinguish them.
Snap to Grid - Use the grid to help your computers line up nice and neat, if you want.
Show Grid - This only displays the grid for editing purposes, and will not display it during map viewing.
Display Hostnames - This displays the hostnames on the map below each computer. Note that the hostnames are displayed even on the public map when this is checked.
Use Background Image - If you have an image of the layout of your lab, upload it and then you can place the computer icons on top of the map. Check the box to display the image you have selected below. The background image will stretch to fit your map size, so it's a good idea to make it the same size you plan to make your map.
Icon Size - For larger maps, you might need to make each computer icon smaller for proper display. The images are vector-based, so they scale easily.
Map Size - Change the map size to customize the way Flash displays it when opened, and to give yourself more or less room for computer icons.
List Unassigned Computers Options - View your list of lab computers by Hostname, IP, or MAC address. This list is the one used to drag computers onto the map, and does not affect the way they are displayed on the map. |
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Use a Map
Each LabMap you create is visible in two different modes, Public and Admin. The admin map is accessible as soon as it is created by clicking on the name of the map on the LabMaps page in Web Admin. This map gives you full access to all the information LabMaps can provide, including computer status, logged-in username, OS, access to login history, and access to Trouble Tickets.
In Admin mode, you access the extra features by clicking on a computer, which opens a context menu. You can also hover the mouse over a computer to see extra information, like IP and MAC address.
The Public map is only available after the map is Published, which can be done on the LabMaps page in Web Admin. Once a map is published, it can be viewed from the regular Public Stats page, or from a new LabMaps page that is accessible from the main Public Stats page.
In each case, Admin or Public, when you click a map it opens a new browser window to display the map in Flash. The browser window is automatically sized to the map size, and displays lab statistics at the bottom of the window. Red computers are offline, Grey/Black computers are Available for use, and Blue computers are in use. With the Flash map open, it updates itself every 15 seconds, so you can stay current with changes in the lab. |
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Edit a Map
LabMaps allows you to edit a map anytime. To edit a map, click Edit next to the map on the LabMaps page in Web Admin. This will open the map editor and allow you to make changes, including change all of the options discussed above.
You can move computers around on the map, as well as drag more on or delete them. To delete a computer, first select it, then open the Tools pane at the left and click Delete Item. When a computer is deleted from a map, it will automatically appear in the Unassigned Computers list for that lab, if the computer still belongs to the lab.
The Tools pane also provides options to add New Computers, which are not tied to any real computer in the LabStats database, but can be used as placeholders. It also allows you to use a Line Tool and draw lines that help in forming the layout of a computer lab. It is helpful when drawing lines to turn on the Snap to Grid option, which will make the lines snap to the gridlines as well.
Any changes you make to the map in Edit mode are instantly saved to the database, so just navigate away from the editor when you are finished. Any maps that were already open when you made the changes may need to be refreshed to show the new information, depending on the changes you make.
**NEW IN VERSION 4**
Add custom icons of your own to the map. First upload them from the main LabMaps page, then open your map for editing. Click on the Tools pane, and the Custom Icon button. Select an icon from the list below and click on the map to add it. |
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Manage the Maps
The LabMaps page in Web Admin provides an easy interface to manage your maps. Listed on this page is a table of each map you have created, and options to Open (by clicking on the name itself), Edit , Publish, or Delete a map. Also shown in the table is the name of the lab used to create the map. Since each lab can have multiple maps, this column can help you keep track of the maps you make. It is also helpful to name your maps differently when creating multiple maps of a single lab.
The Publish\Un-Publish option allows you to choose whether to display the map on the Public Stats page. When a map is Published, it will display until you Un-Publish it.
This page also provides a link to manage background images. You may upload as many background images to LabStats as you like, of the jpeg format, and they will appear in your Options list when creating or editing a map. |
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Display a Map on Another Page
The LabMaps you create in Flash can be displayed on other webpages. Even when they're on another page, the maps are "alive" and will update themselves automatically as long as they are open in any browser. This means that you can make a custom page for your labs and display the map however you would like. There are two ways to display the maps, embedded in a web page, or alone in a pop up window.
For both cases, we generate the exact code you need to display the map in your own page. To get the code, navigate to the LabMaps page and click "view html" next to the map you would like to display in your own page. You will then be presented with two code snippets that you can copy and paste directly into your own HTML document, and you're done!
Keep in mind that the map will have to communicate with your LabStats server in order to get the lab data, so if you open the map in a browser from a computer that cannot find the LabStats server, because it is behind a firewall or otherwise, the map will not be able to display lab data. All the LabMaps, like the LabStats clients, communicate with the LabStats server on TCP port 8080. |
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About Trouble Tickets
The Trouble Ticket system that is now part of LabStats is simple but powerful, because it integrates so closely with LabMaps. Now you can see quickly and easily which computers in the lab have unresolved problems, as well as keep a problem history for each machine. We designed the Trouble Tickets with the idea of expansion, even to the point of automatic hardware and software inventory to help you troubleshoot problems.
Future versions will also include a searchable knowledgebase built automatically by your own problems, notes, and resolutions. As your knowledgebase builds, or as you enter and resolve problems with Trouble Ticket system in LabMaps, your helpdesk people can more easily solve common problems and identify problem machines or labs. |
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Configure Trouble Ticket Settings
Log into Web Admin and navigate to the Trouble Tickets page. Click on Trouble Ticket Configuration to customize your Trouble Ticket system. There you can add or remove these different items:
Problem Categories - each ticket is assigned a category (hardware, software, etc.).
Severity - each ticket can also be assigned a severity.
Status - the Closed status cannot be removed, and indicates that a problem has been resolved.
Keep in mind that these different items will help you group and search your trouble tickets. |
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Enter a Trouble Ticket
There are two ways to enter new trouble tickets, via the LabMap, or via the Trouble Tickets page in Web Admin. To enter a ticket via the map, open the map in Admin mode from the LabMaps page, click on the computer, and choose Add a New Trouble Ticket. To enter a new ticket via the Trouble Tickets page, click Open a New Trouble Ticket, and you will be prompted to select a lab and then a computer to assign to the ticket.
Both methods take you to the same page in Web Admin, the Trouble Ticket Editor. Here you can see info about the computer, and choose the Category, Severity, and Status of the ticket. Then you can enter a Title for the ticket and Notes about the problem. As soon as you save the ticket, a warning sign will appear on the map above that computer, even if someone already has the map open. This warning sign will appear until the ticket is closed. |
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View Trouble Tickets
The Trouble Tickets page in Web Admin contains a link to search for specific tickets, and a link to view only Open or unresolved tickets. Both pages will show a list of trouble tickets and allow you to click on a ticket to view all details and make changes.
The map also gives you the option of viewing trouble tickets for a specific computer. Simply click on a computer and choose either View Open Tickets, or View All Tickets. There you will be directed to a list of open or all tickets, depending on your choice, for that computer. |
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Edit or Close Trouble Tickets
As problems in the lab are worked out, you may need to enter additional notes on a trouble ticket. To do this, simply open the ticket (see above for how to find the ticket), make your changes, and click Update/Save. Your notes are conveniently annotated to the existing notes, including the date and time of the change, and the LabStats username of the person making the change. Note that no matter the Status types that you create, only by closing the ticket can you remove the warning symbol from the map for that computer.
To close a ticket, find it and click Close Ticket at the bottom of the Ticket Editor page. **Important** This will take you to another page where you can enter in the lower box a Resolution for the ticket, and click Save/Close to make the close permanent. At this point, the warning sign will stop appearing on the map for that computer. By entering an accurate Resolution, your knowledgebase of problems will be more useful and help you down the road.
Note that once a ticket has been closed, it cannot be reopened or modified, although it stays in the system. |
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Export Trouble Ticket Data
Like LabStats and UserTracker, the trouble tickets data can be exported into CSV format for use in other systems or software applications. To export your entire Trouble Ticket history, navigate to the Trouble Tickets page and click Export Trouble Ticket Data. Click Ok on the next page, and choose a location to save the file. If you receive an error about SYLK format when opening the file in Excel, ignore it and click Ok to open the file, as it will not affect your data. Below is the list of fields which will export for each trouble ticket.
ID
OPEN_DATE
CLOSE_DATE
OPEN_USER
CLOSE_USER
TITLE
STATUS
CATEGORY
CLOSED
COMP_ID
SEVERITY
NOTES
RESOLUTION |
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About AppUse
AppUse is an optional add-on to LabStats, which is included in the default installation and enabled with a license key. Its purpose is to allow you to track and report on usage statistics for key applications in your labs. This data can be used to make important decisions about licensing the various software applications used throughout your labs. |
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Configuration Settings
AppUse configuration settings can be found on the main Config page for LabStats. Here you can enable application usage tracking, set the aggregation period, enable Auto Delete for AppUse data, and link to the Application Setup page. See the description of Config Settings above for more details on each setting. |
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Application Setup
After installing LabStats 4.0 or higher, clients will begin reporting used applications to the server, which will begin building a list of known applications. By default, no applications are tracked for usage, and each one you desire to track must be enabled. This will ensure that only the applications you care about tracking will consume space in the LabStats database.
As the list of known applications grows, you can navigate to the Known Applications page from the AppUse main page, or with the Application Setup link on the Config page. Here you can check the box next to an application if you want to track it, and give it an alias for reporting purposes. These settings can be changed at any time. |
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Application Usage Report
This reporting tool gives you a tabular-style look at application usage. You can select a combination of applications, labs, and computers, to view statistics about usage during a specific time period. These statistics include:
- The number of times the application was launched.
- The average session time, or average time the application was open each time it was launched.
- The total usage time of the application for that period.
- The usage percentage as compared to the time the lab was open.
Note: to find the usage percentage, simply enter or edit the lab open hours in the appropriate box of the report. This is simply the number of hours the lab was open during the specified time period. |
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Application Usage Graphs
The application usage graphs can give you different perspectives of application usage, including the number of times launched, or the total time used. Both statistics are displayed as bar charts according to your specifications, as seen below. The interval is the size of the bar. While multiple labs or computers can be selected, only one application can be represented at a time on each bar chart.
These graphs can also be saved and reused on your own pages as graphics, or using the custom URL displayed with each one. |
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Application Usage Data Export
The application usage data can easily be exported to a CSV file for use in other applications. You can limit your export file to specific applications, labs, computers, and date ranges. Simply make your selections, click Export, and you will be prompted to save the file. |
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