Managing Servers

To Manage the Server

Click on the Open Control Center icon to expand your view of the server. The box expands to show the Userful Control Center and various shortcuts at the bottom of the screen.

Each marked function is a shortcut to different management aspects of the server. Take some time to click each and familiarize yourself with them. Note that clicking some icons a second time will open their respective applications in a new browser tab.

Tool	Function
1 Home	Exits the expanded view and returns to the Userful Manager home view.
2 Open Control Center	Opens the Userful Control Center. Click on it the second time to open UCC in a new browser tab.
3 Show Control Room	Opens the Command & Control center. It requires an active C&C source.
4 Show Dashboard	Opens the Supervisor Dashboard. It requires an active C&C source.
5 Server Diagnostics	It is the shortcut to server diagnostics. It highlights system issues if any.
6 Displays	It opens the Displays tab.
7 Server Details	It displays server hardware, software, and licensing information.
8 Upload Files	It allows remote upload of image and video files for the signage player source.
9 Open Source Switcher	Opens the Source Switcher.
10 Open Preset Switcher	Opens the Preset Switcher. It requires the existing presets.
11 Printer Profiles	Opens CUPS. This is for Public Computing systems only.

Server Options Menu

There are a few functions and shortcuts available for servers in the Userful manager.

Tool	Function
Create Events	Shortcut to “Events” tab of UCC, where scheduled events and configuration changes can be made
Event Switcher	A feature exclusive to Userful Manager, allows quick switching of created Events
Usage Reports	Opens Usage Reports for the Organization
Report a problem	Submit a trouble ticket. See Tickets for more information
Install Additional Packages	Allows install of some optional software from Userful’s repositories
Backup (Preview)	Creates a backup of most of the server’s settings. See backups below
Restore (Preview)	Select a restore point and restore options from backups
Copy Mapping	It allows copying configuration from one server to the other.
Delete Server	Cloud servers: These are deleted completely, including the backups. On-Premise servers: It allows you to delete the backup server. If the server has not been decommissioned, rebooting the server will allow you to claim it again.
Reboot	Reboots the server

Server Backups

Userful Manager backups will back up just about every setting of a Userful server, including:

• Mapping configuration (sources, mirror groups)

• Video wall calibration and zones

• Presets

• Command & Control sources, and their own sources and saved layouts

• Resource groups, user accounts, and user groups

• Events

• Many settings such as failover, file transfer settings, etc.

Some items are not backed and need to be addressed manually after a reinstall or replacement of the server

• System user accounts still need to be re-created at the initial setup

• Content files for Signage Player sources

• IP addresses for network interfaces need to be set after a reinstall

• Failover groups should be checked

• Video walls will retain calibration and space settings, however, the display numbering may need to be re-set as endpoint devices (uClient, Zero Client) may not have connected and enumerated themselves in the same order

Using backups across different versions of Userful carries risks. While we make every effort to test the compatibility of backups from previous versions, issues are always a possibility. If you are upgrading by several versions (for example, from Userful 10.2 to 10.5) then it is recommended to run a system update rather than reinstall and restore from the backup.