Welcome

We would like to thank you for your purchase of the Remote Incident Manager server package! You are moments away from providing the best in accessible remote desktop access from right inside your workplace or network. This package provides all the features and functionality of our cloud-hosted SAAS offering, but is fully suited for an on-premises environment, whether you are connected to the internet or not. Note that this document does not contain information pertaining to the RIM end user client. Copies of the end user documentation are located inside the server package, and can easily be called upon by the client application.

System Requirements

In order to run Remote Incident Manager, your computer should meet or exceed the following minimum requirements:

Windows

Windows 10 or later, or Windows Server 2016 or later
at least 2 processor cores
at least 8GB of ram
Admin privileges for initial installation and updates

Installation

The Remote Incident Manager server is packaged as a stand-alone Windows application. While the below process assumes the presence of a Windows Server environment, the instructions will be more or less the same for a standard Windows 10 or 11 environment.

Setup Process

The RIM server application is packaged as a self-contained MSI package. This server can be installed as the only resident server application on the machine, or work alongside any existing infrastructure through a reverse proxy. We will document the general process for setting up a reverse proxy through Internet Information Services (IIS). Unless otherwise noted, we will avoid specific mentions of the graphical user interface of IIS throughout these instructions. This will allow you to apply these instructions to whichever configuration method (GUI, CLI or web-based admin tool) you use throughout your organization.

Prerequisits

Before installing the RIM server, it is strongly recommended to have a fully configured IIS infrastructure along with all related packages. In addition, the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables are required for the RIM server to function.

Installing IIS and Additional Modules

Install the IIS role onto your server. In addition to the web management tools, http server, etc. make sure that the web sockets protocol module is queued for installation.
Install the Application Request Routing (AAR) module, which will allow IIS to function as a reverse proxy.
Lastly, install the URL Rewrite module.

Now that we have IIS installed, configuration of the reverse proxy can begin.

Enabling the Proxy within AAR

In the main server node, you will find an Application Request Routing Cache configuration. A Server Proxy Settings node is contained within. This is where you will go to enable the proxy function.

SSL Configuration

RIM does not manage the SSL certificate when running in reverse proxy mode. Instead, you will need to configure the SSL binding and associated certificate for your site in IIS. This can be done either on the default site, or by creating a new website. Be sure to enable https enforce once the ssl binding is configured.

Configuring the URL Rewrite Rules

The best way to configure URL rewrite is through a web.config file. In order for this to work, however, you must first add the HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO variable to your server's allowed variables. Then, create a file in your webroot called web.config, and paste the following content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
    <system.webServer>
        <rewrite>
            <rules>
                <rule name="ReverseProxyInboundRule1" stopProcessing="true">
                    <match url="(.*)" />
                    <action type="Rewrite" url="http://localhost:7460/{R:1}" />
                    <serverVariables>
                        <set name="HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO" value="https" />
                    </serverVariables>
                </rule>
            </rules>
            <outboundRules>
                <rule name="ReverseProxyOutboundRule1" preCondition="ResponseIsHtml1">
                    <match filterByTags="A, Form, Img" pattern="^http(s)?://localhost:7460/(.*)" />
                    <action type="Rewrite" value="http{R:1}://domain.tld/{R:2}" />
                </rule>

                <preConditions>
                    <preCondition name="ResponseIsHtml1">
                        <add input="{RESPONSE_CONTENT_TYPE}" pattern="^text/html" />
                    </preCondition>
                </preConditions>
            </outboundRules>
        </rewrite>
        <httpErrors errorMode="DetailedLocalOnly" />
    </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Replace domain.tld with your real domain, then save the file. Restart IIS once this file has been saved.

Installing the RIM Server

If you have set up a working reverse proxy, now is when you would install the RIM server package. Any references to a reverse proxy can be disregarded if it is not part of your configuration.
The installation is a one-click silent install. Once the installation is finished, the server will start automatically. Note that unless you have set up a reverse proxy as described above, you will need to access the server on port 7460 for initial setup. Additionally, if you intend for your RIM infrastructure to be accessible via the live web, you will need to add your own https firewall rule, as IIS only opens port 80 by default. You do not, however, need to open port 7460.

Updating the RIM Server

Updates must be installed manually. Simply download and run the latest msi package when informed of an update.

Uninstalling the RIM Server

Uninstalling the RIM server is accomplished via standard means. However, its data folder (which resides in c:\ProgramData) will not be deleted. Should you wish to dispose of the data files, you can do so manually.

First-Time Setup

Once the RIM server is installed, open your web browser to the IP or domain of the server. You will need to append port 7460 for this first-time setup if you are not running a reverse proxy.
Follow the instructions presented by the setup wizard. When entering a hostname, be sure to enter a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) if your server has a dns record. The hostname you enter in this setup screen will be what is embedded into your client installers. In addition, it defines the url that will be used when visiting your server's web management dashboard, as well as obtaining ssl certificates.

SSL Certificate

You will have the option of either managing your ssl through reverse proxy, self-signing, or uploading your own certificate from your certificate authority. Note that if you self-sign, you will need to manually trust https connections to your host before phase 2 of setup

SMTP Setup

Enter the smtp credentials issued by your email provider. You are advised to use SMTP port 587 whenever possible.

License Activation

In order to activate your license, you will be directed to log into your RIM account on the cloud service if you are not logged in already. While this does require the machine from which you are using your server's web interface to have an active internet connection, the server itself does not need to be exposed to the internet for license activation and will never need to phone home to verify the license. Once logged into your cloud account, you will be given information about the license you are about to activate. Notable information includes the organization the license is registered under, and how many simultaneous connection channels are allowed under your current license. Clicking the "Activate" button on this screen will mark the license as activated in your account, at which point you will click a second "Activate" button to place the license on the server itself.

Once the license is activated, you will be able to log into your account. An initial admin account will automatically be created on the server for you based on the email address you entered during license activation. The account will be a copy of your account on the cloud server, so your name and organization will be automatically associated with the server account as wel. In order to finish login, you will be sent an email containing a verification link. Once you click this link, you will enter the dashboard.

The RIM Management Dashboard

Your RIM server features a web-based dashboard to facilitate various machine and account management tasks. You can create preconfigured installers for target computers, manage your existing unattended computers, and much more.

Locating the Dashboard

If you are a network administrator who does not have RIM installed, you can simply log into your account on your RIM server's web interface and your dashboard will appear. If you're a controller using a client issued by the server, the easiest way to get to the dashboard is through the main RIM interface. Clicking the RIM Dashboard button will automatically open the dashboard in your default browser, with the login already taken care of.

Authorizing the Client

If you plan on using RIM in addition to administering your server, the first thing you are going to want to do is to provision your RIM client. There will be a link on your dashboard that will take you to a page that allows you to install a server profile. Once you land on this page, you will first be instructed to install the RIM application on your computer if you haven't done so already. Direct download links for the Windows and macOS client applications are provided on this page. The Windows setup file is a stub that will always download the latest version of the client from your server when run. We are unfortunately unable to offer this capability on macOS due to the nature of the package.
Once RIM is installed on your computer, go back to the profile page and click the "Install Profile" button. You will then receive a dialog from RIM stating that it has been provisioned for use with your server.
Note that this profile configuration page can be given to end users who will be receiving remote technical support through your organization.

Managing Organization Members

Activating the "Organization" button on the RIM dashboard will reveal a menu of options related to organization and member management. The "Members" page will list all the members in your organization. All members can have their role, department and name modified, and any member can be deactivated or removed from an organization except for the organization owner. Note that deactivating a member will render their account inoperable while retaining its record.

Adding members is as simple as entering their email address, selecting their role (user or administrator), optionally entering their name, and selecting their department if one has been created. If you have multiple members to add, you can use the "Members" edit field to perform a bulk add. This edit field accepts multiple lines of text, allowing you to enter each member's information on a separate line. On each line, you may enter either a single email address, or an email address and a name in the format:
email@example.com John Doe

Once you are finished, click the "Add" button.

Departments

Departments allow you to organize members according to the various groups of your organization.

To add a department, enter its name in the "Name" edit box under the "Create department" heading.

Member Data export

The member list in your organization can be exported as a CSV file. In order to download the export:

Choose the field separator that will separate the columns of the file. The available options include:
- comma
- Semicolon
- Tab
Activate the "Download" button.

Restrictions

Depending on the nature of your organization, there may be certain features you do not want your staff to have access to. As such, organization admins can choose the features they wish to allow controllers access to. The "Restrictions" screen, accessed via the "Organization" menu, allows you to configure these permissions.

The permissions that can be toggled include:

Allow the controller to flip the session
- If this option is unchecked, the "Flip Session" option will disappear from the session menu, and the keyboard shortcut will not work.
Allow the controller to start a voice conversation
- If this option is unchecked, the "Start Voice Conversation" checkbox will disappear from the "Provide Remote Help" screen, as will the menu option in the session menu.
Allow the controller to request unattended access
- If this option is unchecked, the option to request unattended access will disappear from the session menu.
Allow text and files to be transferred between machines via the clipboard
- If this option is unchecked, RIM will ignore any and all clipboard activity.
Allow the controller to lock the target machine
- If this option is unchecked, the option to lock the target machine will disappear from the session menu.

Once you have configured the permissions to your satisfaction, activate the "Update" button. Changes will not affect any active sessions at the time the permissions are changed. They will however take effect for any and all future sessions without requiring a reboot of the client.

Managing Targets

When you click the "Configure Targets" link, you will arrive at a page that allows you to manage all the machines you have configured for unattended access. You can click on any one of these machines in order to manage it. Once inside, you will be able to:

Rename the target
Move the target to a different group (more on target groups later)
Launch a remote session with the target
Delete the target

Target Groups

Say for instance your workgroup is spread out among several different locations. Or maybe you want to designate groups of machines to your routine maintenance techs. Target groups allow you to do just that. In order to do this, simply click the "Create Target Group" button, name your group, and submit.
You may have as many target groups as is needed for your use case.

Access Control (for Enterprise Organizations)

If your organizations assign a support technician to a specific set of machines, you probably want to ensure they only have access to that specific set. This is where the access control setting for target groups comes in.
When you click on a target group, you are given options to manage the machines in the group, as well as the group itself. The access control section is where you may grant access to this group on a per-account basis. Simply enter the email address of the account you wish to add, then click the "Give Access" button. Note that this account can exist outside of your enterprise organization's domain.
Once this is done, you will be presented with a table of accounts that are given access to this group. Below each account is a "Revoke Access" button. This button does not require further confirmation.
It should be noted that all organization administrators are automatically granted access to manage any and all groups that are created under the organization. Additionally, any email addresses under your organization's domains will be added to your organization in RIM by default. Should you require more granular control over who gets onboarded, you can disable this in your organization's main members area. What's more, when in the members area you can add email addresses in bulk by way of commas, spaces or line breaks in between the email addresses.

Setting up a Preconfigured RIM Installer

One of the easiest ways to set up a machine for unattended or prompted connections is by creating a custom installer. This is incredibly useful if you are configuring mass deployments, or even as a simpler way to get RIM up and running on an end user's computer you plan on providing support for on the regular.

IN order to do this:

In the target management screen, click the "Build Target Installer" button.
You will first be asked if you want this machine to be configured for fully unattended access, or for prompted access in which the user has to accept a prompt to initiate the connection.
You will then be asked for a target group assignment. Note that the target group selection will automatically go to your chosen target group if you initiate the installer configuration from your group's page.
You will be asked how long you want this installer to be valid for. It can be valid for anywhere between 7 to 30 days, or permanently valid by setting the expiration to never.
You are then given the option to assign a bass name. Any machine provisioned via this installation package will have this base name assigned to it.
You will then be presented with a checkbox that lets you opt into an email notification when a user installs RIM via this installer.
You will see a checkbox that allows you to build the installer as an MSI package. This option is useful for mass deployment of a custom installer to a machine cluster that will be designated to the given target group.
You will be asked to provide an installer name, and optionally some notes. These are for internal records and will not appear within the created installer.
Click on "Build Installer." You will be presented with the download link that you can either copy to the clipboard and send to your end user. Alternatively, you may download the installer directly for use in mass deployments. You may delete the installer from this screen should you choose to render it inoperable prematurely.

Now that you have your installer, it can be run in one of two ways. In either case, the installer will query the server to check for validity. If the installer is valid, the machine will be added to your list of machines in both your account as well as the RIM client after the installer is complete. An invalid installer will not run.

Normal Execution

The user will get a prompt when running the installer, containing the following information:

The technician's name along with their organization, if applicable
the nature of the connection, I.E whether a prompt is required or not

The user can choose to either answer yes or no to the installation. Answering no will cancel the installation. After the installer finishes, the user will get a prompt informing them that their machine is now set up for remote access.

Silent Install (Enterprise Installers Only)

A silent install can be initiated by running the executable installer with the /S command line parameter. This is useful when installing RIM as part of a mass deployment routine.

Session History

You can view your entire history of past sessions through the RIM dashboard. The session history currently contains the date and time of each session, the name of the computer you connected to, and the duration of the session. You may also choose to add comments to a session via the "Add Comment" link within the session row. This is useful for adding notes on the current status of an incident for your own sake as well as for the sake of organization administrators.

Your entire session history can be exported for later viewing via a spreadsheet application. Activate the "Download session history as CSV" button located below the session history table to reveal a customization page for your data export. On this page, you can choose the timespan of the export, as well as the symbol used to separate the fields.

Managing your License

The RIM server is designed in such a way that does not allow it to proactively query a cloud service. This is designed to make the server friendly for maximum-security environments, however it does mean that manual license renewal is necessary. The "Refresh" license button allows the server to retreive the currently active license key from the cloud service. The process for relicensing is identical to the initial license activation process, and can be done with or without an active internet connection on the server itself.

Troubleshooting

This section will provide solutions to common issues you may run into, as well as some known issues current as of the time of this writing.

Server shows up as unlicensed

The server's authentication system is designed to be resistent to most system configuration changes, however there are some occasions (such as a hard-drive or cpu upgrade) that can render the license token invalid. Should this occur, the "Refresh License" button on the main server dashboard will relaunch the same activation process you went through at time of server configuration. The currently active license will be retreived from your account, and your server will be operational once more.

Remote Incident Manager Private Server Manual