Helpdesk  onsite ongoing function

montythompson3065 · 2023-11-21T05:10:00.000Z

Hi All,

I have at serval of my sites, an on-site Spiceworks helpdesk running on a local server, I read that the helpdesk local install is going to be depreciated even further and that emails will no longer function.
Is this true,
or
can I continue to use the existing Spiceworks helpdesk on-site as currently installed and have it continue to send and receive emails to the users at those sites?

many thanks
regards Monty

Rod-IT · 2023-11-21T19:44:47.000Z

monty7357:

Hi All,

I have at serval of my sites, an on-site Spiceworks helpdesk running on a local server, I read that the helpdesk local install is going to be depreciated even further and that emails will no longer function.
Is this true,

That depends on your email provider - the legacy on-prem system you refer to, known as Spiceworks Desktop 7.5 has been EOL for a number of years and does not support modern authentications, so your email system needs to support BASIC auth which is non-encrypted and plain text.

There is a post on here about further limitations on their way - I’ll try and find it, however, while I too, liked the on-prem version, EOL software should ideally be put to bed and not leave the company vulnerable.

I noted that you posted in HDS - this is the Ubuntu version based on the cloud helpdesk - this too is EOL and likely to see the same fate as the legacy desktop.

Rod-IT · 2023-11-21T20:17:18.000Z

Please see here, scroll down for 2023 updates

What’s going on with Spiceworks Tools & Apps in 2021? Spiceworks Support

Hi SpiceHeads, While we’ve been posting various updates as of late, we know many of you are curious about the direction of the Spiceworks Tools & Apps. We want to make sure you’re not just aware of our plans but are also a part of the conversation. The road behind us Our primary focus this year is on helping our members migrate off of the legacy Desktop application. Back in 2018, we announced that we were no longer going to be improving Spiceworks Desktop after version 7.5 and that version 8.0…

Short version

Update [Nov 9, 2023]: As a part of the continued degradation of supporting services for the Desktop app, on Dec 1, 2023, we will take services offline, impacting the below functionality on all Desktop apps.

Desktop apps will be unable to generate alert notification emails or any other emails currently being sent by Spiceworks mail services.

Desktop apps will be unable to authenticate using Spiceworks authentication services (you will be unable to add new Desktop app users, register new installations of the Desktop app, manage/reset user passwords with Spiceworks authentication services).

Desktop app will be unable to install shared plugins, shared reports, or shared language packs from the Spiceworks App Center.

There may be other unanticipated effects on Desktop apps, potentially including impacts to core functionality. As we communicated in Dec. 2021, we recommend migrating off of the Desktop application.

Also worth reading

Spiceworks Desktop version - what is happening on the 1st of December 2023? Spiceworks Support

Hi We still make use of the old Spiceworks Desktop software. Even though it is out of support with Spiceworks, is still working well. We prefer on premises for our Help Desk software, and when looking at the cloud version it did not seem to offer everything the old desktop version offered. We have noticed that there is a message about things stopping working on the 1st of December 2023. Please can someone tell me exactly what will stop working? Is it something that Spiceworks will simply switc…

spiceuser-c6pou · 2023-11-22T11:42:00.000Z

Will this impact a Help Desk Server running on prem and using a local email server? Will this continue to function after Dec 1st?

Rod-IT · 2023-11-22T13:06:26.000Z

spiceuser-c6pou:

Will this impact a Help Desk Server running on prem and using a local email server? Will this continue to function after Dec 1st?

It will largely depend on your email service, if it continues to use BASIC authentication, yes, it will most likely work, but that does not mean it wont stop for another reason. People really shouldn’t run legacy software anyway, it’s no wonder there are so many systems hacked daily - but if you really must, please read the topics above and know what you’re getting in to.

spiceuser-c6pou · 2023-11-22T13:12:48.000Z

We are moving off this to a new system, but the work has not started yet. Email service should be fine, we are concerned with services being shutdown if the HDS will stop working at all. We have added new users for a buffer in case we need to add anyone, but not sure about being able to log into the servers web interface and if ticket rules and ticket views will continue to work. The server has very little internet access and we tested by blocking the spiceworks domain for a period of time. It seemed to still function, but was responding slower than normal. I am wondering if anyone else is able to run HDS without internet access to Spiceworks?

Rod-IT · 2023-11-22T13:56:47.000Z

HDS was even less short-lived than the original 7.5 product and was based on code from CHD.

If it worked for you without internet, then it may be fine, but neither product have been supported for some time, your success may vary.

If your email still supports basic authentication, that’s something else you may want to look at from a security perspective as you move forward.

All official answers on the SW products are on the links I posted above.

Best of luck with your migration.