Free desktop troubleshooting and remediation tools

Physical EndpointsTroubleshooting
Jeff Johnson
September 11, 2023
Duration: 5 minutes
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ControlUp is providing world-class desktop support tools for free, it’s not a free trial, it’s free enterprise tools for 50 devices in a production environment supported by ControlUp.

ControlUp’s Edge DX monitors and troubleshoots physical desktop computers such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. The free, 50-user license is the Enterprise version of Edge DX. With Edge DX Enterprise, you can monitor, troubleshoot, and remediate problems quickly for end users so they can get back to being productive, not waiting for the helpdesk to troubleshoot and fix their problems.

Eight great things you can do with free desktop troubleshooting and remediation tools.

  1. Remote assistance
  2. Device troubleshooting
  3. Application troubleshooting
  4. Network troubleshooting
  5. Problem alerting
  6. Remediation actions
  7. Automated remediation
  8. User experience reporting

“Edge DX is concise. I know the person’s endpoint, I look it up, scroll down a little bit, and I see the information I need.”

Adam Brandt | VDI Administrator, Modern Woodmen

Remote assistance

Engaging in phone conversations and attempting to visualize the user’s experience from a distance not only introduces room for errors and misunderstandings but also proves frustrating and inefficient for everyone involved. ControlUp Edge DX provides four methods for remotely connecting to a user’s computer to enhance the efficiency of remote user troubleshooting and expedite productivity.

Edge DX Remote Control

Device performance

Desktops are fast when new. Then, as time goes by, many applications get installed, the user has 50 browser tabs open, or a line of business application has a memory leak, and the experience worsens over time. Edge DX gathers network, device, operating system, and application metrics that help you determine the root cause of any issue.

Edge DX Device Performance Dashboard
Edge DX Device Performance Dashboard

Application troubleshooting

Businesses run on applications; if those applications run slow or crash, the end-user experience can be bad for employees and customers. ControlUp has a built-in report that shows the application’s health and other key indicators, such as a graph that shows applications by frustration.

Edge DX Application Dashboard

Edge DX Device Application Dashboard

Network troubleshooting

Network connectivity problems can happen on your network, the user’s network/ISP, or your SaaS provider’s location. It does not matter where the problem is; it’s knowing that it is not you or you need to let your users know to update their router or get a new ISP. ControlUp gives you end-to-end visibility to all the networks affecting end users.

Edge DX Network Dashboard

Edge DX Network Troubleshooting Dashboard

 

“The time we spend each day on reporting has been shortened by more than 10x. The value in that is huge.”

Tom Hamilton | Infrastructure Services Team Lead, Estes Express

Problem alerting

Most computer problems are programmatically detectable, such as a service stops, a desktop running out of available memory, or a service or program taking all available CPU. ControlUp can detect and alert on any device metric that can be measured and then provide an action to address the situation. An action can be an HTTP POST to a Webhook URL, an action script, or an email sent to a user or a group of users.

Edge DX Alert Config

Edge DX Alert Configuration

Remediation actions

Using a script to fix a computer is both reliable and scalable. However, getting a script to run on a remote machine can be problematic due to the delivery of the script and the fact that some scripts need to run in a system context. ControlUp can run almost any compatible scripting language across Windows, macOS, and Linux in both system and user contexts. Remediation action scripts can also be used on one or across all your devices for mass healing and to get more information from the device.

Edge DX Action Script ConfigurationEdge DX Action Script Configuration

Automated remediation

Automated remediation uses the problem notifications engine with the remediation action scripts to fix issues before a helpdesk call is needed. Once ControlUp detects a problem, a system or user context script can run to remediate the issue.

Edge DX Automated Remediation

Edge DX Automated Remediation

User experience reporting

Perception is the reality regarding computer and application performance from a user’s perspective. ControlUp reports on key user experience metrics that help you determine what users are experiencing performance issues. For instance, you can quickly know what users are rebooting their machines the most or what the average user input delay or logon time is. These metrics allow your support organization to dive deeper, find the root cause, and proactively improve the end-user experience.

Edge DX User Reporting
Edge DX User Reporting

How to get started

Fix problems faster, automatically, and for free.

  1. Sign up for an Edge DX VIP Pack – ControlUp
  2. Deploy agents on up to 50 Windows, macOS, or Linux computers.
  3. Try remote control.
  4. Review and act on data.
  5. Start a trial of other features.
    • Unified communications troubleshooting.
    • SaaS application monitoring.
    • Qualitative employee sentiment surveys.

 

Jeff Johnson

Jeff is a product marketing manager for ControlUp. He is responsible for evangelizing the Digital Employee Experience on physical endpoints such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. Jeff has spent his career specializing in enterprise strategies for client computing, application delivery, virtualization, and systems management. Jeff was one of the key architects of the Consumerization of IT Strategy for Microsoft, which has redefined how enterprises allow unmanaged devices to access corporate intellectual property.